Mr and Mrs Canspice welcomed their first baby into the world the other day. Congratulations to both parents and I hope Elizabeth has a long, healthy and happy life ahead of her. She has wonderful parents so she's off to a very good start!
Mr Canspice (Brad) has worked with us for quite a few years now, but I suspect I must take some blame for him and family living here. Brad was an intern/student of mine for a few months many, many years ago when he was still an undergraduate at a Canadian university. He wrote some fantastic code to enable those foreign astronomers (i.e., those that are not British) to reduce and analyse data from what was then a revolutionary infrared spectrometer - and it still is in many respects.
Despite being supervised by me, Brad decided to come back. Now he writes code to allow people to reduce and analyse data from several revolutionary instruments - and now he gets a wage as well! I suspect, however, that his productivity will decrease for the next few months. I'm sure everyone at work will be able to accept this, but can I now feel a little less guilty about calling the father at night when we have a technical problem at the summit knowing he's likely to be awake anyway?
No, I won't do that. I promise!
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Friday, 13 March 2009
It was a dark and stormy night
An early start this morning - as usual I woke up before the alarm went off. It doesn't seem to matter what time I set the alarm to, I'll always wake up before it goes off. This morning it was set to 3:45am and I was still awake to cancel it before it went off!Still, waking up so early is not pleasant and to make it worse, it was set at such a ridiculous time because the "treat lady" had to fly back to the mainland and her home this morning, starting on the 06:23am flight from Hilo to Honolulu. This just sucked and it gets no better over the years. I hate the days when her visits end, it's always so depressing when I arrive back home after seeing her off at the airport and it's empty again. Oh well, it's back to normal life again as well as back to work next week.
During the treat lady's visit the weather has been the worst I can remember on the Big Island. Not the most atrocious storm or worst flooding rainfall I can remember, but just weeks of wind, cold and rain and very little sun. Today, after catching up on a bit of sleep, I went to the local store to get a couple of things and heard on the radio that there was a high surf warning for the east shore (which is where I live). It turns out the warning was for the other islands but the surf was also very high here. So, on the way back I took a couple of shots in the usual place, the cliffs close to my house.
It was at around sunset so the light was poor, and being my usual stupid self, I'd taken the tripod out of my car so had to hand-hold the camera despite the long exposure times required (around 1/3 sec). Given that, I was surprised these shots came out without being blurred to hell. Unfortunately, I took what ought to be a wonderful panorama with some spectacular clouds, but since the camera was in my hands rather than on a tripod, I haven't yet been able to create a decent stitched image. Oh well, there will be more occasions...I'll have to check to see if the sky will be clear tomorrow morning, as I think these shots would have looked really nice with the rising sun in the east. The surf should still be high tomorrow, the waves are supposed to be 10-14 feet high and that looks about right given the height of the cliffs, which are around 15-20 feet.
And now back to the cats who are wondering where their next treat is coming from...
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
It never rains, but it pours
Over two weeks ago I set the alarm clock for well before sunrise in the hope that I could go down to the local shoreline and take some photographs of the cliffs, ocean and rising sun. Well, since that day I haven't seen the sun again. The island, especially the windward side, has been ridiculously wet, windy and cold - at least for Hawai`i! Unfortunately, my visitor was looking forward to several weeks lying on a beach in paradise and swimming in the warm ocean, but instead has been kept out of the water by several high surf advisories and the unpleasant weather.
Still, one of the things to see in Hilo on rainy days, or even better, just after a period of heavy rainfall, is Rainbow Falls on the Wailuku River.
The waterfall is so named because on sunny mornings the cascading water and vapour forms a rainbow although there's been little chance of that lately. Still, I thought it might prove to be an interesting visit one evening to see just how powerful the falls were as the last time I was there, during last year's drought, there was barely a trickle of water. I wasn't disappointed!
