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Earthquake Update From Keck Observatory
Kamuela HI (SPX) Oct 18, 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. 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 Monday afternoon, summit technicians report that the primary mirrors of both Keck telescopes are intact and do not appear damaged. However, some guiding and pointing systems have been impaired and must be returned to normal before Observing can resume. As of Monday, officials 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. 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. "We have a great team for circumstances like this, and everything that we are doing is about getting the telescopes working on-sky as soon as we can in a safe manner," said Observatory Director Taft Armandroff. "There has been an amazing amount of dedication and resourcefulness by staff at the summit last night and today, and I am very impressed." The headquarter facilities will be open on Tuesday. This release was revised Oct. 17 2006 to update the USGS seismic rating to 6.7. Related Links W. M. Keck Observatory Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It A world of storm and tempest
NASA Says: 'Build It and Infrared Surprises Will Come'
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 16, 2006Engineers are rolling up their sleeves in preparation for building a telescope that will find the nearest star-like objects and the brightest galaxies. NASA has approved the start of construction on a new mission called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which will scan the entire sky in infrared light. |
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