Telescope Domes Atop Mauna Kea

What You'll See

This live camera looks across the summit of Mauna Kea, the dormant volcano that rises more than 4,200 metres above the island of Hawaii. In the foreground stand the gleaming white domes of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and several neighbouring observatories, scattered across rust-red slopes of volcanic cinder.

One of Earth's Premier Astronomy Sites

Few places on the planet offer skies as steady, dark, and dry as this mountaintop, which is why so many nations have built their largest telescopes here. The dark skies above the summit make it one of the world's finest windows on the cosmos, a destination for both stargazing and cutting-edge research.

Above the Clouds

At this altitude the camera often sits above the clouds, watching an inversion layer drift across the lower slopes while the peak stays crystal clear. The thin, dry air at the top of Mauna Kea is what gives the summit its legendary observing conditions.

A Sacred Hawaiian Peak

Mauna Kea is both a world-class scientific site and a place of deep cultural significance to Native Hawaiians. It stands as the highest point in the state of Hawaii, a revered summit where science and tradition meet beneath the open sky.