This is where I was today:

That photo was taken outside the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, looking toward the actual summit of the mountain, which is at the top of the background cinder cone, at 13,796-feet. We (husband & I) walked over there a few minutes after this photo was taken. It took about five minutes to “summit.”

We drove to the top purely as a tourist endeavor, but this was something I had wanted to do for years, so it was exciting.

Somehow we managed to pick a perfect morning for our adventure. Volcanic smog had been thick for the previous few days, but a lot of it blew out to sea early in the day, leaving the air clear. It was also surprisingly warm, even though there was still snow on the ground.

Here’s a shot looking past the twin domes of the very famous WM Keck Observatory, back towards my home of Maui (the dark, cloud-wreathed mountain on the horizon).

Here’s a link to the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy’s page on the summit observatories.

Posted on: Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 4:34 am
Categories: Hawaii.