Quake damages Telescopes of Hawaii

galactichalo · Oct 17, 2006

CFHT was wrecked, Keck II telescope was damaged .After the quake many bridges, roads, buildings, dams and other structures in Hawaii will need to be inspected. Subaru was hit hard.....no word on JCMT or Gemini Observatory. I hope this bad news doesn't hurt any of our space missions. The 6.7-magnitude quake hit 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua-Kona, a rural town on the west coast of the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Since then, there have been more than 40 aftershocks — one measured at 6.0.

CalliArcale · Oct 17, 2006

Oh no! I didn't even think about all of the astronomical facilities on the Big Island. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> That is very sad news. I realize it's more important to get the basics back up and going before getting scientific facilities going again, but it's still sad to hear about these fine instruments being damaged. By "wrecked", what do you mean? I sure hope it isn't beyond repair. I hope Keck II isn't too badly damaged. That thing hasn't even been up all that long. And how badly was Subaru hit? "Hard" doesn't sound very encouraging. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

rfoshaug · Oct 17, 2006

Oh no, this is very bad news! <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ----------------------------------My minds have many opinions </div>

bpcooper · Oct 17, 2006

The press release on Keck indicates almost no damage: http://www.keckobservatory.org/article.php?id=95 And from CFHT it says some damage but indicates they will be able to recover in time (assessment still underway): http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/ <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -Ben </div>

barrykirk · Oct 17, 2006

This is horrible.... I hadn't even connected that the quakes in hawaii would be connected to the scopes. What kind of earthquake building codes do they have out there. One would think that being on a volcanic island that there would be a significant earthquake resistance requirement.

MeteorWayne · Oct 17, 2006

Building codes are one thing. Sensitive astronomical instruments are quite another. Ever drop your telescope? Well that's a 1G force. So a major earthquake would be expected to cause some damage. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

bdewoody · Oct 17, 2006

I saw the other night that Chile is due for another big quake possibly centered near Santiago. I hope it won't adversely affect the big telescopes there. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Bob DeWoody </div>

MeteorWayne · Oct 17, 2006

I'm sure it would. That's life! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

witgenestone · Oct 17, 2006

What about placing them in Norway? <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

MeteorWayne · Oct 17, 2006

That means no observations during the summer at all, not too good <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Oct 17, 2006

What were your sources on this? Also, very disappointing that SDC has NOTHING on this. Foolish me, it's the first place I checked <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

witgenestone · Oct 17, 2006

Observations in the summer? What about vacation? <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />

MeteorWayne · Oct 18, 2006

Wayne Ponderously states: The sky takes no vacation! <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

Relax. I got this e-mail after I inquired. It is untrue that a telescope was destroyed on either Mauna Kea or Haleakala. Some telescopes suffered minor damage and all are undergoing very careful inspection by engineers before being returned to service. Some of the observatories have posted bulletins on their websites; you can find the urls on the following page: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/telescope_table.htm Sincerely Gareth Wynn-Williams -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Gareth Wynn-Williams Professor of Astronomy Institute for Astronomy Email: wynnwill@ifa.hawaii.edu University of Hawaii Office Phone: +1 808 956 8807 2680 Woodlawn Drive Office Fax: +1 808 956 9580 Honolulu Hawaii 968222 USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will reply with the topics for individual telescopes. However, CFHT is fine and not destroyed as previously reported. I found no press releases about the earthquake for the following scopes: *UH .6m -- Page URL listed was to wrong telescope (2.2m rather than .8) *UH 2.2m -- http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/88inch/ *Gemini South -- Page at http://www.gemini.edu/ lists only the status of Gemini North *CSO -- http://www.submm.caltech.edu/cso/ *SMA -- http://sma-www.harvard.edu/ *VLBA -- http://www.nrao.edu/vlba/htm <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

From the page at http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/. Many of you have expressed some concern regarding the status of the IRTF, and I am pleased to announce that we are fine. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the South Kohala Coast on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 7:07 AM. The IFA facilities in Hilo did not suffer any significant damage, although the Waimea facilities of Keck and CFHT did have extensive damage. There were no injuries at home or at the observatory reported by our staff our staff. A visual inspection of the IRTF has revealed no perceptible damage, although the earthquake had knocked over many small items. Quick action by George Koenig, Eric Tollestrup, Charles Lockhart, and Miranda Hawarden-Ogata on Sunday was crucial in minimizing problems with the facility and instruments. The air conditioning system and electronics were secured before the power was turned on. Electric power was restored at about 2:30PM on Sunday, and the instruments were nurtured back to health. NSFCAM2 has a large format array that had to be carefully watched to prevent large temperature excursions. We just opened up this morning (Oct. 17) for observations of Saturn and are operating normally. We may find additional problems later, and we appreciate your patience if it affects your observing. Here is a link to the USGS website with more information on this event./safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

