Pan-STARRS

Pan-STARRS is an astronomical survey at Haleakalā Observatory on Maui that uses telescopes, giant digital cameras, and computing systems to repeatedly scan most of the visible sky for moving or changing objects and to refine measurements of known ones. Developed by a University of Hawaiʻi-led collaboration and funded largely for telescope construction by the U.S. Air Force, it began operations with Pan-STARRS1 in 2006 and later expanded to two 1.8-meter telescopes. Its wide field of view, rapid imaging cadence, and enormous data output have made it especially important for finding near-Earth objects, tracking transient events, and broadening knowledge of small bodies across the Solar System, including the first known interstellar object, ʻOumuamua.

Kula, Hawaii · United States