UH hosts open house
promoting astronomy

Activities for all ages will be featured at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy's annual Open House kicking off Astronomy Week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at 2680 Woodlawn Drive.

Astronomers will answer questions and give short lectures on black holes and killer asteroids. Hands-on activities will include sunspot viewing, comet making and rocket launching.

The Amateur Telescope Clinic, introduced last year, will provide advice about purchasing, assembling and using a telescope.

For the first time, visitors will be able to tour the laboratory where the world's largest digital cameras are being made and tested, such as the Pan-STARRS I telescope.

Pan-STARRS, which is being built on Haleakala, is a prototype of a four-telescope cluster that will map the entire sky every few days searching for "killer asteroids" and exploding stars.

Cameras on the telescopes have specially designed light-sensitive chips that are 2 inches square and contain more than 22 million pixels. Each camera when completed will have 60 chips and produce 2,500 gigabytes of data every night.

The IFA's Infrared Telescope Laboratory, Adaptive Optics Laboratory and Instrument Shop also will be open for tours.

Admission and parking are free.