STORYLINE

Record Setting Solar Prominence Highlighted By Eclipse Remains a Mystery

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The eclipse on April 20 attracted astronomers, amateur stargazers, and eclipse chasers from all over to the island. The exceptionally dry and clear weather of West Maui makes it a perfect place to view astronomical events. A partial eclipse isn’t the rarest event in the universe but what was discovered that day is changing what we know, or don’t know in this case, about stars. A record setting solar prominence was clearly visible to all and has many worried about what effects Veilcorp’s Icarus Project is having on the sun.

One of the most impressive features of the sun is a solar prominence. The fiery loops of plasma extending far outward into space, following magnetic fields, are as beautiful as they are impressive. These gigantic loops of plasma can extend far into space. An average sized prominence can reach out thousands of kilometers, with the largest recorded before April 20 measuring over 800,000 kilometers long. Prominences can last a long time, days or sometimes even months. However, the prominence activity noted on the day of the eclipse is unlike anything astronomers have ever seen.

While many are concerned, Aldrick Lehmann, astronomer and lead engineer of the Hoku telescope, urges caution, noting that scientists are still researching how and why prominences are formed.

“The truth is that we just don’t know what could be categorized as normal. We’ve only had the technology to properly study the phenomena a short time. What we can say accurately is that we’ve never seen so many prominences at once before, and the first recorded description is from the 14th century. In addition, the longest has been estimated to be over 1.3 million kilometers long, that’s almost twice as long as any ever observed before, roughly the diameter of the sun. A coronal mass ejection from a prominence so large would of course be a concern. It’s interesting that this sort of activity has never been seen before the start of the Icarus Project, but I can’t say that Veilcorp is responsible, or even that it’s dangerous. What is clear however, is that we need more time and data in order to understand what is going on.”

Veilcorp has no shortage of critics, but the Icarus Project has easily been the most controversial program in the company’s history. Extracting 127 (Unbiseptium) directly from the sun, the program has been a target for environmentalists and safety officials alike. However, until now, most concerns have been focused on the economic and environmental impact that the increased exposure and stockpiling of 127 would cause. Despite Veilcorp safety assurances, the effects of the project have been a point of contention, with both sides citing conflicting studies. This is the first time that there has been any evidence that the project is impacting the sun itself, and it has many worried.

Sebastian Malu, a Barraloha instructor at the Kokua Wellness center and founder of the Eternal Cycle Church has been one of the most vocal critics in Lahaina. Over the past two months, he and his followers have camped out in front of the municipal Veil Station, protesting the company’s continued solar extraction of 127.

“The sun is the heart of our solar system. It’s energy feeds the plants and those of us who are able to tap into our inner beings. The Icarus project has pierced our heart and is feeding like a parasite from this most vital cosmic organ. Like other sensitives, I felt an increase in my electromagnetic energy as soon as the project started. I must admit that at first I appreciated the upgrade in intuition and awareness that I received, but the intensity of that increase began to be problematic. I spend a good portion of my day now trying to slow down my absorption of the sun’s energy before it’s too late. I urge other enlightened souls to do the same. I know it can leave you exhausted, but until we convince Veilcorp to stop stabbing our heart, it’s our best option.”

Veilcorp spokesperson Lisa Hunt says that the Icarus project is a multinational endeavor and points out that the brightest minds from around the globe have deemed the project safe. “While the cause of the prominences observed on April 20 are uncertain, the science surrounding the safety of the Icarus Project is clear. There is not, and never has been, any indication that the solar extraction of 127 is dangerous: to the sun, to the planet, to plants and animals, or to people who pretend to have magical powers. Remember, Icarus simply harvests 127 that is naturally made in the corona and captures it before it decays into less interesting elements, it doesn’t increase production in any way. I suggest we all take a deep breath, stop believing everything we read on the internet, and let the scientists study this amazing solar event.”

STORYLINE

Child Stuck In Ventilation Duct Shuts Down Lahaina Veil Station

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David and Marla King’s Lahaina vacation didn’t end Saturday afternoon quite the way they had envisioned. Their 6-year-old son Dolton crawled inside an open ventilation duct in the Lahaina Municipal Veil Station while the family waited to return home, and remained trapped for over 4 hours before being rescued by emergency officials, and Veilcorp staff. Operations at the station were partially shut down during the incident, and Dolton suffered no permanent injuries.

