On Top of the World - A Visit to Mauna Kea

Earlier this year I was one of 18 educators selected for 2023 to be in the NASA/SETI Institute Astronomy Activation Ambassadors program. It focuses on teaching hands-on methods for teaching about multi-wavelength and especially infrared astronomy. Along the way we've had lots of training which included an online course to complete, a bunch of Zoom meetings and lots of emails. All of this culminated in an intense week of curriculum training and a visit to the Mauna Kea Observatories, specifically to get a first-hand look at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). 

I'm not going to focus on the curriculum training here (that's for my students to experience), but instead on the visit to Mauna Kea Observatory. I've been to Mauna Kea before (and blogged about it here!), but it was many years ago and this visit offered so much more. I made this return trip with great reverence and a profound appreciation for what this special place means both to the Hawaiian people and the world of astronomy.  

That's me on Mauna Kea with the domes for the Subaru (left) and Keck Telescopes in the background.

After first spending time at the headquarters for the Gemini Observatory and the Institute for Astronomy in Hilo we prepared for our visits to the observatories by spending time at Hale Pohaku, the astronomers quarters, at the 9,300 foot level of Mauna Kea. This allowed us not only to acclimate to the elevation, but to take in its breathtaking night sky. 

The Milky Was so brilliant that you didn't need to be dark adapted at all to see it. Here's a photo of it that I captured with my iPhone:

The summer Milky Way as seen from Hale Pohaku, Mauna Kea

The Milky Way and its spectacular dust clouds were beautiful. It is a shame that because of light pollution most people in the world never get to see it (even fewer see it from such an amazing site as this one!). Of special interest to me are the two stars near the bottom of the image.  The one on the left is Alpha Centauri, the famous Sun-like star that's just 4.3 light years from Earth. To its lower right is Beta Centauri, also known as Hadar, a blue giant star located 90 times further away. Both of these bright stars are too far south to see from my home in Southern California, so catching them was a special treat.

The next day we made a daytime visit to the summit and got our first close look at NASA's IRTF. Fun Fact: the IRTF was built to help support NASA's Voyager missions and made its first infrared observations of Jupiter just before Voyager's first flyby.

Here's the dome of the IRTF:

Behind the IRTF is the Pacific Ocean and the island of Maui. Inside is a 3.0-meter reflecting telescope:

The view above looks up to the telescope's secondary mirror. Most infrared telescopes have an undersized secondary mirror to avoid reflecting any of the heat of the telescope itself to the science instruments. 

When the telescope points at the astronomical object being studied infrared light reflects off of its primary mirror, to the secondary mirror and then down to the Cassegrain focus underneath the main mirror where one of the science instruments collects the light.

Science instruments in the IRTF's Cassegrain focus.

After our daytime visit we returned to the IRTF that night to sit in on some observing. The targets: debris disks around young stars where planetary systems are forming, then studies of the atmospheres of Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. These were all studied using spectroscopy, which provides astronomers with a detailed look at the composition of objects.

We got to the telescope before sunset and what a sunset it was.

Mauna Kea sunset with the Keck telescopes.

Here's the open dome of the IRTF during the 'golden hour':

The view was spectacular looking across the mountain, away from the sunset:

From left to right that's the shadows of the IRTF, Keck I & II and the Subaru Telescope domes. Behind the shadows are the domes of the Canada France Hawai'i Telescope, Gemini North, the 2.2-meter University of Hawai'i telescope and the 3.8-meter United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Note: the UK no longer operates UKIRT. 

Nature put on its own show after sunset as the Moon, Mars (left of the Moon) and Venus (just above the dome) were out in the western sky:

After it got dark and the scientific observations were underway at the IRTF I captured its dome against the starry backdrop of the summer Milky Way:

Looking the other way, the Keck Observatory was making use of its adaptive optics laser guide star:

While we were there the observing program using the laser guide star at Keck was headed up by Andrea Ghez, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for her studies of the stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The observing here was a continuation of that research and we could see that the laser was indeed pointed toward the center of the Milky Way:

All-in-all it was an amazing night that culminated in our having some conversations with the astronomers who used IRTF. They needed to be focused on the work at hand while they were observing, so speaking with them afterwards was the way to go so as to not get in the way of their limited telescope time.

The next day we were given a daytime tour of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The Observatory is also on Facebook. Find it here.

