Faculty, staff and students from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy helped power AstroDay 2026, the Maunakea Observatories鈥檚 24th annual free community science festival held May 2 at Prince K奴hi艒 Plaza in Hilo. More than 30 organizations came together to offer hands-on astronomy, robotics and live science activities for Hawaiʻi Island families.

“AstroDay is one of my favorite days of the year because it belongs to everyone. This is our chance to bring world-class science into the heart of our community and inspire the next generation of scientists, explorers, and dreamers,” said Carolyn Kaichi, education and outreach specialist at IfA. “We do this especially for the keiki who may one day carry that legacy forward. Mahalo to every family on the island that came out to join us.”

Attendees packed the mid-mall stage for live science shows and award presentations, then made their way booth to booth collecting AstroDay coins for a shot at prizes like telescopes and skateboards.

A major draw was the return of the “Robot Rumble,” presented by the Hawaiʻi Science and Technology Museum, where 15 teams from across Hawaiʻi Island faced off in head-to-head matches. Local high schools also showcased their own robotics projects, highlighting the island鈥檚 growing pipeline of STEM talent.

The event also marked the announcement of the 2026 Maunakea Coin Contest winners. The statewide graphic design competition invites Hawaiʻi Island students in grades K–12 to compete for prizes and the chance to have their artwork featured on official AstroDay collector coins.

Astronomers at the University of Hawaiʻi have precisely measured the age of a nearby Sun-like star and its unusual companion, known as a brown dwarf, an object that falls between a planet and a star. The discovery offers new clues into how brown dwarfs grow and change over time.

Using the on Maunakea, the team from the 糖心视频 (IfA) studied the HR 7672 system, composed of a Sun-like star and a faint brown dwarf companion. With an instrument called the Keck Planet Finder, they tracked tiny five-minute pulsationss in the star鈥檚 light and used them to estimate its age to be about 2.3 billion years. The study has been recently published in .

Because the brown dwarf formed at the same time as the star, the star鈥檚 age also reveals the companion鈥檚 age, giving researchers a rare chance to check if their models of how brown dwarfs cool throughout time are correct.

“This is like finally having a reliable clock for an object we鈥檝e been trying to understand for years,” said IfA Parrent Fellow Yaguang Li, who led the study. “It really helps us place evolutionary models under stringent tests and determine which physical ingredients are correct.”

Shaping discovery

For more than two decades, the HR 7672 system has helped shape how astronomers study brown dwarfs. Its companion, HR 7672B, was discovered in 2002 and was one of the first brown dwarfs ever directly imaged around a Sun-like star using adaptive optics (AO), a technology that sharpens images blurred by Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. Those early observations helped reveal how rare brown dwarfs are around Sun-like stars at close orbital distances.

Brown dwarfs do not sustain the same energy-producing reactions as stars. Instead, they slowly cool and fade over time. But testing how that happens has been difficult, in part because scientists rarely know their exact ages.

With this new measurement, paired with what is already known about the object鈥檚 energy output and mass, HR 7672B now stands out as a key reference point. The team compared their findings with several models and found the closest match with newer theories that better describe what鈥檚 happening inside these objects.

Full circle

The work highlights the long impact of the at IfA. More than 20 years ago, then-fellow Michael Liu discovered HR 7672B using Keck AO. Today, Li, the current Parrent Fellow, is building on that work with this new high-precision age-dating of the same system.

“HR 7672B was one of the first discoveries I made as a Parrent Fellow when I came to 糖心视频,” said Liu, IfA faculty member and co-author of the study. “It鈥檚 exciting to see new work from another Parrent Fellow make this object even more valuable for understanding how brown dwarfs evolve.”

Among the finalists in a national NASA competition focused on advancing technologies for future space exploration is a student-led engineering team from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and 糖心视频 Hilo.

(Robotic Space Exploration) is one of 14 university teams selected for the 2026 . The challenge invites students to develop innovative concepts supporting sustained human activity on the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Powering lunar operations

The team鈥檚 proposal, (Power Energy Transfer Architecture for the Lunar), centers on building a scalable power management and distribution system for lunar operations. The concept integrates multiple energy sources and storage methods, including nuclear power and energy stored using lunar soil, to support long-term missions and lays the groundwork for future applications on Mars.

As a finalist, Project PETAL received a $7,000 award to support participation in the RASC-AL Forum, scheduled for June 1–4, in Cocoa Beach, Florida. During the forum, students will present their work to NASA engineers and industry professionals while refining their concepts through technical feedback. The top-performing teams will be recognized for technical merit, innovation and presentation excellence.

“Being part of this project has shown us what it takes to develop a concept that could be considered for future lunar and Mars missions,” said Nathan Chong, project manager of Project PETAL and 糖心视频 Mānoa computer engineering freshman. “It鈥檚 been incredibly rewarding to collaborate across campuses and push ourselves to think at a much higher level.”

The project also aligns with broader 糖心视频 efforts supporting NASA鈥檚 Artemis missions, including a lunar rover instrument being developed at 糖心视频 Mānoa that is slated to fly as part of the Artemis 5 mission. The work creates opportunities to connect student-led projects such as PETAL with real-world systems headed to the Moon.

Space science and engineering initiative

Project PETAL members are primarily from engineering and related STEM disciplines at 糖心视频 Mānoa and 糖心视频 Hilo. The interdisciplinary effort emphasizes hands-on design, systems integration and real-world problem-solving. Faculty advisors supporting the project include Matthew Siegler and Marvin Young from 糖心视频 Mānoa, and Branden Allen from 糖心视频 Hilo.

