Ben Berkey

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse

whawkins — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:35:55 +0000

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse whawkins Tue, 03/12/2024 - 11:35

Author:

whawkins

Mar 12, 2024

Helicopter flying in batteries and solar panels to MLSO located at 11,200 feet on Mauna Loa. The observatory domes are visible at left.

On April 8, 2024, the day of the total solar eclipse, HAO observers Ben Berkey (site manager) and Lisa Perez-Gonzalez flew by helicopter (the road is still closed due to the volcanic eruption of 2022) to the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) located at 11,200 feet on the north face of Mauna Loa to observe the Sun’s corona using the MLSO coronagraphs. During an eclipse the moon blocks out the bright disk of the Sun making the faint pearly corona visible. Coronagraphs are instruments that create ‘artificial’ eclipse images, using a disk inside the telescope to block the bright disk of the Sun. Unfortunately, clouds prevented observations on April 8, but Ben and Lisa were able to return on April 9 to capture beautiful observations of the corona with both coronagraphs.

The Corona on April 9, 2024

An image of the corona from the MLSO K-Coronagraph (K-Cor) in ‘white light’, similar to what is visible with the naked eye.

The MLSO UCoMP coronagraph image of the iron emission line of Fe XIII at a wavelength of 1074.7 nm. This emission line captures plasma with temperatures of ~1.6 million degrees. That is hot enough to strip 12 of the electrons from these iron atoms.

About 4 hours of coronal observations were acquired on April 9 with K-Cor and UCoMP. There are different types of data products available online from UCoMP and from K-Cor.

The Solar Cycle

Royal Observatory of Belgium

The April 8, 2024 eclipse occurred very close to solar maximum activity, when the corona tends to be at its brightest. This plot above shows the ’11-year sunspot cycle’. The Sun goes through peaks and lulls in solar activity that last ~11 years. The plot shows the rise and fall in the number of sunspots. Sunspots are regions of very strong magnetic field. Solar activity, such as flares and explosive events known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), derive their energy from the Sun’s magnetic field. Solar activity rises, on average, with the number of sunspots.

Don Kolinski

The April 8, 2024 eclipse showed a beautiful ‘solar maximum’ corona, with bright structures all around the Sun. Cool, dense structures known as prominences were also visible during the eclipse. This is a photo of the April 8th eclipse by HAO’s Don Kolinski. The reddish-colored structures seen around the corona are prominences. These are often seen erupting as part of a CME. The best chance to see a prominence during an eclipse is at solar maximum.

By contrast, the solar corona during solar minimum activity looks very different, as shown in this image, taken by the MLSO K-Cor instrument in 2019 when sunspots were near zero. There are very few bright prominences present at solar minimum.

Scientists are using the April 2024 observations of the corona from MLSO, eclipse experiments, and other ground- and space-based data to study the coronal magnetic field and plasma conditions during solar maximum.

For information on the MLSO observing plan and other eclipse-day experiments and modeling efforts please see the WHPI 2024 eclipse campaign.

International UCoMP Users Workshop

whawkins — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 19:23:33 +0000

International UCoMP Users Workshop whawkins Thu, 09/07/2023 - 13:23

Author:

whawkins

Sep 7, 2023

Steve displaying slides at UCoMP users workshop.

HAO director Holly Gilbert comments: "There was great energy around the UCoMP Users Workshop last week, with many visitors coming from around the world to participate. Thanks to those who made it a success, including many early career folks!"

The first-ever UCoMP Data User’s Workshop was held the week of August 29 and was a great success. The purpose was to introduce UCoMP to the community and to organize working groups to collaborate on UCoMP first results to be published in a topical issue of Solar Physics. The workshop combined tutorial-type presentations from the UCoMP team, discussions between the UCoMP team and users, user presentations, and hands-on activities for attendees. There were 41 attendees: 23 in-person and 18 remote. Recordings of the presentations can be found on the UCoMP Youtube channel.

