astronomy

Haleakalā Observatory

Haleakalā Observatory is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Haleakalā Observatory rather than just read about it. In short: The Haleakalā Observatory, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is located on the island of Maui and is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaiʻi, which operates some of the facilities on the site and leases portions to other organizations.

Key takeaways

Haleakalā Observatory belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Haleakalā Observatory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Haleakalā Observatory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Haleakalā Observatory, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is located on the island of Maui and is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaiʻi, 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 elevation, the summit of Haleakalā is above one third of the Earth's troposphere and has excellent astronomical seeing conditions. Under very clear conditions, the complex is visible from Makakilo on the island of Oahu, over 200km away.

Facilities

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 pair of telescopes plus a computing facility that surveys the sky on a continual basis, providing accurate astrometry and photometry of detected objects. By detecting any differences from previous observations of the same areas of the sky, it has discovered over 5,700 new asteroids, comets, variable stars and other celestial objects. Currently, the 1.8-meter (71 in) PS1 telescope is in operation and the PS2 is in its commissioning phase.

Faulkes Telescope North The Faulkes Telescope North, part of the Faulkes Telescope Project, is a 2.0-meter (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-meter (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-meter (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-meter (63 in) telescope, two 1.2-meter (47 in) telescopes on a common mount, a 0.8-meter (31 in) beam director/tracker, and a 0.6-meter (24 in) laser beam director. The GEODSS uses two 1.0-meter (39 in) telescopes and one 0.38-meter (15 in) telescope.

Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is a 4.0-meter (160 in) solar telescope of the National Solar Observatory.

Future facilities The AFRL has plans to build a mirror re-coating facility adjacent to the AEOS building.

Former facilities A Baker-Nunn telescope operated from 1957 to 1976 as part of Project Space Track. The Lunar Ranging Experiment (LURE) Observatory operated from 1974 until 2004. The Pan-STARRS PS1 now resides in the south dome of the LURE facility and the PS2 is being built in the north dome. The University of Chicago Enrico Fermi Institute operated the Haleakala Cosmic Ray Neutron Monitor Station from 1991 to 2007. The Haleakala Gamma Ray Observatory was a six-mirror Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope on an equatorial mount. It began operating in 1981 and was upgraded in 1988. The Multicolor Active Galactic Nuclei Monitoring (MAGNUM) was a 2.0-meter (79 in) near infrared telescope operated by the University of Tokyo. It was housed in the LURE facility's north dome from 1998 to 2008. Observations of airglow were made from a platform near the middle of the site in the 1960s and 1970s. The platform is now used for temporary projects. The Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program operated from 2000 to 2007 using one of the MSSS 1.2-meter telescopes.

Non-astronomical facilities The Federal Aviation Administration operates a facility immediately to the west of the observatory site. The Department of Energy also operates a facility immediately to the west of the observatory site. A small building on the site is used by the Haleakalā Amateur Astronomers.

Gallery

See also Mauna Kea Observatories Mauna Loa Solar Observatory List of astronomical observatories

References

External links University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy - Haleakala Observatory "Maui's Night Sky" Time elapse photography of night sky from Haleakala by Wally Pacholka. Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine Volume 14, Number 3 (May 2010) Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. HI-118, "Reber Circle, Grote Reber Radio Telescope Site, Pu'u Kolekole Hill, Pukalani, Maui County, Hawaii", 6 photos, 10 data pages, 2 photo caption pages

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Haleakalā Observatory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Haleakalā Observatory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Haleakalā Observatory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Haleakalā Observatory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Haleakalā Observatory

In research: Haleakalā Observatory appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Haleakalā Observatory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Haleakalā Observatory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1961 establishments in Hawaii, Astronomical observatories in Hawaii, Buildings and structures in Maui County, Hawaii, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Haleakalā Observatory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Haleakalā Observatory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Haleakalā Observatory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Haleakalā Observatory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Haleakalā Observatory in simple terms?

Why does Haleakalā Observatory matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Haleakalā Observatory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Haleakalā Observatory.