Public invited to unveiling of Starburst Galaxy Image and 'Galaxies Galore' event on Aug. 12

HILO, Hawaiʻi — The public is invited to a special ʻGalaxies Galore‘ program at ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi on Saturday, August 12, 2006. This two-hour interactive program begins at 7 p.m. with the unveiling of a magnificent image of Messier 82 (M82), a starburst galaxy, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in March 2006. The evening‘s program will include presentations by local astronomers and an exciting three-dimensional journey to the distant galaxy in the Center‘s popular 4D2U or Voyage Through Space Theater follow the unveiling.

Richard Crowe, ʻImiloa Astronomer-in-Residence and UH Hilo Professor of Physics and Astronomy, will show additional images of M82, as well as spectacular photographs of other galaxies taken from telescopes atop Mauna Kea. Inge Heyer, Joint Astronomy Centre Science Outreach Specialist, will discuss the Hubble Space Telescope and its deepest views of the universe. The 3D voyage to M82 will be led by Subaru astronomer Catherine Ishida.

Since 1990, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has completed 93,500 orbits around the Earth, the equivalent of 2.4 billion miles. The orbiting observatory generates 10 billion bytes of data every day—enough information to fill up the hard drive of a typical home computer in about a week. Thousands of astronomers around the world have used HST to photograph images of approximately 24,000 celestial objects.

Stunning M82 images to be featured during ʻImiloa Astronomy Center‘s program were recently released by NASA and the European Space Agency, two agencies involved in the project, to celebrate Hubble Space Telescope‘s 16 years of success. M82 is remarkable for its bright blue disk, webs of shredded clouds, and fiery-looking plumes of glowing hydrogen apparently blasting out of its central regions.

The ʻGalaxies Galore‘ program is geared for all ages, and admission is free to ʻImiloa members, and is $5.00 per person for the general public. Reservations are required and space is limited. To reserve a seat, sign up at the ticket office at ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, call 808-969-9711 or send an email to info@imiloahawaii.org. Include your name, event (Galaxies Galore), telephone number, and the number of people in your party. Your reservation will be confirmed by phone or email. ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi is located at 600 ʻImiloa Place in Hilo. The Center is open Tuesdays through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, go to www.imiloahawaii.org.

For more information, visit: www.imiloahawaii.org