----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Observer's Log ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fri May 28 16:52:54 GMT 2021 Year: 21 Doy: 148 Observer: mlso WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Fri May 28 16:54:51 GMT 2021 Temp: 42.2f, Humidity: 40%, Pressure: 28.777in, Wind: 7mph from 98degs, Skies: Clear but hazy skies. High altitude Cirrus in patches across sky. Inversion layer visible on the horizon at or above Maunakea. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 16:54:57 GMT 2021 Opened windows upstairs ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 16:55:04 GMT 2021 PM Blew off Kcor O1 ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 16:58:42 GMT 2021 Kcor now running. Sky is a bit bright but I was able to run the focus routine and get a decent parabola. Checked Polarization: Mid, Bright, Dark, Mid. SGS offsets: X(RA): -130, Y(Dec): 90. ___end___ UCoMP COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 18:51:36 GMT 2021 Ucomp started running at approximately 07:30 HST. I started running Ucomp at approximately 07:15 HST but the Ucomp-controller program would not respond. It should be noted that the program was already in the "Run" mode when I came in this morning. I tried stopping and then re-starting the program twice but I still could not get it to run. I called Ben and he took control of the screen from home and shut down the program completely and then restarted it, at which point it began to respond. Following Ben's written, and with verbal instruction, together we were able to get the Ucomp instrument running on sky, taking data with Cookbook #1 "all_coronal_7.ckb" . ___end___ UCoMP COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 19:03:07 GMT 2021 Ucomp is running and the images are now beginning to come into view on the Ucomp-controller screen. The image from the camera that appears on the right has an artifact that is quite discernible and is located at approximately the 7:00 o'clock position of the image. ___end___ WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Fri May 28 21:00:41 GMT 2021 Temp: 50.1f, Humidity: 59%, Pressure: 28.779in, Wind: 10mph from 37degs, Skies: A few Orthographic clouds are just beginning to come over the southern and south-eastern summit of Maunaloa. In the distance to the west there are some Orthographic clouds visible at lower elevations, but so far they are staying put and not encroaching on the viewing area. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 21:09:07 GMT 2021 It is worth noting that when viewing the NRGF Kcor image there is a very large bright prominence extending from the Sun at approximately 295 deg. The prominence has been visible since I began observing this morning and has been relatively stable, but it's size and intensity are somewhat unusual. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 21:51:27 GMT 2021 Orthographic clouds are beginning to form over the observatory and very near the viewing area. More clouds are forming just to the north and northwest. So far the morning has been beautiful but unfortunately conditions are degrading. ___end___ WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Fri May 28 23:31:14 GMT 2021 Temp: 48.9f, Humidity: 83%, Pressure: 28.726in, Wind: 5mph from 355degs, Skies: Orthographic clouds have rolled in from the north, west and south. Clouds began forming over the observatory and the sky became so overcast that I had to halt both Kcor and Ucomp. ___end___ WEATHER COMMENT: mcotter: Fri May 28 23:36:12 GMT 2021 The sky was becoming overcast but I held off closing the dome and just paused the instrument in the event that the clouds receded and I could quickly get the instruments on sky again. Unfortunately the sky has gotten even more overcast and has turned dark with wisps of fog and mist blowing through the research site. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Fri May 28 23:36:42 GMT 2021 The dome shutter doors and windows are now closed. ___end___ Sat May 29 02:31:21 GMT 2021 Kcor Focus/alignment program exited GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 02:38:33 GMT 2021 The clouds have finally rescinded and the Sun is shining very brightly. Kcor now running. The sky is very bright so when I restarted Kcor I ran the focus routine just to establish where the SGS offsets should be. The sky is too bright to run an "Auto Focus" command, so I used the same focus setting I was using earlier and went straight to the Kcor Synoptic Acquisition Mode. The images look a little bright, but not too bad. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 02:44:32 GMT 2021 Kcor has been stopped and the dome shutter doors and windows are closed. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 02:47:41 GMT 2021 I was able to collect perhaps ten to fifteen minutes of additional data but clouds moved in, with wisps of fog, quite quickly. I was hoping to see what happened with the bright prominence that I had described earlier in the log. Such is life. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 02:51:49 GMT 2021 The morning was bright and clear. Data was taken with Kcor and Ucomp. Clouds came in to the area of the observatory late morning and the instrument were shut down shortly later because of overcast skies. Late in the afternoon there was a short gap in the cloud coverage and I was able to run Kcor for about fifteen minutes before the clouds and fog returned and I turned off the instrument and closed the dome. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 02:57:39 GMT 2021 I wiped down tables, keyboards and other surfaces. I cleaned and wiped down the sink and associated area. Additionally I vacuumed the control room floor and emptied the trash container. Also, retrieved the tools that the GONG engineers had borrowed earlier in the week and put them away. ___end___ UCoMP COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat May 29 03:07:11 GMT 2021 As mentioned earlier, I ran the Ucomp instrument as per Ben's instructions. Clouds came into the area while the instrument was running a recipe and I had to stop the instrument mid cycle. Initially I pressed the"CLOUDS" button on the GUI, but as the clouds increased in coverage I pressed the "Stop recipe early" button on the GUI. Further, I stopped the Ucomp-controller program and ensured the Diffuser, Cover and Shutter were all in the beam. The Occulter maintained its position in the beam, so I left it there not knowing if this was the proper state for the devise or not. ___end___ ONSITE STAFF: mcotter