Mahalo to Bianka Gunter for sharing this interesting Aloha Friday Photo taken from the summit of Haleakala.
Standing at just over 10,000 feet above sea level, Haleakala is Maui’s tallest mountain and the third tallest mountain in the state of Hawaii. With this elevation and abundant darkness, it’s one of the best places on earth for stargazing, thus the observatories that you see in Bianka’s photo.
Though visitors aren’t allowed inside the observatories, simply viewing the night sky with the naked eye from this same vantage point is phenomenal. If you can visit the summit on a a clear, moonless night, you’ll get to see more stars that you can imagine. Also, you have a good chance of seeing “shooting stars”. The first time we went to Haleakala for sunrise I was absolutely amazed how many stars and “shooting stars I saw.
Several years ago, we took an astronomy tour to Haleakala. We were able to view planets through a fairly powerful telescope. That particular tour operator has retired, but we recently discovered a few new options:
Whether you opt to go to Haleakala for sunrise or sunset, you’ll get a chance to enjoy some stargazing either before or after. Going to Haleakala is definitely worth planning into your Maui vacation.
Happy Aloha Friday!
Sheila Beal
