If you are one of those misled to think that Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, here is an interesting update from National Geographic:
“Mauna Kea, one of six volcanoes that have formed the island of Hawaii, is the tallest mountain on Earth at 9,966 meters (32,696 feet, 6.2 miles). This is 1,116 meters (3,661 feet, 0.7 miles) taller than Mount Everest and roughly the same height in the atmosphere where commercial airplanes fly.”
Who would have thought that Hawaii’s biggest island would be a record holder for the highest mountain in the world?
Scientists have already taken advantage of the great altitude and installed deep space observatories on the mountain’s peak.
Gemini Observatory, one of the largest and most advanced optical telescopes, was established in the year 2000 to explore the universe and monitor space in the Solar System.
Researchers are also using craters in Hawaii’s most active volcanoes, as well as cracks in the Earth’s crust, to learn more about the inner environment of our planet.
Can Hawaii’s tallest mountain help us learn more about the universe above us and reveal the secrets hiding in the world beneath our feet?
