Malaki (March) 2016

Volume 11, Issue 3

Monthly Updates

Calendar

Planetarium Schedule
New Monthly Lineup!

Monthly Star Chart
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Quick Links

Membership

Corporate Membership

Donate

Facility Rentals

Sky Garden Restaurant

HPR Stargazer

Spring Camp 'IMI-Possible
is Filling Up

A few places are left for junior explorers and innovators in grades 1 & 2 for Camp 'IMI-Possible's spring intersession Constellation Camp, to be held Monday through Thursday, March 21-24.

Designed for children in grades K-3, the camp will run from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm (with drop-off available at 7:30 am and pick-up by 4:15 pm). Cost is $175 for members and $200 for non-members. This program is filling up quickly, so don't delay. Click for more information >

ʻImiloa celebrates 10 years of sharing the wonders of science

Click video above or read more
on the UH website.

Led Zeppelin

The next Led Zeppelin Planetarium Rock Show dates are Fridays, March 4 & 11 at 7 pm. See the music come to life!

Stargazing Live

View the cold, clear Maunakea night sky from the comfort of the 'Imiloa planetarium during Stargazing Live. Join us on a journey to explore the stars and distant celestial objects from Maunakea's 9,000-foot level in real time. The next showing will take place on Friday, March 25 at 7 pm.

New in the
Bank of Hawaii
'Imiloa Store

Kealopiko's hīna'i halter dress is as comfortable as it is beautiful. We also carry various tops for both men and women with the hīna'i, or basket fish trap, design. Inquiries? Call our store at (808) 932-8903. Don't forget to ask for your 10% member discount. You will also receive Member Loyalty Credit for additional savings!

Mahalo to our Renewing Corporate Members!

Ka Ho'okele Member

Ke Kāpena Members

Ka Li'ulā Member

Ke Kaiao Member

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Mahalo to our
Corporate Members!

Ka Ho'okele Member

Ke Kāpena Members

Ka Hāweo Members

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View our entire

Corporate 'Ohana

'Imiloa Ikebana

Mahalo nui loa to Ikebana practitioners & 'Imiloa volunteers, Sharon Midallia and Katsuyo Iwase, who generously donate gorgeous flower arrangements to 'Imiloa! Please take a moment to enjoy these beautiful displays of nature as you enter our atrium.

Renew Your
Membership
Online Today!

Mahalo

Mahalo for your support of our programs. Please send your comments and feedback to our Membership Office at membership@imiloahawaii.org or call (808) 932-8926.

This Month's Articles at a Glance

Merrie Monarch Events at 'Imiloa
Maunakea Skies, March 18 at 7 pm
New Planetarium Show Lineup
New Exhibits Made Possible by NAOJ and Subaru Telescope
Mahalo to the Community for Celebrating Our 10th Birthday with Us!
Image of the Month

Merrie Monarch Events at 'Imiloa

During the last week of March, the week after Easter, the highly anticipated 53rd annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival and Competition will get underway in Hilo. During this special week, 'Imiloa will offer a three-day showcase of presentations and performances at 10 am and 1 pm on Wednesday, March 30, Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1 in support of the Merrie Monarch Festival. Please stay tuned and check your in-box for a schedule of events.

Ticket pre-sales will begin Tuesday, March 15 for the events being held March 30-April 1, 2016 so be sure to mark your calendar as we expect to sell out! Pre-sale tickets to each session are $8 for members or $10 for non-members. Only a handful of tickets will be available on the day of the performance (priced at $15). All admission proceeds benefit enrichment programming at 'Imiloa. Tickets are non-refundable. Pre-purchase tickets starting March 15 at the 'Imiloa front desk or by phone at (808) 932-8901.

Maunakea Skies, March 18 at 7 pm

'Imiloa's monthly Maunakea Skies planetarium presentations are held on the third Friday of each month. Each presentation begins with a tour of the current night sky, featuring stars, constellations, and planets visible to the unaided eye, in our stunning Hawai'i Island skies. Following this, a special guest representing one of Maunakea's world class observatories presents on a topic of his/her choosing. After the presentation, audience members are able to ask their own astronomy questions during a Q&A with the special guest presenter.

March's topic:
Zoo in Space:
Did Pigs, Bees, Frogs, Spiders & Butterflies Really Fly in Space?

Speaker:
Rob Kelso, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES)

Host:
Emily Peavy, 'Imiloa

This entertaining briefing focuses on some humorous animals and insects that have flown in space....or did they? Come hear their space story on WHY they flew in space. You will surely be educated and surprised. As an added benefit, Mr. Kelso will discuss some of the intriguing problems of living in space...how to shampoo hair, why don't astronauts eat sliced bread, ....and how do they go to the bathroom during space walks. Join us for a fun-filled evening as we explore the secret world of a "Zoo in Space."

Cost is $8 for Kupuna, Individual, Dual, and Family members; $6 for Patron Members; Free for Silver, Gold, and Corporate Members. Non-member rate is $10. Pre-purchase tickets at the 'Imiloa front desk or by phone at 932-8901.

