Ohana project
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The Ohana project aims to use seven big telescopes on top of Mauna Kea,[1] Hawaiʻi Big Island, in an interferometer configuration. Mauna Kea is a former volcano whose height is 13,600 ft (4,145 m). It is a good site for telescopes which probe the universe in the optical and infrared wavelengths because of its altitude and low levels of light pollution.[2]
OHANA stands for Optical Hawaiian Array for Nanoradian Astronomy. In Hawaiʻian, ‘ohana means "family".[3]
Among the telescopes belonging to the Mauna Kea Observatory, seven are involved in the ‘OHANA project :
- Two Keck telescopes which each have a 10 m diameter primary mirror.
- Subaru with an 8.2 m primary mirror.
- Gemini North with an 8 m primary mirror.
- Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) with a prime focus/Cassegrain configuration with a usable aperture diameter of 3.58 meters.
- The Infrared Telescope Facility is a 3 m telescope.
- The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is a 3.8 m telescope.