Discoveries using the telescopes on Mauna Kea

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Hawaii Public Radio had a noteworthy story on one of their local programs last Monday, not Mauna Kea related, but concerning Hawaiian astronomy:
Archaeologists Research Connection Between Heiau and the Stars

Two researchers who studied 78 heiau near Kaupo, Maui (southeastern side) discovered that many were built with an alignment toward astronomical events. Some faced the rising of the Makali'i (Pleiades) at the beginning of Makahiki season, others the summer equinox, or the reset of the lunar calendar. The astroarchaeology discussion begins at about the 4 minute mark, but the intro is equally fascinating and worth a listen.

Scroll down the page to the last story:
https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/c...esearchers

The heiau are (presumably) sacred sites of worship, into which the detailed study of astronomy was closely incorporated into the Hawaiian religion and Hawaiian culture. These events affected the yearly cycle of life in the islands, and a villager's relationship with the seasons; planting, harvest, fishing, and hunting. It makes one wonder, if the Hawaiian Monarchy had continued in power to this day, with their knowledge, background and history of studying the heavens, from what locations might they make their observations in 2019? Would those places of observation then be considered a part of Hawaiian culture and history?

The book on the study:
Heiau, Aina, Lani: The Hawaiian Temple System in Ancient Kahikinui and Kaupo, Maui
https://www.amazon.com/Heiau-x100-ina-La...824878272/

[Iju]

An Opinion piece in today NYT.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/opinion/mauna-kea-telescope.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

[dan d]

Hey iju u ment to post this somewhere else right? Not here


HPP

[Iju]

Sorry dan d.

For the record, I am pro TMT. Posted the link doesn't mean I agree with it.

[TomK]

Slowly getting back on track.

Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has been thought of one of the best places to search for life in our solar system because it's believed liquid water exists below its icy surface. Like earth, there's a fair chance Europa has warm vents at the bottom of its oceans that might create and support life.

Now we know a little more due to observations that were taken by the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. Water vapor has been observed in its atmosphere.

"NASA Scientists Confirm Water Vapor on Europa"

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/201...-on-europa

"“Essential chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur) and sources of energy, two of three requirements for life, are found all over the solar system. But the third — liquid water — is somewhat hard to find beyond Earth,” said Lucas Paganini, a NASA planetary scientist who led the water detection investigation. “While scientists have not yet detected liquid water directly, we’ve found the next best thing: water in vapor form.”

Paganini and his team reported in the journal Nature Astronomy on November 18 that they detected enough water releasing from Europa (5,202 pounds, or 2,360 kilograms, per second) to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool within minutes. Yet, the scientists also found that the water appears infrequently, at least in amounts large enough to detect from Earth, said Paganini: “For me, the interesting thing about this work is not only the first direct detection of water above Europa, but also the lack thereof within the limits of our detection method.”"

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Photo of the most recent interstellar object/comet 2I/Borisov passing through our solar system, by the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea:

Astronomers at Yale University used the W.M. Keck Observatory's Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, located in Hawaii, to provide the closest look at the interstellar comet since it was first observed over the summer.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/26/world/int...index.html

[Old Croc]

Thanks, Iju. That NYT article is funny!

[Peter Epperson]

I read the NYT article about the interstellar comet just hours after watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AUA7XS0TvA&t=857s Very interesting. Another one of those "everything you know is wrong" stories. TomK?

[TomK]

"I read the NYT article about the interstellar comet just hours after watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AUA7XS0TvA&t=857s Very interesting. Another one of those "everything you know is wrong" stories. TomK?"

Peter, I don't know which NYT article about the comet you are referring to and as for the video, well let's just say it seems to ignore current research and relying on Velikovsky's ideas, which are fundamentally wrong, isn't a topic I want to discuss here.

[Peter Epperson]

TomK, admittedly, I'm not a cosmologist but I thought that the information was compelling. Did you watch the youtube video? Maybe you should also read The Science Delusion by Rupert Sheldrake. Beware of the dogma that prevents scientists from exploring alternative views. Science is about keeping an open mind.