Honolulu Economic Development: Astronomy & Space Science

Hawaii is a global leader in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Hawaii's astronomy and space science industry employs 796 people and generates $145 million in annual revenues. Hawaii's development in the astronomy and space science industry has helped drive global innovation in Electronics, Optics, Precision Mechanics and Information Technology.

Hawaii's 4,200 meter summit at Mauna Kea houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and sub-millimeter astronomy. International research entities representing 11 countries have invested more than $800 million in Mauna Kea to support astronomy and astrophysics research. The Mauna Kea Observatories have 13 world-class telescopes, whose combined light-gathering power is fifteen times greater than that of the Palomar telescope in California and sixty times greater than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The University of Hawaii's Institute of Astronomy (IFA) employs 200 staff, 60 scientists and 40 tenure track faculty. IFA has around 30 graduate and 1,000 undergraduate students graduating each year. IFA plays an important role in supporting the research at the Mauna Kea Observatories, the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site on Maui, and base facilities spread around 3 islands. IFA conducts solar research and long-term stellar studies, planetary, galactic and extragalactic research, and cosmology.

Some of the successes include the clearest evidence of a budding solar system around a nearby star, just 15 light years away possess a planet 1.6 times as massive as Jupiter, a gamma ray burst occurring in a distant galaxy etc. Hawaii is ranked second for citations in refereed journals. IFA also use, and support space observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra (an X-ray astronomy satellite), to make observations that cannot be made from the ground.

The astronomers at IFA also design and build new instruments to measure and analyze the radiation collected by the telescopes. The Optical Detector Group at IFA is developing and maintaining the general purpose charge couple device cameras used on UH telescopes. IFA's new projects include:

The Faulkes Telescope Project - IFA and the Faulkes Telescope Corporation are collaborating to locate a two meter telescope facility at Haleakala High Altitude Observatory. The telescope will be operated remotely from control centers in the UK and at Maui Community College. Students will be able to access real time data from the telescope over the Internet.

High Dynamic Range Telescope (HDRT) - Design and build a revolutionary optical and infrared telescope which will become the world's most powerful telescope. HDRT will have the ability to see faint and distant galaxies as well as searching for planets around other stars.

Solar Systems Exploration Telescope (SSET) - Designed by IFA the telescope will be used to study the origin of our solar system by measuring the size and composition of objects beyond the orbit of Pluto, and by observing asteroids that come close to the earth. It will also be used to study older solar systems around nearby stars and the formation of new solar systems around very young stars.

Pan-STARRS - is a dedicated wide-field imager that can survey the visible sky in four nights enabling it to find killer asteroids, supernovae, and other transient objects.

The Maui Super Computer in Hawaii provides researchers with the necessary computing capabilities. Advanced communications technologies using fiber optic networks and satellite relays also allow astronomers to access these telescopes through remote viewing techniques.

Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP), at the University of Hawaii is also pioneering the frontiers of space science through basic and applied research with specific emphasis on remote sensing. The institute is also developing new technologies for ocean and environmental monitoring and observation. In addition, the institute conducts extensive studies of our solar system from space. The institute also manages the Hawaii space grant college program and hosts the NASA pacific regional data center.

The Hawaii Space Grant Consortium chartered under the National Space Grant College and Fellowship program managed by HIGP is developing interdisciplinary education, research, and public service programs related to space science, earth science, remote sensing, human exploration and development of space, and aerospace technology.

The Air Force Research Laboratory atop Mt. Haleakala conducts research and development mission on the Maui Space Surveillance System and also overseas the operation of the Maui High Performance Computing Center.

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