Project PETAL is part of , which aims to expand space technology development and hands-on student training. Launched in 2024, the initiative provides students with opportunities to work on advanced space systems while building Hawaiʻi鈥檚 capacity in aerospace engineering and instrumentation. It is a collaboration among 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 College of Engineering, the Institute for Astronomy and 糖心视频 Hilo.

Team RoSE is one of more than 20 at 糖心视频 Mānoa, which seek to foster long-term, in-depth, project-based learning to engage students and better prepare them for future careers.

More about Project PETAL

At the University of Hawaiʻi , an outreach program is helping high school students step into scientific research early.

HI STAR, short for Hawaiʻi Student/Teacher Astronomy Research, connects students with mentors and real astronomical data. The program鈥檚 impact was on display at the recent Maui County Science and Engineering Fair, where HI STAR participants earned top honors.

First place

Emma Agcolicol, a 16-year-old sophomore at Baldwin High School, earned first place in the Physics and Astronomy category, Senior Division.

Agcolicol and her partner studied an unconfirmed exoplanet known as TOI-6055.01. Using data from the , they applied the transit method to track the potential planet.

“Whether it is detection or Doppler shifts, I find it fascinating that there鈥檚 so many different planets with their own unique characteristics,” Agcolicol said.

Agcolicol has participated in HI STAR for three years. She said the program helped her connect with researchers and explore different areas of astronomy.

“I enjoy getting to meet many different researchers that have the same levels of excitement鈥� I鈥檝e even worked with a few of HI STAR teachers on different projects, so that was amazing,” she said.

She will advance to the state science fair.

Student awards

Other HI STAR students also received recognition:

• James Anchetta, third place, Physics and Astronomy (Senior Division); coronal rain research
• Alexandra “Lexi” Lombardi, second place, Physics and Astronomy (Senior Division) and NASA Earth Systems Award; comet and asteroid research
• Chelsey Miguel, first place, Translational Medical Services (Senior Division) and Regeneron Biomedical Award

All will advance to the state competition.

Lasting impact

HI STAR alumni have gone on to careers as meteorologists, data analysts and engineering assistants. Others are pursuing degrees in astrophysics. One former student now serves as a White House senior communications advisor.

The program is led by mentors Armstrong, Carolyn Kaichi, Jung Park and Mike Nassir, who guide students through hands-on research and exposure to careers in science.

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi have uncovered new clues about how energy moves through the Sun鈥檚 outer atmosphere, using one of nature鈥檚 rarest events as their window: total solar eclipses.

Drawing on more than a decade of eclipse observations, a team led by Shadia Habbal at the has, for the first time, clearly identified turbulent structures in the Sun鈥檚 corona and shown that they can survive far from the solar surface. The findings help explain how the solar wind forms and evolves as it streams through the solar system. The study was published in .

“This work helps us understand how the Sun transfers energy into space,” said Habbal. “That process ultimately affects space weather, which can disrupt satellites, communications and power systems on Earth. Understanding where this turbulence comes from is key to predicting those impacts.”

Eclipse view

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon briefly blocks the Sun鈥檚 bright disk, allowing astronomers to observe the faint corona in exceptional detail. These moments reveal delicate, thread-like structures shaped by magnetic fields rising from below the Sun鈥檚 visible surface. High-resolution eclipse images show a corona that is far more dynamic than it appears in everyday solar observations.

Within these structures, the team identified clear signs of turbulence. Some features form vortex rings that resemble smoke rings, while others show rolling, wave-like motions similar to those seen in Earth鈥檚 clouds. By comparing eclipse data collected over nearly 12 years, spanning a full solar cycle, the researchers traced the origin of this activity to what are called prominences鈥攍arge, looping structures rooted on the Sun.

Prominences are dramatically cooler and denser than the million-degree plasma surrounding them. Where these contrasting regions meet, sharp changes in temperature and density create unstable conditions that trigger turbulent motion.

“For the first time, we were able to watch these turbulent structures form near the Sun and then follow them as they flowed outward with the solar wind,” Habbal said. “Seeing the same features later in space-based images tells us they remain intact over enormous distances.”

The study reveals the origin and evolution of turbulence in the corona, a process long linked to coronal heating and the acceleration of the solar wind.

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (IfA) is celebrating national recognition for a faculty member whose research is helping answer one of humanity鈥檚 biggest questions: How do planetary systems form, and could worlds like Earth be common in the universe? Fei Dai, an assistant astronomer at IfA, has been named a , one of the most notable and competitive honors for early-career scientists in North America.

Dai studies exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun. He investigates how their orbits, structures and compositions evolve over billions of years.

“I am incredibly grateful to receive this prestigious award,” said Dai. “While research is often a journey of quiet persistence and incremental progress, a milestone like this offers a chance to reflect on what our group has accomplished over the past few years. The Sloan Fellowship will undoubtedly catalyze new innovations and discoveries in the years ahead.”

Diversity of worlds

Dai鈥檚 work is reshaping scientists鈥� understanding of how solar systems are built. In a 2023 study, he and collaborators found that six planets orbiting the star TOI-1136 move in an almost perfectly synchronized pattern, known as a “resonant chain.” He has also played a central role in commissioning the Keck Planet Finder, a cutting-edge instrument capable of detecting tiny stellar wobbles to measure the masses and possible compositions of Earth-sized planets. That research is paving the way for future NASA missions designed to identify and study worlds that could support life.