According to Dolton’s mom, the family had planned the trip for months, and enjoyed their stay so much that the 6-year-old was upset about leaving. She says,

“We’ve let Dolton pick our vacation spots since he was 2. His understanding of the world wasn’t that detailed yet, and we basically just went to the first place he touched on the map that initial year, but we wanted him to feel like he had a voice in the family. Even though David and I weren’t really excited about going to the Death Valley region in the middle of summer, It was Dolton’s choice so we went. Luckily, he has learned a lot from watching videos since then, and he became obsessed with sea turtles. His favorite video, was from some tourists visiting Napili Beach just North of Lahaina. There was no doubt where we were going this year. Everything was fantastic until we told Dolton Saturday morning that he wouldn’t be able to bring one home with us.”

According to witnesses, an agitated Dolton had been screaming about turtles for several minutes while the family waited for their departure. A nearby maintenance crew, who had been working on a problem with the ventilation system, came to ask if everything was alright, leaving the return cover open. It was then fellow travelers say, that the young boy ran to the opening and crawled inside. The boys parents would spend the next 4 hours trying to convince Dolton to work with emergency services and Veilcorp staff, attempting to extricate the young boy. Veilcorp delayed most departures and arrivals out of safety concerns until Dolton was freed.

His mom adds,

“We’d like to apologize to everyone that Dolton’s learning experience affected. We don’t believe in excessive rules in our parenting style. We believe too many boundaries can impede creativity, and being told “no” too often can interfere with the formation of personality. Dolton knows what’s right for him 99% of the time, and we try not to interfere with his personal truth – unless he’s in physical danger. That’s where we draw the line. When he crawled inside the vent, demanding a turtle before he came out, we explained that we respected his wants, understood that he felt owning a turtle was a need, but that he was in potential danger, and needed to obey our wishes and come out. However, he felt that his feelings weren’t being give enough consideration, and moved further into the system. It was then the staff explained how dangerous the problem was.”

According to Head of Operations Dan Kukulu, a maintenance crew had been dispatched to examine, and repair a section of venting that had partially collapsed, and failed to reinstall the screen before engaging with the Kings. His report reads in part: “At approximately 3pm on April 15, 2040 a repair crew had identified a physical malfunction in the Eastern most ductwork. They were in the process of remotely replacing rivets to restore the integrity of the system, when they became aware of a child distressed about a turtle. It was soon determined that the turtle in question was not a lost pet, but instead the child’s desire to illegally transport an endangered hawksbill turtle for domestication, violating federal and state law. While staff discussed the matter with the family, the adolescent ran to the open vent and crawled inside demanding he be allowed to bring home a turtle. The situation was explained to him. He and his family were informed that part of that ventilation system had come apart, and the boy was in danger of being cut severely, or even becoming stuck if he continued to move further into the system.

It became clear that the child would not follow commands giving by staff on site, and the parents refused to tell the boy that he would receive a turtle should he comply with our directions. Stating they “could not lie to Dolton, because it would destroy the family trust structures.” Public safety officials were alerted, and all but emergency veil operations were shut down out of concerns over the child’s safety. Despite being given a lawful order by emergency services, the subject crawled all the way to the improperly joined section of ductwork, and reported that he was now caught.

Not wanting to endanger the child any further, a remote camera system, with a makeshift belt, was pushed up to the boy, and he was ordered to attached himself to the device. Knowing that it was unlikely that he would fully comply, most of the vent leading up to him was coated in industrial grease, and fans 15 and 16 were brought to 150% capacity, creating a considerable wind force through that section of venting. At approximately 7:12pm Dolton King was expelled from the ductwork, and treated for minor injuries. Customers resumed their travels soon after. and the damaged vent was cleaned, disinfected, and repaired before 8:00pm.”

