{"id":2019,"date":"2012-06-14T23:26:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T14:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2012-06-14\/2019"},"modified":"2012-06-14T23:26:07","modified_gmt":"2012-06-14T14:26:07","slug":"a-visit-to-kyoto-universitys-kwasan-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2012-06-14\/2019","title":{"rendered":"A Visit To Kyoto University’s Kwasan Observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnfazed by the Transit<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Last week during the transit of Venus<\/a>, I took the<\/span> opportunity to check out the astronomical observatory I've seen for\nyears on a nearby<\/span> mountain. I've always wanted to visit... I was deeply<\/span> into astronomy as\na teenager,<\/span> going so far as to start to grind a mirror<\/span> for an 8\" reflector telescope I intended<\/span>\nto build, when it all got left behind after seeing a computer<\/span> for the first time.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, I still<\/span> have interest, so I decided<\/span> to take a hike<\/span> up there to\ncheck the place out. On the way<\/span> I snapped<\/span> a few<\/span> photos...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 110mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRestaurant Entrance<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The last time I posted something from this entrance (here<\/a>), it seems\nthat I captioned<\/span> it identically, so I guess<\/span> I don't<\/span> have much imagination\nother than that this is... well... the entrance to a restaurant.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The path gets steep even while still in the city streets, so the middle\nof the streets have steps for pedestrians, while the non-middle areas are\nleft drivable....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 560 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSteps in the Middle of the Street<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 170mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNice View of the Main Gate<\/span>\nof the Heian Shrine\n<\/div>\n\n

I took the trail up to Shogunzuka (where I often<\/span> go to try to get a nice<\/span>\nsunset, as I did<\/span> the other\nday<\/a>). It's mostly<\/span> quite mild hiking (like this<\/a>), but early on\nis very steep for a short<\/span> while...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSteep Switchbacks<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Still, it's nothing like the Mt. Hiei hike<\/a> that I\ntried<\/span> the other day. The most intense<\/span> three minutes of this hike, if\nextended to a few<\/span> hours, would be that hike.<\/p>\n\n

Once you get up the initial steep area, it's pretty mild...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNature Field Trip<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBe Careful at Night<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I came up through the Shogunzuka area at the top of the mountain, with\nits sweeping view of\nKyoto<\/a>, then took the road partially down the other side. Eventually one\ncomes to a small<\/span> side road....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nObservatory Is That Way<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

... and then immediately finds something that definitely doesn't look like an observatory:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 82mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nImpressive<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust About The Most Polite Way<\/span>\none can say “KEEP OUT”\n<\/div>\n\n

I'm not 100% sure what this place is, but it's not a typical<\/span> old Kyoto\ntemple. I've heard enough to be wary of the folks involved, so I did<\/span> not\nventure in. But if they<\/span> (whoever they are) intended a gorgeous<\/span> face\nprojecting power and wealth, they achieved their goal.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBuilding On The Other Side<\/span>\nof the street\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 135mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSimple Veranda<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Not much further along the road and we're at the decidedly less-spectacular entrance to the observatory.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 86mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nObservatory Entrance<\/span>\nWith a somewhat less polite “KEEP OUT” in the background\n<\/div>\n\n

Walking further along the road, eventually I get<\/span> my first close-up glimpse of a building<\/span> I've seen many times from afar...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 160mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThar She Blows<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 110mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInformal Observation<\/span>\nin the waiting area\n<\/div>\n\n

They had by-reservation-only tour groups going through, but seeing as I\ndidn't<\/span> need a place<\/span> on the shuttle bus and I was<\/span> already there, they kindly\nallowed me to participate.<\/p>\n\n

The little telescope seen above gave a remarkably<\/span> good view of the sun, and even more remarkable\nwas what I was<\/span> able to get when I shoved<\/span> my iPhone up to the eyepiece:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\niPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>120 sec, f<\/span>\/2.4, ISO 80 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTaken with my iPhone<\/span>\npeering into the eyepiece of the small telescope in the photo above\n<\/div>\n\n

Everyone was pretty shocked at how well it worked, and I was<\/span> soon\npressed into “take one using my<\/i> cell phone” service. It's quite<\/span> difficult to get the alignment right by hand, and I couldn't<\/span> do it for\nsome, but it was nice to try to be of service.<\/p>\n\n

On the tour, we saw various things around the observatory's many\nbuildings, including the walk-in (literally) solar telescope....<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPrimary Mirror<\/span>\nof a complex walk-through solar telescope\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 78mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSecondary Mirror<\/span>\nbeing explained\n<\/div>\n\n

Sunlight naturally hits the primary mirror, which reflects it up to the\nsecondary mirror. Both mirrors can adjust their angle to match the movement\nof the earth, so the light coming off the secondary mirror is always beamed\nstraight into the main telescope housing...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 450 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInside the Solar Telescope<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The light hits a couple of other mirrors within the telescope, the\ndetails of which I didn't<\/span> quite get, but it's eventually beamed across a\nhall<\/span> to a small<\/span> collector which feeds it into another room where they can\nhook up instruments and cameras and such. For the tour<\/span>, they had a piece<\/span> of\npaper placed in front of the collector as a projection<\/span> screen, so we could\nsee the nicely formed image.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nProjection of the Sun<\/span>\nwas really really really bright\n<\/div>\n\n

It was really really really bright. I had to<\/span> reduce the exposure by many\nstops just to keep the projection from blowing out.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDrive Wheel<\/span>\non the primary mirror of the solar telescope\n( I was thinking to use this for one of “What am I?” quizzes<\/a> )\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nConfusing<\/span>\nphoto through the first mirror to the second mirror\nwith a fuzzy third and subsequent mirrors (and my head) reflected in the background\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTelescopes Everywhere<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The observatory has two domed buildings, the smaller of which we went\nin. It housed<\/span> a pair<\/span> of refracting telescopes (the straight look-through\nkind a pirate<\/span> sea captain might have, but much bigger), with a bunch<\/span> of complex-looking\ncontrols within reach...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nComplex<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nElectrical Transfer<\/span>\nfor the rotating dome\n<\/div>\n\n

This shows the answer to the Oh-So-Obvious “What am I?”\nQuiz<\/a> the other day. The bright<\/span> orange color was in stark contrast to\nthe rest of the 81-year-old building.<\/p>\n\n

One of the members of the tour was 13 years old when the building was\nfinished. It was my<\/span> pleasure to be able to assist her down the narrow steep\nbanister-less stairs when we exited the observatory. At 94, she was still\nspry enough, mentally and physically, to want to come on the tour. At less than<\/span> half her age, I can only<\/span> wonder how I'll be if I make<\/span> it that far.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWell-Oiled<\/span>\nthe smallest gear was the size of an apple\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\niPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f<\/span>\/2.4, ISO 64 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nParting Shot<\/span>\nin the waiting area\n<\/div>\n\n

My main camera (Nikon D700) battery ran out at about this time, a first<\/span>\nfor me in many years of shooting to run out of battery (except when doing\nmany long exposures, which drain the battery very quickly).<\/p>\n\n

Lacking the ability to take photos on the way home, I made a<\/span> nonstop\nhike home; it took about 40 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week during the transit of Venus, I took the opportunity to check out the astronomical observatory I've seen for years on a nearby mountain. I've always wanted to visit... I was deeply into astronomy as a teenager, going so far as to start to grind a mirror for an 8\" reflector telescope I intended to build, when it all got left behind after seeing a computer for the first time.<\/p>

Anyway, I still have interest, so I decided to take a hike up there to check the place out. On the way I snapped a few photos...<\/p>

The last [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}