The CFH Observatory hosts a world class 3.6 meter optical / infrared telescope situated atop Mauna Kea, 4200 meters above sea level, within the island of Hawaii. The telescope became operational in 1979, whose mission is to provide the observing community with versatile state of the art imaging of the universe and the solar system, housed within the observatory.
The observatory headquarters is located in Waimea (also known as Kamuela by the Post Office), where the CHFT has been part of the community since 1977.
The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) is a 3.0 inch telescope optimized for infrared observations, which is located at the summit of Mauna Kea. This observatory is funded by NASA and being operated by the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy. The instruments are provided by the NSF. The observing time for the IRTF is open to all astronomical community, at which 50% of the IRTF observing time is dedicated to the studies of the solar system objects. Observing time is done twice per year for the Feb. - July and Aug. - Jan. time periods
University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope (UH-2.2) is located on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This is the first large telescope that was constructed on Mauna Kea. Operational by 1970, it showed success thought the image quality and the observing conditions on Mauna Kea. Before the operation began, an extensive survey on Mauna Kea was conducted by the University of Hawaii. The report suggested to the world how good Mauna Kea was for astronomy. Its location has a smoothed shaped mountain, which means that the airflow will pass smoothly by the mountain. The 2.2 meter telescope has had some major discoveries and one of them was the discovery of the Kuiper Belt, at which Pluto was then considered as the largest Kuiper Belt object, not as a planet anymore. Some of the feature that the UH-2.2 telescope are the first efficient 256×256 infrared array camera in the world, the first efficient 1024×1024 infrared array camera in the world, the first 4096×4096 infrared array camera in the world, and the first 8192×8192 CCD camera in the world.
UH Hilo 24 is an educational telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, with an elevation of 4200 meters above sea level. This telescope is used for educational purposes where the astronomy majors at the UH Hilo can get a hands-on experience on the 24-inch telescope. Another feature will be that this telescope is equipped with electronic detectors for imaging and spectroscopy. In 2006, this telescope will be upgraded to the 36 inch telescope in the summer of 2008, which is now known as the New Educational Telescope, funded by the National Science Foundation for the use of the faculty and the students.
Hawaii is the home to the Earth’s connection to the universe. Near the Summit of Mauna Kea (White Mountain), which is a dormant volcano located at the southernmost part of Hawaii. Being the highest point of the pacific basin, a total of thirteen observatories were built. The Observatories are the world’s largest being operated by eleven countries. These observatories have a combined light gathering power of Fifteen times greater than that of the Palomar telescope in California and 60 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope. Continue reading ‘Hawaii - Mauna Kea Observatories’
