:: CFHT Library Weblog ::

What does a half million galaxies look like?

2009-12-10T09:48:00.000-10:00

Whoa. That’s a part of a huge image just released by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey Deep Field #1, a ginormous mosaic of the night sky… and by ginormous, I mean GINORMOUS. It covers a solid square degree of sky — 5 times the area of the full Moon — and tips the scale at a whopping 370 megapixels! It took 5 years and several hundred hours of observing time with the 3.6 meter telescope on top of Mauna Kea to get this massive mosaic.

New Space Telescope Could Search for Both Exoplanets and Dark New Space Telescope Could Search for Both Exoplanets and Dark Energy

2009-11-24T11:29:00.001-10:00

Dark energy may not have much in common with aliens, unless there's a flotilla of freaky monoliths out there with really weird physical properties. But astrophysicists hope to build a two-in-one space telescope that can search for signs of dark energy along with exoplanets.

It's a dog eat dog universe

2009-10-13T16:17:00.000-10:00

The project, currently halfway complete, uses the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to get a closer look on our nearest big galaxy, Andromeda (about two million light years away).

On Top of the World With the SETI Institute

2009-09-18T09:50:00.000-10:00

Jeff and a guest joined Franck on a spectacular expedition, which involved a personal tour of the CFHT (Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) Observatory, which is situated atop the dormant Mauna Kea volcano that rises 4,200 meters above the Pacific Ocean on the island of Hawaii.

CFHT in the news

2009-09-02T11:02:00.000-10:00

The Andromeda galaxy, the closest neighbour to our own Milky Way, has been growing by scooping up stars from smaller surrounding galaxies, a Canadian-led team of astronomers has found.

The astronomers found that Andromeda's gravity is pulling millions of stars away from its neighbour, the Triangulum galaxy, and calculate that in a few billions years, Andromeda could consume Triangulum completely.

The discovery comes as a result of the largest survey of a galaxy ever made, spanning nearly one million light years around Andromeda, a galaxy about 2.5 million light years away and visible to the naked eye. Triangulum is visible using a small telescope.

Alan McConnachie of the National Research Council's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics led the international team of astronomers that included scientists from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Britain and the United States.

HOKU

2009-08-25T13:23:00.000-10:00

Newest edition of HOKU is now available online.

CFHT and Chandra X-Ray image...

2009-07-14T13:01:00.000-10:00

A very nice image combining ground based and space images here.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection: The Crab Nebula

2009-04-22T10:31:00.000-10:00

Astronomers Discover Youngest and Lowest Mass Dwarfs

2009-04-22T10:30:00.000-10:00

Astronomers have found three brown dwarfs with estimated masses of less than 10 times that of Jupiter, making them among the youngest and lowest mass sub-stellar objects detected in the solar neighborhood to date.

Oldest and Most Distant Water in the Universe Detected

2009-04-22T10:26:00.000-10:00

Astronomers have found the most distant signs of water in the Universe to date.

Astronomy picture of the day... from CFHT

2009-04-13T08:52:00.000-10:00

A nice Hawaiian star trails video for today's Astronomy Picture of the Day
from CFHT!

CFHT in "Around the world in 80 telescopes"

2009-04-03T09:11:00.000-10:00

Star-gazing: Canada Post stamps are out of this world!

2009-04-03T08:54:00.000-10:00

Today Canada Post issued two domestic rate (54-cent) stamps to celebrate 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy and recognize the significant role that Canadians have played in uncovering the mysteries of outer space.

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope* (CFHT)

2009-03-31T14:55:00.000-10:00

100 hours of Astronomy; Cornerstone project for the International Year of Astronomy.

From Earth to the Universe Exhibition

2009-03-18T10:05:00.000-10:00

Image made in visible light by Jean-Charlies Cuillandre for the Canada- France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation.

Image of the Day

2009-03-09T09:18:00.000-10:00

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope provides this stunning image of the Perseus cluster of galaxies...

