Astronomy

The artificial star satellite is expected to help answer questions surrounding the speed and acceleration of the universe’s expansion.

The decommissioning of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Hōkū Keʻa Observatory was completed in May.

An international team of scientists, with the help of three observatories atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island, discovered the relatively close exoplanet dubbed Gliese 12 b in our galactic neighborhood.

“It was a beautiful purple and greenish tinge visible to the naked eye for about 5 minutes,” Brenda Trowbridge shared on social media.

The instrument’s name, Wenaokeao, means “earliest glow of light” and was given after extensive research by high school haumāna, or students.

The next steps in the decommissioning include completing interior deconstruction and removal of the observatory dome.

The decommissioning includes removing the observatory building, generator building and telecommunications and electrical infrastructure.

This system consists of just 60 stars that are over 10 billion years old, all bound by their own gravity and maybe even dark matter, according to a press release from the W.M. Keck Observatory.

Using the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) system, on Feb. 22, 2023, the team detected a sudden surge in brightness followed by a rapid dimming in the galaxy NGC 3799, located about 160 million light-years from Earth.

Hōkū Keʻa is the second telescope on Maunakea in the final phase of the extensive decommissioning process required under the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan.

The 32-year-old postdoctoral researcher and astrophysicist from the Big Island is peering deep into space while helping develop next-generation technology to deliver even sharper images of the universe.

The weeklong education and outreach program is aimed at expanding science literacy and inspiring students in grades 3-12 to explore the fields of science, technology, engineering and math through classroom presentations, career panels, public events and more.

The Space Sciences Initiative is expected to expand Hawaiʻi’s technology sector and create more high-paying jobs across the state.

The annual meteor shower that happens from the end of December to the middle of January peaks tonight, with up to 120 bright fireball meteors possible streaking through the center of the sky.

The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory came online in 1987 and was used by scientists at Caltech and other institutions, including almost 200 student and postdoctoral researchers.

While solar flares can be powerful, they are insignificant compared to the thousands of “super flares” observed by NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions.

Nitrogen compounds, such as ammonium salts, are abundant in material born in regions far from the sun, but evidence of their transport to Earth’s orbital region had been poorly understood. 

Stars of various origins come together to form one galaxy. There may be stars born outside the Milky Way galaxy near our solar system.

Researchers are interested in features called strike-slip faults on these moons because they can facilitate the exchange of surface and subsurface materials, potentially creating environments conducive for life

For eight weeks during the summer, the interns received help from Subaru staff mentors to complete real-life science and technology projects in a professional setting and working on important projects that will help the telescope prepare for the future.