6 ms·

Mauna Kea is 6000 ft higher though.

• dmix 8y ago
  ..and off Africa.
• Florin_Andrei 8y ago
  Altitude is not everything, and higher altitude does not automatically translate into better performance of the instrument. There are many, many factors that matter, including light pollution, transparency, cloud cover, air turbulence, jet streams, etc.
  • bobiverse 8y ago
    A report by the Canadian Astronomical Society (Canada has a ~15% stake) found that with taking all these variables into play, Mauna Kea is still the best site for TMT. See page 35 for the final recomendations: http://casca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/CATAC-Report-Final.pdf http://casca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/CATAC-Report-Fina...
    • Florin_Andrei 8y ago
      Of course. I was not saying Mauna Kea is not a good location. I was just saying there is a whole bunch of factors that matter besides altitude.
• vatueil 8y ago
  La Palma's air quality is also not as good as Mauna Kea's (more dust blowing over from the Sahara), if I recall correctly. It may be the second best site in the northern hemisphere, but it's significantly behind the top choice.