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Here’s what I know about the various telescopes on Mauna Kea.

Power is on at the summit.

Gemini is reportedly “fine”, although I don’t know what that means.

Keck reported minor damage to their base facilities in Waimea. Keck 2 is offline and won’t be up as quickly as Keck 1.

Being off-island it’s difficult to receive any information. I’ve gleaned this information from the web (especially Jonathan’s Mauna Kea weather page — working webcams means there’s power) and from talking to people here at ADASS.

Update: UKIRT was knocked off its shear pins. No major damage was found. Minor damage was found to cable straps in the computer racks, caused by racks moving around.

Update: JCMT had no visible damage.

Jonathan saved the HVO graphic shortly after the earthquakes hit.

Update: JCMT was doing an inclinometry run (which is used to measure inaccuracies in the track that the telescope turns on) while the earthquake was happening, and Iain Coulson put up a page showing the effects.

Update: CFHT reports they’ve had damage to both their headquarters in Waimea and the telescope. The dome has come off its track and cannot be rotated. Expect CFHT to be out for a while.

Gemini reports no major damage to the telescope, but they will be shut for the next few days to thoroughly investigate the state of things (as will most telescopes).

Update: Keck has an update — no major damage. Minor damage to guiding and pointing functionality.

Update: The Joint Astronomy Centre has a more detailed update about UKIRT and JCMT.

Update: More news, some of which are rumours that don’t show up on the telescopes’ websites. Subaru’s elevator is out of commission. There may be other damage to the building, and they haven’t checked the primary mirror yet. Keck 2 actually shifted by an inch or so, coming off its azimuth track. There are also reports of significant cracks in the dome floor. Gemini also shifted slightly, but not nearly as bad as Keck 2. They’re trying to figure out how to refloat the telescope without damaging anything. UKIRT and JCMT are essentially operational, but weather has prevented them from opening. CFHT will be down for several weeks (at least), as there was damage to the dome and to the telescope — the dome shifted, preventing rotation (which they’ve since fixed), and the right ascension bearings were significantly damaged, preventing the telescope from moving. stop press from their update, they don’t look as bad off as my sources previously thought. IRTF is on-line and fully operation.

Here are links to various news articles put out by the telescopes: Keck (with pictures) | Subaru | CFHT | JCMT | UKIRT | IRTF

Brad Unclassified