Obervatories atop Mauna Kea

you cannot visit Mauna Kea in a tour helicopter - it is too high and too dangerous, and it interferes with the observing - but you could visit virtually!
major info sources:
- Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii
  - Mauna Kea Observatories - Aerial Tour 1998 and 1995
- County of Hawaii 1997 Data Book Section 13
10 telescopes and 3 under construction:
- University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope
- NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF)
- Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
- Joint Astronomy Centre, which incorporates:
  - James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT)
  - United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)
- Gemini 8 meter Telescopes Project
  - Photo Gallery
- Subaru Telescope
- W. M. Keck Observatory
- Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO)
- Submillimeter Array
- Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)

surrounding area

roads around the observatories, in the 7.5" DLG file, use attribute 210 for paved roads, and 212 for dirt roads
rough GIF map of summit

NASA aerial photo:

Another NASA aerial, with overlaid telescope names:

summit area, produced from rendering 10m DEM files:

from the 25m LandSat7 image

USDA Emerge aerial photo 2003

automated submarine volcano observatory installed on the summit of the undersea Lo`ihi seamount
connected to a shore station by a 47km cable (power and data fiber)
was in operation from 1997-1998