#Mauna Kea

Researchers with the help of a Mauna Kea observatory on the Big Island construct first complete spectrum of the two distinct rings orbiting around the seventh planet in the solar system, revealing composition and formation history.

The discovery offers new clues into how brown dwarfs grow and change over time.

The research reveals that the collision, which began 440 million years ago, has ignited star formation up to 10 times the normal rate while dramatically scrambling the chemical composition across both galaxies.

‘Spin is a fossil record of how a planet formed,’ said study lead author and researcher at Northwestern University Dino Chih-Chun Hsu in an announcement about the discovery. ‘By measuring how quickly these worlds rotate, we can start to piece together the physical processes that shaped them tens to hundreds of millions of years ago.’

According to the National Weather Service, wet and windy weather is expected to continue today while gradually improving by this afternoon into this evening.

The Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, in partnership with Kua o Wākea, will hold a series of 10 community workshops across the Hawaiian Islands starting Jan. 15.

A new multi-wavelength study shows that some ultra-massive galaxies shut down star formation early, while others remain active but hidden by dust,

A team of astronomers using a variety of telescopes — including W. M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island — seem to have discovered a possible “Superkilonova,” or a kilonova spurred by a supernova that forms a pair of dense, dead stars called neutron stars than then smash together.

Groundbreaking research from W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope highlight continued leadership in imaging new worlds by Big Island’s Maunakea.

From atop Maunakea on the Big Island to around the world, astronomers and citizen stargazers are eagerly awaiting the passage of the interstellar comet through our solar system.

Recent episodes featured the highest lava fountains, the most volume of lava erupted, and the highest rate of lava effusion for this event, which has now lasted over 10 months. 

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees today approved the immediate withdrawal of its two longstanding lawsuits concerning Maunakea, marking a pivotal shift towards collaborative stewardship and cultural preservation of the sacred mountain.

Three Hawaiian language immersion students from Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Kekaulike on Maui are calling on the community to help raise $12,000 to represent Hawai‘i at the 2025 National ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i Showcase in Washington, D.C., this June.

Volcano Watch: As people from around the world are captivated by episodic lava fountaining during the ongoing Kīlauea eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu, let’s use the current pause and transition our attention back to the details of another recent eruption—Maunaloa in 2022.

Maunakea on Hawaiʻi Island is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The majestic mountain earned the designation on March 27, 2025, and is identified as a Traditional Cultural Property or TCP and District by the federal government of the United States.

This event commemorates the 132nd anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy and honor Hawaiʻi’s last ruling monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani.

The County of Maui’s Office of Innovation and Sustainability is teaming up with filmmakers to present a series of short documentaries and feature films focused on sustainability through free community film screenings.

A Caltech-led team using W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi Island has mapped in 3-D the remains of a historical supernova that went boom in the year 1181 – it’s one of only five confirmed supernovae in our Milky Way galaxy ever seen from Earth and recorded in human history.

Last fall, the telescope was removed and this spring and summer all buildings on the site were removed, the foundation demolished, and active restoration of the site was undertaken in accordance with approved plans and permits.

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