“Fei represents the very best of the next generation of astronomers,” said IfA Director Doug Simons. “His work is fundamentally changing how we understand the birth and evolution of planetary systems. This recognition affirms not only his remarkable talent, but also the strength of IfA鈥檚 exoplanet research faculty and program.”

Dai joined IfA in 2024 following a highly competitive national search and previously held a NASA Sagan Fellowship, widely regarded as one of astronomy鈥檚 most selective postdoctoral awards.

Awarded this year to 126 of the most promising young researchers across the U.S. and Canada, the Sloan Research Fellowship recognizes scholars already driving major advances in their fields. Since 1955, eight faculty members from 糖心视频 have received the distinction, including IfA faculty Michael Liu (2005), Christoph Baranec (2014) and Dan Huber (2019).

The University of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 standing as a premier global research institution has been further solidified with the release of the , which features nearly 60 of the university鈥檚 top faculty and researchers at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 and 糖心视频 Hilo. This elite designation honors scholars who rank in the top 0.05% of all researchers worldwide based on lifetime achievement and significant impact within their specialties.

From pioneering work in climate dynamics and volcanology to breakthrough discoveries in cancer research, these honorees represent the pinnacle of academic productivity and quality. ScholarGPS algorithms categorize a wide range of scholarly research into 14 fields, which are subdivided into 177 distinct disciplines. Research is further categorized into a dynamic list of many niche specialties.

“To have our researchers ranked among the top 0.05% in the world is a remarkable achievement that reflects our institution鈥檚 legacy of excellence,” said Chad Walton, 糖心视频 interim vice president for research and innovation. “These scholars are not only leaders in their respective fields—from the depths of our oceans to the far reaches of space—but they are also the engine driving innovation that directly benefits the people of Hawaiʻi and our global community.”

Highly ranked scholars:

• 1. Bin Wang, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 2. David M. Karl, SOEST
• 3. Brian Bowen, SOEST
• 4. Julian McCreary, SOEST
• 5. Edward S. Fisher, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 6. Richard E. Moore, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 7. Bruce Houghton, SOEST
• 8. Robert E. Paull, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 9. Helen H. Yu, Department of Public Administration, College of Social Sciences, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 10. Takie Sugiyama Lebra, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 11. Weilin Qu, College of Engineering, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 12. Bo Qiu, SOEST
• 13. Ryuzo Yanagimachi, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 14. Henri Casanova, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
• 15. Yuqing Wang, SOEST
• 16. Raymond B. Cattell, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 17. Michele Carbone, 糖心视频 Cancer Center, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 18. Richard M. Manshardt, CTAHR
• 19. Rick Kazman, Shidler College of Business, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 20. John M. J. Madey, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 21. John A. Shepherd, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 22. Manfred B. Steger, Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences
• 23. Klaus Wyrtki, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 24. Stephen N. Haynes, Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences
• 25. Daniel D. Suthers, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
• 26. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, SOEST
• 27. Barbara Watson Andaya, College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL), 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 28. Dru C. Gladney, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 29. Murli H. Manghnani, SOEST
• 30. Elaine Hatfield, Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences
• 31. Theodore S. Rodgers, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 32. Craig Smith, SOEST
• 33. Edward F. DeLong, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 34. Karl Seff, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences
• 35. Roger Lukas, SOEST
• 36. Russell H. Messing, CTAHR
• 37. Efraim Turban, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 38. Leonard Y. Andaya, Department of History, CALL
• 39. Masayoshi Yamaguchi, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 40. Richard L Rapson, Department of History, CALL
• 41. Thomas A. Wills, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 42. Andrew E. Christie, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 43. Dieter Mueller-Dombois, CTAHR
• 44. Wai-Fah Chen, College of Engineering
• 45. Garry A Rechnitz, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences
• 46. Michael J. Antal, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 47. Curtis C. Daehler, School of Life Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
• 48. Paul J. Scheuer, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 49. George S. Hammond, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 50. Ronald H. Heck, College of Education, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 51. Loic Le Marchand, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 52. Victor M. Lubecke, College of Engineering
• 53. Robert S. Desowitz, John A. Burns School of Medicine, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 54. Adrian Dunn, SOEST
• 55. Alan H. Teramura, College of Natural Sciences
• 56. J. Patrick Henry, Institute for Astronomy, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补
• 57. Laurence N. Kolonel, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 58. Naoto T. Ueno, 糖心视频 Cancer Center
• 59. Anthony D. Wright, 糖心视频 Hilo

There are some researchers on the list who have retired or passed away.

.

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi (IfA) are helping reshape how scientists study the Sun. The 糖心视频-led team has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can map the Sun鈥檚 magnetic field in three dimensions with unprecedented accuracy, supporting research tied to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) built and managed by the NSF National Solar Observatory (NSO) on Haleakal膩. The team鈥檚 findings were published in the .

“The Sun is the strongest space weather source that can affect everyday life here on Earth, especially now that we rely so much on technology,” said Kai Yang, an IfA postdoctoral researcher who led the work. “The Sun鈥檚 magnetic field drives explosive events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. This new technique helps us understand what triggers these events and strengthens space weather forecasts, giving us earlier warnings to protect the systems we use every day.”

The Sun鈥檚 magnetic field controls eruptions that can disrupt satellites, power systems and communications on Earth. However, the field is tough to measure, making it difficult to create accurate maps. Instruments can show the way the field tilts, but not whether it points toward us or away from us, like looking at a rope from the side and not knowing which end is closer. Another problem is height. When scientists look at the Sun, they see several layers at the same time, so it鈥檚 difficult to tell how high each magnetic structure actually is. Sunspots make this even trickier because their strong magnetic fields bend the surface downward, creating a dip.

