ASTR OR ON F O E M T No. 37 • 2010 Y U

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S A Newsletter from the N I Institute for Astronomy U n ‘ i i i ve a Na¯ Kilo Ho¯ku¯ r aw THE ONES WHO LOOK TO THE University of Hawai‘i sity of H Hasinger New IfA Director Günther Hasinger, whose work has been instrumental in the operation of X-ray satellites and the development of future observatories, has been appointed director of the Institute for Astronomy, effective January 2, 2011. Hasinger is currently the scientific director at the Max Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching, near Munich, Germany. His work there focused on the synergies between astrophysics and plasma physics—introducing modern X-ray diagnostics into fusion physics, with the aim of reproducing the Sun’s source of energy in a fusion power plant. Hasinger is a world leader in the field of X-ray astronomy and in the study of black holes. Together with his colleagues, he has resolved the cosmic X-ray background radiation into discrete objects, which were then identified mainly as active black holes in distant galaxies. These studies showed that the cosmological evolution of active galactic nuclei (the centers of galaxies that emit much more radiation than can be produced by stars alone) is closely associated with the -forming history of SLACS strong lens object galaxies in the Universe and that black holes are likely motors for the SDSSJ1430 development of galaxies. Hasinger received his physics diploma from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, and a PhD in astronomy from LMU for research done at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). He served as director of the Astrophysical See Hasinger, pg 3

EPOXI: , Part 2 What’s Inside by Louise Good Remember the Deep Impact mission? In July 2005, the Solar Eclipse 2010 pg 2 Deep Impact spacecraft left an impactor in the path of so that the two would collide, Masursky Award pg 3 enabling scientists to see the inside of a comet. The HI STAR pg 4 impactor was, of course, destroyed, but the main part of the spacecraft continued to function well, and Faculty Profile pg 5 NASA, not wishing to waste a perfectly good Are We Alone? pg 6 spacecraft, gave it a new mission. 2011 IfA Calendar They named this mission EPOXI because it actually Upcoming Events pg 7 was two missions stuck together: EPOCh, the Extrasolar Observation and Characterization pg 8 From the Director investigation, which observed stars with known transiting giant from January to August 2008, The EPOXI spacecraft took this image of Comet Hartley 2 as it and DIXI, the Deep Impact eXtended Investigation of flew by the comet around 3:59 a.m. HST on November 4 at a . The goals of DIXI are to understand how distance of about 435 miles (700 km). Jets can be seen streaming features of a cometary nucleus (the solid part of the out of the nucleus. Photo courtesy NASA. comet) relate to those of the coma (the envelope of gas In the early morning hours of November 4 HST, the and dust around the nucleus), to study the diversity of spacecraft made its closest approach (435 miles/700 cometary nuclei and the heterogeneity within a km) to Comet Hartley 2. It is the smallest comet ever The University of Hawai‘i cometary nucleus, and to learn more about the origin is an Equal Opportunity/ seen close-up, a mere 0.37 miles (0.6 km) in average of the system by studying the structure, Affirmative Action Institution. radius, but the nucleus itself is highly elongated, that composition, and formation of cometary nuclei. is, it is long and narrow. Please see EPOXI, pg 7 tons of equipment from Papeete. The liquid nitrogen barely made it to Tatakoto because of a firefighter’s strike in Papeete the week the empty dewars (thermos-like containers) arrived from Honolulu. The dewars were to be filled in time to catch a boat to Tatakoto, but missed the boat by a few hours. Through tactful negotiations, Air Liquide and DHL Danzas (which transported the dewars to Papeete) convinced Air Tahiti to fly the filled dewars to Hao in time to catch up with the boat going to Tatakoto. Eclipse observations provide unique opportunities for exploring the ionized gas, or corona, that forms the extended atmosphere of the Sun. The temperature of this gas exceeds a million degrees, so it is not possible to replicate coronal processes in laboratories. Curiously, the heavier elements, such as iron, nickel, and sulfur, which only constitute a minute fraction of the bulk protons and electrons forming this gas, offer important clues about its behavior and properties, particularly the escaping component known as the solar . Fortunately, these ions emit light at well-known wavelengths. By selecting filters centered on these wavelengths, we can explore the behavior of these ions. We imaged the corona in seven spectral lines—five iron lines characteristic of plasma temperatures ranging from half a million to over 2 million degrees Kelvin (3.6 million degrees F), a cool 10,000-degree hydrogen line, and a The 2010 solar eclipse 2010 Solar Eclipse Expedition 3-million-degree nickel line. Spectral measurements were expedition observed five by Shadia Habbal also made with three different spectrographs, and Lin set iron lines (Fe IX, Fe X, Fe up his very ambitious polarization experiment to measure Mounting a solar eclipse expedition requires advance XI, Fe XIII, Fe XIV), one the magnetic field direction and strength in a region of the planning, patience, and optimism. The best options for the hydrogen line (H-alpha), and corona. July 11 eclipse were a few atolls in French Polynesia. We a nickel line (Ni XV). It was The clouds looked rather ominous at 6 a.m. on the needed a usable airstrip and accommodation for 20 people. the first time that the corona morning of the eclipse. Fortunately, the Sun rose above We also needed 100 liters of liquid nitrogen for Haosheng was imaged in Fe IX and Ni them before totality began at 8:47 a.m. Despite the rolling Lin’s polarization experiment. XV. © 2010 Miloslav clouds during the four minutes of totality, imaging Druckmüller, Martin The largest atoll that seemed to fulfill our requirements simultaneously in the spectral lines and their neighboring Dietzel, Shadia Habbal, was Hao. Bed and breakfast manager François Dantzer continuum enabled us to remove the effects of the clouds. Vojtech Rusin assured me that he could find accommodations for us When the images were subtracted from each other, they there. A week later, he contacted me to say that Tatakoto, exposed the pure emission from hydrogen, iron, and nickel. an atoll 745 miles (1,200 km) from Tahiti’s capital, Preliminary results show that there is a very distinct Papeete, would offer a longer eclipse, and it had a landing separation between the solar features seen in the cooler Our group consisted of a strip. He also said that our group could use the local school emission lines and those seen in the hotter ones. Some 12-member IfA team as our staging and observing site, and as sleeping quarters. I solar features were seen in iron lines but not in white light. (including several European contacted the school’s headmaster, Heifara Lanteires, and The explanation is rather simple and neat: Initially, all the collaborators) and an got the ball rolling. ions are linked together, but if there is not enough energy eight-member team from Getting to Tatakoto was a challenge. We had to charter for all of them to escape the solar gravitational field, the Italy. Standing, from left to a plane from Air Tahiti to transport us and our nearly two heavier ions lag behind. right: P. Calcidese, L. Casetti, C. Benna, S. Fineschi, G. Capobianco, V. Rusin, H. Lin, J. Saken, A. Daw, M. Druckmüller, A. Ding. Seated: M. Arndt, F. Trevisan, M. Romoli, G. Massone, G. Nitta, J. Johnson, S. Habbal, M. Dietzel, H. Morgan.

