by Ludwig Scheibe (TU Berlin), April 2025
The Maunakea Observatories are a group of astronomical research stations operated by independent institutions and located on the Maunakea mountain on the island of Hawaii. There, they make use of the high altitude, dark sky and stable, dry, relatively cloud-free climate which create excellent observing conditions.
The observatories feature telescopes covering wavelengths from long radio waves to short ultraviolet rays.
One example of the contributions of the Maunakea Observatories to exoplanet science specifically is the HR 8799 planetary system. It was discovered via direct imaging with the Gemini and Keck observatories on Maunakea in 2008, and subsequently observed over several years, giving one of the clearest direct observations of a multiple-planet exoplanet system.
Some of the observatories on the Maunakea summit. From left to right: NASA IRTF, Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, Gemini North, UH 88-inch-telescope and UK Infrared Telescope. Credit: Leijurv via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More information can be found at the Maunakea Observatories website.
The astronomical research sites are:
- International Gemini Observatory
- W. M. Keck Observatory
- Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
- Subaru Telescope by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
- NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
- The Submillimeter Array
- United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
- University of Hawai’i Hilo Physics, Astronomy, Educational Telescope
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Long Baseline Array
- University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy