Mauna Kea Stargazing with a Free-If-Cloudy Guarantee and Milky Way Portraits

An astronomer and an astro-photographer run this together, and it is stargazing only: no summit, no sunset, no queue at the Onizuka Visitor Center. The meeting place is a dark-sky spot on the slopes of Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, and time slots get chosen to fall when the moon is not washing out the sky. There is a guarantee attached: if the stars do not show, the tour is free. What happens, in order. You sit down. Reclining folding chairs, hot chocolate, cool mountain air, and the sky darkening over 90 minutes to two hours. All ages are welcome. The astronomer works a Celestron Origin smart telescope, which has no eyepiece. It is controlled from a smartphone and puts live images on a screen, so galaxies, nebulae and star clusters appear as pictures the whole group can look at while the astronomer explains each object and answers questions. Meanwhile the astro-photographer photographs you and your group under the night sky, with the Milky Way behind you. Medium-size digital files arrive by email within 48 hours, and high-resolution upgrades are available. One practical step: text the operator six hours before your slot for the updated meeting location, because it moves. If your phone number is not local, send a local contact number once you have one, and send your email address if you want the photographs.