International Gemini Observatory
June 13, 2023
Gemini North, part of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, is back to observing the night sky following an accident with its primary mirror in late 2022. The telescope’s debut observation captured the supernova dubbed SN 2023ixf, which was discovered on 19 May 2023 by Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki. This dazzling point of light, the closest supernova seen […]
April 6, 2023
Astronomers using the Gemini North and Keck telescopes, on Maunakea, have discovered two Quasars that are on the verge of merging to produce a giant elliptical galaxy. These quasars are thought to have formed when the Universe was a mere 3 billion years old. Seeing two such quasars in the process of merging is rare, let alone catching them in […]
January 4, 2023
Fillowup observations of an explosive collision involving neutron stars by two Maunakea observatories reveals that a so-called “long gamma-ray burst” (originally detected from an observatory in Earth orbit) upends our understanding of the origin of these extraordinary events. Read more, in the W.M.Keck Observatory and International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab press releases.
November 14, 2022
Using two Maunakea Observatories to follow up a star’s tiny wobbling motion detected by the orbiting Gaia satellite, astronomers have located the nearest black hole to the Sun. At 1600 light years, Gaia BH1, a companion to a Sun-like star, is some three times closer than the previous record holder, and appears to pose some interesting challenges for our understanding […]