Mauna Loa

And an awful lot of vog.

Just another work day

One or two people have said they're not bored of summit photos just yet. So here are a couple more. Just be aware that I'm running out of photos again!

Above, the Subaru Observatory is silhouetted against the late evening sky and cirrus clouds to the west. It's way after sunset but enough light from the sun gets though to make the high clouds look nice.

A rare photo of Subaru actually opening at sunset. They always seem to open much later than the other observatories. I'm not sure why. What's even rarer is the Kohala coastline being visible from the summit. As you can see in the top photo it's usually hidden by clouds.

Summit views, 2010

I've been trying to update my flickr account with recent pictures. I seem to have less spare time than ever before but found an hour or two to catch up. Fortunately I'm no longer on dialup!

Anyway, some summit pictures from this year. I hope you enjoy the short show. The smaller version is below:

Last light

It's well after sunset but the horizon still shows the glow from the sun, at least on long exposure photos! Subaru is the telescope in the foreground. The dome is metallic coloured and often turns a golden colour at this time of night if there are high clouds around to reflect the red light. On this occasion, however, the sky is clear and the dome takes on a less interesting grey/silver colour and a lot less contrast to play with.

Remember you can click on the picture for a larger version. The clouds in the distance look quite interesting.

The oil spill from Clarke and Dawe's perspective

Don't really think I need to say anything...

Slide show - California road trip April 2010

Frankly, I think I took much better shots back in 2009 when I first visited the area (I'll get a slide show sorted for that one day) but hope you enjoy this anyway:



You can see a full screen version by clicking on California Road Trip April 2010.

The night shift begins

Some of us start the night shift early. The dome is opened well before sunset to help equalise temperatures inside and outside the dome. Sometimes the IRTF, pictured above, is opened early as it's observing a planet that's only visible during the day.

Other observatories tend to wait until after the sun has set, the Kecks being an example. Although I'm not familiar with the Keck's policies, one thing you must avoid doing if you open early is having direct sunlight on any of the telescope structure. Even at sunset or sunrise when the sun is low in the sky, the light from the sun will warm the structure it strikes and some expansion will take place. It'll be tiny, a few microns perhaps, but enough to effect image quality.

Shortly after I took the top picture of the IRTF, I saw them rotate the dome so the aperture was pointed directly at the sun. There may have been a good reason for this, but it's certainly not something I'd feel comfortable doing. Then again, the IRTF was designed to observe planets in the infrared and sometimes that means pointing close to the sun.

Yet another summit photo

I don't know, I'm getting a little bored of these. Same place and usually the same time (sunset). They look nice but I need to find something else to take pictures of especially as summit time will become rare after this year. The thing is I suspect I'll be busier than ever then, so may not have a lot of time for taking photos. I don't even have the time right now unless I'm on the mountain, and then it's a limited period of time during the day.

How about some fish?

Or lighthouses?

Flowers?

The strangest Cornish Pasty I've ever eaten? (The tea was first rate though).

I'm open to some ideas and challenges!

Once in a lifetime

There are still a few minutes to go before sunset and the summit tourists are preparing for a treat. Most payed something like $200 to be taken to the summit with a tour company and although that's an awful lot of money they are treated very well from what I've heard. On the way down they get to see the amazing night sky from either the Visitor Center at the 9,000 foot level or the tour company will provide telescopes for viewing from some of the other dark viewing spots on the mountain.

Unless you're an utter astronomy freak though, sunset is the highlight of the trip. You can watch beautiful sunsets from anywhere on the planet, but watching the sun sink below the clouds from the highest point in the Pacific Ocean is very special. I've lived and worked here nearly 14 years and I don't get bored of the view. It's very nearly 20 years since I watched my first sunset from the summit of Mauna Kea as a visiting astronomer-in-training.

I plan to mark the 20-year anniversary by watching another Mauna Kea sunset and will post the photos here, but it's not for a few months yet!

Even the astronomers and those that work at the observatories want to watch the sunset. In the top photo you can just make out the staff standing by the Gemini mirror inside the dome watching the magical view, and in the one above, the observing team for the night are outside taking in another amazing evening view from the CFHT.

Some of this might also be due to many of the observatories planning to switch to remote operations. It's very hard to imagine that I won't be up on the summit after this year, especially after such a long career spent on the summit. The CFHT are planning remote operations as well and the rumour is Gemini are also looking at the possibility.

It feels very much like the end of an era.

PS. Those shadows below the CFHT are from the Keck telescopes and Subaru.

Dirty picture

Anyone know a window cleaner who's willing to work at 14,000 feet?