Having said that, in all the trips I've made to Rainbow Falls, I've yet to spot Hina. Apparently, the moon goddess of the Polynesians lives in the cave under these falls.
Monday, 2 March 2009
The land that time forgot
Kilauea Iki Crater shot at sunset from its overlook in the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The last eruption of Kilauea in this crater occurred in 1959 with some spectacular lava fountains, some of which are shown at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory site.Although the setting sun was very bright and drowned out some details, the late-day colours were fantastic. The crater itself is in the foreground and you can still see evidence of activity under the surface by the steam vents on the crater floor. Beyond the crater you can see the current volcanic plume from the Halema`uma`u Crater at the summit of Kilauea and to the right of the setting sun is the distant yet massive Mauna Loa volcano.
I've been busy vacationing recently (and still am) hence the lack of blog activity in recent weeks, but I'm creating quite a good archive of pictures for future posts!
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Grammy awards
I don't think I've ever watched the Grammy Award ceremony before, or if I have, it was about ten years ago. Tonight, after a day of being very active but getting nothing done, I turned on the TV and switched to CBS (more out of habit than anything else) and found myself in the middle of a country & western song.
It'll probably be another decade or so before I watch the Grammys again, I need this memory to fade first.
It'll probably be another decade or so before I watch the Grammys again, I need this memory to fade first.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
In your face
One minute she's as cute as can be, the next minute she's in your face demanding some attention - and she really doesn't look happy this time.
That's OK, I can take the unhappy look and raise it, both girls are off to the vet very soon for their 6-month checkup. That ungodly look I got from Bubbles won't compare to the reception I get when I have to herd them into the cat-carrier. Hopefully the next time will be blood-free. When I last managed to take them to the vet he was worried after the examination because there was blood on his table. He felt a lot better after I told him the blood used to belong to me.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Little peace at home
Not only does working both day and night shifts at altitude confuse me and my body, it confuses the hell out of the girls. They're used to me being away for periods of time but not every week and now that I'm probably home for a relatively long period, they've realised what's going on and won't leave me alone. Wherever I go around the house or yard they're there and often use me as ambush practice!
Eddie is still camera shy but once I was sat at the computer she made herself comfortable next to me and fell asleep, although she still had one eye open just to check where I was and what I was up to.
Unfortunately for Eddie, Bubbles saw what was going on and had to join in.
Bubbles always sits next to me when I'm working at the computer, Eddie saw the one opportunity when Bubbles was preoccupied with something else (probably vomiting on the carpet downstairs, she's done that a few times recently) and then took her usual spot. Eddie was about to get pissed off.
An impressive Kung Fu kick to Bubbles' head and Eddie was off - she's asleep in my bedroom now . Next week there's a new challenge - they will have to deal with a visitor - they'll be OK with that though, they know her as "the treat lady" and perhaps they'll leave me alone for a while!
Eddie is still camera shy but once I was sat at the computer she made herself comfortable next to me and fell asleep, although she still had one eye open just to check where I was and what I was up to.
Unfortunately for Eddie, Bubbles saw what was going on and had to join in.
Bubbles always sits next to me when I'm working at the computer, Eddie saw the one opportunity when Bubbles was preoccupied with something else (probably vomiting on the carpet downstairs, she's done that a few times recently) and then took her usual spot. Eddie was about to get pissed off.
An impressive Kung Fu kick to Bubbles' head and Eddie was off - she's asleep in my bedroom now . Next week there's a new challenge - they will have to deal with a visitor - they'll be OK with that though, they know her as "the treat lady" and perhaps they'll leave me alone for a while!
Friday, 30 January 2009
The Galactic Centre (over Hilo of all places)
I'm certainly no Wally Pacholka when it comes to photographing the night sky; about a hundred times worse I reckon - his photos are absolutely incredible, even awe-inspiring and I absolutely hate the word awe (and absolutely). Still, I can't help thinking that he's actually oil painting them but there you go, I'm jealous of his talent. What keeps me going is that I guess he knows as much about infrared spectroscopy of the interstellar medium as I know about photography, so I'm calling things even! I'd love to learn his secrets though.
