Caleb DeSoto was born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. He
graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute in 2024 and is currently
pursuing a major in Astrophysics with a minor in Human
Spaceflight technologies at the University of Hawai‘i at
M?noa. After graduation, he hopes to work in the space
industry (ideally in Hawai‘i), to continue pushing the
boundaries of what’s possible. In his downtime, he enjoys
hiking, meeting new people, stargazing, and going on random
missions with friends.
Home Island: Oahu
High School: Mid-Pacific Institute
Institution when accepted: UH Manoa
Site: Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (NSO/DKIST). Pukalani, Maui
Mentors: Sarah Jaeggli
Project title: Close Encounters of the Solar Kind: A Catalog of Rare Passages by Near-Sun Planets for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
Project Abstract:
Apparent solar conjunctions of the planets, Moon, and other celestial bodies offer rare opportunities
for observations against the coronal background. While daytime observations of these events are
challenging for standard ground-based observatories to detect, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
(DKIST) is capable of safely pointing within 1.5 solar radii of the solar center, enabling unique
imaging and spectroscopic measurements of sun-illuminated or shadowed planetary disks.
Motivated by the observational importance of these events, we establish the first standardized list
of notable, DKIST-tailored alignment windows spanning 2026-2070. Utilizing Horizons JPL and
Astropy databases, we query planetary ephemerides to predict the timings, surface brightness
magnitudes, apparent radii, solar radiance ratios, minimum solar elongations, and more, for each
event. After considering DKIST’s technical constraints and general observational parameters, we
found 40 viable Mercury conjunctions, 18 notable events for Venus, 29 for the Moon, 14 for Mars, 21
for Jupiter, and 7 for Saturn. All modular code utilized will be attached for substitution of other
telescopes, constraints, and celestial bodies.