Hawaii's Mauna Loa Erupts after 38 years; Mauna Loa Solar Observatory temporarily closed

whawkins — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 17:55:11 +0000

Hawaii's Mauna Loa Erupts after 38 years; Mauna Loa Solar Observatory temporarily closed whawkins Tue, 11/29/2022 - 10:55

Author:

whawkins

Nov 29, 2022

After 38 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa erupted on Sunday 27 November 2022 at 11:30 PM local time. The eruption quickly filled the summit caldera forcing lava to spill and flow outward in an east and west direction. While the exact timing was a surprise, the eruption was anticipated due to recently felt earthquakes. Lava flows east of the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) have destroyed parts of the access road to the observatory and knocked out all power to the site. MLSO is not near any lava flows and not in any immediate danger.

Captured 28 November at 6:00 AM local time from Mauna Kea looking south toward Mauna Loa showing lava spilling from the summit at ~13,500ft and flowing downward to about 12,000 ft.

Over the first few hours the eruption seemed to go through the following noted phases:

11:30 pm–2:00 am, filling the summit caldera.
2:00–4:00 am, spilling some lava toward the island's west side ~12,000 ft. above South Kona/Captain Cook bay.
4:00–8:00 am, lava flowing toward Hilo but remaining above ~12,000 ft.
8:00 am, a pausing/reduction of flow.

Captured 28 November at 9:00 AM a couple of thousand feet higher on Mauna Kea showing the eruption is slowing. At that time we no longer see any incandescence in the flow, but gas clouds outlining the flows are visible toward the left side of the image. The Mauna Loa observatory, including MLSO, is highlighted in the green circle toward the right side of the mountain. Not visible in this picture, is the MLSO access road and power lines that lead from the green circle to the left side of the picture to a point a little below where the foreground cloud intersects the side of the frame.

On the evening of 29 November Ben Berkey noticed the power at the observatory had switched to the battery backup system known as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) indicating a power outage at the site. UPS provides power to the observatory for multiple hours but cannot sustain power for longer. Hawaii Electric confirmed that the lava flows had knocked out power to the Mauna Loa site as well as to other users. The significant lava flow has damaged or destroyed power lines as well as parts of the Mauna Loa access road. Prior to losing power, the MLSO sky web cam and the NOAA web cam were recording images from the site. The lava has continued flowing downward to an altitude of about 7,500 ft. The MLSO site is not in any immediate danger but has no power and no road access. Repairs to the road and power lines cannot begin until the lava flows have stopped. We anticipate MLSO to be closed for at least several weeks.

The MLSO sky web cam, left, on 28 November at 10:24 Hawaii time (20:24 UT) showing clouds with some red smoky haze due to the eruption. 28 November at 08:25 AM Hawaii time, right, from the NOAA north cam located at the MLSO building and looking toward Mauna Kea showing the reddish smoky clouds to the southeast where the lava flows are more active. The Mauna Loa summit is located behind where the web cam is pointing. Due to the current power outage these webcams are no longer operating.

Unfortunately, eruptions in Hawaii can continue for weeks to months with periodic renewed activity and lava flows can be dynamic and unpredictable. Meanwhile, we are thankful that our staff, NOAA staff, and all other Mauna Loa personnel and local residents are safe.
We will continue to post updates on the situation on our MLSO home page.

Captured 29 November at 06:36 AM Hawaiian time, lava continues to flow down the mountain. These flows crossed the Mauna Loa access road destroying those sections and the power lines that run parallel to the road. The green circle in the image indicates the approximate location of MLSO.

Captured from Mauna Kea showing lava flows and annotated with path of Mauna Loa access road (yellow) to MLSO (red circle) and site of Hi-Seas Mars Habitat (green circle).

National Public Radio highlights Mauna Loa eruption.

Outreach and Observing at Mauna Loa in Hawaii

kolinski — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:18:52 +0000

Outreach and Observing at Mauna Loa in Hawaii kolinski Fri, 12/17/2021 - 09:18

Author:

kolinski

Dec 17, 2021

The domes of Mauna Loa Solar Observatory under rare cloudy skies (photo by Michael Thompson, NCAR Deputy Director, Mesa Lab, Boulder, CO).

