KapohoKine Adventures – Maunakea Stellar Explorer (From Kona)

Watch the Big Island sky change from daylight to starlight on an evening that combines solar viewing, island geology and nighttime astronomy. The experience begins with a Hawaiian-style dinner before you look at the sun through a specialized solar telescope, with the chance to see sunspots, solar flares and other activity when conditions cooperate.

From there, travel along Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa while your National Park Service trained guide shares stories about the island’s volcanoes, lava flows, natural history and changing landscapes.

After dark, the tour continues to a preferred stargazing location on Mauna Kea. Using a large-aperture Dobsonian telescope, you may see planets, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, double stars or the moon depending on the night. When the viewing wraps up, warm up with Kona coffee or hot chocolate before heading back.

Tour Highlights

• Safe solar viewing through a specialized telescope
• Travel along Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa
• Learn about Big Island geology, volcanology and natural history
• Stargaze from a preferred Mauna Kea location after dark
• Use a large-aperture Dobsonian telescope to view deep-sky and planetary objects

Tour Inclusions

• Hawaiian style dinner
• Coffee or hot chocolate
• Warm jackets provided
• Use of Dobsonian telescope

Note: This tour does not visit the Maunakea Summit out of deference and honor to Native Hawaiian concerns.