Solar panels have been installed on the roof of the Gemini Observatory on Mauna Kea, becoming the highest rooftop-mounted photovoltaic system in the world connected to a utility.
The observatory sits at about 13,079 feet above sea level, where temperatures during the day are about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
The second highest is in Switzerland, said Observatory spokeswoman Alexis Acohido.
The work by Maui Pacific Solar took about six weeks and was completed about a week and a half ago.
She said the solar panels will provide about 10 percent of the power required to operate the observatory facility.
The Gemini Observatory, which began operation in 1999, is one of two observatories operating together to provide images of the entire night sky.
Its counterpart is the Gemini Observatory on Cerro Pachon in Chile.
The two observatories are on the cutting edge of scientific imaging,
On Dec. 18 the Gemini Observatory South discovered a planet called 51 Eridani b, about two times the mass of Jupiter, in a solar system about 110 light-years away.
It is the smallest exoplanet to be directly imaged. Most exoplanets are studied indirectly, by how they make their home star wobble or dim as they pass in front.
51 Eridani b is 20 million years old. Earth is estimated to be 4.55 billion years old, according to scientists.
The discovery was published in the Aug. 13 issue of the journal Science.
Observatory scientists plan to explore more than 600 stars that could host planetary systems; so far they’ve looked at almost a hundred stars, according to the Gemini Observatory.
The Gemini Observatory on Hawaii island eventually plans to install solar panels at its Hilo office, Acohido said.
The two observatories employ a total of about 200 people.
