The UH88" telescope located on Maunakea in Hawaii is well positioned for the 21st century. It was the first large telescope built on Maunakea in 1968 and its observations led to the discovery of the Kuiper Belt in 1992. With recent refurbishments and funding for new instrumentation, the UH88" can continue its unique science and educational role. It has a superb location for astronomy and can enable innovative capabilities like robotic observing and adaptive optics to perform high cadence classification of supernovae and other targets. The telescope also provides students with hands-on experience and helps develop a STEM workforce through technology innovation.

1. A SMALL TELESCOPE IN THE
21ST CENTURY
GALAXY FORUM HAWAII 2019
MARK CHUN (UH/INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY)

2. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII 2.2-METER TELESCOPE (UH88”)
© Brian Fulda (https://captured.light.co/one-night-on-mars)

3. ▸ Built in 1968 and the first “large” telescope on Maunakea
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII 2.2-METER TELESCOPE (UH88”)
© Brian Fulda (https://captured.light.co/one-night-on-mars)

4. ▸ Built in 1968 and the first “large” telescope on Maunakea
▸ UH88” observations led to the discovery of the Kuiper belt in 1992
Kuiper belt was predicted
in 1951 as the icy remnants
of material that formed the
Solar system
© NASA
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII 2.2-METER TELESCOPE (UH88”)

5. ▸ Built in 1968 and the first “large” telescope on Maunakea
▸ UH88” observations led to the discovery of the Kuiper belt in 1992
▸ A history of student access and world-leading technology
development
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII 2.2-METER TELESCOPE (UH88”)
The “HAWAII” near
infrared detector
development (1980s
to now)
Photos by Sean Goebel and Don Hall

6. POSITIONING THE UH88” TELESCOPE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

7. POSITIONING THE UH88” TELESCOPE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
▸ Make use of its superb location on Maunakea
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

8. POSITIONING THE UH88” TELESCOPE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
▸ Make use of its superb location on Maunakea
▸ Enable unique science through innovative capabilities
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

9. POSITIONING THE UH88” TELESCOPE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
▸ Make use of its superb location on Maunakea
▸ Enable unique science through innovative capabilities
▸ Provide unique educational experiences via access for students
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

10. POSITIONING THE UH88” TELESCOPE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
▸ Make use of its superb location on Maunakea
▸ Enable unique science through innovative capabilities
▸ Provide unique educational experiences via access for students
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre
A key ingredient (funding!)
1. Recent major refurbishment of building and dome
2. $5M+ National Science Foundation funding for
instrumentation innovation
3. $1M proposal pending for robotic telescope operations

11. 1. UH88” - UNIQUE POSITION ON MAUNAKEA
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

12. 1. UH88” - UNIQUE POSITION ON MAUNAKEA
▸ Excellent site and in particular dark skies and excellent seeing
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

13. 1. UH88” - UNIQUE POSITION ON MAUNAKEA
▸ Excellent site and in particular dark skies and excellent seeing
▸ Close proximity to large telescopes and survey telescopes
© Jean-Charles Cuillandre

14. 2. UH88” - UNIQUE SCIENCE

15. 2. UH88” - UNIQUE SCIENCE
▸ Long-term access to high resolution observations in the visible
Hubble Space Telescope

16. 2. UH88” - UNIQUE SCIENCE
▸ Long-term access to high resolution observations in the visible
▸ Automated, high-cadence observing for “classification” science
Pan-Starrs
ATLAS & ASA-SN
Large Synoptic Survey
Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope

17. TEXT
2. UH88” - UNIQUE SCIENCE THRU UNIQUE CAPABILITIES

18. TEXT
AUTOMATED OBSERVING WITH A ROBOTIC TELESCOPE (ROBO-88)
▸ Ex: Supernovae
▸ Studies led to the realization
that the expansion of the
Universe is accelerating
▸ Many types of SN
▸ We are finding new SN
faster than we can currently
classify them
▸ Robo-88 will automatically
observe/classify SN found
by a variety of telescopes.

19. TEXT
HIGH-RES OBSERVATIONS WITH ADAPTIVE OPTICS (ROBO-AO)
▸ AO corrects for the distorting effects of the Earth’s
atmosphere turning blurry images into sharp images
Without adaptive optics With adaptive optics

20. TEXT
ADAPTIVE OPTICS

21. TEXT
ADAPTIVE OPTICS

22. Adaptive Optics OFF

23. Adaptive Optics ON

24. 3. UH88” - UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

25. 3. UH88” - UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
▸ Students can gain hands-on experience on the UH88” telescope

26. 3. UH88” - UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
▸ Students can gain hands-on experience on the UH88” telescope
▸ World-leading technology innovation develops a STEM work force
with skills applicable well beyond astronomy

27. 3. UH88” - UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
2019 Akamai IfA Interns
(HCC and UH-Hilo)
IfA graduate students
high-school interns
(HHS and WHS)

28. UH88”…A BRIGHT FUTURE
© Brian Fulda (https://captured.light.co/one-night-on-mars)
THANK YOU!