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I wrote this in the TMT construction thread:
" As HOTPE mentioned, public comments are still welcome and are supposed to be considered. You can do that by emailing maunakeaWG@capitol.hawaii.gov which is from
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=mkwg&year=2021
In my personal opinion, the working group is biased given its membership and I'm not at all hopeful public feedback will be given weight, but there is no harm in providing your own feedback."
If you support astronomy and in particular the educational and job opportunities it provides to those on the island, please send your comments to the working group. It was set up by politicians who know little to nothing about science and the impact astronomy has in Hawaii and the rest of the world. However, they will listen to public opinion especially if the comments are sensible, reasonable, and make sense. This is an opportunity to give local kids hope of a decent future in which they don't have to leave the islands to get a good job and to make Hawaii the center of excellence for astronomy and astrophysics on the whole planet and all the good things that will come with that. The alternative is a future with little or no opportunities for children and the world seeing Hawaii as a backwater and what few jobs are left are at the hotels.
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01-11-2022, 06:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-11-2022, 06:43 AM by dan_c.)
Scientists were able to observe a red giant go supernova.
Quote:"The final moments of stellar death
Astronomers were first alerted to the star's unusual activity 130 days before it went supernova. Bright radiation was detected in the summer of 2020 by the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy Pan-STARRS telescope on Maui's Haleakalā."
The actual observation of the supernova was carried out by the Keck observatory. I have to admit when there was talk of Betelgeuse going supernova, and what it would do for the night sky, I looked at it many nights thinking it would be the coolest thing to witness. Granted, if it happened, that beautiful red star would eventually fade to black and forever change Orion.
Here is a link to the article I read: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/world/red...index.html
Edited to add link to another good article: https://www.engadget.com/scientists-see-...42583.html
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A very large asteroid is about to make it’s closest approach to Earth today.
https://www.space.com/huge-asteroid-1994...by-webcast
I wonder if the eyes of Mauna Kea will be watching?
You can watch it here starting at 10 am…
https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/
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01-27-2022, 08:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-27-2022, 08:28 PM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
I suppose I could have started a new thread - - "Travesties By Non-Astronomers And Politicians On Mauna Kea" but instead here's the bad news:
The University of Hawaii could ultimately lose its management authority of Mauna Kea in three years and be replaced by a new governing body, according to a measure put forward by the state House.
House Bill 2024 would create a nine-member voting panel consisting mostly of Native Hawaiians, cultural practitioners and Hawaii island residents to oversee the astronomy district. Other members include the heads of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs or their representatives.
https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/01/house-...mauna-kea/
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01-28-2022, 06:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-28-2022, 07:11 AM by Rob Tucker.)
Probably best that a new thread is created as it isn't about the discoveries the MKOs make, this is more about the anti-science brigade trying tactics in an attempt to end astronomy in Hawaii. If successful, please post a new thread about the lack of discoveries from the MKOs.
In the meantime, although not particularly scientific, the Star-Advertiser has this poll where there is overwhelming support to keep astronomy going on Mauna Kea.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/staradver...ral-state/
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04-09-2022, 08:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-09-2022, 08:28 AM by TomK.)
The most distant galaxy so far discovered using Mauna Kea observatories.
Understanding how galaxies formed so quickly after the Big Bang is still a mystery, current theories can't explain such bright galaxies so these observations will lead to a new understanding of the early universe and where we all came from.
https://www.universetoday.com/155345/a-n...-big-bang/
" Since the Renaissance astronomer Galileo Galilee first studied the heavens using a telescope he built himself, astronomers have been pushing the boundaries of what they can observe. After centuries of progress, they have been able to study and catalog objects in all but the earliest periods of the Universe. But thanks to next-generation instruments and technologies, astronomers will soon be able to observe the “Cosmic Dawn” era – ca. 50 million to billion years after the Big Bang."
[...]
" However, GN-z11 was at the very limit of these telescopes’ detection capabilities. The discovery of HD1 was made possible thanks to 1,200 hours of observation time conducted by multiple telescopes and observatories worldwide. These included the Subaru Telescope and the UK Infrared Telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii; the Spitzer Space Telescope; and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile."
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Was there an alien object from outside our solar system detected before Oumuamua?
However, it is possible that there was another interstellar visitor before that. In June, 2019, Harvard University astronomers Amir Siraj and Abraham Loeb published a draft report titled Discovery of a Meteor of Interstellar Origin. It described the case of a meteor that burned up in the sky on January 8, 2014.
Based on data collected by NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the astronomers calculated that the object was travelling at roughly 134,000 miles per hour.
Siraj and Loeb's work appears to have the backing of Joel Mozer, Chief Scientist of Space Operations Command at the United States Space Force.
https://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-earth-...ua-1697251
The Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) is located at the 13,800-foot summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii. IRTF is used to study physical characteristics of NEOs and provide rapid response to newly discovered close-approach NEOs
https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/neoo
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HOTPE - just as a BTW, you might find the following video interesting:
https://youtu.be/xpa8ZjTCldI
" An Interstellar Asteroid on Earth and the Coming Age of Interstellar Geology"
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Interstellar Geology"…
Yes! Thanks!
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(04-09-2022, 08:28 AM)TomK Wrote: The most distant galaxy so far discovered using Mauna Kea observatories.
Understanding how galaxies formed so quickly after the Big Bang is still a mystery, current theories can't explain such bright galaxies so these observations will lead to a new understanding of the early universe and where we all came from.
https://www.universetoday.com/155345/a-n...-big-bang/
Further research has found a problem to solve; the black hole at this galaxy's center is just too massive to have formed so shortly after the Big Bang:
https://youtu.be/SlCLkCBRmEY
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