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Onizuka Center for International Astronomy


The Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, also known as Hale Pōhaku, is a complex of support facilities for the telescopes and other instruments that comprise the Mauna Kea Observatory atop Mauna Kea, on Hawaiʻi island.

A few rustic cabins named Hale Pōhaku (which means "stone house" in the Hawaiian language) were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps on the southern slope of Mauna Kea in the 1930s for hunters and other explorers. A rough jeep trail was built in 1964 under Governor John A. Burns, and a small telescope determined that Mauna Kea would be an ideal place for an astronomical observatory. The Hale Pōhaku area was used as a construction camp for the building of the observatories through the 1970s, and the road realigned in 1975. A permanent complex of buildings was constructed in 1983 known as the Mid-Level Facility.

The Mid-Level Facility was renamed for the Hawaiʻi-born astronaut Ellison Onizuka, who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. It is located at the 9,300-foot (2,800 m) elevation, south of the summit at 19°45′41″N 155°27′22″W / 19.76139°N 155.45611°W / 19.76139; -155.45611Coordinates: 19°45′41″N 155°27′22″W / 19.76139°N 155.45611°W / 19.76139; -155.45611, up Mauna Kea Access Road from the Saddle Road (Route 200).


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