HaleakalÄ
Summit region of Haleakala
Topographic Kartebdep2
The Haleakala ( mostly German Haleakala ) or East Maui Volcano is a massive shield volcano, which occupies more than 75 % of the area of the island of Maui, Hawaii. The smaller western part is formed by the West Maui Mountains.
Name
The name Haleakala means in German " House of the Sun " and is connected with the legend, that the demigod Maui 've captured the sun there.
Volcanism
The Haleakala is the only volcano in the Hawaiian archipelago outside the island of Hawaii, who was active in the past 600 years. Until a few years ago it was assumed that the last eruption had occurred around 1790. Recent radiocarbon measurements suggest, however, that the last activity must be dated to the period 1450-1650.
The crater of the volcano has a circumference of 34 km and is one of the largest of the Earth.
Research on the Haleakalā
Due to the remarkable clarity and dryness of the air and the altitude of over 3,000 meters above sea level, the summit of Haleakala is similar to that of Mauna Kea well as the location of optical astronomical instruments. Experts from all over the world come to the " Science City " said complex, where among other telescopes of the University of Hawaii, the U.S. Air Force and other organizations operate. The Advanced Electro- Optical System ( AEOS ) the Air Force with a mirror diameter of 3.67 m, the largest telescope on Haleakala. It was one of the first telescopes were equipped with adaptive optics. Thus, it is possible to make copies of satellites that fly past at 400 km altitude shots with a resolution of about 10 cm. Other instruments include a 1.6 and two 1.2 meter mirror telescopes and a modernized Baker - Nunn camera. On the Haleakala They also offer more facilities of the Smithsonian Institution and the FAA.