2 Spectroscopy & Science Visible spectrum The spectrum of each chemical element is unique, like the fingerprint of a person. Each color spectral band of an element represents a particular wavelength of light. Spectral bands occur when an electron moves between two energy levels in an Hydrogen atom and emits energy as a photon (a particle of light). Measuring the strength and width of spectral lines allows the composition and physical properties of a substance to be determined. Neon Spectral lines are designated according to the level of ionization by adding a Roman numeral to the symbol of the chemical element. Neutral atoms are denoted by I, singly ionized atoms (those Iron missing one electron) with II, and so on. For example, Fe IX represents an iron atom that is The visible spectrum of light and emission line spectra of hydrogen, neon, and iron. Note that missing eight electrons. the heavier an element is, the more spectral bands it has.

Tokunaga Wins Masursky Award The Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Through his research, Tokunaga has made contributions Astronomical Society conferred the 2010 Harold Masursky to planetary science in the areas of the composition of Award on IfA astronomer Alan Tokunaga for his planetary atmospheres, , and comets. His research outstanding service to planetary science and exploration on has also delved into the composition of the interstellar October 6 at its annual meeting in Pasadena, California. medium and the formation of stars. Tokunaga has served as director of the NASA Infrared He has advanced infrared astronomy by standardizing Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea since 2000, the longest the filters used by various telescopes at infrared term in the history of that observatory. According to the wavelengths, and he wrote the infrared astronomy section award citation, he “has played an indispensable role in the in the latest edition of Allen’s Astrophysical Quantities, an growth of ground-based infrared astronomy of the solar important reference book for astronomers. system, and in furthering planetary science as a whole.” Alan Tokunaga Upon receiving the award, Tokunaga said, “A lot of the Since coming to UH in 1979, Tokunaga has worked on credit goes to the excellent staff we have at the facility. developing new instruments for the IRTF and Subaru They keep the telescope running every night.” telescopes, and under his directorship, there have been Tokunaga graduated from Baldwin High School on numerous improvements to the IRTF that have signifi- Maui, then received a bachelor’s degree in physics from cantly enhanced its image quality. The IRTF supports Pomona College in California, and master’s and doctoral NASA space missions by providing essential preliminary degrees in astronomy from the State University of New and follow-up observations of space mission targets. York at Stony Brook.

