Trips about Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Being an astronomer is a lot of fun - especially when we get to do observations. I finally got to do my first observing run at Palomar last night (although I was just helping out - just a bit). For those who don't know what it's like, essentially you spend the night finding targets using a guide camera, and then taking exposures that will theoretically tell you something. We were able to observe from about 8:30 PM till about 5:30 AM, which meant I got to see sunset and sunrise from the top of the mountain.
When not observing, observers stay at the "Monastery" - the lodge for visiting observers. It was a lot of fun, and I'm hoping to get observation time again next semester, so this should hopefully be a semi-regular sort of thing for me.
I took some time to take plenty of photographs. To explain the P16/48/200 references, they refer to the diameter of the mirror in the telescope (in inches). The P48 is a wide-field telescope, the P60 (which I don't think I have any photos of) is primarily used to measure how much light (photometric), and the P200 (the one I was observing on) which is primarily used for spectra. The P200 (also called the Hale telescope) is the 19th largest currently constructed telescope in the world.
Kitt Peak and the University of Arizona
I was invited to join an observing run at the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak, and so got to spend a week in Arizona (1 night in Tucson, 4 nights at MDM, and then another 2 nights in Tucson). The first day I got the opportunity to look around the Steward Mirror Lab and see the mirrors currently being worked on for LSST and GMT. Then, we headed up to Kitt Peak, where we got to experience a fun storm the first night (including losing power) and eventually got to observe two out of our four nights. When not observing, the Kitt Peak National Observatory was a cool place to explore, and the views and sunsets from the top of the mountain were amazing.
Palomar Observatory
I ended up observing at Palomar twice at the beginning of April, and, for the first night, the weather was not quite good enough to observe. But, being fogged in and rained on does mean that we got a chance to go explore the telescope, which was definitely a cool opportunity. From getting to ride up to prime focus (all the way near the top of the dome) to climbing inside one of the arms to seeing the electronics (and, most importantly, the billiard room where many great astronomers spent such cloudy nights), it made for a fun night and some cool photos.
Big Island of Hawai'i
One of the premier astronomical observing site in the world is on Mauna Kea, HI. And thus, some of the biggest telescopes in the world, including the twin Keck telescopes, are found there. Caltech has a sizable fraction of both Keck telescopes, and I volunteered to observe three nights (with a few free days in between). Typically we observe single nights remotely from Pasadena, but it's a lot better to be in Hawai'i. We actually never observe from the summit itself. Instead, it's done remote from the northern part of the island in Waimea.
Although a good portion of my trip was observing, I did have some time to look around, both on land and in the ocean (there is amazing snorkeling there). And I drove up to the summit of Mauna Kea itself, which is just a surreal place. Almost like Mars, except with breathable (if thin) air and telescopes. The Keck telescopes themselves are amazing, with almost perfect 10-m diameter mirrors.
Air travel into/out of Hawai'i is also interesting. The airport at Honolulu is modern, but open air. The airport in Kona is somewhat antiquated, with no jetways, meaning Boeing 767's are boarded via stairs. I don't think I've seen that anywhere else.
Here's the main album, with links to the specific sub-albums: Kona and Waimea, Mauna Kea, snorkeling, travelling, and the Keck Observatory.