AI-powered insights

IfA researchers partnered with the National Solar Observatory and the High Altitude Observatory of the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research to build a new machine-learning system that blends real data with the basic laws of physics. Their algorithm, the Haleakal膩 Disambiguation Decoder, relies on a simple rule: magnetic fields form loops and don鈥檛 start or end. From there, the AI can figure out the true direction of the field and estimate the correct height of each layer.

The method has worked well on detailed computer models of the Sun, including calm areas, bright active regions and sunspots. Its accuracy is especially helpful for making sense of the high-resolution images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.

“With this new machine-learning tool, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope can help scientists build a more accurate 3D map of the Sun鈥檚 magnetic field,” said Yang. “It also reveals related features, like vector electric currents in the solar atmosphere that were previously very hard to measure. Together, this gives us a clearer picture of what drives powerful solar eruptions.”

Clearer Sun insights

With these advances, researchers can see the Sun鈥檚 magnetic landscape more accurately and improve predictions of the solar activity that impacts life on Earth.

AstroDay West 2025 brought a wave of excitement to Kona Commons as crowds gathered around science booths, telescopes and live demonstrations. The University of Hawaiʻi (IfA) joined partners across the island to offer a day of engaging ways to explore the universe at the annual event hosted by .

The day-long celebration offered family-friendly learning, free giveaways and simple science experiments designed to spark curiosity. Organizers said the goal was to make astronomy feel approachable for everyone.

“We were excited to provide keiki and families with the opportunity to learn more about science and astronomy right here in Kona,” said Carolyn Kaichi, education and outreach specialist at IfA. “Through hands-on learning and key partnerships with organizations across the island, we hoped to inspire the next generation of local science and technology leaders.”

Sun, sky and science

糖心视频ors lined up to use a special solar telescope to safely view details on the sun鈥檚 surface. Nearby booths showed how stars form, how weather shapes our islands and how scientists observe the sky from Hawaiʻi鈥檚 mountaintops. IfA staff and students answered questions, guided activities and shared stories about their work.

AstroDay has long been a staple for families interested in science with a mission to strengthen public understanding of astronomy and create more opportunities for learning.

The event also featured displays and expertise from a wide range of partners, such as Las Cumbres Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope, TMT International Observatory, NASA Solar System Ambassadors and the 糖心视频 Hilo .

A new chapter in automated astronomy has begun on Maunakea. The University of Hawaiʻi (IfA) has launched initial science operations for , a robotic laser adaptive optics system now operating at the . The milestone marks a major leap in how astronomers observe the night sky.

Robo-AO-2 is designed to correct the blur caused by Earth鈥檚 atmosphere, sharpening images of hundreds of objects each night with minimal human oversight. The system is led by astronomer Christoph Baranec, who has spent years advancing adaptive optics technology at IfA.

“Making Robo-AO-2 operational represents years of dedicated engineering and innovation,” said Baranec, a member of IfA鈥檚 robotic adaptive optics program. “This system demonstrates how University of Hawaiʻi facilities continue to pioneer technologies that eventually make their way to the world’s largest telescopes and space missions.”

Hunting for habitable worlds

One of the first researchers to use the system is graduate student Guillaume Huber. He is conducting observations for NASA鈥檚 future , which will search for signs of life on planets around nearby stars. Huber is vetting a catalog of nearby stars that could host Earth-like planets.

“The Habitable Worlds Observatory will search for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars, but first we need to ensure those target stars don鈥檛 have close stellar companions,” Huber said. “Robo-AO-2鈥檚 ability to rapidly survey hundreds of targets makes it uniquely suited for this preparatory work.”

Advancing automation

New funding is driving the system even further. This year, the National Science Foundation and the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation awarded $679,075 to fully automate Robo-AO-2. The NSF award will also support testing a new adaptive secondary mirror for the 糖心视频 2.2-meter telescope, led by IfA astronomer Mark Chun. This technology could significantly improve image quality for future ground-based observatories.

“The adaptive secondary mirror will allow us to correct atmospheric turbulence directly at the telescope鈥檚 secondary mirror,” Baranec said. “Robo-AO-2 will play a crucial role in testing and validating this technology.”

Training the next generation

For IfA, the project is also about training. Students gain rare hands-on experience with real instruments at the university鈥檚 own facilities. The 糖心视频 2.2-meter telescope serves as a crucial testbed where new instruments and techniques can be developed before deployment on larger facilities.

“Students are not just operating instruments鈥攖hey鈥檙e helping to build and improve them,” Baranec said. “Those skills are invaluable for careers in astronomy and engineering.”

Hundreds of prospective students, their ʻohana, alumni and community members filled the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus on November 15, for Discover 糖心视频 Mānoa, the university鈥檚 largest annual open house.

The three-hour event offered guests a rare, all-access experience across campus, featuring more than 100 academic programs and student services, hands-on demonstrations, workshops, research activities, live entertainment and guided tours.

“I hope they walk away feeling that this is their ʻohana. We can鈥檛 wait to welcome them in, support them, and help them reach every goal they鈥檙e chasing,” said 糖心视频 President Wendy Hensel. “We鈥檙e truly excited for this next generation, come on in, we鈥檙e ready for you.”

