UH astronomer earns
national recognition

David Jewitt credits the "powerhouse" University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy for his election to two prestigious national science academies and recent discovery of 12 new moons around Saturn.

David Jewitt: He and a fellow researcher discovered 12 new moons orbiting Saturn

The moons were found as part of a program he has been running about five years, "using the power of Mauna Kea to survey satellite systems of the planets," Jewitt said.

"It's a program of discovery. We couldn't do it anywhere else. ... That is why I got those prizes. The IFA is a great place to do science," he said.

Jewitt was one of 72 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors that can be given to a U.S. scientist or engineer.

He is one of only five UH-Manoa scientists recognized over the years with a lifetime membership to the academy for "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research."

Others are Ryuzo Yanagimachi, professor of anatomy and reproductive biology; George Herbig, IFA astronomer; Douglas Oliver, professor emeritus of anthropology; and the late Hampton Carson, professor emeritus of genetics and molecular biology.

Jewitt also is one of 213 new fellows selected for the American Academy of Arts and Scientists, composed of the world's leading scientists, scholars, artists, business people and public leaders.

Among other newly elected members to that academy are Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eric Cornell, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, journalist Tom Brokaw, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington.

Institute for Astronomy Director Rolf-Peter Kudritzki said, "I am extremely pleased to see that the outstanding work done at our institute is now really recognized and appreciated by our high-level peer institutions."

In 1992, Jewitt and postdoctoral fellow Jane Luu discovered what until then had been a theory: the Kuiper belt, a vast region beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is filled with more than 10 million cometlike remnants from the solar system's formation 4.5 billion years ago.

Jewitt said the kind of work he is doing requires telescopes and could not be done at most other places.

"Facilities are very, very important. The work environment is very important, and the people are very important. IFA is better than it ever has been, a powerhouse for this kind of astronomy."

In his latest discovery, Jewitt and his colleagues found 11 irregular bodies ranging from 1.86 to 4.34 miles in size orbiting Saturn, bringing its number of known moons to 46.

Working with Jewitt were Scott Sheppard of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institute of Washington; Jan Kleyna of UH; and Brian Marsden, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

In previous survey finds, Jewitt and Sheppard detected new moons circling Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter had a total of 63 at last count; Uranus, 27; and Neptune, 13.

The astronomers found the most recent ones orbiting Saturn in December with Japan's Subaru telescope and confirmed their findings January through March using the Gemini North and Keck telescopes.

All but one circle Saturn in an opposite direction to the planet's spin, indicating they were captured, Jewitt said. The key question is how the satellites, which were probably formed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, were captured by Saturn, he said.

He said the discoveries "improve our knowledge of the satellite system and should, eventually, lead to an understanding of the origin of irregular satellites."

He added, "Most surprisingly, we have found that the four giant planets all possess about the same number of irregular satellites when measured down to a given size, independent of planet mass, location or formation mode."

National Academy of Sciences
www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf
American Academy of Arts and Scientists
www.amacad.org/

UH Institute for Astronomy
www.ifa.hawaii.edu