Subaru Telescope and Mid-level facilities
Hilo Base Facility (Hilo Office)
The Hilo Base Facility for the Subaru Telescope is located in Hilo, the eastern side of the Island of Hawai‘i. About 100 members of staff are working at the telescope. Their nationalities are diverse, hailing from Hawai‘i, Japan, the mainland of the U.S.A., and France. The office houses research rooms, an administration room, laboratories, computing facilities, a remote-control room for the telescope, and a library.
Halepōhaku (mid-level facilities)
Located at the elevation of about 2,800 meters, halfway up Maunakea, the mid-level facilities named Halepōhaku, the Hawaiian words for “stone house,” serve as a place for those working at Maunakea Observatories including the Subaru Telescope to stay for a certain period of time to acclimatize to the altitude before proceeding to the summit region at about 4,200 meters.
Subaru Telescope (the summit facility)
The telescope is a facility for astronomical observation. It takes around 30 minutes to drive on a four-wheel drive vehicle from Halepōhaku to the telescope. The telescope in the summit region consists of two facilities: the enclosure which is 43 meters high, and the Control Building situated a little lower than the enclosure. Operators of the Subaru Telescope are stationed at the observation room in the Control Building to control the telescope. They do not normally enter the enclosure during observations; otherwise heat from human bodies will disturb the air inside the enclosure, which may have a negative impact on celestial images. The Control Building houses the observation room for controlling the telescope, a lounge, and a kitchenette.
