Category: News
HNN – Mysteries solved: What caused those strange sightings in the sky?
By Derek Kravitsky and HNN Staff Published: Dec. 5, 2025 at 12:38 PM HST|Updated: Dec. 8, 2025 at 3:27 PM HST HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – From a flashing blue streak to a falling trail of smoke, we now know what caused strange sightings in the sky above Hawaii this week.
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.…
Celebrating Creative Genius: Keck Observer Kareem El-Badry Named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow
Kareem El-Badry, Keck Observatory observer and assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology, has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow for his groundbreaking work on “expanding our knowledge of binary star systems, black holes, and other wonders of the universe.” Awarded by the The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the prestigious fellowship…
W. M. Keck Observatory Welcomes Jacques Sebag as Chief Engineer and Operations Officer
Sebag brings over three decades of expertise in global astronomical observatory operations Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Jacques Sebag has joined the W. M. Keck Observatory as its Chief Engineer and Operations Officer, effective September 15. Sebag has over 30 years of experience in operations and engineering leadership at premier astronomical observatories around the world. Most recently,…
Brightest Ever Fast Radio Burst to Date Provides Clues to its Origin
Physical properties provided by Keck Observatory data reveals surprising FRB environment Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of international astronomers, including observers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have pinpointed the brightest fast radio bursts (FRBs) ever detected to a location in a nearby galaxy. The finding and the…
First-of-its-kind ‘Bare-Bones’ Supernova Upends Star Evolution Models
Rare stellar blast reveals a heavy-element core, challenging theories of how massive stars live and die Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – For the first time, scientists have confirmed a new subclass of exploding star, made possible by spectral data captured by the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island. The discovery challenges…
To ‘Infinity’ and Beyond – A Look at a Newborn Black Hole
Discovery of Infinity galaxy provides evidence of a new pathway for black hole formation Media Contact: Meagan O’Shea Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have discovered a cosmic oddity they’ve nicknamed the “Infinity” galaxy — the result of two galaxies colliding to form a shape resembling the…