When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Exploring the islands
Is it bad when you can fill an entire washer load with only aloha shirts?
Yes, we really wear Hawaiian shirts here in Hawaiʻi. Or, as they are called locally, aloha shirts. I remember my first week on the job. I was wearing a modestly colorful shirt in the office and I was wondering if it was appropriate. As I looked about the meeting I noted that two thirds of those present were wearing the colorful shirts, including my supervisor and department head. Yeah, need to buy more.
It is bad… A wildfire burns a few thousand acres. Follow that up with torrential rains to sweep all of the ash and mud onto the reef. There is a reason we are not diving this weekend. We had planned to, the water needs a week to clear out the murk. It will be interesting to see the impact on the reef.
I have said this before… After eight years of driving up and down Mauna Kea I have yet to get tired of the view. It is always different.
By Doug Simons and Hilton Lewis…
The cultural, spiritual, historical, scientific, and political perspectives being discussed in our community today are the building blocks of resolution. Maunakea is a critically important site of tremendous tradition and strength for the people of Hawai‘i. One of those strengths is the fact that Maunakea is the foremost site for astronomical observation in the world, providing a significant fraction of the new knowledge of the universe available to all of humanity. The challenge before us, the people of Hawaii, is to come together to create a lasting, inclusive, and beautiful union of all of our strengths. We must find a holistic vision for Maunakea, as the pinnacle of our past and the beacon of hope for our future. The voices opposing TMT have given all of us the opportunity to create the next chapter in Hawaii’s history with Maunakea at its heart. Let us seize this moment and do this together.
Continue reading “The Future of Maunakea Rests in the Hands of Hawaii’s People”
Regular readers may have noted that I have recently published three articles exploring the subject of the sacred mountain. Each article may have had a different subject, but all overlapped and intertwined. All three articles end with the same paragraph.
Respecting the Sacred
Conflict of the Sacred
Using the Sacred
Mauna Kea is sacred to some, who believe that this place is pivotal, the piko of creation. Others believe that the telescopes are sacred, a testament to the finest aspirations of mankind, to learn and explore, to answer the great questions. It is a mistake, made by many in this controversy, to deny either of these views.
Much of the controversy that surrounds our mountain revolves around a few simple questions… Who defines what sacred means? What sacred means to me and what sacred means to you is often very different. Even within a group of adherents to a single faith the answer will often vary greatly. What can you and can you not do on a sacred site? Some believe that a sacred site should not be touched, or even entered. Others build great temples or shines over the site to which thousands or millions of people make a pilgrimage to visit.
The Temple of Mauna Kea differs from other temples because it was not created by man. Akua built it for man, to bring the heavens to man. – Kealoha Pisciotta
“To bring the heavens to man”, is this not what the great telescopes do? Are these great instruments of science an appropriate use for this place? This would not be a question if there were other places where the view of the universe as clear as Mauna Kea. But such places are rare, and none quite so good as this mountain. This one place is unique, particularly suited for studying the heavens. Thus the clash of culture and science has been defined upon this mountain.
Yes, Mauna Kea is sacred. It is sacred for the honor and opportunity it provides us. Yes, Mauna Kea warrants the highest level of cultural sensitivity, but it should be a cultural sensitivity that respects and celebrates exploration of the universe and that is totally consistent with the historical record of Hawaiians and their search for knowledge. – Peter Apo
You might recall a post from back in May describing a night spent on the summit with Jason Chu. He has been accumulating time lapse material for a significant project, capturing the telescopes of Mauna Kea under the beauty of the night sky.
Jason has published a preview of the work. Nice to see it come to life with a decent soundtrack and good editing…
Previous forecasts showed the hurricane passing well north of the island, following the same track as the last two storms. Then this evening’s forecast came out.
I can only hope it changes again…
I have been writing quite a bit about the TMT controversy lately. This has had several effects… I have had many kind comments from people across the island and even the globe. I am grateful that some have found my writings useful. My website traffic has multiplied, with daily traffic up about five times normal. This and the large number of Facebook shares I have seen on some posts lets me know that I am not writing for the void, somebody is actually reading what I write. That is a little gratifying.
There is an art to composing a subject into a readable post, an art I am still a novice at. Maybe someday I will get better at it. Let me know if you have any suggestions on this.
Thanks!
Andrew
Recent TMT posts…
