The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory occupies part of the NOAA Mauna Loa research site located on the flank of Mauna Loa at an elevation of 3440 meters on the island of Hawaii. It is operated by the High Altitude Observatory, a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is located in Boulder, Colorado.
The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) has been operating since the mid-1960s, providing a nearly-continuous record of solar data to the community. MLSO data includes white light corona, emission corona, H-alpha (disk and limb), He-I, and photometric. Currently, MLSO hosts the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (emmision corona), K-Cor (white light corona), and PSPT (photometric).
Access and download solar data from 1980 to present.
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Read the latest news items about the observatory.
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Access the logs containing information about MLSO instrument start/stop times, weather conditions, etc. taken each day by our observers on Mauna Loa.
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A list of publications utilizing MLSO data (and the link to send us your publication info).
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Read about the committee that helps identify MLSO observations which provide the greatest potential for advancing our understanding of the Sun and the heliosphere.
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See live weather conditions and activity on Mauna Loa with NOAA's webcams.
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The domes of Mauna Loa Solar Observatory under rare cloudy skies (photo by Michael Thompson)