Event highlights

糖心视频ors got a lively snapshot of campus life through hands-on workshops, research demos and student projects from a wide range of units at 糖心视频 Mānoa everything from STEM, the arts, humanities and Hawaiian studies. The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience drew crowds with its cooking demonstrations, serving up green onion Korean pancakes and ʻuala desserts, made from locally grown ingredients. The 糖心视频 Marching Band and 糖心视频 athletes kept the crowd energized with performances and meet-and-greet opportunities.

Farrington High School senior Mikaela Paet explored the event with her classmates and said she was excited to learn more about the program she hopes to pursue.

“Just walking around the campus makes me very welcomed. A lot of the programs interest me, specifically nursing,” Paet said.

The day also featured an Alumni Makers鈥� Market, food trucks, free shave ice, prizes, giveaways, 糖心视频 Bookstore merchandise and guided housing tours, giving visitors a well-rounded look at life on campus.

“糖心视频 Mānoa offers something rare—world-class research opportunities, strong academic programs, Division I athletics, and a campus experience you won鈥檛 find just anywhere. It鈥檚 truly an exceptional place to learn and grow,” said Vassilis Syrmos, interim provost at 糖心视频 Mānoa.

糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 rising momentum

The annual open house comes as 糖心视频 Mānoa continues to earn national recognition. The university recently climbed 62 spots in the 2026 Wall Street Journal Best Colleges rankings and set new records in research funding and philanthropy.

Enrollment has also reached its highest level in five years, signaling strong demand from Hawaiʻi families and students from around the world.

Astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi (IfA) have uncovered the turbulent past of a distant red giant by listening to its celestial “song.” Subtle variations in the star鈥檚 brightness suggest that it potentially once collided and merged with another star, an explosive event that left it spinning rapidly. It now orbits a quiet black hole in the Gaia BH2 system.

Using data from NASA鈥檚 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), IfA astronomers detected faint “starquakes” rippling through the companion star of Gaia BH2, a black hole system first identified by the European Space Agency鈥檚 Gaia mission in 2023. Much like seismic waves reveal Earth鈥檚 inner layers, these stellar vibrations gave scientists a rare glimpse beneath the star鈥檚 surface, allowing them to measure its core properties with remarkable precision. The team鈥檚 findings were recently published in Astronomical Journal.

“Just like seismologists use earthquakes to study Earth’s interior, we can use stellar oscillations to understand what’s happening inside distant stars,” said IfA research scientist Daniel Hey, lead author of the study. “These vibrations told us something unexpected about this star’s history.”

Age-defying star

The biggest surprise came from the star鈥檚 makeup. It鈥檚 considered “alpha-rich”, which means it is packed with heavier elements usually found in much older stars, suggesting it should be ancient. However, when scientists studied its vibrations, they discovered it鈥檚 actually only about 5 billion years old, too young to have formed with those chemical traits.

“Young, alpha-rich stars are quite rare and puzzling,” explained Hey. “The combination of youth and ancient chemistry suggests this star didn’t evolve in isolation. It likely acquired extra mass from a companion, either through a merger or by absorbing material when the black hole formed.”

Faster than expected

The mystery deepens with long-term observations from ground-based telescopes showing the star rotates once every 398 days, much faster than expected for an isolated red giant of its age.

“If this rotation is real, it can’t be explained by the star’s birth spin alone,” said co-author Joel Ong, a NASA Hubble Fellow at IfA. “The star must have been spun up through tidal interactions with its companion, which further supports the idea that this system has a complex history.”

The team also examined Gaia BH3, another black hole system with an even more unusual companion star. Although models predicted that this star should show clear oscillations, none were detected, hinting that current theories about extremely metal-poor stars may need updating.

Both Gaia BH2 and BH3 are dormant black hole systems, meaning they aren鈥檛 feeding on their companion stars and therefore emit no X-rays. Their discovery through precise measurements of stellar motion is reshaping how astronomers understand black holes in our galaxy.

Peering deeper ahead

Future TESS observations of Gaia BH2 will give scientists a closer look at its stellar vibrations and may confirm whether it formed through a past merger, helping unravel how these quiet black hole pairs came to be.

Astronomers have captured one of the universe’s most dramatic moments—the instant a massive star exploded and the blast broke through the star’s surface. The rare event, observed with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, gave scientists an unprecedented look at a star’s final seconds. A University of Hawaiʻi astronomer was part of the international team that raced to record and study the supernova in real time.

For the first time, researchers were able to map the three-dimensional shape of a stellar explosion as it unfolded. Their discovery, published in , offers new clues about how giant stars live, die, and transform into supernovae that enrich the cosmos with the elements needed for life.

Chris Ashall, an assistant astronomer at the 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 (IfA), was part of the global team that zeroed in on the stellar explosion known as SN 2024ggi. The supernova was first spotted in April 2024 in the nearby galaxy NGC 3621, 22 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra.

“As soon as the alert came in, we knew this was the kind of a relatively nearby explosion you might see once in a decade,” said Ashall. “If we could move fast enough, we had a chance to watch the blast wave literally breaking out of the star’s surface.”

Racing to capture observations

Within hours of the discovery, the international team submitted an urgent observation request to the European Southern Observatory. Ashall helped with this effort, prompting the Very Large Telescope in Chile to target the supernova just 26 hours after it was first spotted.

The team used a technique called spectropolarimetry, which measures how light of different colors is polarized, to reveal the three-dimensional shape of the exploding material. They discovered that the explosion was elongated, more like an olive than a sphere. As it expanded and hit surrounding gas, the blast began to flatten but kept the same orientation, hinting that many massive stars may collapse in the same way.

