Global Astronomy Month 2010 - Maunakea, Hawai'i

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Aug 06

2010

by Christopher A Phillips

For the month of April 2010 (GAM) I and my colleague Kala Babayan initiated a collaboration between Astronomers without Borders, 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i and The Onizuka Visitor's Center on Maunakea, to bring traditional Hawaiian celestial navigation and wayfinding to the sacred mountain of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

Maunakea, White Mountain, Mountain of Wakea The Sky Father.

This mountain is of deep cultural significance to the people of the Hawiian islands. It is a Piko, an umbilical, a bond between heaven and earth, between man and the gods. In Hawaiian lore it is home to Poliahu, the goddess of the snow, a compassionate and omnipotent goddess who sits atop the world upon this mountain, the largest volcano on planet Earth. It is from here she gazes down upon the people, sending water down to the lowlands in the form of rain and many rivers and streams that are carved in the slopes of this magnificent natural edifice.

Left to right: United Kingdom Infra-red Telescope (UKIRT), University of Hawai'i 88 Telescope, Gemini North and finally Canada-France-Hawaii-Telecope (CFHT).

At 14,000ft This mountain is also home to arguably the greatest observatories on the planet. Thirteen separate astronomical observatories are based on the summit of Maunakea, covering a variety of wavelengths from visible, infra-red to radio and sub-millimeter. despite the incredible science undertaken here and the unique knowledge gleaned, basing the observatories here has become a source of conflict - the pursuit of knowledge versus the respect and conservation of such a culturally and ecologically significant and sacred mountain. This has led to much friction between the various peoples vying for control and influence over the mountain. 

The team, left to right: Aaron Foster (Camera man) Kala Babayan (Navigator), Christopher Phillips (Astronomy educator), Keani Meyer (Navigator trainee).

Transposed against this backdrop of cultural tension and political tug'o'war is 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i. The mission of 'Imiloa is to meld Hawaiian culture and Maunakea astronomy, that is where we come in. Our team (pictured above) saw GAM 2010 as a perfect opportunity to fulfill both the mission objectives of 'Imiloa and the overreaching  objectives of GAM 2010 - to celebrate astronomy, culture and to build bridges between peoples that are divided, by borders or otherwise.

The Onizuka visitor station, located at 9,000ft on the slopes of Maunakea.

So what were we going to do to fulfill our objectives? Well, we would bring traditional methods of Hawaiian celestial navigation and wayfinding to the visitors on the mountain, we would also talk about the science behind the navigation and course the astronomy.

Our presentations would take place every Saturday night for the month of April. We would have two components: First, an introduction to Polynesian voyaging and some theory on navigation.

Explaining how the concept of the Hawaiian star compass works.

Second, a live observing session and practical workshop on celestial navigation. All this would be presented in a way that even the layman would understand - our goal was to draw people in, show them how powerful a tool the night sky can be, to impart our cultural and scientific knowledge in a charismatic and captivating manner.

Kala Babayan (center) constructs a human star compass. This approach enables people to gain a real sense of how the Polynesians use the stars for voyaging. Using this practical approach to learning Kala was able to enthuse and educate the crowd, despite everybody feeling the physiological effects of being at 9,000ft for so long.

Multiple telescopes of all sizes arranged outside the Onizuka visitors center ready for some live observing.

So for the weeks during April every Saturday we would travel to this magnificent and powerful place to give our presentations. All went down extremely well and it was obvious that visitors to the mountain were hungry for a cultural astronomy aspect to their visit, aside from the obvious scientific aspect presented by the observatories PR machine.

The Hawaiian Star Compass. This huristic device is used to navigate by the stars. It's aesthetic simplicity belies the practical power of this ingenious device.

It was by using methods similar to those presented by the modern star compass that early Polynesian voyagers were able to navigate their way in the vast expanse of the pacific. It was using this tool that enabled them to colonise the pacific region.

Kala leaves the fate of Polynesian navigation in my hands. 

Kala works her magic in the Onizuka visitors center. Watching her impart her vast knowledge on navigation and wayfinding was as pleasant to listen to as it was awe-inspiring. She effortlessly engaged the public, captivating them with her charismatic and energetic style.

Keani Meyer stands with the Hawaiian moon calendar. Keani's presentation on the Hawaiian moon phases and their significance in daily lives of the Hawaiian people drew a huge crowd and was informative, energetic and on the odd occasion quite risque too, since the calendar deals with ALL aspects of personal life ;)

Above, the moon projected onto a screen from a CCD attached to one of the telescopes at the Onizuka visitors station.

As the sun sets over Maunakea the mountains enormous shadows extends out over the pacific.

The GAM 2010 activities were such a success that the Onizuka visitors center has asked us to become a permanent fixture every month.