(BIVN) – A one-month long, virtual open house kicked off on Saturday, giving the public a chance to learn about the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo teaching telescope proposed for the Halepōhaku area of Maunakea.

From the University of Hawaiʻi:

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo invites the public to participate in a month-long, virtual open house to learn about the proposed 28-inch educational telescope at Halepōhaku, the mid-level facility on Maunakea. The educational telescope will be available to UH students, faculty and the community and will replace UH Hilo’s Hōkū Keʻa telescope on the summit of Maunakea that is currently being decommissioned.

The virtual open house runs from September 26 to October 26 and will provide information on the proposed telescope, the proposed site, and a tentative project timeline. It runs for a month giving the public an opportunity to review the information and provide important feedback. The comments can be submitted to the virtual open house website and will be used to finalize the proposal before the planning and permitting process begins.

“We want this to be as open and transparent as possible and public feedback is key in our stewardship of UH managed lands on Maunakea,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “This teaching telescope will be a tremendous educational tool for our students, and the wider community, to engage in hands-on, world-class research.”

UH Hilo purchased a 28-inch state-of-the-art telescope and remotely-operated dome to replace the non-working one on the summit. UH Hilo is looking for another site to house this telescope.

New UH Hilo educational telescope, image courtesy UH-Hilo

The new telescope will train students across the UH system in modern observational techniques, provide opportunities for undergraduate research, and allow users to gain experience in telescope operations, according to the university’s proposal. The students will be able to monitor a wide array of phenomena including asteroids, comets and supernovas, which would be invaluable for those seeking a career in astronomy. UH students and faculty will utilize the telescope for laboratories and research projects as well as outreach events and programs involving the community. UH Hilo will also work closely with Hawaiʻi high schoolers and the community to develop opportunities in conducting observations with the educational telescope.

The UH Hilo Hōkū Keʻa on Maunakea is one of the two observatory facilities on the summit that is currently being decommissioned. It is anticipated the decommissioning of Hōkū Keʻa will be completed in 2023 and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory to be completed in 2022.