Behind every astronomical discovery are the stories and experiences of the people who made it possible. Explore the latest from across the Maunakea Observatories.
STORIES
ʻŌnohiʻula: Subaru Telescope’s PFS Instrument Receives Hawaiian Name
The new Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) at the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea was gifted the Hawaiian name ʻŌnohiʻula, officially presented by Dr. Larry Kimura. ʻŌnohiʻula carries multiple layers of meanings — ʻŌnohi communicating how the instrument perceives the cosmos like an eye, and ʻula meaning red, and its association with the sacred realm of origin in Hawaiian culture.
A New Instrument to Rapidly Characterize Near-Earth Asteroids
A new instrument being built for NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility will help astronomers quickly study near-Earth asteroids, providing critical information about their composition and potential hazards.
Surprising New Images of Pōwehi Black Hole Unveiled
A series of three images of the supermassive black hole Pōwehi, taken in 2017, 2018, and the newest in 2021, shows surprising changes in the polarization patterns surrounding Pōwehi. Geoffrey Bower, Director of James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) on Maunakea, breaks down this discovery and gives a peek into what comes next.
UH Telescope on Maunakea Earns Global Honor
By University of Hawaiʻi News
The University of Hawaiʻi’s 2.2-meter (88 inch) telescope on Maunakea has been recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as an IEEE Milestone, a significant honor spotlighting innovations that changed the world. Innovations developed or tested by the UH88 have shaped astronomy worldwide and include breakthrough digital imaging, adaptive optics and the HAWAII near-infrared detectors used on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope’s MegaCam Helps Discover 128 New Saturnian Moons
The Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope (CFHT) played an integral role in discovering 128 new moons of Saturn, which were recognized by the International Astronomical Union on March 11, 2025. CFHT was able to collect this data thanks to MegaCam, a wide-field-of-view imager. Dr. Heather Flewelling, a CFHT instrument scientist, provided a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and process behind the discovery.
Subaru Telescope’s New Compound Eye to Start Exploring the Universe in February
The Subaru Telescope studies objects that are relatively close together in the distant universe, and it is enhancing its capabilities with a new instrument called the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS). The PFS is a powerful compound eye that allows the telescope to simultaneously observe 2,400 celestial bodies with 2,400 prisms scattered across the telescope's ultra-wide field of view.
Nānā ao: Maunakea Observatories’ New Instrument
Nānā ao, “watcher of clouds” in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian), is a new instrument that will be shared by the Maunakea observatories to facilitate the detection of oncoming banks of clouds by our nighttime observers.