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Activities
Donors are invited to attend lectures and special events at both the Manoa and Hilo campuses. Donors receive invitations to receptions and other donors-only activities in connection with many of these events.
Upcoming Events
The IfA Special Events calendar lists upcoming events to which the public is invited, including events on Maui and the Big Island. If you would like to receive e-mail notices of these events, please send an e-mail to ifaevents@ifa.hawaii.edu.
To celebrate 2009, designated as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), Hamilton Library, on the Manoa campus, offers a series of lectures. You can also keep up with Hawaii IYA events, especially the activities and research of the IfA eclipse team, on the IYA Hawaii blog.
The following events are scheduled for 2009. Please note that times and events may change at any time.
September
- Sept. 10: IYA 2009 Lecture, "Galileo and the 400th Anniversary of Astronomy Using Telescopes," IfA astronomer Bob Joseph, 3:30 in Hamilton Library, room 301, followed by a reception to mark the opening of the International Year of Astronomy exhibit in the Hamilton Bridge Gallery. Free.
- Sept. 18: Third Annual IfA Maui Open House, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Maikalani building in Pukalani.
- Sept. 23: Frontiers of Astronomy lecture, " The Mysterious Moons of Saturn," by IfA astronomer Tobias Owen, in the Manoa campus Art Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Free.
October
- Oct. 14: IYA 2009 Lecture, "The Antikythera Mechanism, " IfA astronomer Gareth Wynn-Williams, 3:30 in Hamilton Library, room 301, free.
- Oct. 23: DONORS ONLY event, "NASA Missions to Small Bodies: Origin of Earth's Water," IfA astronomer Karen Meech, 6:15 p.m. Meet and Greet astronomers and graduate students in the IfA courtyard, 7:15 lecture in the IfA auditorium with Faulkes Telescope remote observing. Please RSVP to toyama@ifa.hawaii.edu. Free parking. Directions to IfA.
- Oct. 28: IYA 2009 Lecture, "Telescopes: Big and Small," IfA astronomer Alan T. Tokunaga, Division Chief for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea and and IfA Associate Director for Instrumentation, 3:30 in Hamilton Library, room 301, free.
November
- Nov. 18: IYA 2009 Lecture, "Sacred Mountains and Astronomy," IfA astronomer Paul H. Coleman, 3:30 in Hamilton Library, room 301, free.
- Nov. 18: Frontiers of Astronomy lecture, "The Magic of the Disappearing Sun," by IfA astronomer Shadia Habbal, in the Manoa campus Art Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Free.
December
- Dec. 3: IYA 2009 Lecture, "Hubble Space Telescope: Past, Present & Future," IfA astronomer Lisa Kewley, 3:30 in Hamilton Library, room 301, free.
- Dec. 18: DONORS ONLY event, holiday pau hana party in the IfA courtyard
Observatory Tours and Workshops
IfA offers tours of either the Mauna Kea Observatories and UH IfA Hilo facilities or the Haleakala Observatories and UH IfA Pukalani facilities. The purpose of the tours is to learn how astronomers do their research. As a donor you may receive an invitation to the tour. The workshops and tours are free, but participants pay for their own travel expenses and are charged a fee for group meals and snacks.
Colloquia
The IfA Colloquia calendar shows a complete listing of lectures by UH and visiting astronomers.
- Most lectures take place in the IfA auditorium at 3:30 p.m. Light refreshments are served at 3:15.
- A few lectures take place at 12:30 p.m. Feel free to bring your lunch.
- Some lectures given on Maui and the Big Island are available via video link at IfA Manoa. Also, some Manoa lectures are available via video link at Maui and Hilo IfA facilities.
Photo Gallery
Peruse photos of Friends activities and special events:
- Mauna Kea Observatories 2009 Workshop
- 2009 IfA Open House
- Cosmochemistry Laboratory's Ion Microprobe
- Mauna Kea Observatories 2007 Workshop
- Haleakala Observatories 2008 Workshop
For examples of current research by IfA scientists, including photos of today's sun, the solar system, stars and star formation, galaxies, cosmology, and instrumentation and observatories, please see the IfA images archive.
Cosmochemistry Laboratory's Ion Microprobe
Friends members toured the Cosmochemistry Laboratory's Ion Microprobe, a specialized,
highly sensitive mass spectrometer to analyze meteorites, samples returned from space missions,
and other such compounds.
Ion Microprobe analyses tell scientists about the environment in which the compound was made,
giving clues about the conditions in the early Solar System.
Mauna Kea Observatories 2007 Workshop
The MKO Summer 2007 Workshop included an explanation of telescopes by Klaus Hodapp.
Mauna Kea casts a shadow onto clouds. The MKO Tour participants enjoyed spectacular
views.
The MKO Summer Workshop and Tour included a visit to Gemini Observatory.
Summer workshop participants learned about the Subaru camera.
Haleakala Observatories 2008 Workshop
Summer 2008 Haleakala workshop participants toured an optics lab at the IfA Pukalani facility.
Paticipants heard about optics research and machine technology.
A highlight of the workshop was a tour of the Mees Solar Observatory. Participants also toured
the Air Force satellite tracking facilities.
Workshop participants toured the Pan-STARRS 1 prototype and learned about observations
to detect near-Earth objects.
The summit provided beautiful sunset views.
The observatories on Mauna Kea were visible from the Haleakala summit.
Participants learned how the clamshell dome over the Faulkes telescope is opened and closed
for viewing.
Participants toured the Faulkes telescope before viewing on it after dark.
The crescent Moon shines over the Faulkes telescope.
Participants enjoyed observing time on the Faulkes telescope to learn about the Dumbbell Nebula.
2009 IfA Open House
Friends members get children excited about astronomy.
A Friend answers an astronomy question.
Astronomer Brent Tully answers a Friend's questions.
Friends answer questions about scientists and research at IfA.
Mauna Kea Observatories 2009 Workshop
IfA astronomer Bo Reipurth explains what we can learn from meteorites.
Friends enjoyed laying out distances from the Sun to various planets.
Each sheet of tissue represented 5,000,000 miles. Pluto was at the end of an entire 1000-sheet roll.
Friends learn about globular cluster M13 that they will view through an eyepiece
on the IfA 88-inch telescope.
IfA astronomer Roy Gal explains the formation and properties of globular clusters.
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Copyright 2009 by Friends of the Institute for Astronomy