Mauna Kea

Hawaii Island took an economic hit following last year’s natural disasters, and the recovery has been a slow one. Miles Yoshioka is the Executive Officer of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce. In a recent op-ed he made the case for increasing the Big Island’s economic resilience by expanding the astronomy industry.

Scientists are celebrating a milestone today. Astronomers have captured the first ever image of a black hole. The image was produced by a network of telescopes around the world, including two on Hawaiʻi’s own Mauna Kea.

Protestors rallied against the Thirty-Meter Telescope on college campuses in California today. Demonstrations are planned for UH campuses tomorrow. 

Native Hawaiian leaders opposing construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea are taking their grievances beyond the shores of Hawaiʻi to TMT decision-makers and a financier in the Bay Area. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

A group of University of Hawaiʻi faculty, staff, and students is urgingthe University terminate plans for construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. This comes a little over a month since the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court upheld its decision to allow TMT construction to proceed. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports. 

The Thirty Meter Telescope may have been given the go-ahead by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court. But there’s still a lot that needs to happen before construction can take place on Mauna Kea. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story

In a historic decision the Hawaii Supreme Court handed down a ruling that will allow the Thirty Meter Telescope to proceed with plans for construction on Hawaii Island’s Mauna Kea. But some opponents have vowed they will not give up, though the legal options have narrowed. The project has long been on hold while a legal challenge played out.

  The Hawaii Supreme Court decision to allow the controversial TMT project is still reverberating across the community. We hear reactions from the University of Hawaii President David Lassner, Big Island businessman and supporter Richard Ha, and Thirty Meter Telescope opponent Kealoha Pisciotta.

The Thirty Meter Telescope is back in state supreme court. Today, justices are hearing oral arguments on the project’s building permit. HPR’s Ku’uwehi Hiraishi reports.

The board of the legally beleaguered Thirty Meter Telescope deferred on a decision to relocate the project to the Canary Islands. The announcement came last week following the passage of a Mauna Kea construction ban by one house of the state legislature. Bute a move is not off the table.

The board of directors for the Thirty Meter Telescope is meeting this week to decide whether to extend its April deadline. More time would allow legal proceedings to play out but none of that may matter after today’s floor vote in the state Senate. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

This week on Stargazer, it’s more on research into dark matter involving some Mauna Kea observatories as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips for our report.

Bracing for Flu Season; Peace Corps Prep; HI-EMA Review; Pineapple Powder; Fights & Delights  

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is suing the state over the “mismanagement” of Mauna Kea.

Final oral arguments in the contested case hearing for the Thirty-Meter Telescope land use permit will be heard today in Hilo. Parties to the contested case will make their case before the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. HPR’s Ku’uwehi Hiraishi tells us what we can expect.

This week we hear about a team effort on the Mauna Kea summit to assist with a NASA mission making an exciting planetary fly-by this week as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.    

Astronomers say the best place on earth to practice their science is on Hawai‘i Island: Mauna Kea. The mountain is also important to cultural practitioners, hunters, hikers, and sightseers.    The Mayor of Hawai'i County has been sharing his vision for the mountain.   HPR contributing reporter Sherry Bracken has more.

For Stargazer this week, we have some planets in our early evening skies to try and spot, plus we get some context on the recent discovery of several planets about 40 light years from Earth as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.    

On Stargazer, we’ll hear about some objects to look for in our evening skies this week, plus hear about a new piece of equipment at the Mauna Kea summit as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.            

Learn more at the Subaru Telescope website.  

This week on Stargazer, it’s a return to the Subaru Telescope on the Mauna Kea summit for a discovery of a dwarf galaxy as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.

This week on Stargazer, we hear about some planets to try and spot in our dark island skies and learn about a new piece of technology up at the Mauna Kea summit, as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.

More than a hundred people showed up last week at Kaka‘ako Agora, a gathering place in the developing Honolulu neighborhood. They were there to show solidarity with activists in North Dakota who are fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

In this week’s Stargazer, the morning continues to offer a lot to look for plus we hear about an asteroid that exploded over one of the Earth’s oceans recently as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.

In Stargazer this week, hear about a number of planets are visible together in our island skies, plus about a discovery from the Mauna Kea summit relating to wind from another galaxy as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.

The slopes of Mauna Kea shelter a variety of ecosystems that are as diverse as any in the Hawaiian Islands. The Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project is an effort to protect the precious forest environment and reverse the destructive trends of the past.

Christopher Phillips explains...

A large portion of the land mass of Hawaiʻi Island, is contained on the slopes of the tallest mountain in the world, Mauna Kea. The mountain is host to a variety of ecosystems, stretching from the coastal waters, to the arid aeolian desert of the summit area.

Christopher Phillips explains...

The future of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawai‘i Island’s Mauna Kea remains uncertain. Construction has been halted on the project since protests began last April. And in December, Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled the permit invalid, sending the matter back for a new contested case hearing.