Videos

Explore the people, places, and discoveries that bring Keck Observatory’s mission to life.

What’s it like working for the world’s largest optical and infrared telescopes?

Meet James Chongs and Ash Hooks, Infrastructure Technicians at Keck Observatory. Every day, the Infrastructure team helps care for the facilities and environment that supports world-leading astronomy. Their work reflects a commitment to service and stewardship, expressed through the care they bring to the Observatory, the respect they show for ʻāina, and the communities that shape them.

Behind the Mirror: Inside a Keck Segment Exchange

Every mirror segment plays a critical role in Keck’s scientific discoveries.

Go behind the scenes of a Keck segment exchange and experience the coordination, expertise, and attention to detail required to maintain the performance of the world’s largest optical and infrared telescopes.

Keck Observatory Donor Salon
Hunting for Black Holes in the Milky Way Galaxy

Hunting for Black Holes in the Milky Way Galaxy

The population of stellar mass black holes in the Milky Way is almost entirely unexplored. Only a dozen black holes …
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Astronomy Talk
Planetary Defense at NASA

Planetary Defense at NASA

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun like the planets, but with orbits that can bring …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
A Stretching Gas Cloud and Other Dusty Objects That Orbit Close to the Galactic Black Hole

A Stretching Gas Cloud and Other Dusty Objects That Orbit Close to the Galactic Black Hole

The Supermassive Black Hole (SBH) at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy is surrounded by a dense cluster of …
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Astronomy Talk
Exploring the Ice Giants with Keck Observatory and Other Telescopes

Exploring the Ice Giants with Keck Observatory and Other Telescopes

During the late 1980s, our understanding of the local ice giants – Uranus and Neptune – was revolutionized by detailed …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
Celebrating 175 Years of Neptune: A Story From Its Discovery to the Present

Celebrating 175 Years of Neptune: A Story From Its Discovery to the Present

Neptune was discovered on September 24, 1846 (~175 years ago). Since its discovery, we have learned much about the planet …
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Astronomy Talk
The Year(s) Ahead: What's on the Horizon for Astronomy?

The Year(s) Ahead: What’s on the Horizon for Astronomy?

The coming year promises to be an exciting one for astronomy on the ground and in space. With new instrumentation …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
Broadening Our Horizons With the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Broadening Our Horizons With the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

What’s the true nature of dark energy and dark matter, those invisible forces that both bind together and may ultimately …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
The Keck Discovery Engine: A Transformative New Capability for Science

The Keck Discovery Engine: A Transformative New Capability for Science

Keck has maintained leadership in astronomy for three decades because of the creativity of its community, the nimbleness of its …
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Astronomy Talk
Planet 9 From Outer Space

Planet 9 From Outer Space

In the past 175 years, more than 30 separate astronomers have suggested the existence of a giant planet beyond Neptune …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
Imaging Other Worlds: Today and Tomorrow

Imaging Other Worlds: Today and Tomorrow

Direct imaging is a key method to study planets around other stars, a.k.a. exoplanets. Thanks to both astronomical and instrumental …
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Astronomy Talk
Where I Explore, Where We Explore From The South Pole To Mars To Exoplanets

Where I Explore, Where We Explore From The South Pole To Mars To Exoplanets

NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program, NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryExploring is fundamental to being human, one of the cornerstones of why we …
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Keck Observatory Donor Salon
The World’s Most Powerful Pair of Eyeglasses: Keck Adaptive Optics

The World’s Most Powerful Pair of Eyeglasses: Keck Adaptive Optics

Dr. Lyke will give a fun and informative overview of Keck’s productive use of a technology that sharpens its view …
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