Subscribe Super-Earth Detected in Habitable Zone of Nearby Star
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Feb 2, 2012
Santa Cruz, CA—An international team of scientists has discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star. With an orbital period of about 28 days and a minimum mass 4.5 times that of the Earth, the planet orbits within the star’s “habitable zone,” where temperatures are neither...
Keck Observatory Astronomer Wins Top Award
Jan 20, 2012
A Keck Observatory astronomer who led the way to the discovery of a super-massive black hole at the center of our galaxy has been recognized this week with the 2012 Crafoord Prize in Astronomy, an award almost as prestigious for astronomers as a Nobel Prize. “This is a big one. I’m thrilled,”...
Most Distant Dwarf Galaxy Detected
Jan 18, 2012
Kamuela, HI—Scientists have long struggled to detect the dim dwarf galaxies that orbit our own galaxy. So it came as a surprise on Jan. 18 when a team of astronomers using Keck II telescope’s adaptive optics has announced the discovery of a dwarf galaxy halfway across the universe. The new...
Smallest Solar System Found
Jan 9, 2012
KAMUELA, HI – For years the search for exoplanets has largely been like Gulliver’s visit to Brobdingnag: colossal systems of giant gas planets orbiting mammoth stars. But astronomers have finally landed on the shores of Lilliput. They have found a tiny star with three puny planets, each smaller...
Keck & Subaru Telescopes Find Rare Galaxy at Dawn of Time
Dec 21, 2011
Synopsis: • The galaxy GN-108036 is one of the most distant objects ever found in the universe. • Galaxies like GN-108036 may be responsible for ending the universe’s early “Dark Age.” • The Keck II Telescope was used to confirm the distance and age of the galaxy after it was spotted with the...
Kepler, Keck Telescopes Discover Earth-Size Exoplanets
Dec 20, 2011
NASA’s Kepler mission, aided by the Keck I Telescope, has discovered the first Earth-size planets orbiting a Sun-like star outside our solar system. The planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water could exist on a...
Keck Telescope Creator To Receive 2012 Franklin Medal
Dec 19, 2011
The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia has announced that Jerry Nelson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will receive the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering. Nelson is internationally renowned as a developer of innovative...
VIDEO: Oodles of Exoplanets
Dec 16, 2011
This is the video of a Dec. 8, 2011, Keck Astronomy Talk at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea-Kamuela, Hawaii. The talk is entitled “Oodles of Exoplanets: The Search for Other Earths,” by Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California at Santa Cruz. NOTE: There is an audio problem at...
Astronomers Find New Clues to Supernova Origins
Dec 14, 2011
Synopsis: Astronomers have taken a big step forward in identifying the unseen partners of stars that blow up and make the universe’s “standard candle” supernovas. Observations by both Keck telescopes played key roles in the new discoveries. These standard candles, Type Ia supernovas, were used...
New Goldilocks Planet Detected
Dec 6, 2011
Washington, D.C.—The Keck I telescope has been used to establish the mass of a planet in the habitable zone around a star—that’s the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. The newly confirmed exoplanet, Kepler-22b, is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the...
Record Massive Black Holes Found Lurking in Monster Galaxies
Dec 5, 2011
BERKELEY—Astronomers using the Keck II telescope and other observatories have discovered the largest black holes to date—two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion Suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system. These...
Keck Telescopes Find 18 New Exoplanets
Dec 2, 2011
KAMUELA, Hawaii—A whopping 18 new, bona fide exoplanets have been discovered and confirmed by a team of Caltech astronomers using the Keck Telescopes and two other ground-based observatories. “It’s the largest single announcement of planets in orbit around stars more massive than the sun, aside...
TEDxHONOLULU - Dr. Michael Liu - Telescopes as Time Machines
Nov 21, 2011
Watch these 18 science-packed minutes from this recent live webcast of Dr. Mike Liu, a frequent Keck Telescope user.