The dying star was a red supergiant about 12–15 times heavier than the Sun and roughly 500 times larger. Studying its shape offers new insight into how massive stars evolve and lose mass before they die.

“This shows what’s possible when you combine fast alerts, flexible telescopes, and a global team,” said Ashall.

Peering deeper

Ashall’s team at IfA is following the supernova with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Early results show clumpy debris where new molecules form, helping create one of the most detailed 3D views ever of a massive star’s final moments.

The (RC糖心视频) recognized 18 employees in November for exemplary contributions to their research projects.

“RC糖心视频 is extremely proud of all of these outstanding employees who support cutting-edge and innovative research being done at the 糖心视频 and throughout our state,” said RC糖心视频 Executive Director Leonard Gouveia. “The success of academic research depends on dedicated and hardworking professionals like these RC糖心视频 employees who elevate and impact the projects they support.”

Researcher/Project Manager category

1st place: Ceci Rodriguez Cruz—ORE SMART Cable Project, 糖心视频 Mānoa (SOEST)

2nd place: Christian Tai Udovicic—Planetary Science, SOEST

Honorable mentions:

• Robert Kekaianiani Irwin—Laupaʻi Aʻe ka ʻIke Kuamoʻo,
• Johannes Achim Stoessl—General AntiParticle Spectrometer Project, 糖心视频 Mānoa

Project Support Staff category

1st place: Casey TeBeest, 糖心视频 , WRRC American Samoa Hydrology Network

2nd place: Dylan Boeman–Sabine Lab, SOEST

Team category

1st place: Hua Zhong and Shuai Liu, Cancer Epidemiology Program,

2nd place: Peter Oshiro, Ryan Chilson, Sally Lau and Derek Kubo—Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Honorable mentions:

• Helene Meehl, Andrew Kramer, Sydney Lewandowski and Nicolo Cohen—Hawaiʻi Coral Restoration Nursery,
• Yumi Nagayoshi, Marybeth Young and Jan Stoos—Maunakea Shared Services, 糖心视频

The university service orders extramural contracts and grants to RC糖心视频, which assists with hiring personnel and procuring goods/services to support research, development, and training throughout the state. These awards highlight the vital work RC糖心视频 employees perform daily to advance the university鈥檚 goal of diversifying Hawaiʻi鈥檚 economy through innovation and research.

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 helped inspire hundreds of keiki and community members at the 24th annual on October 19. Hosted by the (HSGC) in partnership with 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 and Hawaiian Electric, the free STEM event engaged attendees with hands-on activities and workshops highlighting space exploration, Earth science, biology, oceanography, rocketry, robotics and coding.

鈥淭his event is all about inspiring Hawaiʻi鈥檚 students to dream big鈥攋ust like Lacy did,鈥� said Adria Fung, event coordinator and robotics education specialist with HSGC in the (SOEST). 鈥淗e grew up right here in Honolulu, had a huge dream, and quite literally chased the stars. We want our students to see that even if their dreams feel far away, they can reach them by staying curious and never being afraid to explore. Lacy Veach Day celebrates discovery and the spirit of lifelong learning.鈥�

Robots, fossils, rockets and more

This year featured 36 hands-on activities and displays led by more than 30 organizations including student groups from 糖心视频, community organizations and industry professionals. They featured hands-on learning in the fields of robotics, fossils, marine biology, rocketry, Hawaiian voyaging, cube satellites, architecture, pilot simulation, microscopes and more. Workshops offered opportunities to learn about indoor drones, robotics, telescopes, hybrid cars and meteorites.

鈥淭his was Aiea Intermediate School robotics team’s first Lacy Veach Day and the students had a real blast,鈥� said Pete Miller, robotics coach at Aiea Intermediate School. 鈥淲e brought several robots for the public to play around with in the robotics arena, getting coaching from our team members as needed, plus my students were able to visit the other exhibits鈥搕he most popular were the planetarium, the drone display and several of the 糖心视频 engineering and science exhibits.鈥�

Partnerships propel the event

Veach Day provides a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to learn from other organizations about how they bring STEM to life, and build connections that might one day show up in their own classrooms.

鈥淰olunteering at Lacy Veach Day was a valuable and rewarding experience for pre-service teachers in our teacher preparation program,鈥� said Stacy George, faculty member at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 College of Education. 鈥淚t provided my students with a rare opportunity to engage in community outreach, network with science organizations, interact with families, and even develop their own interest in science.鈥�

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A groundbreaking new instrument that lets astronomers see deeper into space than ever before using a single telescope was brought to life with help from a University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 faculty member. Installed on the atop Maunakea, the first-of-its-kind device set a new benchmark for how scientists study distant stars and planets.

The instrument, called a photonic lantern, separates starlight into multiple channels, like breaking a musical chord into individual notes, allowing computers to rebuild an ultra-clear image. It鈥檚 part of a new instrument called FIRST-PL, developed and led by 糖心视频 and the Paris Observatory, and installed on the advanced optics platform (Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics) at .

“What excites me most is that this instrument blends cutting-edge photonics with the precision engineering done here in Hawaiʻi,” said S茅bastien Vievard, a faculty member from the 糖心视频 Space Science and Engineering Initiative (SSEI) a joint program of the 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 and . “It shows how collaboration across the world, and across disciplines, can literally change the way we see the cosmos.”

Sharper cosmic views

The breakthrough, published in , used the new setup to study a nearby star called beta Canis Minoris and revealed that its fast-spinning gas disk is unexpectedly lopsided, a detail never seen until now.

