----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Observer's Log ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tue Oct 13 16:36:42 GMT 2026 Year:26 Doy:286 Observer: mcotter Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 16:44:34 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-10-13 16:32:00 Temperature : 39.94 deg F Dew Point : 34.49 deg F Pressure : 679.42 mbar Wind Speed : 9.17 mph Wind Direction : 167.3 deg Skies: The sky is clear above the 11,000' elevation, but there are clouds in every direction just below 11,000'. Very wet conditions in the Saddle Valley with fog, rain and drizzle up to 10, 000' elevation. It must have rained very hard at the observatory last night because the area surrounding the observatory is very wet. Moderate wind from the southwest. No discernible inversion layer is visible, just clouds in all directions. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 16:53:16 GMT 2026 Opened windows upstairs ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 16:53:23 GMT 2026 Dome open ___end___ ** UCOMP PM mcotter ** : Tue Oct 13 16:53:28 GMT 2026 Blew off UCoMP O1 ___end___ ** KCOR PM mcotter ** : Tue Oct 13 16:53:36 GMT 2026 Blew off Kcor O1 ___end___ Tue Oct 13 17:17:26 GMT 2026 Kcor Focus/alignment program exited KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 17:22:07 GMT 2026 Kcor: Kcor on sky and observing. Initial synoptic images look very good. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 18:35:07 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-10-13 18:29:00 Temperature : 48.31 deg F Dew Point : 41.28 deg F Pressure : 680.27 mbar Wind Speed : 5.59 mph Wind Direction : 278.6 deg Skies: The sky remains clear overhead, but Orographic clouds are beginning to come up of the slopes of Maunaloa from the west and south. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 19:15:05 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-10-13 19:11:00 Temperature : 49.68 deg F Dew Point : 44.02 deg F Pressure : 680.55 mbar Wind Speed : 4.47 mph Wind Direction : 33.8 deg Skies: Orographic clouds have moved up the slopes of Maunaloa from the east, south and west and are now obstructing the observing viewing area. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 19:17:16 GMT 2026 Kcor: Kcor observations have been paused due to poor sky conditions. The dome remains open for now and the spar continues to track in the event that the clouds dissipate and observations may resume. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 20:02:31 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-10-13 19:59:00 Temperature : 49.17 deg F Dew Point : 45.65 deg F Pressure : 680.61 mbar Wind Speed : 9.4 mph Wind Direction : 352.3 deg Skies: Sky conditions have degraded quickly and the sky is now totally overcast. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 20:33:45 GMT 2026 Due to very poor sky conditions the dome and dome area windows have been closed at this time. ___end___ KCOR COMMENT BY KCOR: Tue Oct 13 20:42:54 GMT 2026 KCOR file transfer report KCor created 389 .bin files 389 .fts files Remote site is complete ? no rsync required. ___end___ Weather COMMENT BY mcotter: Tue Oct 13 21:05:49 GMT 2026 MLSO Current Weather Timestamp (UTC): 2026-10-13 21:02:00 Temperature : 48.67 deg F Dew Point : 42.9 deg F Pressure : 680.55 mbar Wind Speed : 5.37 mph Wind Direction : 358.4 deg Skies: The sky continues to be heavily overcast with wisps of fog blowing through the area of the observatory. ___end___ GENERAL COMMENT BY mcotter: Wed Oct 14 02:24:04 GMT 2026 Comment: I started cleaning the Kcor #4-O1 Lens, but a small particle of a foreign substance is on the lens that I was not able to get off. I rinsed and washed the lens multiple times and also tried using alcohol to remove the particle but it would not move. It may be necessary to use First Contact on the lens to remove the particle. Overall the lens looks very clean but for the particle. I have left the lens in the cleaning fixture for now; I did not want to return it to it's cradle as there may still be water contained in the voids of the lens frame. ___end___ Logger COMMENT BY mcotter: Wed Oct 14 02:36:42 GMT 2026 Log closed ONSITE STAFF: ___end___ BY mcotter: Wed Oct 14 02:36:47 GMT 2026 End Of Day: The morning sky was very clear for some observations, but unfortunately Orographic clouds moved into the area of the observatory by mid morning and the sky quickly became overcast. NOTE: Andrew said he would like us to note the focus setting after we do the Auto-focus procedure. NOTE: When the Kcor #4-O1 Lens is clean Joan would like us to run a test for her using the #3 Lens and the #4 Lens when the sky appears that it will stay clear for approximately 3 hours. Hold off doing the test if a CME is in progress. 1 )Observe with the #3 Lens for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 2) Run a calibration using the #3 Lens. 3) Swap out the #3 Lens for the #4 Lens. 4) Run a calibration immediately. 5) Observe with the #4 Lens for a minimum of 45 minutes to 1 hour. If the data looks good with #4 Lens leave the lens in the instrument and continue to observe. If the data does not look good swap out #4 Lens for #3 Lens and clean the #4 Lens again. After the cleaning is complete repeat the test when conditions are good. ___end___