“We were delighted and grateful for the many outstand- Continued from pg 1 Hasinger ing candidates interested in this tremendously important Institute Potsdam from 1994 to 2001 and later as managing position,” said Ma¯noa Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw. “Dr. director of MPE. In 2007, he spent four months at IfA while Hasinger’s exemplary international space expertise and his on sabbatical. enthusiastic approach to partnering with our Hawai‘i He has received numerous awards for his research and community members and university colleagues created scientific achievements, including the Leibniz Prize of the much excitement about his leadership, so we warmly Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the significant welcome him into our ‘ohana. The opportunities for the research prize in Germany, and the international future are truly exciting and we are confident he will lead Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Award for his and partner in the best of ways for UH Ma¯noa and all of outstanding contributions to space science. Hawai‘i.” In addition to writing numerous scientific papers, Hasinger will replace Rolf-Peter Kudritzki, who will Hasinger is the author of an award-winning book, Fate of the relinquish the IfA directorship at the end of the year. Universe, which explains astrophysics and cosmology to a Kudritzki will use a 2010 Humboldt Research Award during wider audience. a 2011 sabbatical to investigate the physics of galaxies. 3 HI STAR: Inspiring Students by Katie Whitman This past summer, 16 enthusiastic middle and high school students, along with four of their teachers, participated in an astronomy camp at the University of Hawai‘i at Ma¯noa. Sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), the IfA, and the Center for Computational Heliophysics in Hawai‘i (C2H2), this camp, called Hawai‘i Student/Teacher Astronomy Research (HI STAR) and organized by IfA’s Mary Kadooka, has been operating since 2007. It provides an immersive scientific environment for motivated students and teachers from across the Hawaiian Islands. HI STAR lasts for six days. Its participants live in the UH dorms, eat at the university cafeteria, and attend lectures and participate in activities in classrooms and computer rooms on campus. Through NAI’s financial support, along with the cooperation of the UH and private sources of funding, HI STAR remains accessible to all students interested in astronomy, regardless of socioeco- nomic status. In each of the past four years of HI STAR, approximately 30 percent of the students were considered minority or at-risk students. The camp’s curriculum places a strong focus on introducing students to professional scientists. Through lectures, HI STAR campers learn about cutting-edge research from the scientists who actually carry out that research. This year, students learned about solar physics from Ilia Roussev (head of C2H2; see page 5), infrared astronomy and instrumentation from Alan Tokunaga (division chief for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility), astrobiology from Stephen Freeland (project manager of UH NAI), and the young solar system from Gary Huss (Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology). Karen Meech (IfA) gave a particularly special talk in which she shared the latest plans for the EPOXI mission (see page 1). The HI STAR curriculum was developed with the philosophy that giving students the opportunity to participate in science research before college will inspire them to choose science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Thus, students work directly with UH astronomer mentors throughout the week to complete a research project. On the last day of camp, students give 10-minute presentations describing their projects’ methodologies and results to the astronomy community at the IfA. In 2010, student projects explored the variability of stars, the rotation curves of asteroids, the orbital characteristics of a Centaur, transits, a hypothesized relationship between the phases of the Moon and earthquakes, and the relationship between the Sun’s variability and extragalactic cosmic rays. Students are encouraged to continue working with

