
The view, to the northeast, from the scenic overlook above Kiholo Bay, as the sun rises over Kohala Volcano.

The view, to the northeast, from the scenic overlook above Kiholo Bay, as the sun rises over Kohala Volcano.

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Twins.’ (See more responses here.)
These are the two telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. Keck 1 began operation in November, 1990, while Keck 2 made its first observations in October 1996. Each telescope’s 10-meter primary mirror is made up of 36 segments, hexagonal in shape. Not that these segments are small themselves. Each one is 1.8 meters wide and weighs half a ton.
The telescopes can accommodate a wide variety of instruments, such as cameras and spectrometers, and are considered to be the most scientifically productive in the world.
For more information about the W. M. Keck Observatory, go to www.keckobservatory.org.

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Shadows.’ See more responses here.
This view was taken near the summit of Mauna Kea. Pu’us – little volcanic cinder cones – dot the landscape here, giving the area an otherworldly look. As the sun sets, the pu’us cast shadows on one another accentuating the slopes and craters.

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Illumination.’ (See more responses here.) I plumped for this image for the early morning light and for the two house lights, nicely positioned above the illumination of the passing car’s lights, as though they are somehow all connected.

Wispy clouds catch the early morning sun above Hualalai volcano while an inter-island tug and barge heads in toward Kawaihae harbor.

Three of the Big Island’s volcanoes – from left, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai – seen as daylight suffuses the sky.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Daylight.’ See more offerings here.

A recent sunset in North Kohala.

The sun peeks above a heavy cloud layer, as seen from the slopes of Mauna Loa.