W.M. Keck News

W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY ACHIEVES “FIRST LIGHT” WITH KECK COSMIC REIONIZATION MAPPER

Weʻre excited to announce the Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper (KCRM) has recently achieved “first light,” marking the first time it has ‘seen’ the universe from majestic Maunakea. Its first-light image? The Turtle Nebula. KCRM is an upgrade to the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI), and is designed to help us better understand our galactic ancestors – the first stars and galaxies that formed when the universe was a toddler. Congratulations to KCRM team members from Caltech, UCO/Lick Observatory, and Keck Observatory for achieving this milestone!

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KCWI/KCRM’S first-light image of the Turtle Nebula.

A STRANGE STREAK OF YOUNG STARS IS EVIDENCE OF A RUNAWAY SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE, STUDY FINDS

A runaway black hole? A Yale University-led team using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory discovered an unusual streak of young stars and gas – possibly the trail left in the wake of a supermassive black hole that was kicked out of its home galaxy. If confirmed, it would be the first evidence of this phenomena, proving a 50-year-old prediction.

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A 200,000 light-year long trail of stars a candidate runaway black hole left behind.

DUAL QUASAR SHINES LIGHT ON TWO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES ON A COLLISION COURSE

Quasars, which are supermassive black holes that are actively feasting on gas and dust, can be difficult to detect. But several telescopes including two Maunakea Observatories – W. M. Keck Observatory and Gemini North – have discovered not one, but two of them, just 10,000 light-years apart, and on the verge of colliding with one another. The pair’s insatiable appetite for material created a massive fireworks show, illuminating two brightly burning quasars—an extraordinary find in the early universe.

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Artist rendering of two quasars within two galaxies that merged.

FIRST EVER 3D MAP OF MESSIER 87 GALAXY ASSEMBLED

For the first time ever, astronomers have measured the 3D shape of Messier 87 (M87), one of the largest and closest elliptical galaxies to us. Using our Keck Cosmic Web Imager and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a UC Berkeley-led team mapped the stars orbiting M87’s supermassive black hole named Pōwehi, which was sort of like watching 100 billion bees swarming around their hive. Their findings? It turns out M87 isn’t perfectly symmetrical after all; rather, it’s shaped like an uneven potato.

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3D illustration of M87 rendered with data from Hubble and Keck Observatory.

NEW EXOPLANET-HUNTING TECHNIQUE LEADS TO SUCCESSFUL DIRECT IMAGE OF A SUPER-JUPITER

Our ability to snap photos of exoplanets from Earth just leveled up. Using a powerful combination of direct infrared imaging (capturing infrared photos directly) and astrometry (measuring the position and motion of a star), astronomers have developed a more precise method of finding exoplanets that can be photographed from our planet. The technique was proven effective after researchers used it to discover HIP 99770 b, a Jupiter-like gas giant some 132.8 light-years away. Two Maunakea Observatories – Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope – captured the direct images, while the Gaia space observatory and its predecessor, Hipparcos, performed the astrometry.

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The orbital motion of exoplanet HIP 99770 b (circled in white) around its host star.

Image Credits

KCRM: Credit: C. Martin, Caltech/Keck Observatory
Runaway black hole: NASA, ESA, P. van Dokkum (Yale), J. DePasquale (STScI)
Dual quasars: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
M87: NASA, ESA, J. Olmsted (STScI), F. Summers (STScI), C. Ma (UC Berkeley)
Super-Jupiter: T. Currie/Subaru Telescope, UTSA

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W.M. Keck News

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