Then again, I'm a beginner photographer with a $200 camera (with functions that still confuse me), so I don't think I'm starting off too badly. Last night was the first time in my life that I actually had a real go at photographing stars. Don't get me wrong, I do that all the time, but it's using scientific instruments and large professional telescopes (and in the infrared) and a tripod and camera has me baffled most of the time. Let's not forget that taking photos on a high mountain means freezing your butt off whereas just about every professional telescope has a nice warm control room.
Last night was one of the most beautiful nights I can remember on Mauna Kea. The atmosphere was dry, so pesky emission from OH ions in the upper-atmosphere that can ruin dark nights was limited, and it only took a couple of minutes to get dark-adapted and the sky was glorious. So out came the camera.
Gemini-North was busy shooting down alien space ships with their laser and the picture in my last blog entry wasn't what I hoped for, double-vision and all, so that was my motivation. Unfortunately my latter effort was equally crap, but when trying to find a good place to take a photo of Gemini I saw the lights from Hilo Town and thought I'd take a few pictures.
So, my first efforts at real night-time photography (the last photo is my favourite by the way, I'm getting the worst ones out of the way first):
A panorama of the night sky and Milky Way over Mauna Loa with the UKIRT dome to the right. Just two weeks ago I got told off by one of the Mauna Kea rangers for taking pictures from this exact spot, but they aren't around at 3am, so there! Don't anyone tell them that though...
My crap second attempt of taking a photo of Gemini shooting down aliens with their laser. I hear they have the shoot-down score on the side of their dome somewhere. I've yet to find it.
I was pleasantly surprised/shocked with this one. While walking up to the Gemini dome I saw Hilo Town down below to the east and it was so clear. There was a glow in the sky above Hilo (above the few clouds that is), nothing to do with light pollution, and thought it might be the zodiacal light and decided to take a few photos.
It turns out it was our Galactic centre rising above Hilo. I know Hilo isn't exactly considered the centre of the Universe, but at 4-am it was certainly close to the centre of the Galaxy! For those that have got this far and don't know what the centre of the Galaxy looks like from earth, well, look at the brightest lights of Hilo Town and then go 45 degrees up to the right. It's that bright bulge complete with dark (dust) lanes all over the place. Hilo is about, what, 30 miles away? The Galactic centre is almost 30,000 light years away. I'd hate to have to go shopping there every week.
Do you know the very odd thought that entered my head when I was taking the Hilo pictures?
Something to do with the cold? It was well below freezing and quite windy, I couldn't talk for 10 minutes when I got back in the warm because my lips were frozen. Altitude? Well, a few days and nights in a row at 14,000 feet does strange things to your head, believe me. Shift work? Yeah, that screws you up.
Anyway, my thought was: did I forget to turn the lights off in my house?
Then again, I'm a beginner photographer with a $200 camera (with functions that still confuse me), so I don't think I'm starting off too badly. Last night was the first time in my life that I actually had a real go at photographing stars. Don't get me wrong, I do that all the time, but it's using scientific instruments and large professional telescopes (and in the infrared) and a tripod and camera has me baffled most of the time. Let's not forget that taking photos on a high mountain means freezing your butt off whereas just about every professional telescope has a nice warm control room.
Last night was one of the most beautiful nights I can remember on Mauna Kea. The atmosphere was dry, so pesky emission from OH ions in the upper-atmosphere that can ruin dark nights was limited, and it only took a couple of minutes to get dark-adapted and the sky was glorious. So out came the camera.
Gemini-North was busy shooting down alien space ships with their laser and the picture in my last blog entry wasn't what I hoped for, double-vision and all, so that was my motivation. Unfortunately my latter effort was equally crap, but when trying to find a good place to take a photo of Gemini I saw the lights from Hilo Town and thought I'd take a few pictures.