Pulp Vision: Developing an application aimed at the general public

2009-03-06T14:10:00.002-10:00

An original optical device that replaces all television, computer, and telephone screens. Such is the technology a research engineer seeks to commercialize with the help of the newly created [Contracts and Technology Transfer Department] of the Observatoire de Paris.
Page 29.

The Cosmic Poster Contest co-sponsored by KTA and MKOOC

2009-02-25T16:49:00.000-10:00

Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009 with your style!

APOD (Astronomy Picture Of the Day)

2009-02-19T10:22:00.000-10:00

"Mauna Kea Milky Way Panorama" submitted by astrophotographer Wally Pacholka. In the APOD text, click on the link for 'starry night sky' to visit the "Dark Sky Star Party" that we held as a kickoff to IYA in January.

The world's top ten telescopes revealed

2009-02-06T14:24:00.000-10:00

http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090206/full/news.2009.81.html

Exoplanet of 2 Earth masses

2009-02-03T13:54:00.000-10:00

Masses of discovered exoplanets are steadily decreasing. This
discovery was done by our French friends with our help!

The Top of The Best

2009-02-02T11:36:00.000-10:00

This is comedy oriented piece on PBS Minnesota

Family Astronomy Night at Thelma Parker Library....

2008-12-24T12:07:00.001-10:00

Had a lot of fun at Family Astronomy Night yesterday at the /Thelma Parker/ Library in Waimea. Members and staff from CFHT Observatory, Keck Observatory and *...*

Another great Mauna Kea video

2008-12-11T16:33:00.000-10:00

An interesting video of a wave cloud forming last night on Mauna Kea, courtesy of D. Salmon

HOKU

2008-12-02T12:07:00.001-10:00

The latest edition of HOKU is now online.

HOKU

2008-07-28T14:56:00.000-10:00

The July 2008 edition of HOKU is now online.

Pierre Martin Named Director of the WIYN Observatory

2008-07-23T15:31:00.000-10:00

Astronomer Pierre Martin, director of science operations at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), has been selected as the new director of the WIYN Observatory,
which operates 3.5-meter and 0.9-meter telescopes on Kitt Peak.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope provides this stunning image of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, also known as Abell 426.

2008-05-19T10:39:00.000-10:00

2008 ASP Annual Award Winners

2008-05-01T08:31:00.000-10:00

The Maria & Eric Muhlmann Award, for the development of innovative
research instruments and techniques to Joss Bland-Hawthorn, School of
Physics, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Karl
Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria,
Australia; and Jean-Charles Cuillandre, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Corporation, Kamuela, Hawaii for the "Nod and Shuffle" technique.
This observational technique allows astronomers to obtain very faint
spectra of celestial objects by naturally subtracting the glow of the
nighttime sky. The technique has been used successfully in the study
of faint galaxies with the Anglo-Australian Telescope, in the Gemini
Deep Deep Survey of galaxies in the early universe, and in other
applications.

The Fox Fur Nebula from CFHT

2008-04-22T16:20:00.000-10:00

Another CFHT image as "Astronomy Picture of the Day"

HOKU

2008-03-12T09:10:00.000-10:00

The current edition of HOKU is now online.

HOKU : Volume 7, Number 3, 2007

2007-11-19T10:42:00.000-10:00

The latest version of HOKU is now available online.

Comet Holmes Bigger Than The Sun

2007-11-16T16:25:00.000-10:00

Spectacular outbursting comet 17P/Holmes exploded in size and brightness on October 24.

Nature's recipe for building new worlds: a zest of magnetic fields?

2007-09-20T16:01:00.000-10:00

How do stars like the Sun form? How are planetary systems born? To answer these questions, astrophysicists need to find out Nature's recipe to turn vast cosmic clouds of gas into accretion discs and into stars and planets. One of the crucial ingredients in this recipe is likely magnetic fields. An international team of astrophysicists has just succeeded at mapping the large arches and funnels that magnetic fields weave between baby stars and their accretion discs. These observations should yield more accurate models of how new-born stars interact with their accretion disc to form planetary systems such as our own.

CFHT on news.com

2007-09-13T12:59:00.001-10:00

Mystery of a Cosmic 'Train Wreck'

2007-08-31T14:07:00.000-10:00

Chandra investigates the aftermath of a complicated collision of galaxy clusters.