“This device splits the starlight according to its patterns of fluctuation, keeping subtle details that are otherwise lost. By reassembling the measurements of the outputs, we could reconstruct a very high-resolution image of a disk around a nearby star,” said Yoo Jung Kim, a graduate student at UCLA, and lead author on the study.

The international team included researchers from 糖心视频, UCLA, the Paris Observatory, the University of Sydney and Subaru Telescope.

Hawaiʻi鈥檚 space future

The achievement marks a milestone for 糖心视频鈥檚 new Space Science and Engineering Initiative, which launched its first engineering courses at 糖心视频 Hilo in fall 2024. The initiative aims to position Hawaiʻi as a global hub for space research, technology development, and workforce training. Vievard, one of the program鈥檚 founding faculty members, is helping to lead this new academic path that blends classroom learning with hands-on engineering experience.

It rains on the Sun, and thanks to researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi (IfA), we finally know why.

Unlike water that falls from the sky on Earth, solar rain happens in the Sun鈥檚 corona, a region of super-hot plasma above its surface. This rain consists of cooler, denser blobs of plasma that fall back down after forming high in the coronae. For decades, scientists struggled to explain how this rain forms so quickly during solar flares.

New explanation

That mystery was cracked by Luke Benavitz, a first-year graduate student at IfA, and IfA astronomer Jeffrey Reep. Their work, recently published in the , adds a missing piece to decades of solar models.

“At present, models assume that the distribution of various elements in the corona is constant throughout space and time, which clearly isn鈥檛 the case,” said Benavitz. “It鈥檚 exciting to see that when we allow elements like iron to change with time, the models finally match what we actually observe on the Sun. It makes the physics come alive in a way that feels real.”

Why it matters

The new finding means solar scientists can better model how the Sun behaves during flares, insights that could one day help predict space weather that affects our daily lives.

Earlier models required heating over hours or days to explain coronal rain; however, solar flares can happen in just minutes. The IfA team鈥檚 work shows that shifting elemental abundances can explain how rain can quickly form.

“This discovery matters because it helps us understand how the Sun really works,” said Reep. “We can鈥檛 directly see the heating process, so we use cooling as a proxy. But if our models haven鈥檛 treated abundances properly, the cooling time has likely been overestimated. We might need to go back to the drawing board on coronal heating, so there鈥檚 a lot of new and exciting work to be done.”

Fresh insights

This research opens the door to a much wider range of questions. Scientists now know that elemental abundances in the Sun鈥檚 atmosphere should change over time, which challenges long-standing models that assumed they were fixed. This means the discovery reaches far beyond coronal rain, pushing researchers to rethink how the Sun鈥檚 outer layers behave and how energy moves through its atmosphere.

The University of Hawaiʻi showcased its growing role in global astronomy and space research by hosting an international symposium, September 22–24, bringing together leading experts from Japan and Hawaiʻi to explore the future of ground- and space-based science and technology.

The three-day event at , and Subaru and Gemini observatories, was part of 糖心视频鈥檚 Space Science and Engineering Initiative (SSEI), which is positioning the university as a hub for cutting-edge space research, engineering and workforce training. More than 45 participants—22 from Japan and 25 from 糖心视频—took part in sessions on cosmology, exoplanets, planetary science, cosmochemistry and astrophysics, along with specialized discussions on telescope technologies, optics, detectors and spectrometers.

“This symposium highlights Hawaiʻi鈥檚 unique role in global space research and underscores our commitment to training the next generation of scientists and engineers right here at home,” 糖心视频 President Wendy Hensel said. “We are proud that 糖心视频 continues to expand its expertise and work in this field.”

“One of our goals is to create an academic pathway for students in space sciences and engineering that will develop a well-qualified, locally based workforce pipeline to service the needs of our world-class observatories here in the islands,” 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 Interim Provost Vassilis Syrmos said.

Participants toured 糖心视频鈥檚 advanced laboratories, including the Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory Clean Room, the Adaptive Secondary Mirror Lab and the Advanced Detector Development and Engineering Research Laboratory. The final day featured tours of IfA Hilo鈥檚 Photonics Lab, Adaptive Secondary Mirror Lab, Advanced Detector Development and Engineering Research Lab, and visits to the Subaru and Gemini observatories on Maunakea, underscoring Hawaiʻi鈥檚 unique role as home to some of the world鈥檚 most powerful astronomical facilities.

The symposium was built on a series of high-level meetings among 糖心视频, University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), which operates the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea. The expanded collaboration is expected to include joint research projects, testing of new instruments, faculty exchanges and student training opportunities.

“It became clear to all of us at this symposium that 糖心视频, NAOJ and UTokyo each have their own unique institutional strengths in research on space science, engineering and technology,” said Hiroaki Aihara, executive director and vice president of the University of Tokyo. “A 糖心视频–NAOJ–UTokyo partnership can only enhance our research capacity.”

NAOJ Director General Mamoru Doi added, “The symposium clearly shows that various new developments in space and ground-based technology are expected for future astronomy and astrophysics. By working closely, 糖心视频, NAOJ and UTokyo can achieve not only innovative research but also foster next generation leading researchers both in Hawaiʻi and Japan.”

More about SSEI

糖心视频 launched SSEI to harness Hawaiʻi鈥檚 natural advantages in astronomy while building local expertise in engineering and manufacturing for space-based missions. The initiative is backed by state support to create a new space engineering and instrument development center in Hilo, which is expected to expand Hawaiʻi鈥檚 technology sector, bring in millions of dollars in research funding and create high-paying jobs for residents.

