4 metre solar telescope - I want one!!!

[Merlin66]

https://www.nso.edu/press-release/inouye-solar-telescope-first-light/

[multiweb]

:eyepop: Those images and videos are mesmerizing. :thumbsup:

[glend]

Surely they could find some use for 13kw of energy generated by that mirror, like using it to generate electricity.

[strongmanmike]

Wow :eyepop: awesome :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

Got that pic on FB

[gary]

I can see the DKIST dome from my window.

[multiweb]

Are you holidaying in Maui?

[gary]

Hi Marc,

Been observing from Mauna Kea on the Big Island for the past two weeks.

From the house I can see across the water to Maui and can see all the domes on the top. Can discern individual domes through stabilized binos.

Can also see the scopes on Mauna Kea when I look the other way.

Having dinner with the head mirror technician from the Keck Observatory as I type. Interesting stories.

[multiweb]

That sounds awesome. How you're handling the altitude?

[gary]

The solar telescope on Maui is named after the late Daniel Inouye.

Many landmarks in Hawaii are named after him, including the main
international airport in Honolulu and the highway across the Big Island.

A U.S. senator and champion of astronomical observation in Hawaii, I
didn't know much about him until American colleagues told me a little
of his remarkable life, heroism and achievements and forwarded me this
2012 New York Times obituary.

An American hero.

[multiweb]

quite a resume.

[gary]

Hi Marc,

Just got back yesterday from a two week observing trip on Mauna Kea, on the Big Island.

A colleague keeps a 22" Obsession with Argo Navis stored on the Big Island.

Suffice to say, they were the most magnificent skies I have ever observed from.

Little wonder most of the world's biggest telescopes are there.

Our observing spot was at 9200' (2800m) and being below 10,000' you
are just below the level where altitude sickness usually occurs. In fact,
when travelling to the summit at 13,800' (4200m) it is strongly advised
you spend half an hour to an hour at the 9200' to acclimatise first.

There are plenty of warnings that a trip to the summit can be lethal.
It is not recommended that anyone under the age of 16 go to the
summit as it can be detrimental to their development.

You can get from the beach at sea level to 9200' in an hour on high-speed
tarmac road. The final stretch to the summit is well-graded gravel with
switch-backs and is 4WD only and takes about half an hour. There is
no guard rail and one of the effects of altitude can be confusion and poor
judgement of you have to go careful.

It is one of the few places in the world where you can go sea level to
nearly 14,000' in less than two hours.

You need 4WD because coming down there is less air to cool the brakes
and there are no shortage of photos of 2WD vehicles that have caught
ablaze because the driver rode the brakes coming down.

Those wimps who climb Everest only have to climb 12,000 feet to get
from Base Camp to the summit. :lol:

In my younger days I had spent time in Pakistan at 15,400 feet
(4700 meters) but with the added advantage of acclimatising over a week.

At our observing spot at 9200' I had no problem helping lift the 22" Dob
out of the vehicle but even a task such as donning or duffing a freezer
suit would leave you catching your breath.

As soon as you step out of the vehicle at 13,800' you notice how thin
the air is. There is 40% less atmosphere available.

You notice it most if you bend over, such as to tie a bootlace.

If you pick up and throw a couple of snowballs, whilst you are doing it
you are fine but as soon as you stop it feels like you have just run up
several flights of stairs and have to catch your breath.

You need to walk slowly.

In surveys, 69% of workers at the observatories have experienced
Acute Altitude Sickness (AAS) at one point or the other. They have
emergency oxygen available and blood O2 level monitors.
I checked my blood O2 and pulse and it was good. Your blood
thickens and you have to be careful.

It's amazing construction workers could ever build the scopes. It's
also more challenging to think clearly at that altitude so workers work
in teams and plan ahead at sea level.

A worker there provided us with an account of a colleague who had
experienced a psychotic episode and unfortunately had to stop working
there.

From an amateur observing point of view the 9200' altitude was a good
compromise. You are above the clouds but there is still sufficient air
to breath without difficulty for most people. Freezer suits take care
of the temperatures that hovered just above or below zero Celsius.

The whole island has a street lighting ordinance that would be the envy of the
amateur astronomy world. The street lights are all dim, fully cut-off and
just at a single narrow wavelength. There is no large
illuminated signage or billboards.

Even at the house we rented at 1000' the skies were fantastic.

The population density is low.

We measured 22.18 SQM at the 9200' observing point.

Since vast areas of the island are covered in dark, rough lava flow,
it acts as the ultimate flocking material.

At the end of the day, you are in the middle of the Pacific at one of the
highest, most remote observing locations on Earth, surrounded by
an ocean that keeps temperatures stable and the seeing superb.

You can see both Polaris and Crux at the same time.

Where else can you go from Hawaiian beauties walking along the beach
to one of the best observing spots on the Earth via tarmac road in less
than an hour? :lol:

Basically observing nirvana. :thumbsup:

I will post some more photos in a different thread later.

[multiweb]

:eyepop: Looks and sounds magic!

[Nikolas]

We visited the big island in 94 but could not drive up because they wont allow hire cars up that high you wont be insured if you wreck it on that road. The big Island is my favourite place in the whole world. We were driving home from the Volcanos national park to Kona, it was 11pm when we noticed a bright Violet glow coming from the pacific in the northWest. A few hours later we were woken by sirens warning of an incoming tsunami from an earthquake off Japan but the tsunami never eventuated. Years later I found out that violet glow was Earthquake lights. We are one of a few people to have witnessed this event.