Eyes to the Cosmos

Stars and passing clouds above the moonlit observatory domes on Mauna Kea of Hawaii. Located near the 4205m summit of Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, the observatory is recognized as one of the world’s premier astronomical research facilities. Hawaii’s isolation in the mid-Pacific Ocean and the high elevation of Mauna Kea makes it one of the best locations on Earth for ground-based astronomy. In total there are currently a dozen giant telescopes at or around the summit of Mauna Kea including the 8-meter Subaru telescope, clearly visible at first from the left, and the double 10-meter Keck telescopes (once the world’s largest observatories), located at the right of Subaru in this image.