Devin Chu鈥檚 life and career were literally written in the stars. Growing up in Hilo, he would often visit the library on weekends with his mother. While in the third grade, one of the books he discovered was Our Solar System, which got him fascinated with the neighboring planets and their differences from Earth.

The discovery was a life-changing moment for Chu and first set him on a course into the field of astronomy, then later on a return trajectory to his hometown to become astronomer-in-residence at the at the .

As a child, Chu participated in as many opportunities as he could find, including the popular Journey Through the Universe astronomy education and outreach program and Future Flight Hawaiʻi. Chu often reached out to astronomers to gain their insight and advice on his high school research projects. Doug Simons, director of the (IfA), fondly recalls Chu and how he indirectly helped to inspire the creation of the Maunakea Scholars (MKS) program years later.

“Before Maunakea Scholars, high school student access to the observatories was ad-hoc, mainly based on knowing someone who worked at the observatories or just cold-calling astronomers for advice on their science projects,” said Simons, who was director of the Gemini Observatory when he first met Chu. “We flipped things around five or six years later with the launch of the MKS program that went to the schools looking for students like Devin who wanted to do research using the most powerful collection of telescopes in the world.”

Full circle back to Hawaiʻi Island

After graduating from Hilo High School in 2010, Chu鈥檚 journey took him to Dartmouth College. In his second year, Chu was selected to participate in the Akamai Internship Program, which allowed him to return home for the summer to assist astronomers at the Gemini-North Observatory. The following summer, Chu received additional experience as an undergraduate research fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He earned his bachelor of arts in physics and astronomy in 2014, then attended UCLA, where he earned his master of science and PhD in astronomy and astrophysics in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

As 糖心视频鈥檚 astronomer-in-residence at ʻImiloa, Chu is looking forward to immersing himself in the development of ʻImiloa鈥檚 curriculum, expansion of educational outreach programs, and further development of place-based partnerships with the community to get Hawaiʻi Island students interested in astronomy or other STEM-related fields. Chu will also play a significant role in 糖心视频鈥檚 new Space Science and Engineering Initiative.

“We learned about the Polynesian voyages in elementary school, and I remember thinking that travelling on the open ocean and settling on islands was one of the greatest feats of human ingenuity,” said Chu. “When ʻImiloa opened in middle school, it was great to learn about the connections between the stars and the constellations that I knew from Western science and how they played a major role in Polynesian wayfinding.”

For more on Chu, . Noelo is 糖心视频鈥檚 research magazine from the .

A team of scientists, including University of Hawaiʻi researchers, has found further observational support for a model originally developed at 糖心视频 Mānoa that could help solve two of the biggest mysteries in physics: the accelerating growth of the universe and the mass of ghost-like particles called neutrinos.

In a study , the researchers used data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to test whether dark energy emanating from black holes could be responsible for the mysterious force causing the universe to expand faster throughout time. DESI, located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory on land stewarded by the Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation in Arizona, uses 5,000 robotic eyes to map millions of galaxies, helping scientists measure how quickly the universe has grown over billions of years.

This idea, called the cosmologically coupled black hole (CCBH) hypothesis, is based on black holes that convert dead star matter into dark energy. Such dark energy black holes have been studied for over half a century, but their relation to the universe鈥檚 growth was not initially appreciated. Duncan Farrah, 糖心视频 Mānoa associate professor in the and graduate faculty at the ; Kevin Croker, affiliate graduate faculty in the 糖心视频 Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy; and Joel Weiner, professor emeritus in the 糖心视频 Mānoa , were the first to explore how such a population of black holes could give rise to the accelerated growth that scientists observe today.

“The upshot of this is that if you convert just a little bit of ordinary matter into dark energy over the history of the universe, then you can go a significant way to solving two big mysteries. You explain the origin of dark energy, and you solve a significant tension in the world of particle physics,” Farrah said. “This doesn’t prove anything, but it does motivate further examination of the idea, and testing it against other possible explanations.”

One of the most puzzling findings from DESI is that the standard explanation for accelerated growth of the universe seemed to leave no room for a type of particle called a neutrino to have mass. DESI used the expansion of the universe itself as a giant set of scales, but found that, in the standard model of cosmology, measured mass of neutrinos had begun to contradict measurements from other experiments.

The CCBH model offers a solution. If black holes are turning star matter into dark energy, then the total amount of non-neutrino matter in the universe would decrease over time. This correction allows the neutrino mass measured in DESI data to match what Earth-based experiments have found, something only one other model has done successfully. And it can do so while also explaining the observed accelerated growth of the universe as a whole.

The research explains the amount of dark energy in the universe, suggesting that it wasn鈥檛 set at the beginning of time but built up slowly as stars formed and died. The work shows how creative thinking, combined with powerful telescopes and global cooperation, can bring us all closer to understanding how the universe really works.

More about DESI

DESI is an international experiment that brings together more than 900 researchers from more than 70 institutions. The project is led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the instrument was constructed and is operated with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. DESI is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 (NSF) Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory—a program of NSF NOIRLab—in Arizona.

In addition to its primary support from the DOE Office of Science, DESI is also supported by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science user facility. Additional support for DESI is provided by the NSF; the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; the French Alternative Energies 2 and Atomic Energy Commission; the National Council of Humanities, Sciences, and Technologies of Mexico; the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain; and by the DESI member institutions.