The JCMT observes at wavelengths that are longer than infrared, but shorter than radio waves in the submillimeter part of the electromagnetic spectrum. As such, it looks a lot like a big radio dish antenna:

The JCMT is one of the telescopes that make up the Event Horizon Telescope that was used to produce the first image of a supermassive black hole (in the galaxy known as M87). It has also been used to detect phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, which *may* suggest the possibility of bacterial life in its atmosphere (at very best its presence is unexplained).

Daniel Chase, me, project P.I. Dana Backman, Mark Lenfestey, and Vikini Santhanakrishnan underneath the JCMT. Photo by Callie Matulonis.

A big thank you to Callie Matulonis for giving us such a great tour that served as a wonderful capstone to an amazing week of astronomy that has had a huge impact on me personally and will carry over into my teaching in many ways.

Meanwhile, in Hawai'i...

Check out this great time-lapse video of the observatories on Mauna Kea:

Telescope Tourist: Kitt Peak & Mont-Mégantic Observatories

Recently I had the chance to visit two observatories in the same week, the first was Kitt Peak National Observatory. As a native and current resident of Tucson, Arizona it's not unusual for me to have the opportunity to visit Kitt Peak. This time was a bit unusual though, as I was there to make an evening presentation on light pollution.

I really love the mosaic at the observatory's visitor center (For some detailed shots of it, have a look here). Nearby there's a second, much smaller mosaic on the building that's also pretty cool. It's located around the corner to the left and it looks like this:

This one depicts the dome of the 4-meter Mayall Telescope sitting on the mountain with a comet above. Speaking of the Mayall, it was a sunset visit to this telescope that made this trip so special.

Here's the view from out in front of the Mayall, looking back at the rest of the mountain. Kitt Peak has one of the largest telescope concentrations on Earth. That's the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at left and the Steward Observatory 90" (2.3 meter) Bok Telescope in the foreground at right.

Heading inside the dome, we arrived just in time to see the last orange rays of sunlight kissing the Mayall.

Soon it was dark enough for its astronomical research mission to begin. We snapped a few photos and were soon ushered out. Seeing big scopes (well these days, with BIG super telescopes just around the corner, 4 and 5 meter telescopes are called small) is always a treat and this was no exception.

The next morning I was off to Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada to attend the Third International Conference on Artificial Light at Night. The conference included a field trip to Observatoire Astronomique du Mont-Mégantic.

In 2008 the International Dark-Sky Association designated Mont-Mégantic as the world's first International Dark Sky Reserve. At the heart of the reserve is a research observatory and their visitor center, the ASTROLab.

The ASTROLab has a wonderful array of astronomical exhibits, a gift shop, a theater and more.

Uphill, and behind a gate from there is their is their 1.6 meter telescope, the largest research telescope in eastern North America. That's its dome above, illuminated by moonlight.

For the telescope geeks, here's the telescope's aluminizing chamber located on the ground floor. Periodically telescope's primary mirror needs a new reflective coating of aluminum, which means the mirror needs to be pulled from the telescope, washed and stripped of its old coating. Then the mirror is carefully lowered through a trap door and placed inside this chamber, where a new coating of aluminum is vacuum-deposited on the mirror.

Located in another dome nearby is their so called "Popular Observatory" (I suppose that means the 1.6 meter is unpopular). I didn't photograph it, but inside the dome of the Popular Observatory is a 0.61 meter (24-inch) telescope and nice theater-style seating, making this telescope perfect for public outreach programs. I guess that's what makes it so popular!

In spite of the total mechanical breakdown of the bus on our field trip (don't ask), it was a wonderful trip and I'm glad to have made the visit to Mont-Mégantic. I very much recommend the trip.

Encounters With Greatness

Another cast member of the original Star Trek series has passed into the great beyond. News of Leonard Nimoy's death hit me pretty hard, for someone that I didn't actually know. I'm sure I can't add much to the Internet's many tributes to the man who brought Spock to life, other than to say the obvious. Nimoy's portrayal of Mr. Spock has made, and continues to make, my life fuller. The misfit character who wasn't quite Vulcan nor Human taught us much about ourselves. Star Trek wouldn't have been Star Trek without his thoughtful performances.

I never had the chance to meet Mr. Nimoy, but I did have one close encounter with him. I was one of the guests present at the 2006 re-dedication of Griffith Observatory. I was there because I had given some help to their California Astronomy exhibit. Nimoy was there because he had given them piles of money. If you go, be sure to check out the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater. That's two shots I took of Nimoy (along with his wife) being interviewed the evening of the dedication.