I found this report. It is in blog format (most recent first). I have reversed that so you can read chronologically. Also, images were posted on the site. You need to go there to see those as outside images aren't supported here and I am not going to attempt to share all of those images. ---- October 15 - evening As you might know, Hawaii was hit by an important earthquake on Sunday, October 15. In fact three consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 6.6, 5.8 and 4.2, all centered on a few miles off the Kona coast, hit the Big Island and the other islands. The good news is that nobody in the CFHT staff and their families were injured. Damages to the headquarters in Waimea are somewhat limited: There are no structural problems and no issue with plumbing and electrical wiring, but for a few light fixtures here and there. Roof, windows and doors are OK. Many offices are a big mess, as many books are no longer on their shelves and many items on tables or desks are also now on the floor too, as are a few ceiling tiles, causing dirt from above the ceiling to cover the desks... The most badly hit rooms are the large conference room (with its ceiling in poor shape) and the library (with cabinets knocked down and ceiling in bad shape too), as you can see on the pictures below. A first assessment of the summit shows no apparent severe damage to the building and no obvious leak of any kind. The telescope clearly moved and bent some of the earthquake restrains, which played their role! The right ascension encoder looks smashed. The dome moved too, and it will have to be readjusted before moving again. ---- October 16 - mid-afternoon Looking at the headquarters, you would hardly believe that something happened. Thanks to the har <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

This is in blog format (most recent first). I have reversed the order to allow for Chronological reading. The data comes from http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/news/earthquake_oct06.html. -------------------------- UPDATE - 16-Oct-2006 HST Two significant earthquakes registering 6.6 and 5.8 struck the islands between 0700-0730hrs on Sunday 15 October. There were a number of aftershocks. The epicenter was a few miles off the west coast of the Big Island of Hawaii (west of Kailua-Kona for those with knowledge of the region). ---- *Hilo Office The Hilo office is functioning normally. It was inspected on Sunday and there is no apparent structural damage. ---- *UKIRT An observing run at UKIRT had ended an hour or so before the quake and the observers were back at Hale Pohaku. Due to having worked split night shifts, they were able to return to the telescope to conduct some initial visual inspections but there was no power at the summit between the time of the quake and about 1430hrs (some 7 hrs in total) so further inspections were not possible. Engineering inspections took place today and the mechanical systems have been tested with no apparent faults or damage. The computer systems are also up and running. Of the three instruments, one (CGS4) is working, the other two are cooling down steadily and UFTI should be available by second half of tonight. Provisionally, UKIRT is operational pending the results of on-sky pointing and other tests which will be done as soon as the weather permits. ---- *JCMT JCMT was being operated remo <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

Found this at http://www.keckobservatory.org/article.php?id=95. ---- Earthquake Update from W. M. Keck Observatory Kamuela (October 16th, 2006) The W. M. Keck Observatory is recovering from a 6.7-magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks that struck off the west coast of Hawaii Sunday morning at 7:07 a.m. HST. The earthquake was the largest to hit Hawaii in 20 years and caused power and communication failures across the state. There were no injuries at W. M. Keck Observatory and all personnel are safe. ---- UPDATE: OCT. 18, 2006 at 11:00 a.m The astronomy lecture series will continue with Dr. J. Davy Kirkpatrick this Thursday evening, Oct. 19th at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Kirkpatrick will present, Brown Dwarfs: Bridging the Gap Between Stars and Planets. The Observatory has cancelled observing through Wednesday night and Observatory personnel are in the process of bringing the facility into a safe state. The telescopes and instruments will be returned to full functionality as soon as possible. As of Tuesday, the Observatory estimated it would take a few days to return Keck I to operational status. It will take at least this long to restore Keck II functionality and the status remains unchanged. There is no damage to observatory computers or servers and all data has been backed up and is safe. Power has been restored to all headquarter and summit facilities and the headquarter facilities are open. The primary mirrors of both Keck telescopes are intact and do not appear damaged. However, some guiding and pointing systems have been damaged and must be repaired before Observing can resume. "We have made great progress today in repairing damaged systems and verifying the health of other systems, an <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

Found this at http://www.naoj.org/Topics/2006/1016/index.html. ---- October 17, 2006 7AM HST After two days of assessment by staff working emergency shifts, visual inspection has shown that the Subaru telescope avoided major damage from the earthquakes that shook Hawaii on the morning of October 15, 2006. Observations will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. All Subaru staff and their immediate family who were on the island at the time of the earthquake are safe. Careful assessment of the overall impact of the earthquakes on the telescope and its observing instruments will continue for some time, as these are complex precision instruments. We thank everybody who has sent us expressions of concern and encouragement. 　 For inquiry about this issue: ・Web form page ・Phone 1-808-934-5922 (HST 8am-4pm, Mon - Fri), Public Information and Outreach Office/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