Dolton was treated for minor cuts and scrapes and the family returned home later that night. Video taken by a delayed traveler depicting Dolton screaming inside the vent, and being shot out by a gust of air, has become a viral sensation with 4.7 million views in just one day. Working as an engineer on the Hoku Telescope, Aldrick Lehmann says he has a special connection with the Lahaina station, and was eager to get home when the incident happened. “My son was actually born here in the Lahaina station, so it holds a special place in my heart. Being a new parent I understand how hard it can be to travel with a young child, and I am usually sympathetic, but this was something else. I don’t know how many times this family tried to go through the departure line. Everytime they got close, the kid would scream about his turtle and run away. I started recording it to show my wife, and talk about where we’d have to leave Harrison if he ever acted that way. I thought the staff was going to throw them out when they approached, but the kid made a run for the vent. I couldn’t believe it when he crawled inside, but my laughter was short lived. They shut everything down for hours, and customers wanting to get on with their travels kept piling up.

Soon there were hundreds of angry travelers yelling at the family, and Veilcorp staff. I was really worried that things would turn violent, but then one of the maintenance crew ordered everyone to move back. You could hear the fans building up, and air started whipping out of vents. Dolton’s crying was drowned out by the howl of wind, and out he flew. I’m a father and a good man who cares about my son, and all children. I think most people are. But I have to tell you, everyone cheered when we saw that 6-year-old come flying out, and land on his face 10 feet away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Dolton wasn’t seriously hurt, but I know that the image of him being shot out of the vent will make me smile for the rest of my life. I hope that the King’s family vacations go better in the future, and that I’m never traveling on the same day as they are again.”

STORYLINE

Baby Born In Veilstation Gifted Free Travel For Life

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Veilcorp has just given a newborn child a birthday gift that is going to be hard for his parents to beat. The company says it will award the boy free tickets for life after being born in the Lahaina veilstation. Harrison Veil Lehmann was born Saturday evening on a bench near the arrival gate after his mother went into premature labor. Thanks to the quick actions of the late night cleaning crew and a tattoo artist traveling to Maui, the baby was born healthy. Mother and child are now both safe and sound at home.

It was not the birth experience Sally Lehmann had planned. Returning from a visit to relatives on the mainland, she was looking forward to a quiet night at home with her husband who is an engineer working on the Hoku telescope. She began to feel strange about an hour before veiling to Lahaina. “I thought I was just having really bad cramps and couldn’t wait to get home and take a long warm bath. Everything was fine until I stepped out of the gateway. My water broke and I could tell that I didn’t have much time. I guess Harrison couldn’t wait either. I’m usually pretty level headed, but I lost it. The cleaning crew was great. They were calm and seemed to know what to do. Of course Rowan was the real hero, I can’t begin to thank him enough.”

Veilcorp says that the biometric scanning every traveler goes through before veiling catches many health and medical issues, including some of the signs of early labor, but they do occasionally happen. Officials say there have been around a dozen births inside various stations world-wide but this was a first for the Lahaina facility.

Company CEO and Veilcorp founder Eric Oeming says he couldn’t be more proud of the way his employees performed in an emergency and thought he’d give Harrison some help exploring the world since he, “seemed so eager to get out and take a look around.” In addition, the company plans on providing the altruistic artist 10 free trips to any destination of his choosing. Of course the date held special meaning for Oeming as well. “It was my daughter Alohi’s 8th birthday. My wife and I were in the kitchen eating some leftover cake when I was notified about what had happened. After I made sure everyone was alright, I started thinking about an appropriate gift. Since he was still a little too young for some cake, I figured a lifetime ticket to the veil would be a good alternative. I hope Harrison has fun exploring the world and starts taking it a little bit easier on his mom.”

Lehmann says she was touched and amazed at the company’s birthday gift, as well as the actions of its employees, but she says that fellow traveler Rowan Hardy was the real hero. A well-known tattoo and body artist, Rowan was visiting Maui for a short vacation when he noticed the commotion.

“I thought someone was having a brawl at first, but could see it was a woman in labor when I got closer. I started to call for help when I saw the head pop out and I knew we didn’t have time for all that. I grabbed my kit and tried to keep Sally reassured. Harrison was out in no time. I clamped off the umbilical with a couple of hemostats and let her cut the cord with my electrosurgical brand. By that time, paramedics had arrived and took her away. I appreciate the company’s gift to Harrison and I. I’d love to use some of my trips to have the whole family out to my studio at home. It was really something when he looked at me. I never felt a connection like that before. When I work with my clients I try connect closely with them in order to give them the body art that they need. This was something on a whole different level. It was my privilege to meet Harrison and his mother. I would be honored to give him his first full sleeve when he’s ready.”