Photos by Katie Whitman Katie by Photos mentors throughout the school year to complete science Top: Don Starkey, owner/operator of the DeKalb Telescope, Indiana, prepares students for its use. fair projects. In 2009, 60 percent of students completed Middle: Justin Yamagata, middle school teacher from Waimea Canyon School, Kauai, joined HI science fair projects, and 35 percent reached the State STAR with his students this year. Bottom: Student Lina Hang measures the length of a lens. Photo by Jonathan Williams Science and Engineering Fair. A number of students from the 2010 HI STAR are continuing to work with their mentors into the current school year, and Kadooka expects that many will complete science fair projects. In addition to doing research, the HI STAR students learn important physics concepts and the tools necessary to do astronomy through a combination of formal lectures, demonstrations, and interactive activities to ensure that all learning styles are addressed. That so many HI STAR students continue with long-term research projects indicates that HI STAR does generate interest in the sciences. The real test, however, is whether students Captions?. continue in the sciences when they go to college. To date, six HI STAR students have graduated from high school. Three have chosen STEM majors in college, two students have chosen nonscience majors, and one has joined the 2010 HI STAR participants. Because there are students and teachers who return from year Marine Corps. HI STAR organizers will continue to follow to year (half were returnees in 2010), the curriculum continues to evolve to avoid repetition. up with students as they graduate. In 2010, physics topics covered included plasma, optics, angular momentum, electricity and http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/UHNAI/new-epo.htm magnetism, and particle radiation. To investigate topics in astronomy, students were introduced to a variety of software packages and carried out observations with the 2-meter Faulkes Telescope on Haleakala¯ and the De Kalb Telescope in Indiana. Faculty Profile: Ilia Roussev by Katie Whitman Originally from Bulgaria, Roussev earned his PhD Heliophysicist Ilia Rous- from the School of Mathematics and Physics at the sev studies the origin and Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. He then evolution of the most worked at the Center for Environmental Space Modeling energetic, and potentially at the University of Michigan, where he carried out most damaging, events on analytical and computational studies of the solar the Sun. He investigates atmosphere. Roussev joined the IfA faculty in 2006. the structure and evolu- tion of the Sun’s In 2008, Roussev founded the Center for Computa- magnetic field, the initia- tional Heliophysics in Hawai‘i (C2H2). The research tion of massive solar group currently includes Roussev, astronomer Noé outbursts called coronal Lugaz, three graduate students, and an outside collabo- mass ejections, and the resulting space weather in our rator from Belgium. Along with its primary goal of doing solar system. He takes a theoretical approach to these computational studies of the Sun, C2H2 is also heavily problems, developing physics-based computer models involved in public outreach. Under Roussev’s guidance, that are run on a 168-processor supercomputer housed C2H2 astronomers and public outreach specialists visit at the IfA’s Advanced Technology Research Center on classrooms, hold workshops, work closely with high Maui. Roussev is interested in the Sun because its school and middle school teachers to incorporate helio- activity has a vast impact on . “The Sun provides physics into their curriculum, and mentor students light and heat that makes life possible, but it is also very working on science fair projects. Additionally, C2H2 dangerous for life and technology,” he says. focuses on the long-term development of an educational website that provides materials, tutorials, and resources Working with collaborators at the Niels Bohr for interested students and teachers. Public outreach is Institute in Copenhagen, Roussev’s most recent work close to Roussev’s heart, “I was given this opportunity involves developing a realistic model of the Sun’s when I was in middle school, and I should give the same magnetic field that starts deep down in the Sun’s opportunity to students wherever I go. I’m very excited convection zone, and then follows the field as it and very happy to be able to do that.” emerges through the photosphere (the Sun’s visible surface) and expands into the corona. When modeling Roussev is very active in the broader heliophysics coronal mass ejections, solar astronomers typically community. This year, he was a primary organizer of assume what the magnetic field looks like in the the Solar Heliospheric and INterplanetary Environment photosphere, then go from there. Roussev explains that (SHINE) workshop in New Mexico. starting in the convection zone is what makes this When not working on one of his projects, Roussev project unique. The collaboration has produced some likes to practice martial arts with his daughter Ana and interesting results, which will be published within the to collect silver coins. next year. 5 http://c2h2.ifa.hawaii.edu The components of the equation, which are all multi- plied together, are (a) the number of stars born in our Galaxy each year that might have planetary systems suitable for life, (b) the fraction of those stars that do have planets, (c) the number of planets in each planetary system that are habitable, (d) the fraction of habitable planets that actually have life, (e) the fraction of life-bearing planets that have intelligent life, (f) the fraction of those with intelligent life that can send detectable radio signals into space, and (g) the average number of years such communicating civilizations last. While there are 100 billion stars in the Galaxy, only a few are likely to support intelligent life. Some are too hot and short-lived, while others are too small to have a planet likely to support intelligent life. Only mid-sized stars like our Sun are likely to do so. How many of these are born each year? The consensus of the scientific community announced by Desch after the contestant, local expert panel, and audience had had their say is (a) two, (b) only half of these stars will actually have planets, and in those planetary systems, (c) only one planet is likely to be habitable. But what does habitable mean? So far, we know of only one habitable planet—Earth. Generally, habitable means that a planet has liquid water, and in our solar system, only Earth has water on its surface. However, there are organisms living near volcanic vents deep beneath the sea, inside rocks, and in extremely cold

