An introduction to the Joint Astronomy Centre

The Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) is located in Hilo, on the east coast of the Big Island of Hawai`i, and we operate two of the telescopes on Mauna Kea ('White Mountain' in Hawaiian).

The JAC headquarters in Hilo, Hawai`i

The United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) is the world's largest dedicated infra-red telescope, and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is the largest operating in submillimetre astronomy.

Both are located at 4000m (14000ft) altitude, where the skies are clear and dark, and we are above much of the water vapour in the atmosphere, which absorbs submillimetre and infra-red radiation from space. A dry site at high altitude suffers less absorption, so faint stars and galaxies can be seen.

The Joint Astronomy Centre is supported by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) in the UK, the National Research Council (NRC) in Canada, and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).