ScienceHack

2007-08-31T09:43:00.000-10:00

ScienceHack is a video search engine dedicated to the world of science, including physics, green energy, and space. What sets it apart from the rest is that every indexed video is screened and approved by real scientists. Search for a video by keyword or by selecting a tag. Clicking on "Chemistry" led us to over 20 videos on the topic, such as "Jay Leno and Josh Duhamel Sniff Sulfur Hexafluoride."

From: PC Magazine

Merope We Roll Along

2007-08-24T16:12:00.000-10:00

The Merope Nebula in the Pleiades is viewed by the MegaCam camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).

HOKU : Vol. 7, No. 2, 2007

2007-07-11T10:44:00.000-10:00

The latest version of HOKU is now available online.

CFHT in the news

2007-05-29T09:31:00.000-10:00

A newly discovered dwarf galaxy in the Local Group has been found to have formed in a region of space far from our own and is falling into our system for the first time in its history, according to new data obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory. An international team of astronomers report that the dwarf galaxy, Andromeda XII, marks the best piece of evidence for small galaxies which are just now arriving in our Local Group. The finding provides an important test for simulations of galaxy formation.

Earth Guide

2007-05-17T10:51:00.000-10:00

An interactive exploration of our planet

EarthNow!

2007-04-05T09:02:00.000-10:00

See almost live images of the earth as satellites pass over.
The EarthNow! image viewer is now live. It displays near real-time data from the
Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites as they pass over the United States

HOKU : March 2007 edition now ready

2007-03-12T11:06:00.000-10:00

An astronomy newsletter for children, parents and educators.

1946 Hawai'i Tsunami publication now available online

2007-02-28T10:20:00.000-10:00

Peter Brueggeman, Librarian at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has recently arranged for this publication to be made available online.

The digital book index

2007-02-22T09:03:00.000-10:00

Digital Book Index provides links to more than 130,000 title records from more than 1800 commercial and non-commercial publishers, universities, and various private sites. About 90,000 of these books, texts, and documents are available free, while many others are available at very modest cost.

Canada France Hawaii Telescope - Images of the Cosmos

2007-02-20T11:17:00.000-10:00

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation (CFHT) is the oldest international astronomical facility on Mauna-Kea. CFHT made Waimea its home and has been playing for more than 30 years an important role in the local community, thanks to its diverse and dynamic staff. Its 3.6-m telescope has been, and remains, one of the best in its class. Though bigger telescopes came to Mauna Kea in recent years, CFHT is still one of the leading facilities in todays astronomy, thanks to a suite of unique instruments. One of them, MegaCam, the largest digital camera in operation on a telescope, has been since mid-2003 one of CFHTs signature instruments. MegaCam is delivering images of the cosmos of exquisite quality to scientists all over the world, leading to cutting edge science. These images, while scientifically invaluable, are also aesthetically breathtaking, leaving the spectator in awe of the beauty and immensity of the Universe.

Gathering the Forgotten Voice: An Oral History of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescopes' Early Years

2007-02-01T11:56:00.000-10:00

They came to the Big Island from as far away as Murrumbeena, Australia, and as near by as Hilo. They were progeny of Scottish coal miners, French physicists, Chicago truck drivers, Japanese samurai and Big Island cane workers. Together, these men and women would build and commission one of the most dynamic and productive 3.6-meter telescopes in the world that remians in the forefront of science and technoloy.

Complimentary DVD now available.
Contact:
Liz Bryson, CFHT librarian
bryson@cfht.hawaii.edu

International Astronomy Meetings List

2007-01-24T11:00:00.000-10:00

The International Astronomy Meetings List has undergone a 'face lift'.
Please bookmark the new URL.

Aerial view of Mauna Kea

2007-01-18T17:04:00.000-10:00

The best there is out there thus far....

Multilingual Keyboard Emulator.

