The twin telescopes at the W.M. Keck Observatory are the largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world. The telescopes are located atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

ATOP MAUNA KEA, Hawaii – If you count from sea level, we were 13,796 feet up, almost as high as Mount Rainier. Plenty high enough. But if you count from the ocean floor? My Big Island tour group ...

The nearly 14,000-foot summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island is home to some of the largest astronomical telescopes in the world, including Keck Observatory’s twin 10-meter reflectors ...

The land on Mauna Kea has been administered by the University of Hawaii since the 1960s. Andrew Richard Hara/W. M. Keck Observatory hide caption ...

Hawaii governor appointed native activists to manage sacred summit Mauna Kea, ... The governor selected Rich Matsuda, an engineer who leads community relations for W.M. Keck Observatory, ...

John O’Meara, who moved to Hawaii to become the chief scientist at Keck shortly before the 2019 protest, ... astronomers have mounted 13 giant astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea’s summit.

Over the last 50 years, astronomers have mounted 13 giant astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea’s summit. In 2019, Native Hawaiians including Piscioitta staged a year-long protest over ...

The leasing arrangements for all 13 observatories on Mauna Kea expire in 2033, including the University of Hawaii’s overriding lease for the entire summit site.