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Calcium-Rich Supernova Examined With X-Rays For First Time
Unprecedented Observations Shine Light On A Compact Star’s Final Moments Maunakea, Hawaii – Most of the calcium in the universe, including the very calcium in our teeth and bones, was created in the last gasp of dying stars. Called “calcium-rich supernovae,” these stellar explosions are so rare that astrophysicists have struggled to find and subsequently […]
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Surprisingly Young Galaxy Breaks Low-Oxygen Record
Rare, Extremely Metal-Poor Nearby Galaxy Discovered With Machine Learning Maunakea, Hawaii – Astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories – Subaru Telescope and W. M. Keck Observatory – combined with the power of machine learning, have discovered a nearby galaxy that has broken the record for having the lowest level of oxygen ever seen. The researchers measured […]
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Maunakea Observatories’ Quick Reflexes Capture Fleeting Flash
The International Gemini Observatory and W. M. Keck Observatory Catch Short Gamma-Ray Burst Within Hours Maunakea, Hawai‘i – Astronomers have discovered the second-most distant confirmed short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) ever studied using two Maunakea Observatories in Hawaiʻi – W. M. Keck Observatory and the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. Observations confirm the […]
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Monster Black Hole Found in the Early Universe
The Second-most Distant Quasar Ever Discovered Now Has a Hawaiian Name Maunakea, Hawai‘i – Astronomers have discovered the second-most distant quasar ever found using three Maunakea Observatories in Hawai‘i: W. M. Keck Observatory, the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, and the University of Hawai‘i-owned United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). It is the […]
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Zooming in on the Origins of Fast Radio Bursts
Maunakea, Hawaii – Astronomers have peered into the home galaxies of fast radio bursts, ruling out supermassive black holes as a cause and bringing us a step closer to understanding the origins of these mysterious signals from outer space. Fast radio bursts – the hottest topic in astronomy right now – were first detected in […]
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Astronomers Find Cosmic Golden Needle Buried for Two Decades; Discovery Sheds New Light on Famous Einstein Ring
Social Distance Science Made Possible with Public W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA Archive Data Maunakea, Hawaii – Determined to find a needle in a cosmic haystack, a pair of astronomers time traveled through archives of old data from W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaii and old X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray […]
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The ‘Cow’ Mystery Strikes Back: Two More Rare, Explosive Events Captured
Discoveries Reveal New Class of Fast Blue Optical Transient Events Maunakea, Hawaii – The ‘Cow’ is not alone; with the help of W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered two more like it – the ‘Koala’ and a similar mysterious bright object called CSS161010. This trio of fast blue optical transients […]
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Astronomers See ‘Cosmic Ring of Fire,’ 11 Billion Years Ago
Unusual Galaxy Prompts Researchers to Rethink How Structures in the Universe Form Maunakea, Hawaii – Astronomers have captured an image of a super rare type of galaxy – described as a “cosmic ring of fire” – as it existed 11 billion years ago. The galaxy, which has roughly the mass of the Milky Way, is […]
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Astronomers Confirm Existence of Two Giant Newborn Planets in PDS 70 System
New Direct Images Captured with W. M. Keck Observatory’s Upgraded Adaptive Optics System Lead to First Independent Confirmation of PDS 70 Protoplanets Maunakea, Hawaii – New evidence shows the first-ever pictures capturing the birth of a pair of planets orbiting the star PDS 70 are in fact authentic. Using a new infrared pyramid wavefront sensor […]
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Hawaii Astronomers Help Decipher Rhythm Among Young Stars
Maunakea, Hawaii – By “listening” to the “beating hearts” of stars, an international team of astronomers, including researchers from the University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA), detected a rhythm of life for a class of stellar objects that puzzled scientists until now. The findings are an important contribution to the overall understanding of […]
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