HILO, Hawai'i — The conflict between spirituality and astronomy will be highlighted in a television program featuring Mauna Kea.

The 13,796-foot volcano is one of the most significant lands of the former Hawaiian kingdom, a place that should be treated with reverence, said filmmaker and producer Puhipau.

"Mauna Kea is first born of cosmic forces, connecting Hawaiians to the beginning of time," he said.

But astronomers regard Mauna Kea as one of the best places in the world to view the stars.

"It is a perfect example of clashing cosmologies," said Manulani Aluli Meyer, a University of Hawai'i-Hilo philosopher and educator.

The program will display the seasons, snow storms and mists of Mauna Kea, whose environment ranges from sea level to the alpine zone.

The show, titled "Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege," airs at 8 p.m. July 13 on PBS Hawaii's production "Pacific Showcase."

Opponents of development on Mauna Kea, such as the construction of telescopes, have been battling with the scientific community for more than a decade.

Many Hawaiians would prefer that there were no development on the summit, said Hanalei Fergerstrom, a practitioner of Hawaiian religion.

"I imagine we can coexist if communication was better," said Fergerstrom, who wants astronomers to be asked to leave the mountain when their leases expire. "Certainly, we would accept no more further development whatsoever."

But Paul Coleman, a Hawaiian with a doctorate in astronomy, said Hawaiian tradition and science can complement each other at Mauna Kea.

"As a scientist and a Native Hawaiian, I can look at astronomy on Mauna Kea with a unique point of view," Coleman said. "No one is making money up there. ... Rather, people are attempting to answer fundamental questions that will help us understand our place in the universe."