The small mirror in the Cassegrain cabin of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, can be rotated to direct information to a variety of instruments. Here, it reflects about the only empty spot in the crowded space.
Tag Archives: Mauna Kea
The view from from Pu’u Ahumoa
Maui and Kohala Mountain as seen from Pu’u Ahumoa on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea. The structure on the left is what remains of an old beacon for low-flying aircraft.
Hualalai in early morning light
This is Hualalai volcano soon after sunrise, as seen from the western slope of Mauna Kea.
Abstracts: Morning webs
I was on the west side of Mauna Kea, at around 7,500 feet, when I saw these lines all over the ground. I don’t know what they are. I doubt they’re spider webs, though they look like it. If they’re trip wires, they didn’t work. But I did like how they caught the early morning sun, which had just cleared the edge of the volcano.
Māmane
Māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) is an endemic Hawaiian tree which grows in the dry forest on the sides of Mauna Kea. These māmane are in the recently-opened Palila Forest Discovery Trail at an elevation of around 7,000 feet.
Māmane is an important plant for several endemic Hawaiian birds including the endangered palila, which is found only in this area. Palila depend on māmane trees for 90% of their food, the most important item being immature māmane seeds. These seeds are poisonous to other wildlife, but not palila.
Palila Forest Discovery Trail is part of an ongoing effort to reestablish the high-elevation dry forest on Mauna Kea, which has been greatly impacted by non-native goats, sheep, and cattle.
For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.
Mauna Kea’s winter wonderland
The past few weeks have been very wet on the Big Island with moisture-laden systems sweeping through from the south as well as the usual northeast. As a result, both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa have received generous amounts of snow. This view is taken from the relative warmth of the Kohala coast.
Mauna Kea telescopes
One of the reasons Mauna Kea is a prime spot for telescopes is that it boasts clear skies for more than 300 days a year. It’s common to see clouds below the summit, but less so to see them passing above the summit like this.
In the foreground is the CalTech Submillimeter Telescope, one of 13 currently operating on the mountain.
Clouds over Waimea
Seen from the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, a blanket of cloud climbs over the Kohala Mountains and Waimea, but Maui is still visible in the background.
Graham's Island 