Category: Mauna Kea

The Mountain

What about the ahu?

Ancient ahu dot the summit slopes of Mauna Kea. These stone shrines or altars are primarily found on the southern plateau near the adze quarry. There are dozens of sites scattered across the slopes, usually atop prominent rock outcroppings. The most typical structure is a stone pile or platform with a large upright stone at the center. A few sites have multiple uprights. The uprights are clearly carefully chosen, usually a long narrow pohaku.

Ahu
An ancient ahu (shrine) atop Mauna Kea with Mauna Loa in the background
These ancient ahu are usually modest constructions, none exhibiting the fine stonework visible in the heiau and other religious sites across the islands. The harsh weather of Mauna Kea has taken its toll, often the stones are scattered, the upright has fallen.

There is one modern ahu that has been around for a while, sometimes. At the very summit of the mountain an ahu can usually be found. Apparently there is some disagreement about the presence of this ahu. I have seen the stones scattered, I have seen the ahu reappear. When I first began working on Mauna Kea the summit this ahu had a lele, a simple wooden platform built over the ahu.

The current attention focused on Mauna Kea has seen a resurgence in the building of ahu as an act of protest. At least five have been built that I am aware of. Two at the TMT site, two in the middle of the gravel portion of the summit road, one alongside the summit road about halfway up the switchbacks.

These are typically much more substantial structures than the ancient sites. Actually quite well built, sometimes with local rock, at least one is built with rounded stream boulders brought from far below the summit. Unlike the ancient sites these new ahu are fairly standardized, a rock platform around 10-20 square feet in size with a single large upright at the center.

Ahu in the Road
An ahu built in the downhill lane of the Mauna Kea summit access road
What is the status of these sites? What about an ahu built in the middle of a road?

I think it is pretty clear that an ahu erected with ill intent is not sacred. The entire question of sacred or not sacred is a question of intent. Setting an ahu in the middle of the road is simply not pono. Whatever motive the builder may have, creation of such a structure it is still a malicious act, a serious risk to any who use the road. The builders knew this as they stacked the stones. An ahu like this should be removed, preferably by those who erected it.

The two ahu have been removed from the summit road. A third still exists, the one built on a level area beside one of the switchbacks above Hale Pohaku, not in the road. As far as I am aware the two built on the TMT site still exist, both in the roadway. Whether they are dismantled or allowed to remain is still an open question.

An End to Observing at the MKVIS?

As we are all aware, the TMT protests are having direct consequences for everyone who goes to the mountain. Regular mountain users and tourists alike are dealing these consequences. The summit road closed to the public for a second week, the MKVIS also closed, even before these closures the protests had curtailed many activities.

Mauna Kea Observing
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.
It looks to get worse.

An agenda item that will appear before this week’s DLNR board meeting contains significant rule changes regarding use of the lands surrounding the Mauna Kea access road. For the local amateur astronomy community this looks to be very serious, a complete closure of a place we have all come to value very highly.

Go the the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station on the weekends nearest new Moon and you will find telescopes. While the MKVIS telescopes get put away at 10pm there are ‘scopes that are operating late into the night, often still there when dawn colors the sky. These telescopes belong to local amateur astronomers who bring them here to enjoy perfect Mauna Kea skies.

Continue reading “An End to Observing at the MKVIS?”

Shattering the Silence

It has been over three months since the protest began. Three months of standoff with the protesters who would not see another telescope built on Mauna Kea.

Mauna Kea Observing
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.
It has been my habit over the last eight years to spend a night under the stars, high on the mountain, each time the new Moon arrives. On the nights when there is no moonlight the sky is dark, truly dark. The stars shine undiminished, the universe is open to be explored. I have used binoculars, small telescopes, cameras, or simply my eyes.

It is with my handmade 18 inch telescope that I can truly gaze into the depths of space. This simple device of plywood and glass allows me to see galaxies millions of light years into the past. With this telescope I have seen hundreds of galaxies, giving me a glimpse of the indescribable vastness of space.

Often I would set up in the patio right at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. The first couple hours spent talking with visitors, showing them the wonders our universe has to offer. After the VIS closes the visitors depart, driven back to their hotels by the cold mountain air. I have a heavy winter jacket, ski-pants, a thermos of hot tea, everything I need to be comfortable under the night sky. I would have the rest of the night to myself, just me, the mountain and the stars.

Continue reading “Shattering the Silence”

Dark Secrets

Over the past months I have made a habit of reading opposition websites. Primarily in an effort to understand the cultural objections to astronomy on Mauna Kea. I have actually learned quite a bit, filling in my knowledge of Hawaiian culture and history. But I do learn other things, apparently this controversy has a very dark and secret element.

First Target of the Night
The Keck 2 laser acquires the first target of the night with the glow of sunset behind
There are local opponents who have a legitimate stake in this controversy. We have also seen other causes that have latched on this debate, often as a tool to forwarding their own agenda. Then there are people completely divorced from reality that seem to think that there is something more to the controversy on the mountain…

… was again soundly defeated atop the tallest mountain in the Pacific by native Hawaiians who understand that telescopes & astronomy have virtually nothing to do with the secret government’s attempt to take over the mountain. The secret government wants to use it for scalar military transmitters & to incorporate it into the Army’s Pohakuloa military base, scheduled eventually to become the largest military base in the Pacific. – Facebook posting by Krishna Davinci, chairman of the Bohemian Grove at Illuminati Network

Ummmm… OK.

