The 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano cut off road access to the Mauna Loa Baseline Observatory. Construction on the temporary Mauna Loa Access road was completed on 26 March, 2026.
At this time, there is no site access for the general public to the Mauna Loa Observatory and NOAA has not yet established a public opening date. GML and scientific partners are working together to bring mission critical scientific projects back online. It is still unclear when utility infrastructure will be replaced and power re-established to the site.
We will provide another update as more information becomes available.
Media contact: Theo Stein at (303) 819-7409 or theo.stein@noaa.gov.
Organization(s):
University of Hawaii - Institute for Astronomy
What does this program measure?
The VYSOS project has two components: (1) to perform a long-term monitoring survey of solar-like young stars at different ages from birth through the planet forming stage to understand for the first time the energetic events that our Sun underwent and which affected the solids that formed the planetary system, including present-day meteorites. (2) the extreme precision demanded by the photometric survey requires a measurement of the atmospheric extinction throughout each night. These nightly extinction coefficients will be made available to atmospheric scientists.
How does this program work?
The VYSOS telescope is a specially designed 16.25 inch Newtonian reflector equipped with a wide angle CCD camera. The telescope and instrument are controlled by a computer in a robotic mode and housed in a dome at the observatory. The dome opens automatically at sunset, and closes before sunrise.
Why is this research important?
As stated above, studying solar-like young stars at different ages will help us understand the energetic events that our Sun underwent, and which affected the solids that formed the planetary system, including present-day meteorites.
Are there any trends in the data?
This project is new.
How does this program fit into the big picture?
What is it's role in global climate change?
See "What" and "Why" sections.
Comments and References
Lead Investigator(s):
Prof. Bo Reipurth
808-932-2314
MLO Contact(s):
Dr. John E. Barnes
808-933-6965 (x222)
Web Site(s)
not applicable
Date Started
2005
Related Programs
not applicable