Keck, Magellan & Hubble Telescopes Find Galactic Recyclers
Nov 17, 2011
Kamuela, HI - The secret of longevity is recycling, at least for galaxies, say astronomers who have used a trio of the world’s best telescopes to study the uncharted space around vibrant star-birthing galaxies and their not-so-vibrant siblings. Galaxies learned to “go green” early in the history...
Found: Pristine Gas From The Big Bang
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Nov 10, 2011
Kamuela, HI – Two clumps of primordial gas from the dawn of time have been detected in deep space by astronomers using the 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory. The gas clouds are too diffuse to form stars and show virtually no signs of containing any “metals,” which is...
Keck Telescope Snaps Images of Asteroid’s Exit
Nov 9, 2011
Kamuela HI – One of the world’s largest optical/infrared telescopes has captured near-infrared light images of asteroid YU55 as it was departing its close flyby of Earth the night of Nov. 8, 2011. The observing run on the Keck II telescope was webcast live to a large audience on UStream directly...
Youngest Planet Seen As It’s Forming
Oct 19, 2011
Kamuela, HI – The first direct image of a planet in the process of forming around its star has been captured by astronomers who combined the power of the 10-meter Keck telescopes with a bit of optical sleight of hand. What astronomers are calling LkCa 15 b, looks like a hot “protoplanet”...
Oxygen: Breathing the Universe
Oct 18, 2011
Here is the video recording of the Oct. 13, 2011, Keck Observatory Astronomy Talk by Dr. Lisa Kewley, of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy. The venue is the historic Kahilu Theatre in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii. Part One Part Two
Nobel Prize in Physics awarded for Accelerating Expansion of the Universe
Oct 5, 2011
The expansion of the universe is accelerating, and this is likely driven by dark energy, a mysterious repulsive force. Three astronomers won the Nobel prize on Tuesday for their research on exploding stars, or supernovae, that led to this profound cosmological conclusion. They are Saul Perlmutter...
Universe’s “Standard Candles” Are White Dwarf Mergers
Oct 3, 2011
Berkeley — A new survey of distant Type Ia supernovae suggests that many if not most of these supernovae - key to astronomers’ conclusion that dark energy is accelerating the expansion of the universe - result when two white dwarf stars merge and annihilate in a thermonuclear explosion. Evidence...
How I Killed Pluto & Why It Had It Coming: The Video
Sep 29, 2011
This is a video recording of the Sept. 15, 2011, lecture by Caltech astronomer Mike Brown. This public lecture was held at Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, on the Big Island of Hawaii. In this talk he explains not only how Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet, but his controversial role in “killing” Pluto....
Citizen Scientists, Kepler and Keck Uncover New Planets
Sep 21, 2011
Astronomers at Yale University have announced the discovery of the first two potential exoplanets found by the online citizen scientist Planet Hunters program. Users of the Planet Hunters program analyze scientific data collected by NASA’s Kepler mission to assist astronomers in finding planets...
Uncovering the Secrets of the Great Supernova
Aug 26, 2011
Kamuela, HI – A once-in-a-lifetime nearby stellar explosion now unfolding in a neighboring galaxy has astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory scrambling to ask questions that can’t be answered at any other ground-based telescope in the world. The first big question: What causes this pivotally...
Ice & Maybe Methane on ‘Snow White’ Dwarf Planet
Aug 22, 2011
Ancient slush-spewing volcanoes slopped water ice across half the surface of the so-called “Snow White” world, say astronomers studying the distant dwarf planet 2007 OR10. Although it will take the giant W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes to be sure, the latest findings from the Magellan Baade...
Found: Heart of Darkness
Jul 28, 2011
Kamuela, HI – Astronomers using the 10-meter Keck II telescope in Hawaii have confirmed in a new paper that a troupe of about 1,000 small, dim stars just outside the Milky Way comprise the darkest known galaxy, as well as something else: a treasure trove of ancient stars. By “dark” astronomers...
Black Hole Eats Star, Belches Gamma Rays
Jun 17, 2011
Berkeley — A bright flash of gamma rays discovered on March 28 by the Swift satellite and studied in other wavelengths by Keck, Gemini North and other telescopes, may have been the death rattle of a star falling into a massive black hole and being ripped apart, according to a team led by...
