#UH Institute for Astronomy

Eleven students from Waipahu High School were recognized for their achievements in astronomy through the Maunakea Scholars program, including graduating senior Mila Rexford, who received the prestigious $10,000 Hōkūala Scholarship.

A new study in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society by researchers including István Szapudi of the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy suggests the universe may rotate—just extremely slowly. The finding could help solve one of astronomy’s biggest puzzles.

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies estimates a 1% chance that asteroid 2024 YR4 could collide with Earth in 2032, based on current observations. Throughout the coming months, astronomers will closely monitor the 180-foot (55-meter)-wide object to refine its orbit and improve predictions of its future trajectory. No asteroid of this size has ever reached a 1% impact probability in the past two decades of near-Earth object tracking, making 2024 YR4 a rare and closely watched case.

An observatory on Maunakea played a pivotal role in a groundbreaking study that sheds light on the birth and evolution of planetary systems. Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA), an astronomer from the University of Hawaiʻi helped capture crystal-clear images of exocomet belts—regions around stars where icy and rocky objects called exocomets are found.

A newly-discovered asteroid by a University of Hawaiʻi-operated telescope will pass close to Earth, inside the Moon’s orbit tonight. Orbit computations by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) predict it will make its closest approach to Earth shortly after 1:30 a.m. Hawaiʻi time.

As the planet awaits the celestial spectacle of the total solar eclipse on April 8, award-winning astronomer Shadia Habbal from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) is gearing up to lead a world-class team of researchers at three North America locations to conduct in-depth observations during this rare event.

The University of Hawaiʻi is in the initial stages of establishing a space engineering and instrument development center at the UH Institute for Astronomy’s facilities on the UH Hilo campus, thanks to general fund support from the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green.

The Pan-STARRS telescope atop Haleakalā on Maui has collected data that is now being released as the largest catalog of exploding stars. The data from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy’s Pan-STARRS telescope contains three years of research and is now publicly available via the Young Supernova Experiment.

With both the PS1 and PS2 telescopes operational on Maui, the area of sky surveyed for Near-Earth Objects each night has now doubled.

The University of Hawaiʻi’s eclipse are going on an expedition to Antartica aboard a Honolulu yacht to study the Dec. 4 total solar eclipse.

Chris Ashall, a postdoctoral researcher with the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, will lead an international team of 30 plus scientists to focus on dying stars during the flagship mission of NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope.

From the summit of the Big Islandʻs Maunakea, astronomers will be tracking an asteroid estimated to be the size of the Golden Gate Bridge that will make a “close pass” by Earth on March 21.

UH’s 2.2 meter telescope atop Maunakea on Hawaiʻi Island will soon be producing images nearly as sharp as those from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The UH Institute for Astronomy is proposing to establish and operate a PLANETS telescope facility located within the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site.

The exoplanet, now known as Kepler-78b, is located 400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, officials said. With a star that orbits very close to the exoplanet, researchers say Kepler-78b is much too hot to support life.

Dr. Gary Greenberg, a Maui-based scientist, is looking to put Maui on the map in the world of 3D filmmaking with the launch of a new business venture. 3D Microscope Film and Video Services offers filmmakers and creative industry professionals the ability to shoot three-dimensional HD video and photographic images using Dr. Greenberg’s patented Edge 3D Microscope. The Edge 3D microscope is the only microscope in the world that produces real-time motion 3D movies.