News
Cosmic Matters
Adaptive Optics: Providing Clarity to Observations
Maunakea, Hawaii – Dr. Peter Wizinowich, based at W. M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii Island, is an engineer who specializes in optical sciences in astrophysics. His work involves using adaptive optics to improve the imaging capabilities of some of the world’s largest telescopes. In 1608, Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey patented the world’s first telescope […]
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W. M. Keck Observatory’s Adaptive Optics System Upgraded to ‘See’ in Infrared
Maunakea, Hawaii – W. M. Keck Observatory can now provide adaptive optics (AO) correction using light from cosmic objects at wavelengths invisible to the naked eye. Near-infrared AO wavefront sensing, in addition to sensing in visible light, is a new capability on the Keck II telescope thanks to a major upgrade, which involves the installation […]
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Review Of NSF’S Top Transformative Astronomy Tech Highlights Maunakea Observatories
Maunakea, Hawaii – A new study is shining a national spotlight on astronomy in Hawaii, underscoring the world-class science enabled by Maunakea Observatories’ cutting-edge technology. The study evaluates the 30-year history of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation (ATI) program, which encourages ground-based telescopes to develop innovative instrumentation, even at high technical […]
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Gary A. Chanan Receives 2020 Award for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science
W. M. Keck Observatory congratulates Dr. Gary A. Chanan, a pioneer and innovator in the field of telescope optics who played an important role in the Observatory’s segmented mirror technology. Chanan graduated from Yale in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Physics, embarking on a career that would prove foundational to […]
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New Image Offers Close-up View of Interstellar Comet
Maunakea, Hawaii – Astronomers at Yale University are getting a fresh glimpse of a visitor from another star; using W. M. Keck Observatory, they captured a new image of 2I/Borisov, the very first interstellar comet we know of to enter into our Solar System. The alien traveler, first spotted this summer, is steadily getting brighter […]
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Hawaii Communities Catch Planet Mercury Journey Across the Sun
Hundreds of astronomy fans attend Maunakea Observatories Mercury Transit Viewing Parties to See Rare Event Hawaii Island – It’s an astronomical phenomenon that won’t be visible from Hawaii again for another 30 years; on Monday, November 11, communities across the Big Island of Hawaii made sure to catch the rare event at Mercury Transit Viewing […]
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The Impossible Telescope
Waimea (Kamuela), Hawaii – Two years ago today, we lost a member of our W. M. Keck Observatory ohana. Jerry Nelson, the legendary designer of the Keck I & II telescopes, also known as the “Father of the Keck Observatory Telescopes,” passed away on June 10, 2017. In remembrance of Jerry’s legacy, we spent the next year after his passing […]
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W. M. Keck Observatory Welcomes Kāpili `Oihana Intern Riley Atkinson
Waimea (Kamuela), Hawaii – We are pleased to announce that Riley Atkinson will join W. M. Keck Observatory as a Kamehameha Schools Kāpili ʻOihana Intern. Atkinson, a rising sophomore at Columbia University, will contribute her expertise and gain work experience this summer in donor, media, and community relations. Keck Observatory is grateful for the collaboration with Kāpili ʻOihana, a program […]
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Shaw Prize in Astronomy Awarded to Ed Stone
Pasadena, California – Edward (Ed) C. Stone, the David Morrisroe Professor of Physics at Caltech, and the project scientist for NASA’s Voyager mission for the past 47 years, has been awarded the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy “for his leadership in the Voyager project, which has, over the past four decades, transformed our understanding of […]
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Exoplanet Detective Courtney Dressing Investigates Earth Doppelgangers Orbiting Nearby Stars
WAIMEA (KAMUELA), HAWAII – NASA’s new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satilite (TESS) is discovering strange new worlds closest to our solar system, and last night, a curious audience came to find out if any of them are similar to Earth. At W. M. Keck Observatory’s public astronomy talk, guest speaker Courtney Dressing, Assistant Professor of Astronomy […]
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