----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Observer's Log ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sat May 15 16:31:41 GMT 2021 Year: 21 Doy: 135 Observer: mlso WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Sat May 15 16:34:28 GMT 2021 Temp: 38.2f, Humidity: 14%, Pressure: 28.757in, Wind: 4mph from 194degs, Skies: Clouds from Hilo up through the Saddle Valley to approximately 9,000'. Hazy skies with an inversion layer visible on the horizon at or above Maunakea. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 16:40:51 GMT 2021 Opened windows upstairs ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 16:40:57 GMT 2021 PM Blew off Kcor O1 ___end___ Sat May 15 16:53:14 GMT 2021 Kcor Focus/alignment program exited Sat May 15 17:23:06 GMT 2021 Kcor Focus/alignment program exited GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 17:27:10 GMT 2021 Kcor started. The sky is a bit bright but I was able to get a well shaped parabola and the Synoptic view looks good with a well defined corona around the occulter. SGS offsets: X(RA): -130, Y(Dec): 85. Checked Polarization: WRONG SEQUENCE; Bright, Mid, Mid, Dark. I stopped the Kcor program and quit socket cam then rechecked the polarization but it was still wrong. I restarted the computer and then reran the focus routine and restarted Kcor and the polarization sequence came out correct: Mid, Bright, Dark, Mid. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 17:43:34 GMT 2021 There appears to be an artifact present in the Kcor Coronograph image at approximately the 5:00 o'clock position. I have plown off the Kcor field lens to see if this removes the artifact. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 18:14:56 GMT 2021 Blowing off the Kcor field lens has removed the artifact. ___end___ ****Possible CME in Progress mcotter**** : Sat May 15 18:49:07 GMT 2021 Possible CME seen launching near PA: 310 deg at time 16:56 UT. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 23:33:16 GMT 2021 I left the dome rotation in "Auto" and watched to see if it would completely rotate when the Sun passed the zenith point of the sky. The dome appeared to not rotate properly when it got to this point so I manually rotated to dome so that it is open to the west and then again put the controls in "Auto". The dome rotation sky sensors may have been bumped and may need to be adjusted. ___end___ WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Sat May 15 23:47:34 GMT 2021 Orthographic clouds have formed on the western and northwestern slope of Maunaloa and are beginning to encroach on the observatory. Also, Altocumulus clouds are beginning to make there way over the summit of Maunaloa from the south, but so far are keeping their distance. The wind is light and blowing from the northwest so there is a likely chance that the Orthographic clouds will arrive soon. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 15 23:50:05 GMT 2021 The Kcor NRGF image is showing lots of aerosols in the image. So far the Kcor Synoptic images are still looking good, but the view from the Yawcam-Preview camera shows the sky is getting fairly bright. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sun May 16 03:03:57 GMT 2021 Beautiful day! The day was clear most of the day until early afternoon and then Orthographic clouds moved in from the northwest and for the rest of the day it was sunny but a lot of threads and wisps of Altocumulus clouds obscuring the viewing area. Vacuumed the observatory floor and window sills, emptied the trash and swept out the small dome entry vestibule. Changed the tact pad (we need to get more tact pads on order). Swept and straightened up the PSPT room. I found a puddle of oil in the PSPT room. Upon investigation it appears that it leaked from a vacuum pump compressor. I moved the vacuum pump compressor onto a piece of cardboard and cleaned the oil up off the floor. I swept and cleaned the observatory control room. I wiped down the sink area and all the table tops. I emptied the trash and gathered up some loose cardboard and boxes for disposal. BEWARE OF A VERY LARGE WOLF SPIDER THAT HAS TAKEN UP RESIDENCY UNDER THE CABINET THAT THE TOASTER OVEN AND MICROWAVE ARE ON. ___end___ ONSITE STAFF: mcotter