The Keck Telescope At Mauna Kea
The natural sciences, as the name implies, study the phenomenon that occur in nature, and though our knowledge of this grows day by day, we still have limitations in what we know & how we can observe nature. In the science of astronomy, which makes a study of the heavens, were actually limited by the very air in our atmosphere, which helps to diffuse light coming in & interferes with our views of space.
But sometimes, nature itself seems to help us around our limitations. The twin Keck telescopes, located on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, is an example of how natural conditions have allowed us to overcome limitations we would find almost everywhere else on Earth & further the cause of science. There are many features that made Mauna Kea the perfect site to place the powerful Keck telescopes.
Height
Mauna Kea is the highest point in Hawaii, but even beyond that, its technically the tallest mountain in the world. Everest holds claim to the highest elevation, but Mauna Kea tops it in size at over 33,000 feet. While more than ½ of this is underwater, the remaining bit of mountain above sea level still puts this summit observatory where the air is thin & where there is very little water vapor in the air. This means that the Keck telescopes get a view with less interference from whats in the air than most places on earth.
The Lay of the Land
Locating an observatory on a tall mountain is great for avoiding pollution in the atmosphere, but one would think that reaching the summit would be hard to manage. However, Mauna Kea doesnt have just height as a key feature. Its what’s called a shield volcano, which means that its sides have a very shallow slope, which makes trucking materials & people up to the summit a piece of cake. Because of this, building & staffing the Keck telescopes was an easy thing to do.
In addition to this, despite being a chain of islands formed from volcanic activity, the region around the Mauna Kea is very stable. Also, the lava flows in Hawaii tend to be small & manageable, so in the unlikely event of an eruption, the danger to the Keck telescopes would be minimal.
The Perfect Location
The beautiful beaches & great weather arent the reason the Keck telescopes are located in Hawaii, but the miles of ocean around the Hawaiian Islands are a good reason to locate a place devoted to astronomy. Because most of the area around the Hawaiian Islands is ocean, theres less places where cities & towns can be built, which cuts down on light pollution from street lights, lamps, and so on.
This means the stars in the sky have less light from below to compete with. Little things like this would be hard to find anywhere else in the world, & because of this, the Keck telescopes are located in one of the most uniquely perfect regions to study the stars in. This is one of the few times where nature itself seems to conspire to help us study the universe around us.
Ann Marier writes informative articles about family life & general health issues, Her lastest are about telescopes & the start world. Click on http://childtelescope.com to read all the different telescope articles Click on http://ultimatehealthinfo.com to see the other general health articles
Ann Marier