Discoveries using the telescopes on Mauna Kea

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Mauna Kea Working Group website.  Their purpose is to recommend new management goals to the legislature by the end of 2021.  No news at this time, but members names and contact info are listed.

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=mkwg&year=2021

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Scientists at UH Manoa have discovered one of the youngest planets ever with the Subaru telescope on Mauna Kea:

... it formed with its star several million years ago at about the time the main Hawaiian Islands first emerged above the ocean.
... so young that it is still hot from the energy released during its formation, with a temperature similar to the lava erupting from Kilauea Volcano.
“Two of the world’s largest telescopes, adaptive optics technology, and Maunakea’s clear skies were all needed to make this discovery,” said co-author Michael Liu, an astronomer at IfA. “We are all looking forward to more such discoveries and more detailed studies of such planets with the technologies and telescopes of the future.”
https://www.kitv.com/story/45029100/uh-l...telescopes

The comment at the bottom of the article by makuakane04 is priceless.

[TomK]

I agree with your opinion of makuakane04's comment, it made me chuckle! The article also leads with a picture of UKIRT which wasn't involved in the discovery. Oh well - there is some stuff upcoming that does actually involve UKIRT.

In the meantime, the results of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) are about to be published (https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-wo...-astro2020). The future of the TMT and Mauna Kea astronomy hinge on the report. Don't be surprised if protesters are back on the mountain soon.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

On Mauna Kea, looking down for a moment, here's one measure of the current management on the mountain:

UH: Seven-Fold Increase in Number of Wēkiu Bugs on Maunakea

The population of the endemic wēkiu bug, which can only be found on cinder cones on the summit of Maunakea, remains healthy according to the insect captures recorded during the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship’s annual arthropod monitoring surveys this year.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service removed the wēkiu from the candidate endangered species list in 2011 after CMS land stewards compiled years of research on the insect’s biology, genetics and habitat, assuring its conservation and protection.
https://mauinow.com/2021/10/31/uh-seven-...-maunakea/

[AaronM]

One less thing to protest about!

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

From two of the Mauna Kea Observatories, Sat, Dec 11, 2021:

Join us on December 11th from 6:30-9:00pm as we stream live from the Maunakea Visitor Information Station. Join us to see stars, galaxies, nebula and more in realtime. Moderated by Mary Beth Laychak, director of strategic communications at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions about the objects viewed during the session and any astronomy question they have. Please note, the Maunakea Visitor Information Station is not open for stargazing, the entire event is online. Do not go to the VIS for viewing.

https://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/en/outreach/starparty

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Fireball meteor over Mauna Kea, video from Subaru Telescope, 12/12/2021:

https://twitter.com/davidhe11952876/stat...67424?s=21

[randomq]

"Don't Look Up" on Netflix features a (fictional) discovery by the Subaru telescope on Mauna Kea.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The James Webb Space Telescope launched on Christmas Day, the next generation observatory that will continue the work of the Hubble Telescope.  It's now on route to a  permanent position one million miles from earth.  The components for a deep space satellite can't be tested at that distance, so how do scientists do it?

On Mauna Kea.

NASA selected IfA’s HAWAII-2RG sensors for use on the highly anticipated “next generation” space telescope after decades of testing and perfecting. These detectors not only met all design requirements, they also offered bonus features that made it easier for NASA to build JWST‘s three NIR instruments, which have very demanding environmental needs in deep space. An integral part of the testing process was the ability to mount the sensors on the IfA-operated UH 88-inch telescope on Maunakea, allowing for rapid and efficient evaluation of the detectors and testing over long periods of time to ensure no surprises on the upcoming mission.

“The extremely dark skies and exquisite image quality that we get from Maunakea allows us to really push technology hard and to explore where its limits are in terms of astronomical research potential,” said Simons, who serves as the IfA Director.
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/12/20/u...telescope/

This is one more example showing the necessity of land based telescopes for future discoveries.  If you agree, write to the Mauna Kea Working Group in favor of astronomy on Mauna Kea:
Public comments on the report are being accepted until Jan. 4 and can be sent to maunakeaWG@capitol.hawaii.gov.

[Rob Tucker]

Mahalo for the post. I submitted my comments in support of the telescopes on Mauna Kea.