Telescopes

Telescope Images

The thumbnail images are linked to larger images where more information and full credit are given.

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1. Gemini North at Sunset.

   Gemini North is an 8-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

   Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF .

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2. GEMINI NORTH is an 8-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

   Mauna Kea is at 4,145 m (13,600 ft) and is one of the world's best observing sites---located fortunately in one of the world's best tourist sites---still the air is thin up on the mountain.

   Here we see a swirl of stars.

   The star trails seem to be about 30 degrees, and so the exposure was about 2 hours.

   Question: Mauna Kea is at about 20 degrees north latitude. In the northern hemisphere, the NCP is above the horizon and the SCP is below the horizon.

   Is the image looking:

   1. east?
   2. west?
   3. south?
   4. north?

   
   
   Answer 3 is right.

   The center of the star paths seems to be below the level-ground horizon, and so I think we are probably looking south and the stars are swirling about the South Celestial Pole (SCP).

   There is METEOR trail just about perpendicular to the star trails.

   The red-yellow streaks are the tail lights of cars driving up the mountain during the exposure

   Looking at this image it is possible to why some of the ancient Greek philosophers imagined the cosmos as a giant VORTEX (Fu-140).

   Credit: Gemini Observatory /NOAO /AURA/NSF.

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