The sun drops behind the cloud layer, hastening the night. In just a few minutes the stars become visible.

The last rays of the sun bathe the observatories at the summit of Mauna Kea in golden light while the clouds below us tumble by.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Observatory (left) has opened its doors in anticipation of a night of astronomical observations. Observatories open their dome doors well before they begin observations in order to equalize the temperature inside the dome with the outside temperature (about 40° F). This stabilizes the air around the telescope, preventing convection currents that disturb observation

One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, ecology and spirituality of Mauna Kea.

The sun sets beyond the clouds. In the foreground (left to right, you can see Keck II and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF).

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One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, ecology and spirituality of Mauna Kea.

Pu`u Poliʻahu is prominent cinder cone at the top of Mauna Kea. If you look closely, you’ll see a shrine that appears to be a pair of vertical poles.

Poliʻahu is the snow goddess deity. According to legend, she inhabits the summit of Mauna Kea and rules over the northern side of the island, whereas Pele, the volcano goddess, rules Kīlauea and Mauna Loa on the southern side of the island.

In winter, Poliʻahu is evident, as it can actually snow at the top of Mauna Kea. It must be quite a thing to go from sun drenched beaches to snow on the same island.

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9/6/10 – Update – 67-64 Four Hawaii pictures.
9/7/10 – Update – 63-60 Four more Hawaii pictures.
9/8/10 – Update – 59-57 Three more Hawaii pictures.
9/12/10 – Update – 56-53 Four more Hawaii pictures.
9/17/10 – Update 52-44 Nine more Hawaii pictures

POD 48

One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, ecology and spirituality of Mauna Kea.

Pu`u Wekiu is the highest peak at the summit of Mauna Kea. In this picture, you can see a trail leading to the top where there is a shrine. The summit of Mauna Kea is sacred to the original people of Hawaii and their descendants. It is considered a place where deities reside.

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POD 49
One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, and ecology of Mauna Kea.

As the sun was setting, I looked to the west (sometimes the better picture is behind you) and was amazed by the sight of Mauna Kea’s shadow spread out across the clouds. It affected me on a primal level – it revealed the magnitude of the mountain in a way that facts and figures about the mountains altitude and size could not. We see shadows every day – we walk under the shadow of trees, we see our own shadows long and short as the sun climbs the sky. But the idea that there could be something so big as to cast a shadow on the tops of clouds?

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One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, and ecology of Mauna Kea.

We stopped before the sunset at the summit and our tour guides described the various observatories that have been built there. The summit of Mauna Kea is an ideal location for telescopes because it is above the cloud layer, low in atmospheric and light pollution, and the air is dry and thin – all qualities that improve the quality of astronomical.
observations.

This picture shows the twin Keck Observatories. The telescopes are unique because they each use multiple, separate hexagonal mirrors that operate as if they were a single contiguous mirror. Furthermore, the two observatories can be used to simultaneously image the same celestial object to produce a higher resolution image than can be achieved with a single telescope.

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One of the best adventures we had on the Big Island of Hawaii was to book a Mauna Kea sunset tour. The tour took us in four wheel drive vans to the summit to watch the sun set and learn about the observatories, geology, ecology and spirituality of Mauna Kea.

Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano with its summit is at 13,796 ft above sea level

This picture was taken above the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station. You can see it at the bottom right hand corner of this picture. The station is at 9,300 feet above sea level and our tour group stopped there briefly to acclimate to the altitude and look through some solar telescopes. We stopped again at approximately 10,300 feet to take some pictures. Here you can see a number of cinder cones. And yes, those are clouds. Some of the other pictures show even more dramatic views of the cloud layer as seen from above.

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It took us several days to realize we could see Maui from the Big Island. It was often covered in clouds, as we were looking at its windward side. This evening, the sky was clear enough to see a nice silhouette of the neighboring island.

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The setting sun’s light lit up the scrub along the lava flows.

We noitced these windmills from the highway and drove down the Upolu Airport road to have a closer look. The scale of these windmills is hard to fathom. The sound made by the blads as they spun in the wind was definately formidable.

The Hawi Wind Farm, has a 10.56 MW capacity, consisting of 16 Vestas V47 (660 kW) wind turbines and interconnection facilities, became operational in May 2006. A purchase power agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company was approved by the Public Utilities Commission on May 14, 2004.

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We drove to the northern Kohala coast to visit a black sand beach along the Awini Trail. It was a fun hike down to the valley floor where it emerges on the coast. There were wild cattle grazing in the valley floor.

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For scale, here’s a picture of Karen walking along the path to where we had to hike up the edge of the caldera.

Along the path, there were a few offerings to Pele.  For Native Hawaiians, Kīlauea is considered the “body” of Pele, the volcano goddess of ancient Hawaiian legend.  Here is an offering left in one of the many steam vents.

This is a view of the cinder and spatter cone formed by the November 14th 1959 eruption from the rim According the the park service trail guide, the eruption began when a “curtain” of lava burst from a half-mile (0.8 km) long fissure, or crack, in the crater wall. Within a day, multiple vents along the fissure consolidated into one main vent (an opening through which lava erupts).

The reddish brown cavity at the base was the main vent from which lava erupted.

The scale is hard to determine, but it is about 350 feet from the trail to the top of the cinter cone. The picture was taken from trail marker number six on the map:

This is a picture from the trail guide, showing the 1959 eruption:

Kīlauea Iki is a pit crater which is next to the main summit caldera of Kīlauea. It last erupted on November 14, 1959. Kīlauea Iki Wikipedia article

This is the trail map to the crater (My picture below was taken from where I’ve place the red arrow)

You can see a straight path along the crater floor running from the right edge of my picture across to where the crater wall collapsed. We walked along the rim on the right side, then dropped down to walk back along that path. I’ll post more pictures of this hike soon.

Aslo note the steam rising in the distance. This is from the exposed lava lake in the Halema’uma’u crater. I’ll be posting a wonderful night view of this crater soon….

Here’s a map to the crater in the park:

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We came upon this scene as we drove back from the Hilo side of the island, down a ways from Waimea. I pulled over to catch the glow of the sun behind the clouds lighting up the ocean below us.

Here’s a map of the approximate location of the spot on the road I pulled over.

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We drove to the lush rainforest side of the Big Island for a Zip Line adventure. On the way there, we stopped to walk around Akaka Falls State Park and got a great view of the falls.

We had a great lunch downslope in the little town of Honomu.

Here’s a map to the park:

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We drove down to the town of Kailua Kona for dinner one evening and happened to be there for the monthly street market on Alii Dr. Nick was taking ini the scene while Karen shopped for some fine Kona coffee.

Here is the street market:

Here’s a map to the town:

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