M a u n a K e a
The world's tallest mountain as measured from base to peak, Mauna Kea's summit scrapes the sky at over 13,000 feet above the nearby sea. Sacred to the native Hawaiian people and venerated by modern science, this dormant volcano, occasionally snow capped, symbolizes the friction between the desire to cling to tradition and the urge to attain knowledge beyond our experience. My interest in Mauna Kea stems from both its raw, desolate beauty as well the observatories which call it home. This mountain is a prime location for the thirteen telescopes sitting on its peak, and represents a tangible connection between our world and the observable cosmos.
In sharp contrast to the hot, humid islands below, the summit of Mauna Kea is arid. Often above the clouds, the combination of altitude and dry air make the volcano a preferred site for infrared observations. As a nod to the telescopes and their ability connect humanity with exotic objects unfathomably far away, these images were captured in the near-infrared at 830 nanometers.
