Have you heard of the Air Force’s Hawaiian Volcano-Top Telescope?

 

The East Maui Volcano is one of the oldest astronomical observatories in Hawaii, located at over 10,000 feet in altitude. More than twelve optical instruments and complex telescopes are operated by the United States Air Force many programs destined for observing the sky are grouped under the name AMOS, which stands for the Air Force Maui Optical Station.

Something you might be interested in with regard to this observatory is that it is not only designed to keep track of satellites and other types of human-made space objects. In fact, the observatory is also intended for the discovery of potential threats such as asteroids.

 

 

Many of the astronomers who are stationed at the East Maui Volcano Observatory are part of some programs and currently, work with scientists from the University of Hawaii. Over time, the station has discovered more than sixty minor planets. Some of the systems utilized here have been adopted by other observatories from other countries, which is to say that the technique employed to calibrate the telescopes in the East Maui Volcano is now used by other tracking systems in Chile and the rest of the world.

The sky holds many mysteries, and I hardly think that we will ever be able to find out all about them. Even if we were to be an advanced civilization with endless resources, it would be unfathomable for us to know all of the stars and planets that exist in the universe. It would be even more difficult actually to locate them and even see them up-close. I don’t think that I will live to see that day if there will ever be one for humanity.

 

 

I’ve loved watching the sky ever since I can remember. While I was growing up, I wished for a telescope, but my parents didn’t have the money to give me one. Eventually, when I was in my teens, I started working part time, so I managed to raise some money and got myself a brand new telescope.

These days, there are far better models than the one that I bought at that time. I didn’t even know that there were things like astronomy binoculars these days. One of the articles I came across went into detail as to which aspects one should take into account when in the market for such an optical instrument. I’ve never tried using a pair of binoculars designed for stargazing, but I’m looking forward to doing so.