Astronomy

The images feature a variety of sunspots and quiet regions of the Sun obtained by the Visible-Broadband Imager, one of the telescope’s first-generation instruments.

With the help of the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Maunakea on the Big Island, astronomers for the first time have observed direct evidence for a scenario they already knew happens throughout the universe — an aging star engulfing planets on inner orbits around it.

Scientists used artificial intelligence to analyze the chemical abundances of old stars seen by a telescope on Maunakea and found indications that the very first stars in the universe were born in groups rather than as isolated single stars.

After a 37-year career, Hilton Lewis is stepping down from his position as the director of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea.

The planned facility by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics that would listen for fast radio bursts recently got a boost, receiving a favorable recommendation from Hawai‘i County Windward Planning Commission for a special use permit.

The Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the plan submitted by the university’s Center for Maunakea Stewardship for the decommissioning of the UH Hilo Hōkū Kea Observatory.

The goal of early notification, before dates are fixed, is to seek feedback on potential conflicts with other activities.

“What this discovery gives is an insight into the dynamic, often violent early histories of galaxies,” a Keck Observatory scientist said.

Researchers have speculated about what ‘Oumuamua is since the reddish cigar-shaped galactic guest was first observed nearly six years ago by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope atop Haleakalā on Maui.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus can be seen together now in the night sky, but the best date to view the celestial alignment is March 28, when the planets stretch from the western horizon to about halfway up the sky.

Two high-altitude balloons will be launched near Waimea starting Thursday till Saturday as part of a mission to demonstrate uncrewed stratospheric communication capabilities.

Make your preparations now! A self-proclaimed “time traveler” posting on the popular social media platform TikTok is saying hostile aliens will destroy Earth on March 23. But another alien, called “The Champion” will save 8,000 people to ensure humanity’s survival.

Observed when the universe was 11 billion years younger, COSTCO-I dates back to a time when the gas that filled most of the space outside of visible galaxies, called the intergalactic medium, was significantly cooler.

Readers were asked “What’s your favorite extraterrestrial event in 2023?” and the comet garnered one-quarter of the total vote.

The recent reels are part of an album of astronomical and meteorological hits produced by the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera since the beginning of 2023 that have captured the attention — and imagination — of the world.

The planetary public display of affection between Venus and Jupiter — the third and fourth brightest objects in the sky, respectively, after the sun and full moon — is thanks to a unique conjunction of the twosome that will happen early this evening, just after sunset and close to the horizon.

On Feb. 5, red sprites briefly — and we mean briefly — danced before the eyes of people watching the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera at the Subaru Telescope atop Maunakea on the Big Island.

In 2023 there have been some extraterrestrail events spied from Earth that have had the public, internet and social media buzzing. What was your favorite?

This is the first time scientists have detected new colors – or wavelengths – of aurora at Jupiter’s moons, which help determine what their atmospheres are made up of.

The explanation for the green laser light show over Maunakea two weeks ago seemed pretty cut and dry; it was a NASA satellite. But that’s not the case, and it looks likely the lasers were from a Chinese satellite instead.