U.Hawaii-Hilo Joins Hunt for Killer Asteroids (Forwarded)

Institute for Astronomy
University of Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Contacts:

Dr. Nick Kaiser
Institute for Astronomy University of Hawaii at Manoa
1-808-520-3680

Dr. Robert Fox
Physics & Astronomy Department
University of Hawaii at Hilo
1-808-974-7731

Mrs. Karen Rehbock
Assistant to the Director
Institute for Astronomy
University of Hawaii
1-808-956-6829

For immediate release: February 7, 2006

UH Hilo Joins Hunt for Killer Asteroids

Astrophysicists at the University of Hawaii at Hilo have become partners
in the Pan-STARRS project, an observatory to search the sky for
dangerous asteroids and other unexpected celestial events.

The prototype telescope, with a single 70-inch-diameter mirror, is
currently under construction on Haleakala and will shortly be outfitted
with the world's largest digital camera, a device with 1.4 billion
pixels. The full Pan-STARRS observatory, which is expected to be
completed in 2009, will have four such mirrors and will survey the whole
sky several times each month.

Scientists on the Hilo campus will contribute both to the development of
the system and to reaping the scientific rewards that will follow once
the observatory becomes operational. Students and faculty at UH Hilo
will also be active in spreading the word of the educational
opportunities arising from the project in the local community and will
develop material that can be used in high schools to promote the project.

The project capitalizes on expertise in developing astronomical
detectors at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy in
Manoa, where experts are working with MIT's Lincoln Laboratory to
develop the new detectors. The data will be processed with the help of
the Maui High Performance Computer Center (MHPCC) on Maui, and data will
be made available to the community via a database being developed by
partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The final
system is planned to replace the University's 36-year-old 2.2-meter
(88-inch) telescope on Mauna Kea. Institute for Astronomy Director Dr.
Rolf Kudritzki said, "Pan-STARRS is the first major telescope facility
to be developed by the IfA in several decades. It leverages the unique
features of Hawaiian observing sites which deliver the sharpest images
on the planet, as well as the enormous strengths in both technological
and scientific skills that have been built up at the University. Larger
telescopes on Mauna Kea will be used to follow up the discoveries of
Pan-STARRS."

A major goal of Pan-STARRS is to discover and characterize
Earth-approaching objects, both asteroids and comets, that might pose a
danger to our planet. However, the huge volume of images produced by
this system will provide valuable data for many other kinds of
scientific programs. The system will generate up to 10 terabytes (10
million megabytes) of data per night, and these data will be used to
generate a multicolor digital atlas of the entire sky as seen from
Hawaii. Dr. Nick Kaiser, leader of the project says, "By being able to
scan the sky so rapidly and repeatedly, this observatory will open up a
whole range of new possibilities in 'time-domain astronomy.' It will
make enormous numbers of discoveries of moving objects like asteroids,
variable stars and transients like supernovae and hypernovae. The data
will be used to map the dark matter in the Universe, and also to
characterize the mysterious 'dark energy' that is driving the universal
expansion."

"We welcome the participation of our colleagues and students from UH
Hilo," said Dr. Kaiser, emphasizing the importance the University of
Hawaii places on educating Hawaii's students. UH Hilo Physics Department
Chair Dr. Robert Fox says, "Our involvement with Pan-STARRS greatly
expands UH Hilo's ability to provide a unique astronomy education on the
slopes of one of the world’s premier observational sites."

The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii conducts
research into galaxies, cosmology, stars, planets, and the sun. Its
faculty and staff are also involved in astronomy education, deep space
missions, and in the development and management of the observatories on
Haleakala and Mauna Kea.

RELATED LINKS

* Pan-STARRS project main page
http://pan-starrs.org/
* UH-HIlo Physics and Astronomy Department
http://www.astro.uhh.hawaii.edu/
* UH Institute for Astronomy
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/

IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press...hhgroup430.JPG
(63KB)]
UH Hilo scientists who will be participating in the Pan-STARRS project.

Front row: Dr. Richard Crowe, Dr. Lawrence Armendarez, Eric Small
(Pan-STARRS intern)
Back row: Justin Stevick (Pan-STARRS intern), John Hamilton, Norman
Purves, Dr. Robert Fox, Isaac Crosson (intern), Heather Kaluna (intern)