2007-01-09T09:22:00.000-10:00

This site enables you to write in your language any where you are in the world,
with an online, onscreen emulator.
The main purpose of this site is to let everyone who gets stuck without the ability to write/type/search the internet in their own language be able to do just that (usually travelers/tourists) or anyone in front of a
foreign computer.

from: Metafilter

Detecting Dark Matter No Longer a Massive Task

2007-01-08T11:50:00.000-10:00

When astronomers at the Hawaii-based Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) atop the summit of Mauna Kea combined this new instrument with automated pattern-recognition software that scanned the CCD images for lensing effects, they detected 43 gravitational-lens candidates in an area of the sky about 100 times that covered by the moon.

CFHT in the news

2007-01-08T11:49:00.000-10:00

COSMOS field observations...

Universe Today

2007-01-04T11:40:00.000-10:00

is a news site for astronomy geeks. Don't miss its sibling, the Bad Astronomy Forum, which not only features examples of bad astronomy, but also discussions of space exploration and astrophotography. (If you like astrophotography, you're probably already aware of NASA's astronomy photo of the day.) But my favorite part of the whole site is the free astronomy eBook, What's Up 2007: 365 Days of Skywatching. If only it would only stop raining, maybe I'd grab some binoculars and go outside for some stargazing...

from : Metafilter

HOKU : An Online Educational Newsletter for Parents and Educators

2006-12-11T09:39:00.000-10:00

The latest edition of HOKU is now available online.

What will be the biggest scientific breakthroughs of the next 50 years?

2006-11-20T10:14:00.000-10:00

As part of their 50th anniversary celebration, the New Scientist asked 70 prominent minds for ideas on the subject. You can read the thoughts of scientists like Freeman Dyson, Benoit Mandelbrot and Jane Goodall individually, or browse by topic. For example, eight thinkers have something to say about alien life. The links to browse by topic can be found at the beginning of the main link. Also, compare with this thread about similar predictions from 1950.

From: Metafilter

CFHT News Regarding Earthquake Damage

2006-10-16T17:36:00.000-10:00

As you might know, Hawaii was hit by an important earthquake on Sunday, October 15. In fact three consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 6.6, 5.8 and 4.2, all centered on a few miles off the Kona coast, hit the Big Island and the other islands. The good news is that nobody in the CFHT staff and their families were injured. The bad news is that our headquarters and the telescope were severely hit. We are in the process of fixing and cleaning our offices and we should be back and running in a normal way in a couple of days.

'Champagne Supernova' breaks astronomical rules

2006-10-11T17:02:00.000-10:00

Astronomers using Mauna Kea telescopes to study stars exploding as supernovae saw something so surprising they say it “has opened up a Pandora’s box.”

The astronomers discovered a supernova more massive than they believed possible, which may change their thinking about how stars explode as supernovae, they said in a paper published today in the journal Nature.

Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology, University of Toronto and University of California at Berkeley made the discovery during a survey for distant supernovae at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope.

Big Bang sounded like a deep hum

2006-10-05T15:06:00.000-10:00

The sound of the Universe being born. University of Washington professor calculates the frequencies of sound waves propagating through the Universe during its first 760,000 years by analyzing small differences in sky temperature.

CFHT - image of the day

2006-10-02T09:13:00.000-10:00

This gigantic emission nebula surrounding the blue reflection nebula NGC 6914 is still an active star-forming region.

Selected Educational Resources - Category : Astronomy

2006-09-29T15:20:00.000-10:00

Qoolsqool is "a free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world."

The Space Shuttle Atlantis and The International Space Station ...crossing the Sun.

2006-09-21T14:55:00.000-10:00

SOLAR TRANSIT OF ISS AND ATLANTIS

Stardust@home

2006-09-11T09:08:00.000-10:00

Stardust@home is now finally working in the search for dust specks from the stardust mission.

Spacecraft strikes Moon with intense flash

2006-09-05T14:53:00.000-10:00

Astronomers at the 3.6-metre Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, reported seeing an unexpectedly bright infrared flash. “It was a big surprise – there was a beautiful, very intense flash,” Foing told New Scientist.

