Mauna Kea Observatories

[DJVege]

Guess where I visited while we were in Hawaii for the past 2 weeks? :)

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/

Saw all the scopes, got to go into the Keck and view the mirror from inside, watched the sunset at 13,700+ft while enduring less than 4 degrees Celcius and 55mph winds, then settled back down at 9000ft for a little stargazing from 6:30pm onwards. They setup a few scopes and pointed them to different objects: Mars, Andromeda, Pleides, etc... Then had a little talk about different objects in the sky. Twas awesomo! :thumbsup:

[BPO]

It's certainly one of those Must Dos for most people. The great thing is you can ditch the family while they shop and go enjoy yourselves up top. Hard to do the same in the Atacama.

[barx1963]

Very likely my favourite place in the whole world. Managed to go up to the summit twice in 2012, once for the Transit of Venus and a few days later on a night time trip. Was an awesome experience and going back in 5 months to do it all again!!

Malcolm

[uwahl]

Can the travel agent organize or is it easier and cheaper to book it when you get there?

[barx1963]

I went with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures (see http://www.maunakea.com/)
You can take rent a cars up, but you would not want to get into trouble at that altitude so usually best to go with a tour group.
Meals are nothing special, but you are there for the stars!!

Malcolm

[uwahl]

Thanks Malcom

[batema]

I was lucky to visit them in 2010. An amazing experience. Without thinking about it we finished a bottle of water at the top and put the lid on it. Not the same shape at the bottom and one of the guys we went with had a packet of ships in his bag and about 3/4 of the way up he had a packet of chips throughout his bag. The joys of atmospheric pressure. I had to get a certificate from my doctor saying that I was OK to do the trip. Wonderful but I did find that I was walking slowly without realising and when we went up a lookout I was stuffed. Check the hire car thing as our tour guide told us you are not allowed to bring up hire cars.

[barx1963]

With hire cars you can definitely take them up to the Visitor centre at about 9000ft, but I believe not beyond that. Personally I wouldn't try the summit road in anything other than a good 4WD, its pretty rough.
With acclimatising, they stop at the visitor centre for a bit and a meal before heading up to the summit. If you have any major respiratory issues or cardiac issues it is worth getting advice first. My first trip we only stopped for 10mins at 9000ft and it definitely affected me at the summit, nothing serious just a bit lightheaded, and couldn't figure out how to use my solar scope!

Malcolm

[SteveInNZ]

There are a couple of options for visiting the summit.
You can take one of the commercial tours which will pick you up from the hotel, take you to the Visitor Information Station (VIS) and up to the summit for the sunset and then stop somewhere else for a bit of star-gazing with an 8" or 11" SCT. The tours are primarily aimed at the casually interested but they are professional tour operators so it's a good day/night out.

Standard rental cars are only permitted up as far as the VIS. The rental contracts state that and there is no insurance cover past there. There is one company on the Island (Harpers) that will rent you a 4WD specifically to go to the summit. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, there is a free convoy to the summit led by a volunteer from the VIS. You must provide your own vehicle. 4WD only, not AWD. You can come and go at any time but the rangers will kick you off the summit after sunset.

Cheapest option of them all is to just go to the VIS. They have more and better scopes than the tours and are operated by local amateurs and astro university students so you can look at some of the less common things.

Steve.

[DJVege]

Hey guys, We rented a Jeep Wrangler and there was no rules about where you could drive.

Tours will pick you up around 11am, take you to the visitor centre, then take you up top for the sunset, then back down and then home. However you don't get to go INTO an observatory.

On Saturdays!!!! Take a rental up there. Get to the Visitor Info centre before 1pm, and you will get a free tour led by the uni. They will take you INTO the Keck! :) Then you stay for the sunset, and head back down. You can do this in your hired 4WD. Must take a 4WD! :)

[strongmanmike]

All sounds pretty awesome guys, one day....

Mike

[DJVege]

Hey guys,

Just a few [iphone] photos from here! :) Yeah, that's the 10m Keck mirror.

They have approval to build a new 30m scope!!!!!!!!! :)

My 10" sure seems small now... :(

[batema]

Fantastic. What a thrill. We toured Gemini South but did not get into the Keck in time so just had to stand and stair in amazement. Enjoy your holiday.

Mark

[sharpiel]

Wow. What an experience!

When I was younger I did a week of work experience at Siding Springs Observatory. Wonderful experience for a 16 year old being in and around all the telescopes and instruments well beyond public access :D:D:D