Issued by:
Inge Heyer
Chair, Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee
Email: outreach@jach.hawaii.edu
Tel: +1 808 969 6524

Images, and contact details appear below.

31 March 2009

Hawai`i's Mauna Kea Observatories to lead off International Astronomy Webcast

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. Many public events are planned in 140 nations around the globe, one of which is "100 Hours of Astronomy," which will encourage the public to actively participate in astronomy by offering, among many events, a 24-hour live webcast from the control rooms of 80 professional observatories around the world.

The live webcast will start off at 11pm on 2 April in Hawai`i, with the Mauna Kea Observatories being the first to show the worldwide public a glimpse into the control room of a working observatory. All observatories will introduce themselves via a 5-minute video, followed by a 10-minute live conversation with the observers in the control room. During this time they will introduce a new image from each observatory that has not been publicly seen before.

Here are the scheduled times for the Mauna Kea Observatories. They will be followed by many others around the world.

Hawai`i Date		Hawai`i Time		Observatory
Apr 2		11:00pm		Gemini Observatory
Apr 2		11:20pm		Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Apr 2		11:40pm		United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)
Apr 3		00:00am		W.M. Keck Observatory
Apr 3		00:20am		James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT)
Apr 3		00:40am		Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
Apr 3		01:00am		Smithsonian Submillimeter Array (SMA)
Apr 3		01:20am		Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO)

For more information on this event, and to view the webcast, please go to "Around the World in 80 Telescopes".

For more information on the outreach activities of the Mauna Kea Observatories, please go to the MKOOC Website.

Images

Local Media Contacts

Please note that it is best to contact these individuals by email.

• Inge Heyer, Science Outreach Specialist
  Joint Astronomy Centre (UKIRT, JCMT)
  Email: outreach@jach.hawaii.edu
  Desk: +1 808 969 6524
  
• Peter Michaud, Public Information Officer
  Gemini Observatory
  Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu
  Desk: +1 808 974 2510
  
• Saeko Hayashi, Public Information and Outreach Office
  Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
  Email: saeko@naoj.org
  Desk: +1 808 934 5947
  
• Ashley Yeager, Public Information Officer
  W.M. Keck Observatory
  Email: ayeager@keck.hawaii.edu
  Desk: +1 808 881 3827
  
• Mary Beth Laychak, Public Information Officer
  Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
  Email: mary@cfht.hawaii.edu
  Desk: +1 808 885-7944
  
• Shelbi Hostler, Astrophysicist/Telescope Operator
  Smithsonian Submillimeter Array
  Email: shostler@cfa.harvard.edu
  Desk: +1 808 961-2952
  
• Hiroko Shinnaga, Staff Research Scientist
  Caltech Submillimeter Observatory
  Email: shinnaga@submm.caltech.edu
  Desk: +1 808 935-1909
  

Web Links

Around the World in 80 Telescopes - 100 Hours of Astronomy Live Webcast

http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/component/content/article/34-site-navigation/75-live-24-hour-research-observatory-webcast

Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee

http://www.mkooc.org

Joint Astronomy Centre (UKIRT and JCMT)

http://outreach.jach.hawaii.edu/

Gemini Observatory

http://www.gemini.edu

Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

http://www.naoj.org

W.M. Keck Observatory

http://www.keckobservatory.org

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)

http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu

Smithsonian Submillimeter Array (SMA)

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/sma/

Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO)

http://www.submm.caltech.edu/cso/

This press release

http://outreach.jach.hawaii.edu/pressroom/2009_iya100hrs