04-15-2019, 07:28 AM
not-quite-off-topic: For just over 3 years now, there has been a free tour program for residents of Hawai'i, where you are taken inside some of the observatories to see the big iron, up close and personal.
We did this tour a couple years back, and it was nothing short of amazing and awe-inspiring. We got to visit the JCMT and the Subarau telescope on our tour. At the JCMT, is was a delight to geek-out with the technician and operator, who seemed quite eager to answer any and all questions. At the Subaru, I got to lay on the floor directly beneath the telescope, staring up at this immense precision machine designed solely to increase our knowledge of the universe. Highly recommended, but I got quite a head rush from then standing up too quickly !
I don't know if it's still part of the program, but the tour at the time also included free lunch in the cafeteria at Hale P#333;haku.
Anyway, highly recommended:
http://kamaainaobservatoryexperience.org/
We did this tour a couple years back, and it was nothing short of amazing and awe-inspiring. We got to visit the JCMT and the Subarau telescope on our tour. At the JCMT, is was a delight to geek-out with the technician and operator, who seemed quite eager to answer any and all questions. At the Subaru, I got to lay on the floor directly beneath the telescope, staring up at this immense precision machine designed solely to increase our knowledge of the universe. Highly recommended, but I got quite a head rush from then standing up too quickly !
I don't know if it's still part of the program, but the tour at the time also included free lunch in the cafeteria at Hale P#333;haku.
Anyway, highly recommended:
http://kamaainaobservatoryexperience.org/