Back in 2003, when I was a baby PhD and working as a journalist, I learned that being a journalist sometimes means sitting down to write a story you hope you will never have to publish. That January, as has become all too common, the Australian bush was on fire.

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Outside of my work as an editor, I was also an instructor for @onlineastronomy & had colleagues / friends loosing houses evacuating. It was bad.

And then we got word fires were threating Mt Stromlo. I started looking up what was threatened, & writing the “worst case” story.

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Mt Stromlo burned, and my story ran.

Tonight, I assigned @planetarypan to prepare for Mt Hamiliton and the historic Lick Observatory to potentially burn.

We are not sitting vigil over the telescopes.

http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/index.html

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The SCU Complex fires are currently surrounding the observatory and @SLO_City_Fire
and other CA fire fighters are doing their best to defend the facility.

AS A REMINDER, stay off emergency hashtags https://twitter.com/mikamckinnon/status/1061049967974862848

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I want to say things are looking more positive; there is less smoke now than there was 40min ago in the All-Sky Camera. But… it’s 2020, so I don’t do hopeful anymore.

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While Lick Observatory isn’t exactly in the darkest of locations, its position on the highest peak near San Jose makes it a beloved facility to more tourists and students than more remote facilities. It is also a historic observatory still doing solid science.

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(The illogical part of my brain that remains superstitious no matter how much science I learn, would like to believe that by writing about the facility, it will not burn, and thus my time will be wasted. Brains are annoying, but I hope it’s right.)

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So about that science at Lick Observatory. The Automated Planet Finder shown in the APFCAM was completed in 2013 and is using radial velocity measurements to search for (as the name implies) planets. Measuring 2.4 m, it is the 2 largest scope on the mountain.

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The older, Shane telescope (center of image) takes the prize for biggest at Lick Obs. Built in 1978, this 3.05m telescope is still used to do spectroscopy (to measure the atoms & molecules in celestial objects).

(It’s mirror is left over from the construction of Hale Obs).

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As I’ve been watching, the fire as filled the saddle between peaks. It’s horrifying. Here are images from now and several hours ago.

I’m hoping the fire fighters are getting good support. You can’t dump water on observatories, but you can on the surrounding forests.

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Ok, back to talking about the obs. I have to admit, I haven’t been to Lick. I’ve been to its sister facility, Yerkes. Both have grand old bldgs w multiple domes. Built in 1888, Lick's 36” Alvan Clark was the world’s largest telescope until Yerkes was built in 1897.

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(I like Yerkes beter because, as far as I know, it has no dead people in its construction. James Lick - the reach dude who funded the observatory - is actually buried under the observing room at Lick.)

https://www.californiasun.co/stories/the-story-of-the-eccentric-philanthropist-buried-beneath-lick-observatory/

I want to see stars, not dead people.

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For the first time this evening, I’m seeing stars in both all sky cameras instead of just smoke and fire. I don’t know if these means things are better, or just that the wind changed direction.

I’m hoping (there’s that word again) this means Lick Observatory will be ok.

/13

This is the way of it with observatories. When I was a grad student we had fires around McDonald Observatory that disrupted my last, very long, observing run. We’ve seen fires near Mt Wilson, Siding Springs, and Kitt Peak.

High deserts have good skies… and fire.

/14

Even if everything is ok fire wise, the ash can do damage, and everything will need carefully cleaned. Use the wrong cleaner, and the ash makes acid that etches you optics. (I learned that the hard way with an I-Band filter).

/15

The observatory isn’t in the clear, but it’s 3:30am here, & I’m going to leave my trust in the firefighters and fire breaks and safety systems.

I can do nothing else.

And, as I said, I now see stars in their cameras.

So, for now, I’m going to sleep, perchance to dream.

/fini