UH Institute for Astronomy

10/10/2026

Join us next Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026 for the 25th annual Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery, held in partnership with UH Institute for Astronomy and the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium!

The Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery honors the life and legacy of the late Charles Lacy Veach. This FREE STEM event includes activity booths by student groups from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, various community organizations and industry professionals. The booths will feature hands-on activities related to robotics, fossils, earth science, marine biology, engineering, pilot simulation, rockets, cube satellites, architecture, and more. Additionally, there will be Mobile Planetarium shows offered by Bishop Museum throughout the day, and special guests from the Pacific Outpost of the 501st Legion – the nonprofit Hawaii Chapter of the Lucasfilm’s preferred Star Wars Imperial costuming group.

EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: U.H. Institute for Astronomy (2680 Woodlawn Dr. Honolulu, HI 96822)

Learn more and REGISTER TODAY: tinyurl.com/veachday

10/05/2026

Checking out the sun at Hawaii Children & Youth Day !

10/04/2026

Join us at the Hawaii State Capitol for Hawaii Children & Youth Day today, Sunday 10/4 from 10-3! check out the sun and walk the !

09/09/2026

We are out at the Waikele Elementary School career fair today and students get to check out the ! HIDOE University of Hawai‘i Research & Innovation University of Hawaii at Manoa

09/02/2026

Six Hawaiʻi Island students helped bring a new Gemini North image to life!

They selected the interacting galaxies NGC 7253, and gave this image its Hawaiian name:
✨ Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola,
“The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life.”

The creation of this image began in October 2025 with three local students from Waiākea High School and the Volcano School of Arts and Sciences participating in the Project Hōkūlani internship. Interns Raiyan Rahman, Rafan Rahman, and Alia Tamanha spent one week at the Gemini North Hilo Base Facility with three goals: learn about observatory operations and how scientific data is collected; deepen their own appreciation for Maunakea; and select an astronomical object for Gemini North to image.

In June 2026, three more local students from Keaʻau High School and Kamehameha Schools joined the Project Hōkūlani internship program. Mylin Wilson, Manu Silva-Sampaio, and Samantha Silva-Sampaio shared many of the same goals as their predecessors, and built upon their work by creating a name for the new image of NGC 7253.

About the image
Over 200 million light-years away, NGC 7253 is slowly being drawn together by gravity. Their collision is also triggering new star formation, seen here as glowing pink regions.The image was captured by Gemini North telescope on Maunakea as part of the NOIRLab Legacy Imaging Program.

📷 International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

09/01/2026

08/31/2026

Our own Daniel Huber captured the launch of - and he helped define some of the science for the mission! University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Hawai‘i Research & Innovation Read more about IfA and Roman at https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/08/28/uh-innovation-astronomers-help-power-telescope/

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

Our celebrating the successful launch of the NASA Nancy Roman Grace Space Telescope from NASA's Kennedy Space Center this morning. Go Roman! University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Hawai‘i Research & Innovation Maunakea Observatories

08/30/2026

Catch the launch live at https://www.youtube.com/live/9wq3VHsL_bE?si=8VLa1TwjyKbsg360 - fingers crossed for good weather!