Aside from some contradictory grammar, it seems that Mr Krishna has taken every conspiracy theory out there and combined them into a wild stew. This is actually quite common, once a person accepts one conspiracy theory, even wilder theories can easily take root. Take a look at his page, there is more, no theory too far fetched… Chemtrails? Check. Planet X Nibiru? Check. President Obama sacrificing babies at satanic ceremonies? Check. The entire page is so far out there I was first convinced it was all an elaborate satire. Does the Facebook feed need a Poe’s Law disclaimer? Unfortunately, the more I read the more I despaired that someone really believes it all.

Scalar military transmitters? I am an electrical engineer and I have no idea what he is talking about. We do have lasers, and those are cool. In all my visits to the other facilities on the summit I have never seen a scalar transmitter.

I have met a few folks and read more than a few Facebook postings that make all sorts of wild accusations of military use of the summit of Mauna Kea. For most of the past decades the amount of military involvement in Mauna Kea astronomy has been pretty much zero. Since Lockheed Martin has joined the partnership running UKIRT this sort of accusation seems to have gained momentum. Never mind that their stated use of the telescope is to track orbital targets and debris. A use that makes complete sense given the capabilities of the telescope and the need for this effort.

Krishna goes on to explain further…

Furthermore, telescopes are now relatively obsolete & primitive … as are rockets. NASA (Never A Straight Answer) continues to publicly promote them to the sheeple with make-believe projects, because NASA is just a cover for the secret government’s REAL space program ~ which now has at least 10 fleets well outside our solar system using antigrav & antimatter propulsion technology ~ not to mention innumerable interplanetary bases on the moon, Mars, the moons of Jupiter & Saturn … plus several more outside of our solar system. This has been ongoing for over a half century … & publicly hidden from the dumbed-down zombied-out sheeple. – Krishna Davinci

I suppose I am not qualified to cast any judgement here, about a quarter of my salary does come from NASA. On the other hand… Fleets outside our solar system? Bases on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn? Where the hell do I sign up for a transfer to that assignment? I would love to see Saturn up close! Do you suppose that base is on Hyperion? I have always loved that wild little moon.

If we really had these things the US military would celebrate them… Loudly! Why would you need to keep this all secret? Imagine the PR possibilities. With that sort of military power the need for secrecy would simply become an unnecessary annoyance. Besides, that many fleets and bases would need people to man them, you need to recruit a lot of folks. I can imagine the recruiting posters now.

If I disappear in the next few weeks just assume I got my transfer to the Hyperion moon base. In the meantime I need to head to the summit in order to continue fixing the mind control machine. It has been down for a couple weeks and you can see the trouble that has caused.

TMT Construction Restarts

With the announcement the TMT will restart construction everything seems headed for a showdown on the mountain. The protesters are clearly preparing for action. The day is Wednesday. I was scheduled to do a training session for our crew this Wednesday, I have cancelled this. This sort of thing is common as the rest of the observatories consider how we will deal with a possible prolonged blockage of the road.

Protest Rock
The rock to build an ahu passes through Hale Pohaklu on Monday, photo by Dan Birchall, used with permission
First move was by the protesters. Alerted by a message from Dan Birchall that trucks of rock were headed up the mountain, I took a look with one of our cameras. The protesters were building an ahu (stone altar) right in the middle of the TMT access road. Women, children and guys clothed in nothing but malo hauling rock down the access road while security looked on.

Dan confirms that the rocks were rounded boulders in mixed sizes. Rounded rock, as one would find in a stream bed, is particularly desirable in the building of a proper sacred structure such as an ahu or heiau. According to legend that the rock to build the great heiau at Puʻu Kohala was hauled all the way from Waipio Valley by a chain of men across the island.

Obviously they are daring the construction crews to dismantle the structure, then to be able to claim desecration when that happens. Whatever happens our crews will have a first hand view from our site overlooking the TMT site.

I hope for more updates as the situation evolves. With Wednesday cancelled I still hope to go up Friday to complete a few things, whether I do attempt to go up is a bit indeterminate at the moment. Will wait and see.

WHAC Visits Subaru

Over the past few years the West Hawaii Astronomy Club has visited nearly every telescope on Mauna Kea. One glaring exception to this is Subaru, the 8.2 meter telescope belonging to NAOJ.

Subaru Telescope
The sun glints over the tall Subaru telescope enclosure
Subaru… Check.

Subaru is the only telescope with an active tour program. By making reservations ahead of time you can visit the interior of the facility with a guide. This made making the arrangements for a tour quite simple, even when the observatories are worried about events on the mountain. We did quite well for tour guides, Rieko Murai and Josh Walawender made the tour a bit better than the usual tour. Josh is well known to the local amateur community, bringing his own small telescopes to observe at the VIS.

The limit for any group visiting the telescope is eight due to practical considerations such as safety. Thus I had set up two tours, using both the 10:30 and 11:30 slots. This allowed most of the club an opportunity to visit the telescope. This did mean we were unable to enjoy the experience together. While we waited for our later tour I led a short walk to some interesting geologic features and one of the ancient ahu that are near the road.

Continue reading “WHAC Visits Subaru”