Category: News
Astronomers Discover the First Galaxy-wide Wobbling Black Hole Jet in a Disk Galaxy
Rare, powerful jet strips star-forming gas from its host, offering new insight into how galaxies evolve Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have uncovered the largest and most extended stream of super-heated gas ever observed flowing from a nearby galaxy, providing the clearest evidence yet that a supermassive…
Astronomers Reveal Hidden Lives of the Early Universe’s Ultramassive Galaxies
A new multi-wavelength study shows that some ultramassive galaxies shut down star formation early, while others remain active but hidden by dust Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – An international team of astronomers has uncovered multiple evolutionary paths for the universe’s most massive galaxies. Observations of ultramassive galaxies, each containing more than 100 billion…
Astronomers Pinpoint Black Holes as the Power Source Behind Mysterious Cosmic Flashes
Observations of AT 2024wpp reveal that luminous fast blue optical transients are driven by extreme stellar destruction—not supernovae Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers analyzing data from an array of telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have determined that luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are powered by an extreme tidal disruption…
“Superkilonova” A Star So Nice, It Explodes Twice
Potential first-of-a-kind may have produced gravitational waves and light Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of astronomers using a variety of telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have discovered a possible “Superkilonova” that exploded not once but twice, evidence that this oddball event may be a first-of-a-kind…
Discoveries From Maunakea Reveal Hidden Worlds Around Accelerating Stars
Groundbreaking research from the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Subaru Telescope highlight Maunakea’s continued leadership in imaging new worlds Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory and the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have discovered a massive planet and a brown dwarf orbiting distant stars—two rare companions…
Astronomers Discover the First Gravitationally Lensed Superluminous Supernova
A cosmic magnifying glass reveals a record-distant explosion Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – An international team of astronomers using a combination of ground-based telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, has discovered the first-ever spatially resolved, gravitationally lensed superluminous supernova. The object, dubbed SN 2025wny, offers a rare look…
Astronomers Sharpen the Universe’s Expansion Rate, Deepening a Cosmic Mystery
New results strengthen the “Hubble tension,” hinting at the need for rethinking our model of the universe Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of astronomers using a variety of ground and space-based telescopes including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have made one of the most precise independent measurements…
Astronomers reveal tasty insights into exoplanet formation using SPAM
Study serves up the closest-ever view of a planet-forming disk around young star HD 34282 Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have taken the closest-ever look at the dusty regions where planets form, offering new insight into the earliest stages of planetary birth. HD 34282 is one of thirty…
Dead Star Still Consuming Its Planetary System
Discovery challenges understanding of planetary system evolution Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi Island have identified a rare, ancient planetary system still being actively consumed by its central white dwarf star, LSPM J0207+3331. Located 145 light-years from Earth, this system hosts the…
Discovery of Brown Dwarf Companion Provides New Insight into Stellar and Planetary Formation and Evolution
Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – An international team of astronomers using the combined powers of space-based and ground-based observatories, including the W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have discovered a brown dwarf companion orbiting a nearby red dwarf star, providing key insight into how stars and planets form.…