Keck Observatories

For more information, please visit: https://keckobservatory.org/.

The W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) consists of two 10 meter optical/infrared telescopes sitting atop Maunakea on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

WMKO has an array of imaging and spectroscopic instruments, including integral field, multi-object, and high resolution spectrographs. Many of the instruments use the Adaptive Optics system to correct for the effects of atmospheric blurring. The current list of available instruments can be found at here.

Observing time is available to members of the communities that make up the Keck partnership. General public access is available through the partnership with NASA; more information can be found here.

WMKO is a classically scheduled observatory. Each participating community has its own Time Allocation Committee that reviews proposals semi-annually and assigns time based on the scientific merit of each proposal. Those time assignments are then used to generate the night-by-night schedule for each of the telescopes. In addition, Target of Opportunity programs can be approved that allow for the classically scheduled observations to be interrupted to conduct science for transient events.

WMKO recognizes and acknowledges the very significant cultural role and reverence that Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. The WMKO community is most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from atop Maunakea.