Jan Roberson thanks her lucky stars that she bought a 2-inch telescope as a birthday present for her son, professional big-wave surfer Kaleo Roberson, in 2006.

“He thought he’d be able to check surf conditions off Molokai’s north shore from the deck of his house with it,” Roberson said. “Unfortunately, that couldn’t be done because of the curvature of the earth, so he thanked me and suggested that I return the telescope.”

But Roberson kept it, determined to learn how to operate it. “I looked at the telescope and my newborn twin grandsons and thought, ‘One day, I will show them how to look at the moon with a telescope,’” she said. “It was serendipity; I never dreamed it would spark a passion and turn into a full-time business.”

In the ensuing months, whenever the moon was full, Roberson brought out the little telescope and was excited to find it had enough power for her to observe the features of the lunar surface. In 2007 she joined the Haleakala Amateur Astronomers, accepted a position on its board of directors and began volunteering for its outreach activities, which included setting up telescopes atop Haleakala for conferences hosted by the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy. Being above the clouds far away from light-polluted areas, the volcano’s 10,000-foot summit is one of the best places in the world for observing galaxies, comets, planets, nebulae and other deep-sky objects.

Astrophysicists at the institute and HAA’s veteran amateur astronomers became Roberson’s friends and mentors. At the time, she was working as an aging and disability resource specialist for Maui County’s Office on Aging. So enthusiastic was she about her newfound hobby, she took a second job cleaning condos so she could afford to buy bigger and better equipment.

Visitors often contacted HAA to arrange telescope experiences. When one family called, Roberson was the only member who could accommodate their schedule.

“I didn’t have a permit to take a tour into Haleakala National Park, so I set up my telescope outside the park,” she said. “The family was thrilled, and so was I when they handed me $150. That was my aha moment!”

Recognizing the business potential for astronomy tours, Roberson decided to reach for the moon: In 2013 she built a website and launched Maui Stargazing. She did one “observing party” the first month, three the second month, and the numbers kept growing from there.

She gave up her cleaning job six months after she started Maui Stargazing. Nine months after that she retired from her Office on Aging position to focus on her fledgling company.

Today Roberson holds a federal permit that allows her to take tours into Haleakala National Park. Although she has a knowledgeable team in place, she leads about 20 groups each month as Maui Stargazing’s primary guide.

During Sunset and Dark Night Stargazing, the most popular tour, participants use a Dobsonian telescope with a 12-inch aperture to study the sky. “The telescope is 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds when it’s fully assembled,” Roberson said. “There are bigger telescopes, but they’re too heavy to transport and assemble in the field. I use the largest portable telescope available.”

Optimal observing environments are clear, dark, still and dry, which means no clouds, wind, humidity or bright moonlight. According to Roberson, Haleakala provides beautiful sunsets and great viewing conditions an average of 315 nights a year.

Night skies change as the seasons change. Summer highlights of Sunset and Dark Night Stargazing include Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and the constellation Scorpius, the scorpion, which has a fishhook- shaped tail. The ancient Hawaiians called Scorpius Manaiakalani, meaning “the chief’s fishing line.” Legend says the demigod Maui used Manaiakalani to pull the Hawaiian Islands from the sea.

Kites, butterflies, coat hangers, question marks — star clusters form many intriguing shapes. There’s even a cartoon character in our Milky Way galaxy.

“Kids always perk up when I ask them if they want to see SpongeBob SquarePants,” Roberson said. “That’s the Ptolemy Cluster in Scorpius. My favorite star pattern is in the constellation of Sagittarius. It’s a teapot with steam pouring out of the spout, and the steam is the Milky Way! There’s always something amazing to see when we look into the cosmos. Maui Stargazing’s tours are treasure hunts in the sky.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.