Lasers Spectacular
Jun 8, 2011
The new laser on the Keck I telescope has inspired two avid Mauna Kea photographers to capture the light show in a series of stunning images and videos. We’ve collected some of their work here for your entertainment and inspiration. The following video is by Andrew Cooper who assembled it with more...
Nature’s Best Magnifying Glass Views Early Spiral Galaxy
May 25, 2011
Kamuela, HI – Astronomers in Hawaii have plucked unprecedented details from the life of an early galaxy using an unusually lucid gravitational lens coupled with the powerful 10-meter Keck II Telescope on Mauna Kea. Gravitational lenses are Nature’s largest telescopes, created by colossally...
Children’s Astro Haiku Contest Winners
May 17, 2011
Kamuela, HI – The W. M. Keck Observatory’s mission is to advance the frontiers of astronomy and share our discoveries with the world. Today that mission extends to sharing the creativity of some of tomorrow’s explorers who recently sat down to write their thoughts about space and astronomy as haiku...
Keck & NASA Telescopes Reveal Surprisingly Young Galaxy
Apr 12, 2011
WASHINGTON—Astronomers have uncovered one of the youngest galaxies in the distant universe, with stars that formed 13.5 billion years ago, a mere 200 million years after the big bang. The finding addresses questions about when the first galaxies arose, and how the early universe evolved. NASA’s...
Keck Telescope Images Super-Luminous Supernova
Mar 31, 2011
Austin, Texas - The Keck I Telescope has played a key role in unraveling the mysteries of one of the brightest supernovas ever discovered. The supernova, called Supernova 2008am, is 3.7 billion light-years away from Earth. At its peak luminosity, it was over 100 billion times brighter than the...
New Candidate For Coldest ‘Star’
Mar 23, 2011
Kamuela, HI – There is a new candidate for coldest known star: a brown dwarf with about the same temperature as a hot cup of coffee. That’s cool enough to begin crossing the blurry line between small cold stars and big hot planets. Brown dwarfs are essentially failed stars: they lack the mass...
Europa Helps Astronomers Penetrate Jupiter’s Lost Belt
Feb 9, 2011
Kamuela, HI - The ongoing turmoil inside Jupiter’s missing – and slowly re-emerging – South Equatorial Belt can now be seen in unprecedented detail thanks to the Keck II telescope’s Adaptive Optics system and the cooperation of the icy Jovian moon Europa (more on Jupiter’s missing belt. In this...
Royal Honor Awarded to Astronomer Richard Ellis
Jan 20, 2011
Pasadena, CA - Richard Salisbury Ellis, the Steele Family Professor of Astronomy at Caltech, has received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. Awarded annually since 1824, the Gold Medal is the society’s highest honor and one of the premier prizes in astronomy. Ellis joins a long list...
Astronomers Discover New Clues to Galaxy Evolution
Jan 12, 2011
Seattle, WA - Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and University of Hawai’i (UH) have discovered 16 close-knit pairs of supermassive black holes in merging galaxies. The research findings, based on observations done at...
NASA Study Distinguishes Most Distant Galaxy Cluster
Jan 12, 2011
Kamuela, HI - Astronomers have uncovered a burgeoning galactic metropolis, the most distant known in the early universe. This ancient collection of galaxies presumably grew into a modern galaxy cluster similar to the massive ones seen today. The developing cluster, named COSMOS-AzTEC3, was...
Keck Observatory pictures show fourth planet in giant solar system
Dec 8, 2010
Kamuela, HI - Astronomers announced the discovery of a fourth giant planet joining three others orbiting a nearby star with information that challenges our current understanding of planet formation. The dusty young star named HR8799, located 129 light years away, was first recognized in 2008 when...
Discovery Triples Total Number of Stars in Universe
Dec 1, 2010
Kamuela, HI - Astronomers have discovered that small, dim stars known as red dwarfs are much more prolific than previously thought—so much so that the total number of stars in the universe is likely three times bigger than realized. Because red dwarfs are relatively small and dim compared to...