New Planetarium Show Lineup

March 1 - March 31

Tuesday - Sunday
12 pm       Skies Above Hawai'i (3D live show)
1 pm       Maunakea: Between Earth and Sky
2 pm       Awesome Light 3 (3D):
                Chasing Celestial Mysteries
3 pm       Back to the Moon for Good

Saturday Keiki Show
10am        Magic Tree House�: Space Mission

Friday Evening Programming at 7 pm
March 4    Led Zeppelin
March 11    Led Zeppelin
March 18    Maunakea Skies
March 25    Stargazing Live

Visit our planetarium webpage to see our schedule.

New Exhibits Made Possible by NAOJ and Subaru Telescope

On January 27, 2016, 'Imiloa's corporate and gold members had an exclusive opportunity to preview three new exhibits made possible through the support of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Subaru Telescope. Now on display in the 'Imiloa Exhibit Hall, these exhibits offer dazzling technology which enables our visitors to access--and even participate in--current astronomical research.

The 4D2U Theatre, 'Imiloa's intimate 3-D visualization space, has been upgraded to allow audiences to experience customized "flyouts," smoothly navigating from here on Earth through space to the edges of the

known Universe. Our 4D2U ("4D" for 3 dimensions of space plus time) Theatre remains the first and only system of its kind outside Japan.

The new WorldWide Telescope is another visualization environment that enables visitors to step into a virtual telescope and navigate their way through images downloaded from the telescopes on Maunakea and elsewhere. Using simple hand motions, they are able to seamlessly pan and zoom across the night sky in a media-rich, immersive experience.

The third exhibit introduces the Panoptic Astronomical Networked OPtical observatory for Transiting Exoplanets Survey (PANOPTES) project, which is a "citizen science" effort being launched from here in Hilo to enable astronomy enthusiasts to help identify "candidate exoplanets" that may sustain life outside our solar system.

The recent in-kind contributions from NAOJ and Subaru, including these three exhibits, totaled nearly $80,000 worth of technology, ranging from new computers and projectors to projector screens, iPads, 3-D glasses, and equipment hardware. While the new exhibits are on public display for all 'Imiloa visitors to experience, other pieces of the donated equipment are powering 'Imiloa's work behind the scenes. These donations include a new Insta-On system that fully automates turning on and off the Exhibit Hall with a single switch; video monitors providing programming updates to diners in Sky Garden Restaurant; and a state-of-the-art ceiling-mounted projector and 248 ft. diagonal projection screen that bring video and presentations to life in Moanahoku Hall!

'Imiloa Executive Director Ka'iu Kimura commented, "We are deeply indebted to NAOJ and Subaru Telescope for their exemplary corporate citizenship and for the many contributions they have made through 'Imiloa to benefit the entire Hawai'i Island community. As 'Imiloa celebrates the 10th anniversary of our 2006 opening, we salute the visionary leadership of NAOJ and Subaru for their vote of confidence in 'Imiloa and our joint commitment to inspiring the next generation of explorers and innovators!"

Mahalo to the Community for Celebrating Our 10th Birthday with Us!

Over 2,500 people took part in our 10th Birthday Celebration event on Sunday, February 21, 2016. It was a day filled with food, fun, games, planetarium shows, music, laughs and exploration for all.

Our special day wouldn't have been possible without the amazing support from our community over the past decade. Mahalo to everyone who came to celebrate with us, and mahalo to community members who have visited and supported us since we opened our doors 10 years ago.

'Imiloa Turns 10!

A big mahalo to KTA Superstores for sponsoring this free family event, and for providing such a fun day filled with so many activities for the community. Mahalo to the following for making our birthday extra special:

KTA Super Stores
AJ & Sons Catering
Canada-France-Hawai'i Telescope
College of Pharmacy, UHH
Creative Arts Hawaii
Francis H. I'i Brown Golf Courses/Mauna Lani Resort
Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Hilo Boy Scouts of America
Kawailani Mart
Kiwanis & Circle K Clubs
Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows
Meadow Gold
National Guard Youth Challenge
'Ohana Wa'a
'Ōiwi TV
School of Education, UHH
Starbase Hawai'i
Subaru Telescope/NAOJ
Suisan
UHH Performing Arts
United Community Church

Image of the Month

Two Black Holes Merge into One

Image Credit: Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS)

The above image is a portion of a computer simulation of an event that has led to the recently announced confirmation of Einstein's key theory of general relativity. Over the past few months scientists have been studying data from the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, where they have confirmed the first ever detection of gravitational waves. These waves were created in the dramatic collision of two massive black holes, which estimated to have been about 29 and 36 times the mass of our sun. As these black holes orbited each other, they lost energy through gravitational waves, causing them to gradually approach each other (over billions of years!) until they collided at an extraordinary speed, forming an even more massive black hole (converting a portion of the combined black holes' mass to energy, according to Einstein's formula E=mc2). This collision emitted a final strong burst of gravitational waves, which we are now detecting. This collision of black holes is thought to have occurred 1.3 billion years ago in a galaxy in our southern hemisphere sky. One of the most curious things about these newly confirmed gravitational waves is that they travel at the speed of light; physicists are now studying how gravitational waves and light waves might be related to each other.

Read the press release >

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'Imiloa's mission is

to honor Maunakea by sharing

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to inspire exploration.

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