Physics Flash Animations [Macromedia Flash Player]

2006-08-28T12:02:00.000-10:00

How does one exactly illustrate the principle of chaos? Well, fortunately
for budding physicists and other interested parties, a very nice animation
demonstrating chaos (and other such processes and phenomena) are made
available at this website. Created by David M. Harrison of the Department of
Physics at the University of Toronto, the site contains Flash animations
that illustrate principles in such categories as optics, sound waves,
vectors, and relativity. Visitors are welcome to click on each category, or
to scroll down to the specific processes such as the Lorenz Attractor or
such principles from classical mechanics as displacement and distance. It is
worth noting that the animations are also available in Catalan and Spanish.

Solar System Simulator

2006-08-22T11:32:00.000-10:00

"This superb site aims to be a "spyglass on the cosmos". It allows you to
create stunning simulated images of the planets and their moons, just as
they would actually be seen from another body or spacecraft, at your chosen
date and time. This virtual Solar System uses many scientific databases for
planet and star positions, as well as images of planet surfaces and rings
derived from spacecraft missions, to make the views as accurate as
possible. A set of test images shows the accuracy of the simulation,
allowing you to compare generated images with the real views from
spacecraft, or to see a virtual lunar eclipse. A page of technical
background explains how it's all done. There are plenty of options to help
you create your own image of the Solar System by choosing a
specific viewpoint, target, date, and time. However, if you're feeling lazy, just
take a look at the beautiful sample scenes which the site author has
already created! Highly recommended. DP-P"

Libraries

2006-08-22T09:05:00.000-10:00

A truly gorgeous book of photographs by Candida Höfer titled, Libraries, a title which pretty much says it all, because that is just exactly what it is, one rich, sumptuous, photo of a library interior after another.

Journey Through the Galaxy

2006-08-16T17:06:00.000-10:00

This website, supported by Case Western University, "explores our solar
system, stars, extra-solar planets, the theories about the past and future
of the universe, and human exploration of space." The valuable materials are
provided in two varieties: a regular version designed for grade school
students and an advanced version intended for college students. The easily
navigable website is first divided into five main topics and subsequently
separated into a series of subtopics. For instance, under the Solar System
link users can find five tabs containing data and tutorials on the sun,
planets, asteroids, comets, and the edge of the solar system. With numerous
helpful diagrams and images throughout the website, astronomy students are
sure to benefit from this website.

Famous astronomers and astrophysicists [electronic resource]

2006-08-09T17:35:00.000-10:00

Famous astronomers and astrophysicists [electronic resource] / D. Mark Manley. [S.l. : s.n.], 2004.

HOKU: An Online Astronomy Newsletter for Educators and Parents

2006-08-09T16:35:00.000-10:00

The latest edition of HOKU: An Online Astronomy Newsletter for Educators and Parents,
is now available online.

Bookmooch

2006-08-07T09:09:00.000-10:00

Bookmooch lets you give away your old books to a loving, caring home. Oh, and you can get used books for free too. Everyone wins!

3D Star Maps by Winchell Chung

2006-07-24T09:04:00.000-10:00

The site contains lots of information about how to make 2D/3D starmaps from standard star tables, a nice selection of pre-existing maps and one of the best listings of 3D starmap software around.

Top 5 Science Blogs

2006-07-21T09:52:00.000-10:00

The top five science blogs on the Net are:
1. Pharyngula
2. Panda’s Thumb
3. RealClimate
4. Cosmic Variance
5. Scientific Activist

Life Near a Supernova

2006-07-17T11:54:00.000-10:00

Life (Briefly) Near a Supernova (pdf, Google cache) by Steven Dutch (UW-Green Bay). What might it be like on a planet orbiting a star that went supernova? "It would take on the order of 100,000 seconds, or about a day, to receive enough energy to vaporize the Earth." Yes, Arthur C. Clarke and Larry Niven are name-checked. (And yes, the Sun is too small to actually go supernova, killjoy.)

Starlight: a meditation.

2006-05-31T09:20:00.000-10:00

Sometimes it's fun to think about things that no one has thought about before.