Observations of Jupiter reveal rare signatures of weather
Nov 29, 2010
Kamuela, HI, - One of Jupiter’s dark brown stripes that faded out last spring is regaining its color, providing an unprecedented opportunity for astronomers to observe a rare and mysterious phenomenon caused by the planet’s winds and cloud chemistry. Earlier this year, amateur astronomers noticed...
Study says solar systems like ours may be common
Oct 28, 2010
Kamuela, HI, - Nearly one in four stars like the Sun could have Earth-size planets, according to observations of nearby solar-mass stars made with the Keck telescopes in Hawai’i. UC Berkeley astronomers Andrew Howard and Geoffrey Marcy chose 166 G and K stars within 80 light years of Earth and...
Ground-Based Images of Asteroid Lutetia Complement Spacecraft Flyby
Oct 7, 2010
Kamuela, HI, - The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft recently beamed back to Earth a dramatic set of close-up images as it flew past the asteroid Lutetia, on its way to a comet rendezvous in 2014. But even before Rosetta made its close encounter with the 100-kilometer sized asteroid,...
Keck Observatory discovers the first Goldilocks exoplanet
Sep 29, 2010
Kamuela, HI, - A team of planet-hunting astronomers, utilizing the HIRES spectrometer on the W.M. Keck Observatory’s Keck I Telescope, has announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting a nearby star. The new planet, known as Gliese 581g, is at a distance that places it squarely in...
Spectrum of young extrasolar planet yields surprising results
Aug 30, 2010
Kamuela, HI - Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have measured the temperature of a young gas-giant planet around another star using the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the results are puzzling. They have found that its atmosphere is unlike that of any previously studied extrasolar planet. By...
NSF Awards $1.72 Million to Improve the Keck I Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System
Aug 11, 2010
Kamuela, HI— The W. M. Keck Observatory has received a $1.72 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to design the first near-infrared tip-tilt sensor used to correct for the turbulence in Earth’s atmosphere. The improvements will increase the sensitivity and resolution of the Keck...
Reverse cosmic lens advances quasar studies
Jul 15, 2010
Kamuela, HI—Astronomers using Keck Observatory have identified the first known quasar acting as a gravitational lens that magnifies an even more distant galaxy. The discovery may provide astronomers with a new technique to study quasars. Quasars are extraordinarily luminous and energetic objects...
Zooming in on Infant Planetary Systems
Jun 15, 2010
MAUNA KEA, HI—Using both 10-meter Keck telescopes together, astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory have been able to peer deeper into proto-planetary disks, swirling clouds of gas and dust that feed the growing stars in their centers and eventually coalesce into new planetary systems. The team...
Keck Observatory Project Scientist wins 2010 Kavli Prize
Jun 3, 2010
KAMUELA, HI—Jerry Nelson, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and designer of the revolutionary segmented-mirror Keck telescopes will share the $1 million Kavli Prize in Astrophysics with two other researchers for their innovations in the field of telescope design. The...
Steidel receives Gruber Cosmology Prize for observations of earliest galaxies
Jun 2, 2010
NEW YORK, NY – Charles Steidel, the Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the 2010 Cosmology Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. The award recognizes Steidel’s revolutionary studies using the W. M. Keck Observatory of...
Possible new type of supernovae puts calcium in your bones
May 19, 2010
KAMUELA, HI — New data from several telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory, suggest astronomers may have identified a new type of supernovae. The stellar death is thought to have originated in a star that was a low-mass white dwarf accumulating helium from a companion star. When the white...
Keck Observatory showcases local artist’s work
May 6, 2010
KAMUELA, HI—Laurie Goldstein, a resident of North Kohala, will present a mixed media art show, entitled “Universe in Color” at the W. M. Keck Observatory headquarters, located at 65-1120 Mamalahoa Highway, in Waimea. The exhibit runs from May 20 to September 22. Public viewing of Goldstein’s art...
