News
News
A Dual Quasar Shines Light on Two Supermassive Black Holes on a Collision Course Inside a Galaxy Merger
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers have made a rare discovery in the early universe involving two actively feeding supermassive black holes – or quasars – just 10,000 light-years apart from each other, that are on the verge of a colossal collision. Using a suite of space- and ground-based telescopes, including two Maunakea Observatories in Hawaiʻi – […]
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The First Bubble in the Intergalactic Stew
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astrophysicists using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi have discovered a galaxy protocluster in the early universe surrounded by gas that is surprisingly hot. This scorching gas hugs a region that consists of a giant collection of galaxies called COSTCO-I. Observed when the universe was 11 billion years younger, COSTCO-I […]
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Ultracool Dwarf Binary Stars Break Records
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Northwestern University and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) astrophysicists using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other; […]
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The Swansong of a Cloud Approaching the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Two decades of monitoring from W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi reveals a peculiar cloud being pulled apart as it accelerates toward the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Dubbed X7, astronomers from the UCLA Galactic Center Orbits Initiative (GCOI) and Keck Observatory have been […]
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New Aurorae Detected on Jupiter’s Four Largest Moons
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi have discovered that aurorae at visible wavelengths appear on all 4 major moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Using Keck Observatory’s High-Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) as well as high-resolution spectrographs at the Large Binocular Telescope and Apache Point Observatory, a […]
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W. M. Keck Observatory Launches Electrician Apprenticeship Program for Hawaiʻi Community College Students
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island — W. M. Keck Observatory in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Community College is excited to announce a new apprenticeship program for kamaʻāina students pursuing a career as licensed electricians. The three-year pilot program provides highly specialized technical training and commercial work experience to students enrolled in Hawaiʻi Community College’s Electrical Installation and Maintenance […]
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Astronomers Snap First Confirmed Direct Image of a Brown Dwarf Orbiting a Star in the Hyades Cluster
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – A team of astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories in Hawaiʻi – W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope – have photographed a brown dwarf orbiting HIP 21152, a young Sun-like star in the Hyades Cluster. Located just 150 light-years away, Hyades is the closest star cluster to Earth in the constellation Taurus; […]
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A Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – While studying a nearby pair of merging galaxies, scientists discovered two supermassive black holes growing simultaneously near the center of the newly coalescing galaxy, dubbed UGC 4211. These super-hungry giants are the closest together that scientists have ever observed in multiple wavelengths. What’s more, the new research reveals that binary black holes […]
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Surprise Kilonova Upends Established Understanding of Long Gamma-ray Bursts
Long Gamma-ray Bursts Can Be Generated by Neutron Star Mergers, Study Finds Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – For nearly two decades, astrophysicists have believed that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) resulted solely from the collapse of massive stars. Now, a new study upends that long-established and long-accepted belief. Led by Northwestern University, a team of astrophysicists have uncovered […]
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NASA Releases New JWST and W. M. Keck Observatory Images of Titan, Saturn’s Moon
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – From space with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and on the ground with the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, astronomers have tag-teamed to capture a set of extraordinary images revealing large clouds in the northern hemisphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. “Detecting clouds is exciting because it validates […]
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