The Subaru Telescope on the Top of Mona Kea

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The Subaru telescope is located at the top of Mona Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. Shannon traveled those 14,000 feet above those thick clouds to witness the hunt for planet nine firsthand. "It was completely overwhelming. It was just how am I here?" she says.

Something strange is going on at the outer reaches of the solar system. One astronomer thinks it might be a Neptune-sized ninth planet, and he’s on a quest to find it.

That search is happening at an enormous telescope on the summit of Maunakea, a dormant Hawaiian volcano with a long astronomical and cultural history. But many Native Hawaiian scientists are asking: What’s lost in the pursuit of larger and larger telescopes?

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