Established 1961 (1961) Pan-STARRS PS1 1.8 m reflector Organization University of Hawaii | Faulkes Telescope North 2.0 m reflector Address Kula, HI 96790, USA | |
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Location Haleakalā, Hawaii, U.S. Altitude 3,052 meters (10,013 ft) Website www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakala/ | ||
Hawaii 2015 2016 maui haleakala observatory
The Haleakalā Observatory on the island of Maui, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is the location of Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawai'i, which operates some of the facilities on the site and leases portions to other organizations. Tenants include the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGTN). At over 3,050 meters (10,010 ft) in altitude, the summit of Haleakalā is above one third of the Earth's atmosphere and has excellent astronomical seeing conditions.
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Mees Solar Observatory
The Mees Solar Observatory (MSO) is named after Kenneth Mees and dedicated in 1964. It consists of one dome with multiple instruments sharing a common mount.
Pan-STARRS
The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) is a planned array of telescopes plus a computing facility that will survey the sky on a continual basis, and provide accurate astrometry and photometry of detected objects. By detecting any differences from previous observations of the same areas of the sky, it is expected to discover a very large number of new asteroids, comets, variable stars and other celestial objects. Currently, the 1.8 m (71 in) PS1 prototype telescope is in operation and the PS2 is under construction.
Faulkes Telescope North
The Faulkes Telescope North, part of the Faulkes Telescope Project, is a 2.0 m (79 in) reflecting telescope owned and operated by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. It provides remote access to a research-quality telescope primarily to students in the United Kingdom.
TLRS-4 Laser Ranging System
The TLRS-4 Laser Ranging System is part of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS), which provides satellite laser ranging and lunar laser ranging data. The TLRS-4 replaced an older facility in order to provide continuity of data. The old facility now houses telescopes of the Pan-STARRS project.
Zodiacal Light Observatory
The Zodiacal Light Observatory currently consists of two instruments. The Scatter-free Observatory for Limb Active Regions and Coronae (SOLARC or SOLAR-C) telescope is a 0.5 m (20 in) off-axis reflecting coronagraph that is used to study the Sun's corona. The Day-Night Seeing Monitor Telescope System (DNSM) makes telescope-independent observations of perturbations in the atmosphere above Haleakala.
Maui Space Surveillance Complex
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) operates the Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC), which is part of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS). Located at the MSSC are the 3.67 m (144 in) Advanced Electro Optical System Telescope (AEOS), the Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS), and the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS). The MSSS uses a number of optical assets, including a 1.6 m (63 in) telescope, two 1.2 m (47 in) telescopes on a common mount, a 0.8 m (31 in) beam director/tracker, and a 0.6 m (24 in) laser beam director. The GEODSS uses two 1.0 m (39 in) telescopes and one 0.38 m (15 in) telescope.