Pleiades cluster
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy
mountain profile Institute for Astronomy University of Hawaii
T
HE Institute for Astronomy (IfA) is a research institute within the University of Hawai`i, with offices and laboratories on Oahu, Maui, and Hawai`i Island, plus observatories on the summits of Mauna Kea and Haleakala. With a staff of 81 PhDs from 26 different countries, we are one of the largest university astronomy programs in the world. Our goals are to

 


Friends Logo Support our goals by joining the Friends of the Institute for Astronomy

Near-Earth encounters leave asteroids pale and shaken

Humans may be justifiably nervous when an asteroid passes very close to Earth, but a new study has found that the encounter leaves the asteroid pale and shaken as well!    More (press release)


IfA astronomers confirm discovery of near-Earth asteroid

When the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft launched by NASA last month spotted its first near-Earth asteroid on January 12, University of Hawai`i astronomers using the UH 2.2-meter (88-inch) telescope on Mauna Kea quickly confirmed the discovery.
More

 

One of the brightest brown dwarfs known

It turns out that not all low-hanging fruit gets plucked first. University of Hawai`i graduate students Brendan Bowler and Trent Dupuy along with astronomer Dr. Michael Liu recently discovered one of the brightest brown dwarfs currently known while mining the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database.
More