Keck Week 2013 is coming. What the heck is that, you may ask? Twenty years ago, two enormous telescopes saw first light on the extinct volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the Keck I and Keck II telescopes. Then the world’s largest at 10 meters in aperture, the Kecks are still tied for second. (Only the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias is larger.) To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Kecks, the W. M. Keck Observatory is celebrating Keck Week, a seven-day series of events on the Big Island. Keck Week will kick off March 16.

The events include a two-day science meeting at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel on the Big Island. Tim Ferris will host an all-star science live chat with Mike Brown, Richard Ellis, Alex Filippenko, Raja Guhathakurta, and Andrea Ghez. The observatory also will host an open house. And I can tell you that seeing the internal workings of these magnificent telescopes is an experience you won’t soon forget! There will also be a gala, a tennis match pitting astronomers against friends of the observatory (!), a presentation on Carl Sagan’s Contact hosted by astronomical artist Jon Lomberg, and more.

This will really be an incredible series of events in Hawaii.

For more information on Keck Week, see http://keckobservatory.org/keck_week_2013