Cosmic Log - hawaii

Jan

2013

4:39pm, EST

See the heights of astronomy in 3-D

John Brecher / NBC News

Star trails light the night sky above observatories atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. In the distance is Haleakala on the island of Maui. Look at the image through red-blue glasses to see the 3-D effect.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Follow @b0yle

What better way to start off the year than with a beautiful view of the heavens from one of the world's highest astronomical vantage points? Here's one way to make it better: Show it in 3-D!

This picture of the Mauna Kea Observatories was captured last month by NBC News' John Brecher during a visit to Hawaii's Big Island. The 13,796-foot-high (4,205-meter-high) facility is home to 13 telescopes, ranging from the University of Hawaii's 0.9-meter educational telescope to the 25-meter radio dish used as part of the Very Long Baseline Array.

Here you see, from left, Japan's Subaru Telescope; the twin 10-meter Keck telescopes, operated by Caltech and the University of California; and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility. Maui's Haleakala volcano looms in the far background, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away. As my colleague Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy blog would say, "Holy Haleakala!"

The view is really worth exclaiming about when you see it in 3-D. If you can't make your way to Mauna Kea just now and see it in person, put on some red-blue glasses to look into the sky's depths. If you're in the market for 3-D spectacles, check out this list of online vendors. You can also keep an eye on the Cosmic Log Facebook page for our next 3-D glasses giveaway, and use your specs to see all the cosmic 3-D pictures we've pointed to over the past decade.

Here's to a delightful year of discoveries — from Mauna Kea and the rest of the world's great telescopes.

Follow @CosmicLog

More astronomy for the new year:

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Aug

2011

3:26pm, EDT

Hot lava flows from pond on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

USGS

One of the more vigorous vents in Kilauea's Pu'u 'O'o Crater, seen at lower left, is topped by a 20-foot-tall spatter cone. The flow from this vent cascades down several steps, joining the flow from two other nearby vents, before going under a small bridge and into the broad area of ponded lava to the west.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is doing a slow burn while the world watches.

Kilauea isn't the kind of volcano that blows its top — as Washington state's Mount St. Helens did in 1980, or as Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano did last year, or as Alaska's Cleveland Volcano is starting to do. Instead, lava rises from fissures on Kilauea, which is part of a national park on Hawaii's Big Island.

The volcano's Pu'u 'O'o cone has been erupting since 1983 with few interruptions. Last week, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a fresh breakout of lava. This video shows what happens as the bright orange lava erupts from spatter cones, then cools and moves down slope:

This Aug. 8 video from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shows lava flowing on the west slope of Pu'u 'O'o crater.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, this current phase of the Kilauea activity, known as the Kamoamoa fissure eruption, began on March 5 when lava began fountaining between the Pu'u 'O'o and Napau craters. When the fountaining stopped, lava began building in Pu'u 'O'o, forming the molten lake that drained in a dramatic collapse on Aug. 3.

Here are a few more pictures from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, released on Monday. It's important to note that the active flows remain entirely within the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and pose no threat to the public.

USGS

After the collapse of the crater floor on Aug. 3, Pu'u 'O'o has been filled with thick fume. A very tiny flow, visible only with a thermal camera, was active on the crater floor.

USGS

This thermal image, looking southwest, shows the very small flow active in the bottom of Pu'u 'O'o crater. In the upper right, the active flows on the lower west flank of Pu'u 'O'o can be seen.

USGS

This view, looking east, shows the broad area of ponded lava fed by two main channels originating from several individual vents. The fume-filled Pu'u 'O'o Crater is in the background. The darker lava in the foreground is from the Kamoamoa eruption in March.

More about volcanoes:

Tip o' the Log to OurAmazingPlanet.

Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also add me to your Google+ circle, and check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.