NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

Maunakea


Able to utilize multiple sensors, this 3m (9.8ft) infrared telescope has diverse applications, from close-to-home observations – like measuring the ozone on Mars, sleuthing out meteor impacts on Jupiter, or examining the surface of Ceres – to more distant ones like examining the star forming regions of the Orion Nebula. This telescope saw first light in 1979, is operated by the University of Hawaii and welcomes research proposals from all countries.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Maunakea attractions

1. WM Keck Observatory

0.16 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…

2. Mauna Kea's Summit Area

0.17 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…

3. Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

0.21 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…

4. Gemini Northern Telescope

0.25 MILES

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…

5. Subaru Telescope

0.27 MILES

When it came online in 1999, Japan's 26.9ft Subaru Telescope was the most expensive observatory ever constructed. The 22-ton mirror is one of the largest…

6. University of Hawaiʻi 2.2m Telescope

0.28 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…

7. United Kingdom Infrared Telescope

0.28 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…

8. University of Hawai‘i 0.9m Telescope

0.3 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…