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Astronomy Picture of the Day 4-27-02
NASA ^ | 4-27-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

Posted on 04/26/2002 10:29:45 PM PDT by petuniasevan

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 April 27
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

Hawaii
Credit STS-26 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Aloha! With the graceful arc of Earth's limb in the background, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is visible in this stunning photo taken by the astronauts onboard the shuttle Discovery in October of 1988. Along with popular beaches and tropical resorts, these volcanic islands offer extreme elevations with dark, dry, cloudless skies. Consequently they have also become popular sites for large and sophisticated ground based telescopes. The peak of Mauna Kea, on the Big Island (upper left), boasts an impressive array of astronomical instruments including twin Kecks, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the NASA IRTF, the JCMT and UKIRT, the Subaru and the Gemini Telescope Project. The dormant volcanic cone of Haleakala on Maui (just below the Big Island) is home to the Air Force Maui Optical Station and the Mees Solar Observatory. Mahalo nui loa!


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: earth; hawaii; image; ocean; orbit; pacific; photo; photography; shuttle; space; telescope
Aloha! Get on the APOD PING list!
1 posted on 04/26/2002 10:29:45 PM PDT by petuniasevan
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To: MozartLover; Joan912; NovemberCharlie; snowfox; Dawgsquat; viligantcitizen; theDentist; grlfrnd...
APOD PING!
2 posted on 04/26/2002 10:31:32 PM PDT by petuniasevan
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To: petuniasevan
Look! Tiny Bubbles!
3 posted on 04/27/2002 3:01:52 AM PDT by leadpenny
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To: petuniasevan
Check out that dude on the surf board!
4 posted on 04/27/2002 6:31:20 AM PDT by aomagrat
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To: petuniasevan
Cool, but isn't the Earth sideways?
5 posted on 04/27/2002 6:45:18 AM PDT by lepton
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To: petuniasevan
Great pic, but it really shows how vulnerable Hawaii is.
6 posted on 04/27/2002 7:04:06 AM PDT by Not gonna take it anymore
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To: Not gonna take it anymore
Not to worry, Ngtia. Wait a few thousand years and the Earth will produce more islands in the chain. Maybe future generations will take care of those islands better than the last few have taken care of these.
7 posted on 04/27/2002 7:32:31 AM PDT by leadpenny
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