Mauna Kea Observatory (MKO) is located near the 4205m (13,800ft) summit of Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Recognized as one of the world's premier astronomical research facilities, MKO is actually an international collection of independent observatories. Established in 1967, MKO is managed by the University of Hawaii which also operates several of the telescopes. Hawaii's isolation in the mid-Pacific Ocean and the high elevation of Mauna Kea makes it one of the best locations on Earth for ground-based astronomy. The heavens are studies in the submillimeter, infrared and optical wavelengths with telescopes designed specifically for each of these spectral regions.
There are a dozen telescopes near the summit of Mauna Kea:
The official MKO web site has additional information.
The following photo gallery presents a collection of images of Mauna Kea Observatory.
Click on each thumbnail to see a larger image.
All photographs, text and web pages are © Copyright 2007 by Fred Espenak, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. They may not be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any form, including electronically on the Internet or WWW, without written permission of the author. The photos have been digitally watermarked.
The photographs may be licensed for commercial, editorial, and educational use. Contact Espenak (at MrEclipse) for photo use in print, web, video, CD and all other media.
WebMaster: MrEclipse
Last revised: 2008 Feb 10