Mauna Kea Volcano...

This post follows me up Mauna Kea Volcano on Hawai'i Island (the Big Island).  This was later in the day as my last two blog posts, so once again you'll notice the poor picture quality due to my inaccurate camera settings.  Luckily, I realized it later in the evening after taking these pictures, so after this posting it will be fixed moving forward.

(Nerd Alert): Mauna Kea Facts:
-It is the highest peak in Hawai'i at 13,800 ft. above sea level
-It's last major eruption was 4,600 years ago
-Most of the mountain is under water, so it is actually the tallest mountain in the world at 33,500 feet tall (Mount Everest is 29,000 ft and K2 is 28,000 ft)

Mauna Kea's Observatories.  Picture credit here.  

-It is sacred ground to ancient Hawaiians
-It gets enough snow in January and February at the peak to actually make winter sports possible, so you could conceivably (and rather easily) snowboard AND surf on the same day!

Mauna Kea's elevation, dryness and crisp, clean air make for an excellent atmosphere to observe space.  It's home to the largest collection of observatories telescopes in the world.  It currently has 13 observatories that are supported by 11 different countries (and some universities).  The area made big news here in Hawai'i recently because the state just approved a 30 meter telescope which will make it the largest constructed.  It is a joint effort between 6 universities, the state of Hawai'i and one foundation.  The universities are from the USA (3), China, Japan and India.

Headed up the Volcano...wow that picture quality is terrible!

Here I am at 9,000 feet and ready to watch the sunset...until a cloud invaded the trail I hiking!

High altitude plants

Found this tree as I wondered around inside the cloud that engulfed me.

Waiting for darkness to arrive.  I stayed at the visitors center at 9,000 feet to attend the Park Ranger's star gazing program.  Once the clouds cleared, I was awestruck by the numerous amount of stars.  It was amazing.  I cannot describe their abundance.  Stars that I knew of before (ie. the North Star, Orion's belt, dippers...) were even more bright, but it seemed like God took the number of starts in the KY sky and multiplied it by 100.  Many of the starts were colored, a detail not easily seen in KY.  One could easily see red, yellow, orange and even blueish stars with the naked eye.

The visitor center awash with red lights to aid guests' night vision.

Orion is easily visible in this picture with his brightly lit belt (picture center) and sword (extending down and slightly right from the middle of the belt)

The star gazing made me wish I hadn't dropped my college astronomy class.  My astronomy skills leave a lot to be desired; mostly consisting of being able to pick out the Orion, big dipper, and little dipper constellations.  Luckily, the park ranger was fantastic and shared a lot of knowledge with me...which I've subsequently already forgotten, but I remember being fascinated at the time!  Ha.

I hope to go back again soon, because I really wanted to go to the top of Mauna Kea.  Unfortunately, after 9,000 feet you need a four wheel drive vehicle for the remaining 5,000 feet to the observatories.  My rental car was not up for that challenge.

Mahalo for visiting.  See you again soon.