Mauna Kea telescopes at sunset
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Remote.’ (See more responses here.)
I’m going for this photo for three reasons. First, Hawaii itself is remote at more than 2,200 miles from the nearest major landmass. The closest U.S. state is actually Alaska, though California is the closest state to the Big Island.
Secondly, Mauna Kea is one of the more remote spots on the island, particularly these days. Protests over building a new telescope on Mauna Kea have resulted in the road up the volcano being closed for some weeks now with no end to the dispute in sight. So if a person wants to go to the top, a long and arduous hike is the only way.
Thirdly, the telescopes on the summit are there to explore the farthest reaches of the universe, and you can’t get more remote than that.
What a wonderful picture of remote!
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Thanks. I like to go up there so I’m hoping the current standoff soon gets sorted one way or the other.
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That is a grand site! It is a shame that there is a dispute over the road, but a hike up there would be worth it if this was the reward. Are the telescopes private or public?
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The telescopes are private, but tours are given in one of the telescopes and another one has a small public area. Since the new telescope debate began, they began offering tours to all the telescopes for people who lived on the island – in an effort to win over public opinion I think. I did a couple of them and there are a couple of other telescopes I’d like to visit, including the two Keck telescopes.
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Interesting. Thanks for sharing that.
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Perfect for the topic!!
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Thanks. I liked the different levels of remoteness.
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