Astronomy

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.

New results from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager, or KCWI, which was designed by Caltech’s Edward C. Stone Professor of Physics Christopher Martin and his team, are the first to show direct light emitted by the largest and most hidden portion of the cosmic web: the crisscrossing wispy filaments that stretch across the darkest corners of space between galaxies. The KCWI instrument is based at the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Maunakea on the Big Island.

The entity has been given the name Hoʻoleilana, a term drawn from the Kumulipo, a Hawaiian creation chant evoking the origin of structure.

About a quarter of all full moons are considered to be supermoons. Only 3% of full moons are blue moons, which occur about two and three years apart. It’s considerably less frequent that the two coincide.

The festival at the Big Island astronomy center featured special planetarium shows, Japanese crafts and traditional games, bon dance lessons, taiko performances, entertainment, ʻono food and more.

Scientists around the globe are working on myriad ways to reduce the effects of climate change, including István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, who has devised a novel idea to lessen the amount of sunlight hitting our planet.

The Perseid meteor shower decorates the night sky every summer. This year, the most activity happens overnight Aug. 12.

The astronomical event known as Lāhainā Noon happens when the sun passes directly overhead of locations in the tropics, which includes Hawai‘i, and causes upright and smooth-sided objects to be “shadowless.”

There’s a dead star out there in the universe that is double-dealing with its composition. Nothing nefarious, but it is a first for the cosmic family of stars to which it belongs.

In a groundbreaking study, a team of astronomers — with the help of the Subaru Telescope atop Maunakea on the Big Island — has discovered an ancient star bearing a unique chemical makeup unlike anything ever before observed in the Milky Way galaxy.

Maunakea’s unique geography, geology and atmospheric conditions make the Big Island’s tallest volcanic mountain a premiere place in the world for astronomy research.

After twelve years of planning, the European Space Agency on July 1 launched its Euclid satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla., with the goal of answering those and many other questions, and it will get a big — and colorful — helping hand from three observatories in Hawai‘i, including two on the Big Island.

The new Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority board, during the next five years, is tasked with creating a new master plan for Maunakea on the Big Island and making sure that plan balances culture and environment with astronomy and economic benefits.

Astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy have made the remarkable discovery of a planet’s survival after what should have been certain demise at the hands of its sun.

An international team of scientists, including staff astronomer Chien-Hsiu Lee at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, has captured first time images of starlight from two massive galaxies hosting actively growing black holes from less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

For the past several years, with NASA support, astronomers at the UH Institute for Astronomy and industry partners have been maturing the new tech that will be used for a mission to identify and classify about 25 Earth-like exoplanets.

With the help of an observatory atop Maunakea on the Big Island, a team of astronomers were able to capture a bizarre quadruple image of the supernova dubbed “SN Zwicky.”