Because flights out of Hawaii are scheduled in the evening, we were able to see a couple of more places before our flight back to Vancouver. We checked out of our AirBNB in Honoka’a and on our way over to Kona, we stopped off in Waimea to go to the W.M. Keck Observatory. Since there are no visitors allowed at Keck I and II on Mauna Kea, we thought we’d learn more about the observatory at the headquarters facility.
W.M. Keck Observatory is not flashy or ooh-la-la. You meet with a docent at the visitor centre’s lobby, and they tell you about its history, and share info on Hawaiian astronomy. There are some models on display and some souvenirs that you can purchase, but that’s about it.
Still, I found it interesting and it gave us more insight into the telescopes up at Mauna Kea.
Here are some fun facts:
- Keck I was built in 1193. Keck II in 1996. They are the world’s two largest operating optical and infrared telescopes.
- Keck I and II have a diameter (aperture) of 10 metres (33 feet), and are made up of 36 hexagonal segments – working in concert as a single piece of reflective glass.
- A Keck mirror segment weighs about 1,000 pounds.
- Keck pioneered the segmented mirror design, which is now considered the gold star standard to make large aperture telescopes.
- Each telescope stands 8 stories tall, weighs 300 tons and operates with nanometre precision.
- Each hexagonal segment’s surface is so smooth, that if it were the width of Earth, imperfections would be only three feet high.
- The volume of each Keck dome is more than 700,0o0 cubic feet. Giant air conditioners run constantly during the day, keeping the dome temperature at or below freezing.
- Astronomers almost never look through telescopes. They use detectors that are much more sensitive than the human eye to record incoming light.
- All ground based telescopes suffer from image blurring caused by the turbulent atmosphere, even those on Mauna Kea (although to a considerably lesser extent)
- The main purpose of a telescope is to collect light.
What can astronomers learn from analyzing starlight:
- The composition of a star (what elements it is made from)
- The temperature of a star (how hot it is)
- The pressure of a star’s atmosphere (how dense its atmosphere is)
- The velocity of a star (how fast it is moving toward or away from us)
- The distance to a star
By analyzing this info, it is possible to understand how a star is born, how it evolves and how it dies. Information on planets, comets and galaxies can also be obtained by analyzing light.
Space is fascinating. And science is amazing. Much mind-blowing.
And as much as we may have had our heads in the stars, Sean wanted one more swim in the crystal blue waters of Hapuna Beach, before beginning our 10 hours red-eye flight home (with plane change at Sea-Tac). What a great, last thing to do in Hawaii before going home.
We had such a wonderful time on the Big Island. We hope to come back soon and explore the rest of the island that is currently affected by Kilauea.
In the meantime, we were taught that Hawaiians don’t believe in saying goodbye. Instead, they prefer to say “until we meet again.” So dear Hawaii – “A hui hou” and “mahalo nui loa” for everything.
View more photos of our trip on my Flickr album!
Hours:
Mon-Fri: 10am-2pm
Address:
65-1120 Mamalahoa Highway,
Waimea, HI 96743
GPS coordinates: 20.0244947, -155.6676437
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