Astronomers See Historical Supernova From New Angle
Mar 31, 2010
MAUNA KEA, HI— By observing visible “light echoes,” astronomers have assembled one of the first 3-D perspectives of a cosmic object. The new view of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A confirms that it formed during a lopsided explosion. “Light echoes allow us to conduct forensic studies of stars...
Keck telescope confirms smallest known star duo
Mar 8, 2010
Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have identified the smallest known binary system to date. The system, called HM Cancri, consists of two dead stars that revolve around each other in 5.4 minutes, by far the shortest known orbital period of any pair of stars. The team, led by Gijs...
New tidal streams found in Andromeda reveal history of galactic mergers
Jan 7, 2010
WASHINGTON D.C.—The Andromeda galaxy has two previously unknown tidal streams, according to data recently taken at the W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope. The coherent flows of stars are remnants of dwarf galaxies that Andromeda has been consuming over the last one to two billion...
Second smallest exoplanet found to date discovered at Keck
Jan 7, 2010
WASHINGTON D.C.— Planet hunters using Keck Observatory have detected an extrasolar planet that is only four times the mass of Earth. The planet is the second smallest exoplanet ever discovered and adds to astronomers’ growing cadre of low mass planets called super-Earths. “This is quite a...
Waltzing black holes take center stage at astronomy meeting
Jan 4, 2010
WASHINGTON D.C.—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered 33 pairs of black holes in distant galaxies. The new results verify that these waltzing black holes are more common than previously observed. Nearly every galaxy has a central, supermassive black hole, typically with a...
Keck telescopes take deeper look at planetary nurseries
Dec 23, 2009
MAUNA KEA, HI—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have peered far into a young planetary system, giving an unprecedented view of dust and gas that might eventually form worlds similar to Jupiter, Venus or even Earth. “Because the gas, dust and debris that orbit young stars provide the...
First super-earths discovered around sun-like stars
Dec 14, 2009
MAUNA KEA, HI—Planet hunters using the W. M. Keck Observatory have identified at least six low-mass planets around two nearby, Sun-like stars. Two of the planets are five and 7.5 times the mass of Earth. These “super-Earths” are the first low mass planets found orbiting stars similar to the...
Keck Observatory’s Interferometer takes closer look at supermassive black holes
Dec 8, 2009
MAUNA KEA, HI—Astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory are using a technique called interferometry to provide new information about central black hole systems in galaxies. Makoto Kishimoto, of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, and an international team of...
First of its kind superbright supernova
Dec 2, 2009
Berkeley, Calif. – A discovery of an extraordinarily bright, extraordinarily long-lasting supernova named SN 2007bi turns out to be the first known example of the earliest types of stars that populated the Universe. The unusually luminous supernova could provide astronomers with clues about the...
A Galactic “fossil” in the core of the Milky Way
Nov 25, 2009
KAMUELA, HI—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have identified two distinct groups of stars within the Milky Way Galaxy’s globular cluster Terzan 5. The two stellar populations have different ages and iron abundances, which are...
Rapid supernova could be new class of exploding star
Nov 9, 2009
BERKELEY, CA—An unusual supernova rediscovered in seven-year-old data taken at the W. M. Keck Observatory and Lick Observatory may be the first example of a new type of exploding star, possibly in a binary star system where helium flows from one white dwarf onto another and detonates in a...
A New View of the Moon
Oct 9, 2009
KAMUELA, HI—On Oct. 9, astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory used the Keck II telescope to search for water harbored in the Moon’s permanently shadowed craters. The observations were made as part of the Observatory’s participation in NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or...
Keck Interferometer Nuller Spots Double Dust Cloud
Sep 24, 2009
KAMUELA, Hawaii (Sept. 24, 2009) — Linking the twin, 10-meter telescopes in Hawaii, astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory discovered an extended, double-layered dust disk orbiting 51 Ophiuchi, a star that is 410 light-years from Earth. It is the first time the Keck Interferometer Nuller...
Jupiter Adds a Feature
Jul 20, 2009
Mauna Kea, Hawai’i—Jupiter’s got a brand new mark. Something slammed into the gas giant leaving a dark bruise in the planet’s atmosphere, scientists at Keck Observatory confirmed early on the morning of July 20 Hawaiian Standard Time. The observation, made with the Keck II telescope, marks only...