Art by Karen Teramura Karen by Art conditions. Because primitive life formed within the first billion years of Earth’s existence and can exist even Are We Alone in the Milky Way? under extreme conditions, scientists guess that (d) close by Louise Good to 100 percent of habitable planets will have life. The Frontiers of Astronomy Community Event held But it is a long, long road (over 3 billion years) from The UH NASA Astrobiology on November 17 on the Ma¯noa campus tackled the primitive life to intelligent life, so chances are that (e) Institute, led by Principal question of whether we are likely to have company only one percent of planets with life will develop intelli- Investigator Karen Meech, is (other intelligent life) in our Milky Way Galaxy. gent life, and (f) only one percent of those with intelli- a research center that links Entitled “Who Wants to Be a One-In-A-Millionaire? gent life will be able to communicate across interstellar the biological, chemical, The Odds of Intelligent Life & Civilization in the space. Although 70 percent of its surface is covered with geological, and astronomical Galaxy,” it used the format of the popular game show water, Earth may be one of the drier planets with intelli- sciences to better understand Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? gent life. Some planets with intelligent life may be the role of water in the origin, The UH NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) totally covered with water, and dolphins, while quite history, and distribution of presented the program, and Steven Desch of Arizona bright, are not physically able to build anything. life in the Universe. State University, a visitor to UHNAI, served as host. Finally, how long will a civilization capable of Biologist Stephen Freeland, astronomer Karen Meech, communicating across space last? If you are a pessimist, www.ifa.hawaii.edu/UHNAI and planetary scientist Jeff Taylor served as an expert you say 100 years, given that nuclear weapons and panel for contestants, chosen from the audience, to environmental degradation seem to go hand in hand consult as a lifeline. Contestants also consulted the with such technological capabilities. Optimists may say members of the audience equipped with “clickers” 10,000 years. Desch proposed to use (g) 1,000 years as that enabled them to vote for a selection of answers. For more public IfA events: this value. The program consisted of a discussion of the Drake www.ifa.hawaii.edu So what is the answer to this equation? The values equation, which was first proposed in 1961 by radio that Desch suggested the scientific community might astronomer Frank Drake to determine the number of pick equal 0.1. This means that there is one intelligent civilizations in our Galaxy from which we might communicating civilization at a time that lasts for 1,000 receive radio transmissions. Desch emphasized that there are no right or wrong answers, since even years out of each 10,000. The total based on answers from the night’s contestants was even smaller, 0.002. In 6 scientists have insufficient data to come to a clear conclusion. either case, we are essentially alone. Upcoming Events

Please check with the sponsoring organization to confirm times and locations for all events.

O‘ahu Events: call (808) 956-8566 www.ifa.hawaii.edu/specialevents/ Wednesday, December 8, “Einstein vs. Santa: Is Santa Breaking the Laws of Relativity?” Robert Jedicke (IfA), 7:30 p.m., UH Ma¯noa Art Building Auditorium (Room 132). Free.

Maui Events: call (808) 573-9516, Maui Maikalani Community Lectures usually occur on the second Friday of the month. www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakalanew/outreach/