Virtual Visit of the Canadian Space Agency [Macromedia Flash Player]

2006-05-19T08:50:00.000-10:00

Imagine if you will, taking a tour of the Canadian Space Agency’s
headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec. After that thought passes, then imagine
being led through some of the fascinating areas of these same headquarters
that are normally off-limits to the public, guided by a narrator whose voice
closely resembles the authoritative tone reserved for movie trailers. This
is exactly what you, gentle reader, will find upon arriving on the homepage
of this site. The site opens up with a series of screens that zoom the
viewer onto the Agency’s visually stunning complex, then proceeds to visit
some of the interesting areas within that same edifice. Along the way,
visitors will find their way to the optics laboratory, the Mars greenhouse,
and the mission control centre, along with another dozen or so locations.
During this visit, visitors can read a brief description of each locale and
follow along with the aforementioned knowing voice of the previously
mentioned narrator.

Three cosmic enigmas, one audacious answer

2006-05-15T14:20:00.000-10:00

For a star as big as our universe the calculated vacuum energy inside its shell matches the value of dark energy seen in the universe today. "It's like we are living inside a giant dark energy star" say two physicists and their collegues. Dark energy stars may do away with the concept of black holes.

The world's largest scientific instrument is under construction beneath the polar ice

2006-05-08T14:38:00.000-10:00

Encompassing a square kilometer of the Antarctic icecap, the IceCube array of photodetectors is designed to spot neutrinos, those most elusive of particles. You can see pictures of IceCube being built at the South Pole, or a video (quicktime) of what the detector network looks like. Other massive neutrino detectors are also photogenic, like the Super Kamiokande (other pictures), located in a mine a kilometer underground, or BooNe at Fermilab, filled with 800 tons of mineral oil.

Ancient observatories from space

2006-05-08T10:31:00.000-10:00

Satellite images of Angkor Wat, Chichen Itza, Chaco Canyon, Stonehenge, Teotihuacan, and others. The observers, observed. High res images available.

Evolution timeline (Embedded .swf).

2006-04-19T12:50:00.000-10:00

This animated story of life since about 13,700,000,000 shows everything from the big bang to the formation of the earth and the development of bacteria and other organisms to the ascent of man and humans effect on the earth.

Evolution: A Web Companion.

2006-04-19T12:47:00.000-10:00

Evolution: A Web Companion. 'The expanding universe is both awesome and humbling. When looking closely at nature—whether through a telescope, microscope, or computer visualization of collected data—one cannot help being struck by the intricacies and complexities observed. The magnitude of the cosmos, the power of natural forces, and the extent of deep time, however, alert us to how small and transient we are...'
Related :- The Writings of Charles Darwin (previous thread); Talk Origins; Understanding Evolution.

The scientific tradition in Africa.

2006-04-19T12:44:00.000-10:00

An interview with Thebe Medupe, a South African astronomer.

2 inch (and under) book + print exhibition, 2006

2006-03-20T14:45:00.000-10:00

2-inch books (flash) is a delightful exhibit of tiny hand-crafted books. The 2005 winners (pdf) of the Miniature Book Society's annual competition offers a sampling of little books that have been published. Tiny tomes have been delighting readers and collectors for 4,000 years. If these tiny treasures intrigue you, perhaps you'd like to collect your own vintage or contemporary library.

A Journey to Ancient Bulgaria

2006-03-19T13:14:00.000-10:00

VISIT THE NATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY- ROZHEN, BULGARIA
The National Astronomical Observatory - Rozhen is the biggest observatory in Southeast Europe. It was opened in February 1981. This is one of the largest investments Bulgarian science has ever made. The observatory has three night telescopes: a 2-meter Ritchey-Chretien-Coude (RCC) telescope, a 50/70-cm Schmidt, and a 60-cm Cassegrain telescope. At the moment a new telescope is being built that will be used for observing the Sun, with a wide range of applications in the field of solar physics. A multifunctional infrastructure has been established in the observatory.

Stay Informed with Feedwhip

2006-03-17T08:50:00.000-10:00

Feedwhip monitors web pages and emails you when they change. This is handy for keeping tabs on a site without an RSS feed.