New Method Finds Most Distant Supernovae
Jul 8, 2009
Mauna Kea, Hawai’i—Astronomers have yet again rewritten the record books for discovering the most distant supernovae. Using Hawaii’s W. M. Keck Observatory and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), a team has identified remnants of two massive stars that exploded roughly 11 billion years...
Enceladus shows little sodium leaving scientists questioning existence of underground ocean
Jun 24, 2009
One of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, appears to be missing some sodium. The new observations made at the W. M. Keck Observatory suggest that the plumes of gas and ice seen exploding from the moon are not fueled by geysers erupting from a salty ocean just beneath Enceladus’ surface. The conclusion has...
Exoplanet’s tilted orbit challenges theories of planet formation
Jun 24, 2009
An international team of astronomers has discovered an exoplanet whose orbit is steeply tilted from the plane of the star’s equator, a finding that contradicts theories about how planetary systems form. The new observations conducted at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii provide a clear, solid...
Keck Laser Helps Astronomers Probe the Nature of Massive Galaxies in the Early Universe
Jun 9, 2009
PASADENA, Calif.—Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered distant galaxies as massive as the Milky Way yet ten to 1000 times more compact. The new results, announced June 9 at the 214th American Astronomical Society meeting in Pasadena, provide astronomers with surprising clues...
Berkeley Astronomers Lift Shroud on Dark Gamma Ray Bursts
Jun 9, 2009
PASADENA, Calif.—Astronomers using the Keck telescopes may have solved the mystery of dark gamma ray bursts—intense flashes of X-ray and gamma-ray radiation that have little to no optical signature. The observations have allowed the astronomers to peer through celestial gas and dust to reveal star...
Mysterious Space Blob Discovered at Cosmic Dawn
Apr 22, 2009
Astronomers using a suite of telescopes including the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered a giant gas object that may be one of the earliest ancestors of a forming galaxy. This object, dubbed an extended Lyman-Alpha blob and identified as Himiko, sits nearly 13 billion light years from Earth and...
Cluster Heavyweights Caught in Cosmic Traffic Jam
Apr 21, 2009
Astronomers have recently identified the Universe’s most crowded cosmic free-way, where monster galaxy clusters are slamming together in one of the largest collisions ever recorded. Pinpointing such a pile-up required data from three of the world’s best telescopes, and the discovery now...
Keck and Kepler team up to find other Earths
Mar 9, 2009
Kamuela, Hawaii— For nearly a decade, Cal-Berkeley astronomer Geoff Marcy and his colleagues have been using the W. M. Keck telescopes to discover giant planets orbiting distant stars. Now, with the successful launch of NASA’s Kepler mission, they will be using Keck I’s ten-meter astronomical eye...
Maunakea Lecture Series Celebrates the International Year of Astronomy 2009
Jan 20, 2009
Hawai‘i Island, HI – The public is invited to attend The Maunakea 2009 Lecture Series, free monthly lectures throughout 2009 hosted by ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center and W. M. Keck Observatory to introduce Hawai’i astronomy and the latest research being done by the thirteen observatories located...
Discovery of Methane Reveals Mars Is Not a Dead Planet
Jan 15, 2009
WASHINGTON—A team of NASA and university scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active. The team found methane in the Martian atmosphere by carefully observing the...
Astronomers use gamma-ray burst to probe star formation in the early universe
Jan 6, 2009
LONG BEACH, CA (January 6th, 2009) The brilliant afterglow of a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) has enabled astronomers to probe the star-forming environment of a distant galaxy, resulting in the first detection of molecular gas in a GRB host galaxy. By analyzing the spectrum of light emitted in the...
ASTRONOMERS CAPTURE FIRST IMAGES OF NEWLY-DISCOVERED PLANETARY SYSTEM
Nov 13, 2008
Kamuela, HI (November 13th, 2008) Using high-contrast, near-infrared adaptive optics observations with the Keck and Gemini telescopes atop Mauna Kea, astronomers for the first time have taken snapshots of a multi-planet solar system, much like ours, orbiting another star. The new solar system...
