Mauna Kea Observatories Hawaii, Science and space research Telescopes for optical and infrared astronomy.


Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii, the largest and southernmost of the Hawaiian Islands. Mauna Kea rises 9,750 meters (32,000 ft) from the ocean floor to an altitude of 4,205 meters (13,796 ft) above sea level, which places its summit above 40 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. There are currently thirteen working telescopes near the summit of Mauna Kea. Nine of them are for optical and infrared astronomy, three of them are for submillimeter wavelength astronomy and one is for radio astronomy. They include the largest optical/infrared telescopes in the world (the Keck telescopes), the largest dedicated infrared telescope (UKIRT) and the largest submillimeter telescope in the world (the JCMT). The westernmost antenna of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is situated at a lower altitude two miles from the summit.


Size: 5690px × 8500px
Location: Mauna Kea, Observatory Hilo Hawaii
Photo credit: © Brian Sears / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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