Newest Version of HOKU online (March 2006)

2006-03-16T08:53:00.000-10:00

An Online Astronomy Newsletter for Parents and Educators.

The Physics of Friendship

2006-03-14T15:50:00.000-10:00

By comparing people to mobile particles randomly bouncing off each other, scientists have developed a new model for social networks. The model fits with empirical data to naturally reproduce the community structure, clustering and evolution of general acquaintances and even sexual contacts.

Red rain could prove that aliens have landed

2006-03-09T09:25:00.000-10:00

An article that describes the potential discovery of an honest-to-god ET life-form.

Solar Eclipse: Stories From the Path of Totality

2006-03-09T09:17:00.000-10:00

Solar Eclipse: Stories From the Path of Totality
Webcasts and other material about solar eclipses since 1998, including March 29, 2006 (Turkey) and June 10, 2002 (U.S.). Includes essays on why eclipses happen, how to view an eclipse, a world map of future solar eclipses (2017 is the next one viewable in the U.S.), and other features. From the Exploratorium.

Unintelligent Design

2006-02-17T14:27:00.000-10:00

A monstrous discovery suggests that viruses, long regarded as lowly evolutionary latecomers, may have been the precursors of all life on Earth

Astronomical Newsletters

2006-02-17T10:06:00.000-10:00

The following list purports to include free Newsletters of interest to the astronomical community and is kept up-to-date (somewhat) by Sarah Stevens-Rayburn (ST ScI). Titles known to have ceased publication prior to 1990 are specifically excluded (but are likely to be found in the Union List of Astronomical Serials).

The Wiki History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less

2006-02-17T10:00:00.000-10:00

This was the inspiration for the book "A Briefer History of Time" and led to the Annals of Improbable Research History Translation Project. Reprinted from the AIR, Volume III, Number 1, January/February, 1997, p.27.

Light Pollution - and the return of the night

2006-02-08T08:31:00.000-10:00

Who wants to look at stars – who needs astronomy? – when there's a "sports complex with a driving range and multi-purpose dome" nearby, burning with floodlights and halogens, incandescent in the American night? Who wants constellations when you can watch a "billboard on Route 22 in Wingdale, New York that is lit by a dedicated floodlight"? Who, after all, wants to put up with something called nighttime?

"scientist's (astronomer's) brain explodes"

2006-02-08T08:29:00.000-10:00

Cornell University: Curious About Astronomy? Ask An Astronomer

2006-01-20T15:32:00.000-10:00

At this website, volunteers in the Astronomy Department at Cornell University provide great educational materials about astronomy for educators and students. Visitors can find links to outside resources which cover many different aspects of astronomy and space science. The site provides links to biographies of the scientists who answer the many questions received each week. Users can find a huge archive of questions and answers divided into four main categories: the solar system, universe, observational astronomy, and miscellaneous. Visitors can also view a list of all the questions or search the archives by key words. If individuals can't find answers to their questions at this site, they can send their questions to the scientists.

The girl who named a planet

2006-01-16T11:07:00.000-10:00

Venetia Phair isn't a name that immediately springs to mind when you mention astronomy.
But the retired teacher from Epsom in Surrey has left an indelible signature on our map of the Solar System.

Timeanddate.com

2006-01-09T10:01:00.000-10:00

A good reference tool for world calendars and time information.

What is it, Mulder?

2006-01-09T09:41:00.000-10:00

This website claims to feature many of the best UFO photographs ever taken. They are dated as far back as 1870 to present day. ET phone home!

The Celestron SkyScout

2006-01-09T09:40:00.000-10:00

The Celestron SkyScout (Flash page) is an amazingly cool portable device combining an celestial object database with GPS abilities. It's not quite the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but it's definitely one of the most compelling applications I've yet to see of GPS - it takes note of your viewing location, and uses text and audio to guide you around the night sky. Announced at the CES show, there's no pricing info yet.