So, my first efforts at real night-time photography (the last photo is my favourite by the way, I'm getting the worst ones out of the way first):
A panorama of the night sky and Milky Way over Mauna Loa with the UKIRT dome to the right. Just two weeks ago I got told off by one of the Mauna Kea rangers for taking pictures from this exact spot, but they aren't around at 3am, so there! Don't anyone tell them that though...
My crap second attempt of taking a photo of Gemini shooting down aliens with their laser. I hear they have the shoot-down score on the side of their dome somewhere. I've yet to find it.
I was pleasantly surprised/shocked with this one. While walking up to the Gemini dome I saw Hilo Town down below to the east and it was so clear. There was a glow in the sky above Hilo (above the few clouds that is), nothing to do with light pollution, and thought it might be the zodiacal light and decided to take a few photos.It turns out it was our Galactic centre rising above Hilo. I know Hilo isn't exactly considered the centre of the Universe, but at 4-am it was certainly close to the centre of the Galaxy! For those that have got this far and don't know what the centre of the Galaxy looks like from earth, well, look at the brightest lights of Hilo Town and then go 45 degrees up to the right. It's that bright bulge complete with dark (dust) lanes all over the place. Hilo is about, what, 30 miles away? The Galactic centre is almost 30,000 light years away. I'd hate to have to go shopping there every week.
Do you know the very odd thought that entered my head when I was taking the Hilo pictures?
Something to do with the cold? It was well below freezing and quite windy, I couldn't talk for 10 minutes when I got back in the warm because my lips were frozen. Altitude? Well, a few days and nights in a row at 14,000 feet does strange things to your head, believe me. Shift work? Yeah, that screws you up.
Anyway, my thought was: did I forget to turn the lights off in my house?
The last night on the mountain for a while
If anyone was wondering I'm still alive although very busy but looking forward to a couple of months off the mountain. There's just a couple of hours to go tonight and then it's breakfast, a fitful sleep and back home for a day off - and back in the office on Sunday! Sigh. My vacation can't come soon enough.
Anyway, no time for any picture processing, these shots are essentially straight off the camera (and reduced in size), so hope to have some really nice pictures soon. I took a whole bunch of them!
Sunset on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately this was a frustrating night for us. The clouds eventually cleared but it was too humid to open the dome, so despite seeing stars overhead there was little we could do.
Tonight I finally managed to take a picture of Gemini firing off its laser! The sky was so dark that it was a struggle to expose enough to actually see the dome, but the laser is pretty obvious! That's the UH 88-inch observatory to the right.
Finally, it was such a wonderfully dark night the Milky Way was obvious without much dark adaption at all, so I took a few photos that I'll work on in the next few days to see if I can get something nice to post. In any case, the Milky Way over Mauna Loa.
Unfortunately I missed taking a photo of the stunning view of the moon and Venus setting tonight. The thin crescent moon was a deep red and Venus a noticeable orange as they sank behind the clouds in the Pacific.
Anyway, no time for any picture processing, these shots are essentially straight off the camera (and reduced in size), so hope to have some really nice pictures soon. I took a whole bunch of them!
Sunset on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately this was a frustrating night for us. The clouds eventually cleared but it was too humid to open the dome, so despite seeing stars overhead there was little we could do.
Tonight I finally managed to take a picture of Gemini firing off its laser! The sky was so dark that it was a struggle to expose enough to actually see the dome, but the laser is pretty obvious! That's the UH 88-inch observatory to the right.
Finally, it was such a wonderfully dark night the Milky Way was obvious without much dark adaption at all, so I took a few photos that I'll work on in the next few days to see if I can get something nice to post. In any case, the Milky Way over Mauna Loa.Unfortunately I missed taking a photo of the stunning view of the moon and Venus setting tonight. The thin crescent moon was a deep red and Venus a noticeable orange as they sank behind the clouds in the Pacific.
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