Educational outreach is an important and rewarding part of an observer’s job at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) site located on the flanks of Mauna Loa Mountain at an elevation of 3440 meters in the U.S. state of Hawai’i. MLSO is operated by the High Altitude Observatory (HAO), a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is located in Boulder, Colorado.

Allen Stueben, (center), giving tour to14 high school students from Namiki High school in Japan.

The MLSO staff gives tours to mountain visitors a couple times a month. These groups of visitors range from colleges in the solar to atmospheric sciences, members of the public and school groups. This year's highlights included 14 high school students from Namiki High school in Japan, HAO/NCAR directors, and a tour of about 30 people from the International Astronomy Teaching Summit conference that happened in Hilo this past summer.

MLSO staff also participate in various community outreach events organized by the local astronomy community. These events typically attract a few hundred visitors and give MLSO a chance to share recent activity at the observatory as well as explain solar phenomena. During the 2018 Astroday West Hawaii event, MLSO made the front page of the local paper with the display featured in the linked article and depicted in the photograph "Lisa Waters" below. (http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2017/11/06/hawaii-news/astro-day-lifts-off/). This years Astroday focused on magnetic fields and effects on the sun (right up our alley). One of our hands on activities had kids try to find magnets hidden behind sun-spots with little compasses.

Ben Berkey (bearded, lower right) giving tour to 30 people from the International Astronomy Teaching Summit conference.

HAO employs two full-time observers (Ben Berkey and Allen Steuben), one 3/4 time (Lisa Waters), and one casual observer (Greg Rose) on the mountain. Working at high altitude is challenging and the road to the summit, called Mauna Loa Scenic Drive or Mauna Loa Observatory Road, is a roughly paved and narrow 17-mile drive that climbs at an average 4.98% grade. For most, the drive is a once in a life time trip, but for our intrepid MLSO team it is a weekly commute.

As Ben Berkey likes to say "the days are long but far between." He describes a day that begins at sea level (Hilo on the east coast) and well before sunrise. Then, in a race against time, he travels upward along a treacherous road gaining thousands of meters in elevation. With luck, over an hour into the drive, he will emerge above cloud level into a clear sky; the world begins to brighten. At this point it is still a half an hour of travel and additional thousands of meters to gain while winding through a stark landscape of barren mounds of a'a or lava. Upon arriving at the observatory "temple", devoted to the study and tracking of the sun, it is a sudden flurry of activity to begin the day's tasks. Sleeping computers must be awakened and inspected to ensure their readiness for the work to come. In preparation, the great record-keeping tome must be opened to a fresh blank page. Next, ascending the telescope steps to inspect and clean the instrument, and finally the sun has emerged from the mountain and the great dome doors can be opened; let there be light! With great effort and much precision push and pull of the instruments, the tracking of the sun's progress begins. Now it's time to watch and wait. Clouds and moisture can be an issue and then the dome has to be closed and the daily observation mission aborted. If this were to happen there is always plenty more to do...caring for instrumentation is one of many top priorities, –lubricating moving parts, changing codes, and doing general building maintenance is required too.

Lisa Waters demonstrating magnetic fields and effects on the sun at the local astronomy community event, Astroday in West Hawaii.

All these daily labors of love are done by this sparse crew and they work mostly alone. They welcome the rare occasions when visitors arrive for educational tours and they have the opportunity to share the facility, equipment, and the solar science. On some occasions, when big equipment and/or heavy parts must be managed, then contractors are hired (MLSO installed a new dome in January 2016). As day light fades, the instrumentation is parked and the great doors, if still open, are now closed for the night. Ben returns to the sea by the same lonely road, saluting the sun as it falls below the horizon. It requires a unique and dedicated individual to handle the unusual working conditions at MLSO, an individual that can tolerate the extreme quite of this solitary and remote area, and a person that can accept the constantly changing and extreme weather conditions of a ruggedly high-altitude office location, but our team, the unsung heroes of Mauna Loa, seem to thrive.