Photo by Rob Ratkowski Rob by Photo Hawai‘i Island Events: [email protected] The 2011 IfA calendar features a picture of the Pan-STARRS 1 Telescope atop Haleakala¯. Conceived and (808) 932-2328 or designed at the IfA, PS1 is operated remotely from the IfA’s Advanced Technology Research Center in Journey through the Universe: Pukalani, Maui. Donors to the IfA may request a calendar at no cost. Sunday, February 13, Family Science Day, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. Free. Wednesday, February 16, Family Science EPOXI Continued from pg 1 Night:, 6-9 p.m., University of Hawai‘i University of Maryland astronomer Michael A’Hearn, one of the originators of and principal at Hilo Theatre. Free. investigator for both Deep Impact and EPOXI, said, “The images are full of great cometary data, www.gemini.edu/journey and that's what we hoped for.” VISITING MAUNA KEA IfA astronomer Karen Meech is a member of the DIXI science team. She has been in charge of The Onizuka Center for International the ground-based observations for the mission. She said, “We have now seen five comets up close. Astronomy Visitor Information Station Since comets tell us about the chemistry and physical conditions of the early solar system, the (VIS) at Hale Poˉhaku (9,300–foot more we learn about comets, which delivered some of Earth’s early water and organic level of Mauna Kea) is open daily, compounds, the more we may learn about how life began on Earth. The images of this nucleus 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. were absolutely amazing!” "The Universe Tonight" features recent All together, an international consortium of more than one hundred observers from 10 discoveries, 6:00 p.m., first Saturday countries have been allocated over 500 whole or partial nights with 58 telescopes to observe the of every month. comet from Earth from summer 2008 through winter 2011. This includes using seven space and "Malalo I Ka Lani Poˉ," cultural aspects airborne observing platforms. IfA researchers using the Hubble and the Gemini of Mauna Kea, 6:00 p.m., third North (on Mauna Kea) and South (in Chile) telescopes played a key role in understanding how fast Saturday of every month. the nucleus was spinning, and gave us our first early hint that the nucleus would be elongated. Public stargazing nightly from 6:00 to Comparisons with data from Tempel 1, taken with the exact same instruments, will be 10:00 p.m. Summit tours begin at the VIS at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and particularly useful for determining which cometary features represent primordial differences and Sunday. For essential information, which result from subsequent evolutionary processes. Hartley 2 is smaller and more active than see Tempel 1, and there was more sunlight during the encounter with the former because the www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/summittour.html encounter occurred slightly closer to the Sun, so all measurements should be significantly improved. Comet 103P/Hartley 2, discovered in 1986 by Malcolm Hartley, makes one orbit of the Sun every 6.4 years. The comet made a close approach to Earth on October 15, 2010, at a distance of 11 million miles (18 million km), which is only 47 times the average distance to the Moon. This ASTR OR ON gave astronomers on Mauna Kea and at other observatories to get an excellent opportunity to take F O E M T Y high-resolution images of the comet, including radar images from the nucleus. U

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Comet Hartley 2 became the target of the DIXI mission when Comet Boethin could not be N I

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Dear Friends of the Institute for Astronomy, Ten years is a long time. Thus, I have concluded that after 10 years as the director of the IfA, this would be a good moment to step down and continue in my faculty position. My decision is mostly science motivated. For almost 30 years, I have worked in director positions. During these years, I have always managed, with the help of outstanding collaborators and students, to continue with my science work. It has taken a lot of my own time, energy, sweat and blood, mostly after hours or over weekends, and sometimes during office hours, when I should have been doing the “director job.” Over the years, the thought of being a full-time scientist has become more and more attractive. I have developed plans for a most exciting science project, for which my collaborators and I will use every large telescope on this planet extensively, and for which a lot of new theory work will be needed. Of course, as a faculty member, I will also have other things to do. I will certainly teach (I love teaching anyway) and will contribute to the Institute in many ways, just as everybody does. Photo by Rainer Arlt/AIP, Astronomischen Gesellschaft 2009, Potsdam With the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope, Pan-STARRS, and the existing telescopes on Mauna Kea and Haleakala¯, the IfA has a brilliant future. We are a vibrant scientific place and certainly one of the leading astronomy institutes in the world. I welcome my successor Günther Hasinger to the IfA. With him as the new director, we will be able to develop our vision and strategy for the next decades and take this world-class institute to the next level. The really good thing is that this is not a goodbye. I will meet you in the hallways of the IfA and at the many IfA events, and we will have plenty of opportunities to share our excitement about astronomy, as we have always done. Aloha! Rolf-Peter Kudritzki Director, Institute for Astronomy

ASTR OR ON F O E M T Y U UH Institute for Astronomy

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Na¯ Kilo Ho¯ku¯ “The Ones Who Look to the Stars” No. 37 • 2010 Published by The University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy

Rolf-Peter Kudritzki IfA Director

Louise H. Good Editor

Karen Teramura Design/Production

Education & Outreach Gary Fujihara, Island of Hawai‘i Mary Kadooka, O‘ahu, all islands J. D. Armstrong, Maui

2680 Woodlawn Drive Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822 telephone (808) 956-8566

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/

Na¯ Kilo Ho¯ku¯ is also online: www2.ifa.hawaii.edu/newsletters/