Aside from Nimoy, I've only seen one other member of the original Star Trek cast in person. The other happened years earlier when I attended the amazing 1977 Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy World Exposition.

James Doohan, Trek's Mr. Scott, was one of the guests. That's a scan of the pic I took of him at the event. I don't remember much about his presentation other than he was very warm and entertaining.

By the way, the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy World Exposition was seriously awesome. In addition to Doohan, I saw Robert Heinlein, astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad and Carl Sagan. That was a pretty impressive line up for my then 14-year old self. Now that I think of it, that's an impressive and inspirational group of people to encounter at any age.

Of course, they're all gone now. The world was a better place for the real life explorations of Conrad and Sagan and for the fictional ones of Heinlein, Doohan and Nimoy too. They are all missed.

Telescope Tourist: Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos

Back in 2007 I had the opportunity to attend the Starlight Conference on the island of La Palma, a member of the Canary Islands. While I was there I gave a talk on Palomar Observatory and light pollution. 

That's me, at right.

I also had a chance to visit the summit of the mountain and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory.

The view from the summit, located 2426 meters above sea level, was one of the most spectacular places I've ever visited. The observatory is located a bit lower in elevation and contains an impressive array of world-class telescopes.

Here I am with the MAGIC Telescope.

Our first stop was the 17-meter MAGIC Telescope. It is an giant array of 270 mirrors that work together as one telescope mirror (effectively the world's largest) much like the VERITAS telescopes at Whipple Observatory.  The telescope isn't used to image astronomical objects in the conventional sense, rather it is used to detect the Cherenkov radiation light from particle showers that are produced as high energy gamma rays smack into our atmosphere. The data helps astronomers to study gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, black holes and other astronomical objects.

As you can see, MAGIC has no dome. It is out there in the elements, something that takes some getting used to.

During my visit, there was a smaller array next to MAGIC, I believe that it was built to test the concept and is now gone. A second, full-sized, MAGIC telescope was added to the site in 2010.

Our next stop was the 4.2-meter William Herschel Telescope.

Our guides put the telescope through the paces and even gave us a look at its primary mirror:

The telescope is used for studies conducted in visible and near-infrared light.

Looking up from the site of the William Herschel Telescope it was possible to see some other installations at the observatory.

On the left is the 1-meter Swedish Solar Telescope and on the right is the Dutch Open Telescope. Unfortunately, I didn't get a close look at either one.

Another telescope that I only saw from the outside was the 3.6 meter Telescopio Nazionale Galileo.

Thankfully, I did get a wonderfully close look at the 10.4 meter Gran Telescopio CANARIAS.

The silver dome of the GTC

 The GTC is a telescope with a segmented primary mirror, much like the Keck telescope in Hawai'i. I didn't have a wide enough lens to capture the whole thing in one shot. Above is the top of the telescope with the secondary mirror. Panning downward, I took this second photo:

Here you can see several of the thin primary mirror segments and the active optics actuators (white cylinders above the white boxes) that help to keep the segments all pointed and aligned correctly.

This is an even closer look from the side at the mirror segments (at top) and some of the actuators.

Here's the view looking up at the telescope's secondary mirror.

Looking down on the dome of the GTC, clouds and the Atlantic Ocean.

The GTC was still under construction during our visit. First light for the telescope took place later in 2007 (with only some of the mirror segments installed). Full operations began in 2009.

It is always nice to tour an astronomical observatory. The Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos is one of the world's most impressive collection of astronomical telescopes and I am very glad I had the chance to make the visit.

Telescope Tourist: Mauna Kea Observatory

It has been nearly ten years since I made my first visit to the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i. There is an amazing array of world-class telescopes on the site. At an elevation of 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) above sea level it is one of the world's best observing sites for astronomy.

That's me with (from left to right) the domes of the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, 8.1- meter Gemini North, and the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescopes. Back in 2004 I had a behind-the-scenes tour that gave me a close look at five of the telescopes on the mountaintop.

This is the dome of the Gemini North Telescope with the dome of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope behind it to the left. This is one of two twin telescopes, with the second being located in Chile. Together, the pair can observe virtually the entire celestial sphere. 

Here's the view from inside the dome. Like all of the big telescopes built since the 1990s it has an altitude-azimuth mount, giving it a very different look from equatorial mounted telescopes like Palomar's Hale Telescope or Mauna Kea's Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

There was some dome maintenance taking place during my visit. You can notice that it is partially open. Alas, my visit with Gemini was pretty short but it was a pleasure seeing one of the giant telescopes of the modern age, one of several such telescopes on Mauna Kea.