Map-a-Planet

2005-12-30T11:06:00.000-10:00

Since the explosion of online maps and related technologies onto the
Internet, it has been relatively easy to find maps of any part of the Earth.
Finding detailed maps of the various planets and moons that share the
universe with us can be a bit more tricky. Stepping in to fill that gap in
online material is the Map-A-Planet site, created and maintained by the
United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology Research Program. Visitors to
the site will be able create (and download) customizable maps of planets
such as Mars and Venus, along with prominent moons such as Callisto (the
second largest moon of Jupiter) and Ganymede, which is Jupiter's largest
moon. Visitors can also create various levels of maps, ranging from those
that are quite basic all the way to those that incorporate more detailed
datasets. While the site is certain to be of general interest to most
individuals, it may be of particular value to science educators who wish to
offer students a rather rich-textured view of these marvelous bodies.

CFHT's 2006 Calendars Now Available for Purchase

2005-12-30T11:05:00.000-10:00

CFHT's Spectacular 2006 calendars are now available for purchase

:: CFHT Library Weblog ::

What does a half million galaxies look like?

New Space Telescope Could Search for Both Exoplanets and Dark New Space Telescope Could Search for Both Exoplanets and Dark Energy

It's a dog eat dog universe

On Top of the World With the SETI Institute

CFHT in the news

HOKU

CFHT and Chandra X-Ray image...

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection: The Crab Nebula

Astronomers Discover Youngest and Lowest Mass Dwarfs

Oldest and Most Distant Water in the Universe Detected

Astronomy picture of the day... from CFHT

CFHT in "Around the world in 80 telescopes"

Star-gazing: Canada Post stamps are out of this world!

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope* (*CFHT*)

From Earth to the Universe Exhibition

Image of the Day

Pulp Vision: Developing an application aimed at the general public

The Cosmic Poster Contest co-sponsored by KTA and MKOOC

Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009 with your style!

APOD (Astronomy Picture Of the Day)

The world's top ten telescopes revealed

Exoplanet of 2 Earth masses

The Top of The Best

Family Astronomy Night at Thelma Parker Library....

Another great Mauna Kea video

HOKU

HOKU

Pierre Martin Named Director of the WIYN Observatory

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope provides this stunning image of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, also known as Abell 426.

2008 ASP Annual Award Winners

The Fox Fur Nebula from CFHT

HOKU

HOKU : Volume 7, Number 3, 2007

Comet Holmes Bigger Than The Sun

Nature's recipe for building new worlds: a zest of magnetic fields?

CFHT on news.com

Mystery of a Cosmic 'Train Wreck'

ScienceHack

Merope We Roll Along

HOKU : Vol. 7, No. 2, 2007

CFHT in the news

Earth Guide

EarthNow!

HOKU : March 2007 edition now ready

1946 Hawai'i Tsunami publication now available online

The digital book index

Canada France Hawaii Telescope - Images of the Cosmos

Gathering the Forgotten Voice: An Oral History of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescopes' Early Years

International Astronomy Meetings List

Aerial view of Mauna Kea

Multilingual Keyboard Emulator.

Detecting Dark Matter No Longer a Massive Task

CFHT in the news

Universe Today

HOKU : An Online Educational Newsletter for Parents and Educators

What will be the biggest scientific breakthroughs of the next 50 years?

CFHT News Regarding Earthquake Damage

'Champagne Supernova' breaks astronomical rules

Big Bang sounded like a deep hum

CFHT - image of the day

Selected Educational Resources - Category : Astronomy

The Space Shuttle Atlantis and The International Space Station ...crossing the Sun.

Stardust@home

Spacecraft strikes Moon with intense flash

Physics Flash Animations [Macromedia Flash Player]

Solar System Simulator

Libraries

Journey Through the Galaxy

Famous astronomers and astrophysicists [electronic resource]

HOKU: An Online Astronomy Newsletter for Educators and Parents

Bookmooch

3D Star Maps by Winchell Chung

Top 5 Science Blogs

Life Near a Supernova

Starlight: a meditation.

Virtual Visit of the Canadian Space Agency [Macromedia Flash Player]

Three cosmic enigmas, one audacious answer

The world's largest scientific instrument is under construction beneath the polar ice

Ancient observatories from space

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope* (CFHT)