{"id":143388,"date":"2021-06-08T15:58:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T01:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=143388"},"modified":"2021-06-08T15:58:06","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T01:58:06","slug":"uh-astronomers-key-role-in-planetary-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/06\/08\/uh-astronomers-key-role-in-planetary-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> astronomers play key role in planetary defense"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Oumuamua
This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar object discovered in the Solar System, ʻOumuamua. Observations made with the NASA\/ESA<\/abbr> Hubble Space Telescope, CFHT<\/abbr>, and others, show that the object is moving faster than predicted while leaving the Solar System.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From working to determine if other planets can support life to monitoring the skies for hazardous asteroids and comets, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute for Astronomy<\/a> (IfA<\/abbr>) remains at the forefront of cutting edge space science.<\/p>\n

\"Karen
Karen Meech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On June 3, IfA<\/abbr> Interim Director and Astronomer Karen Meech<\/strong> shared with the UH<\/abbr> Board of Regents (BOR<\/abbr>) Committee on Research and Innovation<\/a> some of the units research accolades and the sheer impact IfA<\/abbr>\u2019s collaboration with observatories on Maunakea and Haleakal\u0101 has had on the astronomy field.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr>\u2019s Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Haleakal\u0101 is the world leader in finding larger Near-Earth Objects that could pose a threat to the planet. IfA<\/abbr> astronomers who operate the observatory on Maui play a fundamental role in the nation\u2019s planetary defense program. In 2017, during routine operations, Pan-STARRS discovered the mysterious interstellar object, ʻOumuamua, the very first of its kind spotted in the solar system. The rapidly rotating object mesmerized researchers around the globe and left many scrambling to explain its origin and where it was headed.<\/p>\n

“Most people don\u2019t realize how close to Earth that came, within 63 Earth Moon distances,” said Meech during the BOR<\/abbr> presentation. “That\u2019s really close…Pan-STARRS was instrumental in discovering that.”<\/p>\n

Vital Maunakea telescopes<\/h2>\n
\"infant
Artist illustration of AU<\/abbr> Mic b seen orbiting its parent star, AU<\/abbr> Mic. (Photo credit: NASA<\/abbr>\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Chris Smith (USRA<\/abbr>))<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meech explained to the BOR<\/abbr> committee how vital telescopes on Maunakea were in unraveling the headline-grabbing object\u2019s mystique. In 2017, with Meech at the helm, IfA<\/abbr> led an international research team that gathered data on ʻOumuamua and joined forces with observatories on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island. \u201cWe used everything on Maunakea,\u201d Meech said. \u201cEvery telescope was providing a unique piece of science and we had to do it fast\u2026Everyone was willing to share. Pretty much every big telescope on planet Earth was looking at that object for a week but Maunakea did the lion\u2019s share of the analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n