Not everyone saw the event as joyous however. Local resident Kevin Morrow filed an official complaint with the Lahaina police calling the incident, “obscene”. According to his complaint,

“I had just picked up my nephew and was looking forward to our week together. We planned on watching one of nature’s most beautiful and thought provoking dramas, the hatching of the green sea turtles. Watching them digging through the sand with their little flippers before running a gauntlet of hungry seabirds and struggling in the surf is something to see. But when you watch the ease in which they swim out to sea after their initial fight, you understand what a beautifully delicate dance this thing we call life is. Instead of that magnificent show, we had a front row seat to the screaming horrors of childbirth. I wanted to expose my nephew to one of the wonders of nature not the disgusting act that unfolded on a bench in front of us. How am I supposed to explain this to my sister-in-law?”

STORYLINE

Construction of Hoku Telescope completed at “Science City”

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After 5 years of construction atop the dormant volcano Haleakala, the Hoku Telescope is set to become the latest research tool in what is commonly called “Science City.” The result of a partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense, The Air Force, The University of Maui Lahaina College, and Veilcorp, the telescope will become an important new tool at the Air Force Maui Optical Supercomputing Observatory. While not as large as some other Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), the unique construction process and mirror polishing techniques used on the Hoku sets it apart from its peers.

At an altitude of over 10 thousand feet, the Haleakala Observatory in West Maui is a remarkable spot for studying the stars. The weather conditions on top of the dormant volcano are ideal. Exceptionally dry and clear, with little wind or light pollution from major cities, the summit is one of the most sought after locations in the world for ground-based telescopes. Collectively called Science City, a number of other projects call the site home including: The Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC), the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC), The Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS), The Maui Optical Tracking and Identification Facility (MOTIF), and others.

Consisting of nine primary segments, the Hoku Telescope is an amazing feat of engineering. The telescope’s 122 mirrors are arranged in a honeycomb structure making it 6x lighter than a solid mirror of the same dimensions. Made from high quality E-6 glass, the mirror’s pattern keeps them from distorting under their own weight like other mirror designs would. In addition, the individual sections are very thin allowing them to follow the surrounding temperature. As the mirror cools through the night, the glass cools with it. This process avoids the creation of turbulence that could spoil any images. While impressive, this isn’t what sets the Hoku apart from other ELTs. It’s the telescopes method of construction and state-of-the-art polishing process that makes it special.

Lead engineer Aldrick Lehmann says, “The ultra high precision method used to shape and polish the mirrors is a breakthrough. It’s such a step forward in fact that the process has been classified, so I can’t give too many specifics. What I can tell you is that the Hoku should have a resolving power 20x that of the Hubble. However, the specialized manufacturing wouldn’t matter if it weren’t for veil technology. These mirror pieces have very low tolerances and a traditional transportation process would have likely ruined them. We were only able to transport them safely thanks to the DOD’s mobile veil system. Any amount of vibration, humidity, or temperature change had the potential to ruin all the work we did. Having the ability to move the finished segments a few yards from the polishing facility and through a gateway directly to the site, made construction possible without spending millions in specialized shipping.”

The Hoku will enable astronomers to conduct research which is impossible with other ground based instruments. Astronomer and NSF fellow Henry Lu says that he is excited to have the telescope available for his research. “There’s no telling what the Hoku will allow us to learn. Anytime a technology comes along that can remove limitations you get the potential for discovery. My main research currently revolves around KIC 8462852 or Boyajian’s Star. The star’s unusual light fluctuations were first noted in 2015 and there has been numerous theories about the cause ranging from comet dust, to salacious claims of extraterrestrial involvement. Recently it appears to have gone dark for some reason. I’m hoping that the Hoku will be able to provide an answer for us. I believe the cause is an unprecedented concentration of comets and comet debris, but we’ll have to wait and see where the data leads. Let’s put it this way, I’m not expecting any out-of-galaxy visitors anytime soon.”

In addition to Lu’s work, the Hoku will be used by the Air Force to track satellites, asteroids, and other near-Earth objects as well as a number of other projects. The telescope is set to begin operations on the 9th after all its systems have gone through an intensive checklist.