Keck Telescope and Cosmic Lens Resolve Nature and Fate of Early Star-Forming
Oct 15, 2008
PASADENA, Calif. (October 15th, 2008) Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their colleagues have provided unique insight into the nature of a young star-forming galaxy as it appeared only two billion years after the Big Bang and determined how the galaxy may...
KECK OBSERVATORY OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2008: WELCOME TO THE EDGE OF DISCOVERY
Sep 4, 2008
(September 4th, 2008) W. M. Keck Observatorys 2008 Open House will feature “hands-on activities” and displays presenting the science, technology and excitement of astronomy.
MOST BLACK HOLES MIGHT COME IN ONLY SMALL AND LARGE
Aug 20, 2008
(August 20th, 2008) Black holes are sometimes huge cosmic beasts, billions of times the mass of our sun, and sometimes petite with just a few times the sun’s mass. But do black holes also come in size medium? Research combining data from the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space telescope and...
RARE STAR MAKING MACHINE FOUND IN EARLY UNIVERSE
Jul 11, 2008
(July 11th, 2008) Astronomers have uncovered an extreme stellar machine of a galaxy in the very remote universe, pumping out stars at a surprising rate of up to 4,000 per year. In comparison, our own Milky Way galaxy turns out an average of just 10 stars per year. The discovery was made possible by...
ASTRONOMERS WEIGH THE COLDEST BROWN DWARFS WITH ASTRONOMY’S SHARPEST EYES
Jun 2, 2008
Honolulu (June 2nd, 2008) Astronomers have used ultrasharp images obtained with the Keck Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope to determine for the first time the masses of the coldest class of “failed stars,” a.k.a. brown dwarfs. With masses as light as 3 percent the mass of the sun, these are the...
KECK, HUBBLE IMAGES SHOW CONTINUED TURBULENCE IN JUPITER’S ATMOSPHERE
May 22, 2008
Berkeley (May 22nd, 2008) Increased turbulence and storms first observed on Jupiter more than two years ago are still raging, according to astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, who snapped high-resolution pictures of the planet earlier...
COMPACT GALAXIES IN EARLY UNIVERSE PACK A BIG PUNCH
Apr 29, 2008
Baltimore, Md. (April 29th, 2008) Imagine receiving an announcement touting the birth of a baby 20 inches long and weighing 180 pounds. After reading this puzzling message, you would immediately think the baby’s weight was a misprint. Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M....
Water Vapor Detected in Protoplanetary Disks
Mar 18, 2008
PASADENA, Calif.—Water is an essential ingredient for forming planets, yet has remained hidden from scientists searching for it in protoplanetary systems, the spinning disks of particles surrounding newly formed stars where planets are born. Now the detection of water vapor in the inner part of two...
NOVA PHENOMENON EXPLAINED WITH NULLING MODE AT KECK OBSERVATORY
Jan 28, 2008
MAUNA KEA (January 28th, 2008) First results from a new scientific instrument at W. M. Keck Observatory are helping scientists understand the physics behind recurrent novae, a type of cataclysmic star system. The results are overturning long-standing assumptions about powerful explosions called...
NASA Mega-Telescope Gears Up to Study Cosmos
Dec 5, 2007
(December 5th, 2007) NASA has selected three teams of scientists to begin studying disks of dust around nearby stars starting in February 2008, using the Keck Interferometer in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This sophisticated new system combines the observing power of the two large Keck telescopes into a...
Keck Helps Discover Record Fifth Planet
Nov 6, 2007
Berkeley (November 6th, 2007) A team of American astronomers announced the discovery of a record-breaking fifth planet around the nearby star 55 Cancri, making it the only star aside from the sun known to have five planets. The discovery comes after 19 years of observations of 55 Cancri and...
