The peak of Maunakea is an environment that offers abundant opportunities for astronomical observation. Trade winds blow gently in the skies above the Hawaiian Islands. The peak is so rarely wreathed in clouds that the weather is clear about 300 days of the year. When you consider that the place with the clearest skies in Japan, Saitama Prefecture, makes do with only about 64 days of clear weather a year, the clear-weather rate on Maunakea is simply astounding.