Found this at http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=206. Hawai'i Earthquake Update for Gemini North Print Monday, 16 October 2006 Hawai'i Earthquake Update for Gemini North (as of 5:00 PM HST, Wednesday, October 18, 2006) A fairly serious earthquake happened Sunday morning near Waikoloa, on the west side of the Big Island. At magnitude 6.6 this was a much stronger earthquake than we are accustomed to here in Hawai'i. Shortly after the event Gemini had staff on the summit to assess the damage to the telescope. We will provide updates as they warrant and information becomes available. The following items were updated at 5h00 pm HST on Wednesday, October 18: • The azimuth cable wrap was repaired, adjusted and tested. • The telescope was rotated in azimuth (+/ 90 degrees) using the handle paddle. The tape encoders tracked the telescope movement well. The alignment of the tape encoders will be checked tomorrow. • The telescope was positioned so that M2 could be inspected from the 'cherry picker'. The visual inspection of M2 showed no visible signs of damage. A great relief to everyone. • The state of the secondary tip-tilt mechanism is still unknown • Some of the pintle bolts on six bogies are broken and will be replaced. This is not stopping from rotating the enclosure. • GMOS has been checked thoroughly and appears to be operating nominally. The GMOS optics have not shifted relative to the mask plane or the detector. The following items were updated at 5h00 pm HST on Tuesday October 17: * Today's main work was centered on the hydrostatic bearing system (HBS). Oil was injected in the system and the telescope was re- centered on the azimuthal track. Alignment of the encoders needs to <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 19, 2006

Found this at http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/JCMT/announce/earthquake_20061016.html. Dear colleague, Many thanks to all who have expressed concern about the magnitude 6.7 earthquake (plus aftershocks) that rocked the island Sunday morning. At the time of the earthquake, the telescope had been closed after a full night's observing. Power was lost for about 7 hours. No observing was attempted Sunday night. Monday showed no apparent structural damage except for a few loose items on the floor in some labs. The roof and doors could be opened and closed, and the building rotated without incident. No damage to any instrumentation or computers, although HARP had warmed up. Foul weather last night (Monday) prevented any observing, but most systems appear to be operational. We're analyzing last night's inclinometry data to see if the earthquake had any effect on the track. At the time of the earthquake, the telescope was obtaining inclinometry data. Click here for a plot of the "tilt" of the telescope during the earthquake and aftershocks. The Hilo office is functioning normally. It was inspected on Sunday and there was no apparent structural damage. There have been no reports of any injuries to staff or serious loss or damage to homes or property. UKIRT also suffered no significant damage. Click here for a report. Regards, Gerald Schieven Acting Head of Operations 2006-10-17 @ 11:30am HST/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 20, 2006

My contact just sent a link to what appears to be a local newspaper site. ----------------------------- Mauna Kea telescopes knocked around By Audrey McAvoy Associated Press Caption for attached photo: Technicians Robert Novak, left, and Gary Anderson yesterday were repairing the Keck II telescope drive and control system damaged by Sunday's earthquakes. Anderson's arm is reflected in the oil surface of the hydraulic bearing on which the telescope moves. The massive jolt that rocked Hawai'i damaged some of the world's most advanced equipment for gazing into outer space. Scientists at many of the 13 telescopes atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island are still examining their implements to gauge the extent of the problems. Many have suspended their celestial observations to inspect equipment for flaws. Christian Veillet, executive director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, said an encoder — a device enabling astronomers to keep track of what part of the sky they are looking at — had a chunk taken out of it when Sunday's magnitude 6.7 earthquake lifted his telescope up and down. "That device has been smashed and crushed by the telescope at the time of the main shake," Veillet said. "It looks like you took some butter out of it with your knife, and it's really solid steel we are talking about." Veillet said his crew is rebuilding an encoder assembly with spare parts. At the earliest, Veillet said, his telescope could be operational again at the end of the week. The Canada-France-Hawaii telescope's mirror and all of its optics emerged unscathed. Its digital camera — the biggest in t <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

willpittenger · Oct 20, 2006

I meant to attach this photo, but it would appear the server did not like the image, but did not bother telling there was a problem. It just accepted post without the image. To reproduce the problem, attempt to attach an image by entering a remote URL. That was supposed to save me the trouble of downloading and then uploading the attached image. In my case, it turned out the URL was actually a page -- not an image. Still, I should have gotten an error that I did not get until I actually downloaded and uploaded it. Only then did it complain about the file name. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

3488 · Oct 20, 2006

Hi all. Unfortunately, the big island of Hawaii sits above a 'Hot Spot' rising throught the Earth's mantle, melting a hole in the crust above (hence the existence of the Hawaiian islands in the first place). Generally is is a fairly smooth process, resulting at most in fairly minor tremours. However the pressure can vary underneath the big island of Hawaii & new cracks & pathways for the rising magma can form at any time, hence the big magnitude 6.7 jolt. I hope beyond hope, that ALL astronomical facilities can be repaired quicky, but in all honesty, the observatories really need to be 'spring loaded' to absorb the shock from such jolts. This has happened before for sure, but maybe quite some time ago, before the observatories were built but take my word, it will happen again at some point. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

eosophobiac · Oct 20, 2006

Thanks for all the updates/links, Will. Glad to hear they are getting back on track. Good reading. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Quake damages Telescopes of Hawaii

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