Gemini Northern Telescope

Maunakea


When this 26.6ft telescope is paired with its twin in Chile, they are able to cover almost the entire sky. In 2014, Gemini used speckle imaging to help confirm the existence of Kepler 186f, the first known Earth-sized planet orbiting within a sun's habitable zone. The two telescopes are operated jointly by the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, with percentage of observation time distributed based on each country's financial contribution. First light: 1999.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Maunakea attractions

1. University of Hawaiʻi 2.2m Telescope

0.06 MILES

UH2.2 (if you go metric, UH88 if you prefer inches) was a pioneer of Mauna Kea. As the first large telescope on the mountain (1970), its great imagery…

2. Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

0.1 MILES

This 3.6m (11.8ft) optical/infrared telescope's first light was 1979, making it the oldest operational telescope on the mountain. It specializes in wide…

3. United Kingdom Infrared Telescope

0.13 MILES

Even though this 3.8m (12.5ft) telescope is the second-largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world, it will soon be decommissioned according to the…

4. University of Hawai‘i 0.9m Telescope

0.16 MILES

Hoku Kea was meant to be a teaching telescope, but the original 0.9m (3ft) mirror was delivered warped and the manufacturer went bankrupt. So, it has…

5. Puʻu Wekiu

0.23 MILES

Hawaiian cultural practitioners ask that visitors respect the sacred true summit of Mauna Kea and not hike the trail to the top of the cinder cone (13…

6. NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

0.25 MILES

Able to utilize multiple sensors, this 3m (9.8ft) infrared telescope has diverse applications, from close-to-home observations – like measuring the ozone…

7. Mauna Kea's Summit Area

0.31 MILES

At 13,796ft in the air, you are above 40% of the atmosphere and 90% of its water vapor – apparently perfect conditions for growing the giant mushroom-like…

8. WM Keck Observatory

0.39 MILES

Mirrors larger than 26.2ft are so heavy that gravity distorts them as they move. Keck's breakthrough design overcame that limitation in 1993 by using a…