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Hawaiian Astronomy Essay

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Astronomy is essential all over the world. It is significant to many cultures including Native American, African, Greek, Chinese, Hawaiian, and many more. Ancient astronomy was first used to do things like tell time and direction. For some cultures, it was also used for religion. I want to focus on astronomy in the Hawaiian culture. I will discuss early religion and navigation, stargazing, and observatories. Astronomy to Early Hawaiians played a significant role in religion. They believe that early Polynesian gods and demi-gods derived from the heavens and the demi-god Maui was especially known for astronomical deeds such as snaring the sun to slow its passage across the sky (Steiger). It was also important in navigation. Early Hawaiians …show more content…

Mauna Kea is known to be the best location on Earth to conduct ground-based astronomy and is home to many of the world's greatest observatories. The Mauna Kea Observatories are used for scientific research across the electromagnetic spectrum and comprise the largest facility in the world. There are eleven different countries using telescopes to observe these observatories. This site is important and unique for astronomy for several reasons. The atmosphere above the site is extremely dry and cloud-free which is important in measuring infrared and submillimeter radiation from celestial sources (UHIFA). This site also allows much more detailed observations due to its distance away from lights. It is home to the clearest darkest skies in the world. This observatory allows observation of the faintest galaxies that lie at the very edge of the observable universe. The Mauna Kea is considered sacred to Native Hawaiians, and constructing these observatories is a topic of debate. There are many meetings and public hearings to create a master plan. This process is reflected by the community's deeply rooted concerns over the use of Mauna Kea, including respect for Hawaiian cultural beliefs (UHIFA). Since the land is so sacred to many Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples there has been a great amount of conflict when it comes to Mauna Kea. This conflict has included protests. The Native Hawaiians are not so much protesting science, however, but are seeking respect for sacred places and our planet (Herman 2015). Mauna Kea is not the only observatory in Hawaii. There is also the Haleakala and the Mauna

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