----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Observer's Log ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sat Jul 18 16:44:40 GMT 2026 Year:26 Doy:199 Observer: mcotter Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 16:46:56 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-18 16:41:00 Temperature : 47.26 deg F Dew Point : 21.22 deg F Pressure : 681.74 mbar Wind Speed : 7.16 mph Wind Direction : 200.1 deg Skies: There is Cirrus clouds scattered across much of the sky. The inversion layer is a dark blue color and is located just above Hualalai in the horizon. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 16:47:05 GMT 2026 Opened windows upstairs ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 16:47:12 GMT 2026 Dome open ___end___ ** KCOR PM mcotter ** : Sat Jul 18 16:47:21 GMT 2026 Blew off Kcor O1 ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 16:49:03 GMT 2026 Though the sky does appear to be bright and does have some Cirrus present I have opened the dome and aligned the instrument in the event there is some clear sky to observe through. ___end___ Sat Jul 18 17:00:26 GMT 2026 Kcor Focus/alignment program exited KCOR BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 17:05:15 GMT 2026 Kcor: Though the sky is a little bright the focus and synoptic images look good and the Kcor instrument in now observing. There still remains bands of Cirrus clouds in patches across the sky, but hopefully these clouds will burn off as the Sun rises. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 17:10:08 GMT 2026 The ILX was reading 32.5 when I came in this morning. It is now just getting above 34.0. ___end___ ** KCOR PM mcotter ** : Sat Jul 18 17:21:50 GMT 2026 Blew off Kcor O1: There is a Bullet hole present in the NRGF images at approximately PA 190 Deg.; so I blew off the O1 again to see if it would help. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 17:49:23 GMT 2026 The attempt to remove the foreign particle causing the bullet hole at approximately 190 Deg. PA did not work. The bullet hole is located on the furthermost fringe of the viewing area so it is not effecting the images. ___end___ ** KCOR PROBLEM REPORTED BY mcotter ** : Sat Jul 18 17:50:54 GMT 2026 Kcor circular acquisition error: The polarization is off. Restarting the observing program. ___end___ ** KCOR PROBLEM REPORTED BY mcotter ** : Sat Jul 18 17:55:08 GMT 2026 The polarization error occurred at approximately 17:40:43 UT and ended at 17:51:47 UT. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 17:58:55 GMT 2026 Kcor: Kcor is again observing with no problem. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 18:27:50 GMT 2026 Kcor: The synoptic images are beginning to get a little bright; we may be passing through a band of Cirrus. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 18:37:31 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-18 18:32:00 Temperature : 57.07 deg F Dew Point : 25.56 deg F Pressure : 682.51 mbar Wind Speed : 3.36 mph Wind Direction : 341.2 deg Skies: The images show the sky getting very bright, too bright to observe. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 18:43:57 GMT 2026 Kcor: The images are getting very bright at this time and it appears that the Suns location is entering a band of clouds, but when looking outside at the sky where the Sun is currently located nothing discernible can be seen. There must be a very thin layer of Cirrostratus clouds covering the sky where the Sun is now passing. I will continue to try and observe to see if this is a temporary situation, or if the sky has indeed developed a Cirrostratus cloud covering. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 18:47:13 GMT 2026 Kcor: Luckily the Sun has passed out of the band of clouds and is now in a clearer area of the sky. The synoptic images continue to be a little bright but certainly acceptable. ___end___ Sat Jul 18 19:45:05 GMT 2026 KCOR Start Calibration script: c:\kcor\mlso-calibration22deg-20171025.ini Sat Jul 18 19:59:58 GMT 2026 KCOR End Calibration Script Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 21:22:54 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-18 21:17:00 Temperature : 58.53 deg F Dew Point : 41.09 deg F Pressure : 682.65 mbar Wind Speed : 9.4 mph Wind Direction : 339.4 deg Skies: Orographic clouds are beginning to encroach into the viewing area at this time. ___end___ KCOR BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 21:25:28 GMT 2026 Kcor: Due to Orographic clouds moving up into the viewing area I momentarily paused observing until the clouds dissipated. Kcor is again observing, but I may need to pause again from time to time in order to dodge the clouds in the viewing area. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 21:27:31 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather: Aerosols have become heavy and are readily appearing in the different observing images. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 22:43:37 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-18 22:38:00 Temperature : 56.53 deg F Dew Point : 42.5 deg F Pressure : 682.45 mbar Wind Speed : 6.71 mph Wind Direction : 353.2 deg Skies: The sky has now become mostly overcast with Orographic clouds. ___end___ KCOR BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 22:49:49 GMT 2026 Kcor: I was able to observe in between clouds for about an hour, but now the sky has become mostly overcast with Orographic clouds. The Kcor instrument observing program has been stopped and I will close the dome in the event of rain. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 22:54:43 GMT 2026 Dome window have been closed. Dome now closed. The Kcor Observing code has been stopped (computer still on). The spar has been put into "Open Loop" at this time in the event that the clouds disperse and the sky becomes clear enough to observe. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sat Jul 18 23:28:42 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-18 23:23:00 Temperature : 54.88 deg F Dew Point : 48.65 deg F Pressure : 682.28 mbar Wind Speed : 14.99 mph Wind Direction : 2.8 deg Skies: The sky has become heavily overcast and there are wisps of fog blowing through the observatory area. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Sun Jul 19 00:41:30 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-07-19 00:35:00 Temperature : 52.99 deg F Dew Point : 49.57 deg F Pressure : 682.16 mbar Wind Speed : 8.28 mph Wind Direction : 0.3 deg Skies: The sky is heavily overcast with dense fog and light drizzle currently moving through the area of the observatory. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY KCOR: Sun Jul 19 00:48:43 GMT 2026 KCOR file transfer report KCor created 1361 .bin files 1359 .fts files NOTICE ? 2 .bin file(s) with no matching .fts: 20260718_175004_kcor.bin 20260718_224621_kcor.bin Remote site is complete ? no rsync required. ___end___ Guider/spar COMMENT BY mcotter: Sun Jul 19 00:55:19 GMT 2026 It is unlikely that the weather will clear so the SGS computer has been turned off and the spar parked. ___end___ KCOR BY mcotter: Sun Jul 19 00:57:03 GMT 2026 Kcor: The Kcor computer and the ILX have been turned off. ___end___ BY mcotter: Sun Jul 19 01:52:53 GMT 2026 End Of Day: The morning sky was clear for observations until late morning when some clouds began to appear in the observing area. I was able to continue observing by dodging clouds for a while, but eventually the sky became completely overcast. ___end___ Logger COMMENT BY mcotter: Sun Jul 19 01:52:56 GMT 2026 Log closed ONSITE STAFF: mcotter ___end___