Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Aloha! With the graceful arc of the 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 the Keck, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the NASA IRTF, the JCMT and UKIRT, 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!

你好（Aloha）！ 在這幅由發現號太空梭的太空人攝於1988年10月，以地球臨邊的優美弧線為背景的影像裡，可清楚的看到夏威夷群島。 除了有備受歡迎的海灘和熱帶度假勝地之外，這些火山島擁有極高的海拔及黝黑、乾燥、無雲的天空。 因此，它們也成為大型和複雜地面望遠鏡的熱門設置地點。 大島上的基亞峰（左上）有大批令人印象深刻的天文設備，包括凱克、加法夏望遠鏡、美國航太總署IRTF、JCMT和英國IRT、及雙子望遠鏡等項目。 茂宜島的哈雷阿卡拉休眠火山錐（在大島下面），是美國空軍茂宜光學站和梅斯太陽觀測站的所在地。謝謝，再見！