Night haleakela

[fiddledisney]

I know a big deal is made of going for the sunrise but my dh is a night sky fan. Has anyone gone up and seen the sunset and looked at the stars? Just can't seem to get a feel for the way it works after dark.

[beachchick]

Sorry, can't help you there. If your DH wants the night sky at altitude, I suggest you consider going up to the Visitor's Center (9,000 ft) on Mauna Kea. The University of Hawaii has stargazing there almost every night. It's clear all but about 40 nights a year, so your chances are good. There smaller telescopes at the center are excellent.

 

Unfortunately, there is no night viewing from the actual summit of Mauna Kea as there are numerous working telescopes (such as the Keck and the Subaru). Only the actual astronomers and workers are allowed at the summit (over 13,000 ft) after dark. But the 9,000 altitude with the UofH telescopes is worth the effort.

 

beachchick

[spleen93]

I believe that the sunset is hard to see from the summit - due to the way that the mountain curves, it's difficult to visualize it from the summit visitor's center (since it faces the other way for the sunrise). You could always go early to get there before sunrise to see the stars above Haleakala.

 

Spleen

[bobnsandi]

I know a big deal is made of going for the sunrise but my dh is a night sky fan. Has anyone gone up and seen the sunset and looked at the stars? Just can't seem to get a feel for the way it works after dark.

 

From what I'm told, sunset viewed from Haleakala is quite

nice, but of course the night sky is spectacular. Many people

here on island go up for the full moonrise. That is supposed

to be very special, but obviously stargazers will miss

some of the views in the glare of the moon. Be

advised that the road is very steep with switchbacks.

Take it very easy at night, its difficult enough during

the day. Also, the weather can be less than optimal

from time to time, and that is hard to predict.

 

A number of areas along the sides of Haleakala

(Kula, for instance) have very little extraneous light, and

the star viewing can be great, even at 3,000-4,000

feet. In fact, we have seen spectacular night skies

from the harbor in Lana'i, and even around the

condo in Kihei, all rather close to sea level.

 

If you want really technical information, we

might be able to find someone who does this astronomy

stuff for a living, and who will certainly be able to

offer better information. In the meantime, hope this

helps.

[sceptic]

I thought I posted a response a while ago, but it seems to have vanished. Anyway...

 

I'm an amateur astronomer (CVs include former planetarium lecturer) and I've gone to Haleakala for the stars. They're good up there. Very good. Not the best I've seen in the islands - that's on the Big Island. Even the Mauna Kea Strip road, which tops out around 6600 feet, has had better skies for me than Haleakala. It's a matter of humidity and sky glow from artificial lights.

 

The challenge is the glow from all the lights of Maui - it truly is spectacular, a swath of lights from Waimea to Kihei to Maalaea to Kahului., and from 10,000 feet it's like you're in an airplane There is some sky glow from these lights at the summit. Not a lot, but some (you're not quite above the top of the primary water vapor layer up there). The night sky is terrific straight up, to the S, and to the W.

 

The coolest thing for mainlanders to me is the southern sky, where you can see (depending on time of night and season) the Southern Cross, Centaurus, Eta Carinae, and other south sky wonders. The southern milky way really is the best part of it! If you haven't explored this part of the night sky before, it's worth the excursion alone.

 

I've always gone to see the stars in the morning, just getting up a bit(!) earlier, like 2 AM or so. You'll have at least an hour of decent dark skies before the dawn light starts up. A problem with sunsets is that it's often cloudy up there in the late afternoon, but if you're on Maui on a totally clear day - yes, they do happen - nothing wrong with heading up to watch the sunset and waiting for total darkness. It will certainly be a bit warmer than dawn (although it cools off rapidly). The road is curvy but IMO not bad if taken at an intelligent speed.

 

I might have made it sound like the night sky from the summit is like from the middle of central park in Manhattan. Not at all. If you're from a high-humidity locale it will be truly stunning. We always take along some decent binoculars to Hawaii, like 10 X 50s, and always use them up top.

[fiddledisney]

The replies really helped. I think we can see the canyon and look from stars on a lower elevation.....whew, I think I like the idea of skipping twisty roads after dark.