I grew up out in the country. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to lay on the neighbor's trampoline and just look up at the stars. I'd see shooting stars and satellites and what just HAD to be alien spaceships. My Dad was always taking my sister and I outside to look at a lunar eclipse or to point out Venus or something and I think it must have been contagious. I loved looking at the sky (day or night) and my sister even put up constellations in her bedroom (using glow in the dark stars).
Anyways, as time passed, the night sky has grown less dark. As the surrounding towns grew and grew, more and more ambient light filled the night sky wiping out the stars. A guy built a house across the way from my parents and insisted on putting a street light out in the middle of nowhere adding to the problem. When I moved away from home I've had streetlights everywhere I've lived and there just doesn't seem to be as many stars any more... and the ones left are very faint and dull. Nothing like the brightness I used to ride my bike home in. (For more on how we are losing the night sky check out this article that also inspired me to add this item to my list)
So I was determined to find a place where I could once again go stargazing and relive those wonderful moments of my youth.
The Process
Little did I know I was going to be doing this from 9000 ft.
Recently, my wife and I took a trip to Hawaii for our one year anniversary. We visited the Big Island and were amazed at the lava fields and seeing Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. However, one of my favorite parts of the trip was the journey we took to the summit of Mauna Kea.
Mauna Kea is the tallest point in the Hawaiian islands at 13,796 feet high. We decided to book a tour that promised us sunset at the summit and a night of stargazing. Usually we end up adventuring on our own, but lacking a four wheel drive vehicle or proper climbing gear we decided to suck it up and be typical tourists for once.
Looking down on a sunset with clouds thousands of feet below you is quite the experience. It was very beautiful and romantic as my wife and I watched the sunset from the summit of the mountain. After sunset, we headed back to the 9000 ft level where the Visitor Center is. At the Visitor Center they had telescopes set up and had them pointed at Mars, Saturn, and the Moon. Saturn was wild looking through the telescope, you could see the rings but it literally looked like a little sticker you'd find on a grade school project.
Our guide also gave us some binoculars and pointed out many stars and constellations. The only thing that was slightly disappointing was the moon was out and almost full, which added a lot of ambient light. However, the stars were still brighter than they are when the moon isn't out in Knoxville. It was a blast and now I've climbed two mountains (we did have to hike a bit to get to the Summit... nothing spectacular, but it was wild how hard it was to go uphill when you are dealing with the high altitude) and got to stargaze in one of the most beautiful settings I've ever been in.
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