High, Dry and Covered in Snow

Maunakea, one of the volcanoes constituting the island of Hawai‘i, is an inactive shield volcano and one of the tallest mountains on Earth at an elevation of 4205 meters (13,786 feet). It’s home to Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF NOIRLab. The summit of Maunakea makes for a fantastic astronomical observing location thanks to its high altitude, low humidity, and position far from and above most city lights. It’s also located above the tropical cloud cover that can obscure the view of the night sky around much of the rest of the island.

The barren slopes of the volcano are clearly visible and if you zoom in you can see several telescopes, including Gemini North, on the snowy summit.