Subscribe 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...
