July 4, 2005
A birthday is what happens when cosmic time briefly puts down the scale of eons and pays attention to a single human year.
A Panorama from Mauna Kea
Birthday · July 4, 2005
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APOD published July 4, 2005. Credit: Jean-Charles Cuillandre. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Typically, views from Mauna Kea are up and dark. That's because the famous dormant volcano in Hawaii is arguably Earth's premier observing platform of the complex and ever changing night sky. However, this daytime view is across and bright. White snow and white clouds seem to blend together to make an alien landscape. Cinder cones from extinct volcanic outbursts dominate the foreground. Scrolling right will reveal structures visually incongruous even here: an armada of the largest optical telescopes on Earth. The observatories seen include Subaru and Keck. In the distance on the far left is Mauna Loa, Earth's largest volcano.
Image credit: Jean-Charles Cuillandre