Subaru, Keck I and Keck II

From there I went on to visit the two telescopes of the W.M. Keck Observatory.

The photo above show the giant, segmented primary mirror of one of the two Keck Telescopes. The primary mirror is composed of 36 hexagonal segments, each 1.8 meters (6 feet) across. Together they work as one mirror 10 meters in diameter. The light reflects off of the primary mirror to a secondary mirror (at top) and then back down to a third mirror (black area near the center) and then off to one of the two white areas on either side at what is called the Nasmyth focus where it is recorded by one of the many scientific instruments.

Here's how the telescope looks standing straight up:

The mirrors are quite thin, just 7.5 cm thick. As the telescope is used for astronomy the position each of each of the mirror segments is monitored and adjusted in real time to ensure proper focus of the telescope. This is called active optics -- not to be confused with adaptive optics, which corrects distortions in light caused by the atmosphere. The Keck Telescopes make use of adaptive optics too (as does Gemini), but not by controlling the shape of the primary mirror. Those corrections happen in one of the Nasmyth instruments.

In the photo above you can see the thin primary mirror segments and the network of active optics controls underneath them.

Me, with Keck II. Maybe next time I'll smile.

Standing in the presence of the Keck telescopes, I was struck by how little they had in common with the elder, formerly world's largest telescope at Palomar. The Kecks each individually are twice as large (with four times the light gathering power of the Hale), yet weigh far less. Their mirrors are faster (more steeply curved) so as to bring light to focus in a shorter distance, meaning the telescopes don't have to be as long and the domes can be smaller. This design keeps costs down, maximizing scientific the return on the dollar. Because of the telescope's framework design and the domes being as small as they can be, there isn't the same sense of space and grandeur that you feel in the presence of a telescope like the Hale. Yet they are still very impressive in their own right. The Keck telescopes have done much to probe the vastness of the universe.

After visiting Keck, I had the chance to see the National Optical Observatory of Japan's 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope. Here I am with the Subaru Telescope:

Standing under the Subaru

It is a versatile telescope that can bring light to focus in one of three different places: Nasmyth, Cassegrain (bottom) or prime (top). Here's a better shot of the telescope:

Notice that there is an instrument package hanging underneath the telescope at the Cassegrain focus and the bright secondary mirror at top (in the center of the blue ring). In this configuration light reflects off of the primary mirror, back up to the secondary mirror and through a hole in the primary mirror down to the instrument package.

Subaru's Faint Object Camera And Spectrograph

While I was at Subaru I had the opportunity to visit the room where the telescope is controlled. Typically, I don't post photos of such places as they tend to look like boring rooms filled with computers. But Subaru's control room had something I had never seen before.

Take a look at what is hanging from the ceiling:

Those are called teru teru bozu dolls. They are handmade dolls that in the Japanese culture reportedly have the power to bring good weather. Yes, even on Mauna Kea there can be bad weather. I don't know much about the Japanese culture but it was fascinating to see these hanging in this high-tech environment.

Gemini, 2.2-meter University of Hawaii Telescope, and the United Kingdom Ifrared Telescope (UKIRT)

My last stop brought me to one of the older and smaller telescopes on the site, the 2.2-meter (88 inch) Telescope. This telescope was established in 1970 and helped to pave the way for the larger instruments that since joined it on the mountain.

Before I left the mountaintop I also had a distant view of the Submillimeter Array:

Finally, while I was in Hawai'i I also had the opportunity to present at AstroDay in Hilo, a major astronomy public outreach event.

I surprised more than a few people there by representing an observatory from the mainland. Curiously, I was set up right next to a booth for the International Dark-Sky Association where I now work.

This year's AstroDay will be held on May 3rd. Here's a Facebook page that describes this year's event. If you are going to be on the Big Island that day, you should make plans to attend.

If you can't make the visit to Mauna Kea, I encourage you to explore the links I placed in this post. You might also be interested in seeing some of the many webcams that are on the mountain. When the daytime weather is nice there are great views of the various domes. At night there can also be some great views of the night sky from the CFHT Cloudcam. 

I hope you've enjoyed this quick look at some of the best astronomical telescopes in the world. I still have a few more observatories to share as a part of my Telescope Tourist posts. Hopefully, I'll have the time to post more of them soon.