From my very first visit to Haleakala, my interest in astronomy was piqued. I recall arriving on the summit in the middle of the night, wondering if the famous Haleakala sunrise was worth the nearly sleepless night. Of course the sunrise was beautiful and worth every minute of lost sleep, but for me, seeing the incredible blanket of stars was even more amazing. With very little light pollution, Haleakala is one of the best places on earth for stargazing.
In 2009, I conducted a Q&A about stargazing in Hawaii with the Maui Astronomy Club president, Becky Sydney. Then in 2015, when I learned that Becky had started a brand new stargazing tour on Haleakala , I knew we’d have to book a tour on our next Maui visit and we did just that in January.
The tour started by meeting Becky at Kula Lodge. There, we got a taste of her infectious enthusiasm for Haleakala and astronomy. Becky explained the sequence of the tour, provided some education on the delicate environment and answered our questions. We then followed her by car up to the summit.
When we arrived at the summit, Becky gave us parkas, gloves, and hats too keep us more comfortable in the much cooler elevation. She then showed us where to watch sunset.
While we watched sunset, Becky set up the telescope and snacks for us to enjoy when we gathered for the astronomy portion of the tour.
On the night we visited, the moon was visible which gave us a great opportunity to view it from the telescope. As the sun sank deeper below the horizon, more and more stars became visible.
With Becky’s 50-mile reach laser, she’d point out constellations and stars. I remember one star that Becky pointed to that we then viewed by telescope to learn that it wasn’t actually one star, it was many stars.
With Becky’s expert guidance, telescope and the snacks she provided, we were the envy of the summit. We could tell that passersby wished they could partake.
All in all, the tour was excellent and we do recommend it. For more opinions of this tour you can read TripAdvisor reviews here. Here’s what to know when you go:
Have you been on the Maui Astronomy Tour? How was your experience.
Mahalo to Catherine Pope for sharing this Aloha Friday Photo. Catherine took this pretty photo…
We've sampled all of Oahu's tasty onolicious treats and here are our food picks every…
This week's featured Hawaii visitor photo shows a beautiful pastel sunset with palm trees.
We've "tasted" our way around the island of Kauai to identify all the best foods…
Mahalo to Megan Donnelly-Morris for sharing this beautiful Aloha Friday Photo. Megan took this photo…
Mahalo to Victoria Weissnicht from Austria for sharing this unique shot for Aloha Friday Photos.…
View Comments
Hi Sheila - since this company is no longer in business - are there any alternative stargazing tours you have good experiences with? Thanks
Hi Ilya - I'm sorry, I don't know of any alternatives at this time.
We've found another company that does stargazing tours - Maui Stargazing.