Visiting Mauna Kea
Observatories and Mauna Kea Summit 13,796 feet
(4,200 m)
Mauna Kea summit can be conveniently
reached from vacation homes on the Kohala Coast. You drive through
Waimea town or through Waikoloa Village, take Hwy 190 in the direction
to Saddle Rd. Saddle Rd leads to Mauna Kea access Rd. Car rental
companies allow Saddle Rd. usage as any other paved roads on the
Big Island. It will take you about 1 - 1.5 hr driving time from
Kawaihae area to the Mauna Kea Visitor Center. Take all your warm
Mainland clothes with you on your Mauna Kea Summit tour and bundle
up before getting out of the car at the Visitors Center, as the
visitors in our photos below did.
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Ready for stargazing
on Mauna Kea summit |
Mauna Kea summit trip
with your own car |
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Professional telescopes
on Mauna Kea |
View of Mauna Loa from
Mauna Kea |
Visitor
Information Station website
During the day while the VIS is open: there are videos to watch,
astronomy magazines to read, displays to view, handouts to browse
through, and several computers with Mauna Kea and astronomy software
running. Often during the day, a 11-inch Celestron telescope will
be set up outside with a solar filter on it so that we can look
at the Sun and view Sun spots.
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On the top of the world |
Mauna Kea Summit at sunset |
Mauna Kea Visitors Information Center
If you would like to visit Mauna Kea Observatory,
we recommend that you begin at the Visitor
Information Station of the Onizuka Center for International
Astronomy at the 10,000-foot level on the Mauna
Kea access road, about 20 minutes from the turnoff from the Saddle
Road. At the center you can learn about the mountain, the telescopes,
and the Universe, buy souvenirs and view the stars after dark through
the our portable telescopes while adjusting your body to the higher
elevation before driving to Mauna Kea summit.
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Dress warmly for Mauna
Kea stargazing |
Mauna Kea telescope
(not for visitors) |
Stargazing
on Mauna Kea Summit
Free
Summit Tours are held on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 PM
from Visitor Information Station. Read more on Free
Mauna Kea Summit Tour.
Find more options to Commercial
Guided Tours to Mauna Kea Summit
Stargazing
Programs are held every night from 6:00 to 10:00 PM at
the Visitor Information Station. The telescopes at the Visitors'
Center can be used by all visitors.
Driving
to Mauna Kea Summit
When driving to the 14,000-foot summit
of Mauna Kea to view the various observatories, you need to be aware
that:
*Ordinary vehicles cannot cope with the steep,
unpaved road to the summit; you will need to obtain
a four-wheel drive vehicle, or take a commercial
tour.
*There are no opportunities to "look through"
the telescopes at the summit. Visitors are not allowed
at the summit after dark.
*The road up the mountain can be dangerous, particularly
in bad weather.
*The high altitude of the observatory carries
serious health risks and can impair physical and mental
activity.
*Only one observatory (Keck) has a visitors' gallery
from which the telescope may be viewed during the day.
Location of Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is situated on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It can be reached from Route 20, the narrow and winding Saddle Road,
so named because it runs between the two major volcanic mountains,
Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, at an elevation of 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
A paved road leaves the Saddle Road at Mile 28 and winds its way
up to the lower slopes of Mauna Kea to the Visitor Information Station
(VIS) at the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy (OCIA),
which is the mid-level altitude acclimatization center for scientists
and technicians. The distance from Hilo to the OCIA is 34 miles
(55 km), with the average travel time being 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Driving on Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is a very remote location. It
has no public accommodations, food, or gasoline service. The observatory
buildings are usually closed to the public. There are no permanent
restrooms above the Visitor Information Station. The only public
telephone above Hale Pohaku is an emergency phone in the entrance
to the University of Hawaii 2.2-m Telescope building. Vehicles should
be in good working condition with good brakes and sufficient fuel
to return to Hilo or Waimea. Emergency services, including medical
assistance, may be two hours away.
The road above the OCIA to the Mauna Kea Observatories
is unpaved, rough, steep, winding, and dangerous. Only four-wheel-drive
vehicles are permitted above the OCIA. The road can be traversed
in about half an hour in good weather, but extreme caution must
be exercised when driving it, particularly on the descent. Use low
gear and be on the lookout for slide areas and for loose gravel.
Do not drive over 25 mph. Use headlights if it is foggy. The switchback
section of the road above OCIA is particularly hazardous during
the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, because of the
low elevation of the Sun - in several sections of the road, you
must drive directly towards the Sun, so it is very difficult to
see oncoming traffic
Weather on Mauna Kea Mountain
Visitors to Mauna Kea should prepare
themselves for severe weather, especially during the winter
months, when heavy storms commonly deposit several feet of snow.
Minimum nighttime winter temperatures at the summit are around -4
degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit); maximum daytime temperatures
are about +4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit), but wind chill
and the high altitude can make it seem much colder. Between April
and November the weather is milder, with daytime temperatures varying
from freezing to almost 15 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit).
Current
weather predictions
Health Hazards Visiting Mauna Kea summit
At the summit elevation of 13,796 feet (4,200
m), the atmospheric pressure is 40 percent less than at sea level.
Less oxygen is available to the lungs, and acute mountain sickness
is common. Symptoms include: headaches, drowsiness, nausea, shortness
of breath, and poor judgment. The intensity of these symptoms may
be lessened by spending at least a half hour at the Visitor Information
Station (altitude 9,200 feet or 3,000 m) before traveling to the
summit. Children under 16, pregnant women, and people with respiratory,
heart, or severe overweight conditions are advised not to go higher
than the OCIA Visitors Information Station. Scuba divers must wait
at least 24 hours after their last dive before traveling to the
summit.
Free Mauna Kea Summit
Tour with your own 4x4 visit
their site
Place: Mauna Kea Visitor's Information Station
Summit Tour Program
Arrive at the V.I.S. by 1:00pm. During the one hour spent at the
V.I.S. to get everyone acclimated to the high altitude, a video
about astronomy on Mauna Kea will be shown. Following the video
and a question-and-answer session, everyone returns to their own
4-wheel-drive vehicle. After the orientation the summit tour departs
on a half-hour, low-range-4-wheel-drive journey to the summit where
participants will hear a description of the history, ownership,
mirror size, and type of work done by all of the summit telescopes,
like Keck Observatory or Canada France Observatories. These Mauna
Kea observatories are not accessible for visitors.
Cultural and geological features of the mountain
will also be discussed. An inside tour of two of the summit telescopes
follows. Departure from the summit will be at about 4:30pm.Those
wishing to stay at the summit for hiking, or to view sunset may
do so, but everyone must drive down from the summit area by no later
than one-half hour after sunset.
Very important note: be sure that you have a full
tank of fuel in whatever vehicle you are driving to Mauna Kea. The
steep grade combined with the lower oxygen level makes internal
combustion engines run inefficiently. Fuel is not available for
purchase on Mauna Kea!
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