Morning forecast on Titan calls for widespread methane drizzle off Xanadu, according to Keck, VLT im
Oct 11, 2007
(October 11th, 2007) Berkeley — Noted for its bizarre hydrocarbon lakes and frozen methane clouds, Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, also appears to have widespread drizzles of methane, according to a team of astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley. New near-infrared images from...
Scientists ‘Weigh’ Tiny Galaxy Halfway Across Universe
Oct 4, 2007
(October 4th, 2007) Santa Barbara, California –– A tiny galaxy, nearly halfway across the universe, the smallest in size and mass known to exist at that distance, has been identified by an international team of scientists led by two from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The...
Dark, but Light: Smallest Galaxies Ever Seen Solve a Big Problem
Sep 12, 2007
Mauna Kea (September 12th, 2007) Mauna Kea scientists may have solved a discrepancy between the number of extremely small, faint galaxies predicted to exist near the Milky Way and the number actually observed. In an attempt to resolve the “Missing Dwarf Galaxy” problem, two astronomers used the...
‘One Of The Most Curious Objects In The Sky’ Delights Astronomers Again
Aug 29, 2007
Mauna Kea (August 29th, 2007) Edwin Hubble once called IC 10 “one of the most curious objects in the sky,” and new observations of the extremely faint, lightweight dwarf galaxy are giving scientists new clues about how populations of stars are born. Though the properties of stars is one of the...
Scientists Study Changes In Planets Rings
Aug 23, 2007
Berkeley (August 23rd, 2007) As the rings of Uranus swing edge-on to Earth – a short-lived view we get only once every 42 years – astronomers observing the event are getting an unprecedented, glare-free view of the rings and the fine dust that permeates them. The rings were discovered in 1977,...
Polluted Dead Star Indicates Planets Like Earth May Have Formed Around Other Stars
Aug 16, 2007
Los Angeles (August 16th, 2007) The chemical fingerprint of a burned-out star indicates that Earth-like planets may not be rare in the universe and could give clues to what our solar system will look like when our sun dies and becomes a white dwarf star some five billion years from...
Keck Confirms Largest Exoplanet To Date
Aug 6, 2007
Mauna Kea (August 6th, 2007) An international team of astronomers has discovered the largest-radius and lowest-density exoplanet of all those whose mass and radius are known. It is a gas-giant planet about twice the size of Jupiter, and is likely to have a curved comet-like tail. It has been named...
‘Blue Needle’ Presents New Challenge for Theorists
Jul 19, 2007
Mauna Kea (July 19th, 2007) Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to study disks of debris around stars have found one that is extremely lopsided. While scientists are accustomed to finding asymmetrical accumulations of dust and larger bodies around...
Astronomers Find Most Distant Known Galaxies
Jul 10, 2007
Pasadena, Calif. (July 10th, 2007) Using natural “gravitational lenses,” an international team of astronomers claim to have found the first traces of a population of the most distant galaxies yet seen-the light we see from them today left more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was just...
Astronomers Measure Mass of Largest Dwarf Planet
Jun 14, 2007
Baltimore (June 14th, 2007) W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have teamed up to precisely measure the mass of Eris, the largest member of a new class of dwarf planets in our solar system. Eris has 27 percent more mass than Pluto, formerly the largest member of the Kuiper Belt...
‘OLYMPIAN GALAXY’ NEAR ANDROMEDA GIVES CLUES TO HOW GALAXIES FORM
May 28, 2007
Honolulu (May 28th, 2007) A newly discovered dwarf galaxy in the Local Group has been found to have formed in a region of space far from our own and is falling into our system for the first time in its history, according to new data obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory. An international team of...
Adaptive optics pinpoints two supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies
May 17, 2007
Santa Cruz (May 17th, 2007) Astronomers have used powerful adaptive optics technology at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to reveal the precise locations and environments of a pair of supermassive black holes at the center of an ongoing collision between two galaxies 300 million light-years...
Brightest Supernova Ever Seen
May 7, 2007
Berkeley (May 7th, 2007) An exploding star first observed last September is the largest and most luminous supernova ever seen, according to University of California, Berkeley, astronomers, and may be the first example of a type of massive exploding star rare today but probably common in the very...
