SEPTEMBER 7th 3-4 for kids and 4-5 for adults! PUEO is hosting an event for kids and adults. We still have space for 4-5 pm on the 7th for any adults (teachers, etc.) that would like to learn how to run the portable planetarium that you can borrow from Gemini. RSVP your spot for the 4-5 pm slot. We also might have some space for the kids show from 3-4, so contact us if you want to join in! You can also learn more about the program here: http://tinyurl.com/zsym78f ...
By TOM CALLIS Hawaii Tribune-Herald Six scientists will become the first to complete a yearlong Mars simulation in the United States when they exit a small dome Aug. 28 on Mauna Loa. For nearly 365 days, the crew has seen the outside world only through a small porthole or through the lens of their spacesuits, which they must wear to venture outside. At 8,200 feet above sea level, the landscape mimics Martian soil somewhat, with hardly any vegetation to be found. “They’re doing OK as far as we can tell,” said Kim Binsted, principal investigator for the Hawai‘i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation. The University of Hawaii runs the NASA-funded study. Three other simulations have been held in the dome, located in a former quarry, for four- and eight-month durations. Each scientist works on research projects during their stay and learns how to manage limited resources while avoiding personal conflicts in isolation. Any communication with the outside world is put on a 20-minute delay, the length of time it would take to relay messages to and from the red planet. Binsted said the only longer simulation held was a 520-day mission in Russia that mimicked a trip to Mars. HI-SEAS is more focused on what a crew will do once they get there. The crew will be provided fresh fruit and other food not available during the simulation after they leave the dome. “They are clamoring to get into the ocean,” Binsted said. “I think they will enjoy having a beer as well.” Binsted said HI-SEAS will host two more eight-month simulations, with the next one starting in January....
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER The Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Building a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea will come with educational opportunities that Hawaii shouldn’t close the door to, the president of a Native Hawaiian group that supports the project said. Perpetuating Unique Educational Opportunities President Keahi Warfield told a Waikiki hotel banquet room filled with members of the Rotary Club of Honolulu Tuesday that he believes there’s a “silent majority” of the public who support the Thirty Meter Telescope. The $1.4 billion telescope has divided the Native Hawaiian community, with many opponents saying it will desecrate sacred land. The state Supreme Court invalidated the project’s permit last year and ordered a new contested case hearing. Warfield’s group, whose acronym PUEO means Hawaiian owl, is allowed to participate in the upcoming hearing. The nonprofit organization’s board consists of Native Hawaiian elders, Warfield said. “Many people have come forward to thank us for exposing a view that they were afraid to voice,” said a bullet point in a presentation Warfield showed the Rotary Club. Many don’t feel safe expressing support for the telescope, he said. Intense protests on the Big Island mountain prompted a halt in construction. Telescope officials have said they want a permit in place by the end of the year or early next year in order to resume construction in 2018. Meanwhile, telescope officials are looking for possible alternate sites in case it can’t be built in Hawaii. A young girl told Warfield she no longer wants to grow up to be a scientist because of the debate, which has pitted family members against each other, Warfield...
[source] University of Hawai‘i at Hilo astronomy majors will receive more hands-on telescope time than ever before as the result of a recent agreement between the Institute for Astronomy at UH Mānoa and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UH Hilo. These students have a unique opportunity afforded to few other programs in the country—the opportunity to study the universe in the world’s largest observatories for optical, infrared and submillimeter astronomy on the 13,000-foot-high summit of Maunakea. Dr. Marianne Takamiya, associate professor of astronomy and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UH Hilo will present an update on these and other developments in UH Hilo’s astronomy program at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center’s Maunakea Skies talk on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center photo. “I will present the latest results of the research of faculty and students in astronomy, how our academic program has developed in the last five years and what we envision for the future,” stated Takamiya. “UH Hilo has unique elements that can make ours a novel astronomy program that produces not only astronomers, but also skilled professionals who are able to work in complex systems.” ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center photo. Takamiya, who is an expert in physical properties of material between stars in distant galaxies, has presented throughout the US, Chile, Japan, South Africa and Europe on research she has accomplished using the Maunakea telescopes while heavily involving undergraduate students. Takamiya is a graduate of Universidad de Chile and the University of Chicago, where she received her doctoral degree in astronomy and astrophysics. She was one of the first Gemini Science Fellows at Gemini North during...
Gemini observations show that the thin atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Io undergoes dramatic changes during frequent eclipses with the giant planet. The following press release, issued by the Southwest Research Institute, explains how the dramatic changes in temperature cause the moon’s atmosphere to collapse. Research reveals freezing effects of Jupiter’s shadow on moon’s volcanic gases San Antonio – Aug. 2, 2016 – A Southwest Research Institute-led team has documented atmospheric changes on Io, Jupiter’s volcanically active satellite, as the giant planet casts its shadow over the moon’s surface during daily eclipses. A study led by SwRI’s Constantine Tsang concluded that Io’s thin atmosphere, which consists primarily of sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas emitted from volcanoes, collapses as the SO2 freezes onto the surface as ice when Io is shaded by Jupiter. When the moon moves out of eclipse and ice warms, the atmosphere reforms through sublimation, where ice converts directly to gas. “This research is the first time scientists have observed this phenomenon directly, improving our understanding of this geologically active moon,” said Tsang, a senior research scientist in SwRI’s Space Science and Engineering Division. The findings were published in a study titled “The Collapse of Io’s Primary Atmosphere in Jupiter Eclipse” in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The team used the eight-meter Gemini North telescope in Hawai’i with the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) for this research. Data showed that Io’s atmosphere begins to “deflate” when the temperatures drop from -235 degrees Fahrenheit (-148 ℃) in sunlight to -270 degrees Fahrenheit (-168 ℃) during eclipse. Eclipse occurs 2 hours of every Io day (1.7 Earth days). In full...
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