Facts and figures:
3.5 hours driving, 10 hours on site.
Ben Berkey (Hilo, HI) and Allen Stueben (Kona, HI) are full time. Lisa Waters is 3/4 time. Greg is a casual.
Work schedule:
Ben works Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Allen works Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Lisa works as a floater, nominally every other Sunday with 3 other days of overlap with either Allen or Ben during a 2 week period.
Greg works ever other Sunday.

The road to Mauna Loa Observatory.

A note from Ben: The altitude tends to make things take a little longer than normal. People think slower and physical exertion is harder. We have a ~500 foot walk up the hill (~30 foot elevation gain) from the parking lot which often makes me feel a bit out of shape especially if I am jogging. Jogging might be required if some clouds roll in while I am at the restroom down by the parking lot and I need to hustle up to the observatory to close the dome or otherwise react.

Written by Ben Berkey and Wendy Hawkins.

MLSO Honors the Sun at AstroDay West

kolinski — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:00:47 +0000

MLSO Honors the Sun at AstroDay West kolinski Fri, 12/17/2021 - 09:00

Author:

kolinski

Dec 17, 2021

On October 6th, the MLSO staff participated in AstroDay 2018, an educational outreach event coordinated by the Mauna Kea Observatories. 3,000 people attended. This was the second occurrence of this event, located in Kailua-Kona, on the west side of Hawaii Island. It featured booths and science displays from various local observatories, robotics clubs from numerous schools, and other tech-savvy groups.

Child safely viewing the sun through optical telescope.

Last year, MLSO had a booth featuring magnets, to demonstrate how magnetic fields dominate physical processes on the Sun, and explaining the observing instruments used to detect these solar magnetic fields. Our experience in 2017 was very positive, and our observer, Lisa Waters, was featured in the local paper.

So it was with excitement and anticipation that we approached this second event, AstroDay 2018. We settled on a theme of “the sun in many wavelengths.” We showed how direct observations of the Sun using solar telescopes compares with other types of observations, including polarized images, and ultraviolet images and movies made using instruments on orbiting satellites.

University student explaining the radio telescope experiment.

This year we teamed with college students from the University of Hawaii Astrophysics club. MLSO staff handled the movies and ultraviolet images, while the university students assisted the public with the use of the telescopes and explained what they were viewing. With the students, we built a radio telescope based on the “itty bitty radio telescope” project. The concept was to use a common device that is widely known to be associated with satellites and communication (a radio telescope) and show how the Sun also emits waves at radio wavelengths. A simple sensor produced an audio tone of different frequencies when a signal was detected. Children moved the dish back and forth until they could find the sun. For the more ambitious kids, we also had them try to find Jupiter, which was much harder during the daytime. Unfortunately, we had absolutely zero sunspots on AstroDay 2018 and only a few small prominences, but the university students helped everyone interested in seeing other solar phenomena.

Lisa Waters demonstrating UV beads.

In the MLSO booth, we tried to reinforce what people saw in the telescopes with a photosphere intensity demonstration and H-alpha movies. We demonstrated that even though the visible disk of the sun appears uneventful when viewing, the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite and movies from the MLSO coronagraph capture some interesting processes in the solar corona. This lead to further discussion of how these processes lead to changes in the solar wind and geomagnetic storms on earth. For the younger booth visitors, we helped them make bracelets out of UV sensitive beads that changed color in the sunlight to explain how there is some light from the sun that we can’t see with our eyes, but still affect things here on earth.

Overall it was a fun and successful day of public outreach for MLSO. It was wonderful collaborating with the university students at building a solar/radio wavelength exhibit that was a useful and engaging learning tool for the public. MLSO looks forward to more Astroday events and other public outreach opportunities and collaborations in the near future.

Ben Berkey and MLSO coronagraph images.

Ben Berkey

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse

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