On May 27 and July 15, Honolulu, Laie and other local communities will experience a solar phenomenon called the Lahaina Noon.
At 12:28 p.m. on May 27 and 12:38 p.m. on July 15, the sun will be directly overhead so any object that is upright will not have a shadow, such as a bottle or a flagpole, reported the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. This is only for Oahu because the farther north or south an island is, the later and earlier Lahaina noon will be.
“It's such a simple thing,” said Charlotte Butchers, a sophomore studying hospitality and tourism management from England. “It's cool just because it’s something as simple as having a shadow. You don’t even think about it; you always have a shadow.”This phenomenon does not only occur in Hawaii but in other tropical areas around the world.
The mainland USA and other areas do not experience Lahaina Noon. The name “Lahaina Noon” was chosen by a contest that was sponsored by the Bishop Museum in 1990 to provide a name to make it unique to Hawaii, according to Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Lahaina means “cruel sun” in Hawaiian.
Lahaina will provide a unique opportunity for students from the mainland. Paige Knight, a sophomore from California studying biomedical sciences, said, “When you are on the mainland you can’t see it, so it’s something different.”
There are other astronomical events to look out for this coming summer. On May 5th and 6th, there is the peak of the Eta Aquarids Meteor shower, produced by the dust particles from Halley’s comet. Though the full moon might hide some of the showers, you can see the shower better after midnight of May 5 and the morning of May 6, according to seasky.org.
Mercury and Saturn are at optimal positions to be seen to see this month. On May 7th, Mercury will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky and be seen low in the western sky after sunset.
On May 23rd, Saturn will be the closest to earth and be fully illuminated by the sun. A medium or large telescope will be able to see the rings and moons surrounding the planet, says seasky.org.On June 6th, Venus will also be seen very well in the western sky after sunset. It will reach the greatest eastern elongation of 45.4 degrees from the sun, according to seasky.org.
It will be the annual summer solstice on June 21st, marking it as the first official day of summer. On July 24th, Mercury will be at its greatest western elongation and can be spotted low in the eastern sky before sunrise.
On July 1st, Venus and Jupiter will be extremely close in the evening sky, so look out for those two planets, according to seasky.org.Ami Alvord, a junior studying marine biology from California, said about the Lahaina noon, “You learn to be grateful for the small things in life. When opportunities come, make the most of it."