East Asian Observatory

East Asian Observatory The East Asian Observatory is formed by EACOA (East Asian Core Observatories Association) for the

We gathered to celebrate and say farewell to our former director, Geoffrey Bower, as he moves on to become the new Direc...
09/03/2026

We gathered to celebrate and say farewell to our former director, Geoffrey Bower, as he moves on to become the new Director of ASTRON.

To everyone leaving EAO, thank you for everything, and best wishes for your next chapter.

Mahalo and aloha to you all! – T

Here’s how Dr. Jia‑Wei Wang explains this result:“What happens when giant streams of gas collide while building a cluste...
08/27/2026

Here’s how Dr. Jia‑Wei Wang explains this result:

“What happens when giant streams of gas collide while building a cluster of massive stars?
Using polarization observations from JCMT, ALMA’s compact and 12-meter array, we traced the magnetic field in G33.92+0.11 from the surrounding cloud down to dense star-forming cores. The ACA data fill the crucial missing scale between earlier large- and small-scale observations, allowing us to follow one connected magnetic-field structure across the system.

This missing link reveals a surprising change: on large scales, converging gas filaments drag the field inward and bend it into U shapes. Closer to the forming cluster, the compressed field becomes strong enough to guide gas toward dense cores. The gas first reshapes the field, and the field then helps direct where the gas goes.”

👉 Swipe to see how multi‑scale observations (Figure 1)
turn into a physical picture of this “tug‑of‑war” (Figure 2).

On July 24, 2026, we experienced Lahaina Noon, when the Sun passed almost directly overhead here near Hawaiʻi Island (at...
08/07/2026

On July 24, 2026, we experienced Lahaina Noon, when the Sun passed almost directly overhead here near Hawaiʻi Island (at 12:26 p.m. in Hilo). Clouds rolled in, so our shadows weren’t perfectly straight (and my camera didn’t really show them), but we still gathered for a quick photo. Sending aloha from EAO in Hawaiʻi! – T

　

The team behind the recent Nāmakanui cartridge swap at the JCMT. Thanks to the hard work of our engineering and technica...
08/04/2026

The team behind the recent Nāmakanui cartridge swap at the JCMT. Thanks to the hard work of our engineering and technical staff, the receiver is now ready for its next discoveries. – T

As part of the Nāmakanui cartridge swap at the JCMT, the receiver is carefully being moved back into its operating posit...
07/30/2026

As part of the Nāmakanui cartridge swap at the JCMT, the receiver is carefully being moved back into its operating position on the telescope. – T

Nāmakanui, one of JCMT’s receivers, is undergoing a cartridge swap. Here at the JCMT, EAO engineer Jamie is uninstalling...
07/24/2026

Nāmakanui, one of JCMT’s receivers, is undergoing a cartridge swap. Here at the JCMT, EAO engineer Jamie is uninstalling the cold cartridge adapter from the 690 GHz cartridge as part of the work. – T

On July 13, Dr. Hua Bai Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) gave an EAO seminar on “Toward a Unified Interpretation...
07/21/2026

On July 13, Dr. Hua Bai Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) gave an EAO seminar on “Toward a Unified Interpretation of Magnetic Field Observations in Molecular Clouds,” showing that the many seemingly contradictory conclusions in the literature can actually be reconciled into a coherent picture when observational data are taken seriously. We were delighted to see many online participants and a very lively Q&A session after the talk.– T

Aloha!In Hawaiʻi, geckos are often seen as symbols of good luck and protection.We’re looking forward to sharing more of ...
07/20/2026

Aloha!
In Hawaiʻi, geckos are often seen as symbols of good luck and protection.

We’re looking forward to sharing more of EAO’s activities with you. – T
Photo by Dr. Ming-Tang Chen

04/23/2026

One of our comet observers let us know:
3I/ATLAS has dominated the comet news in the past year, and JCMT was prominently involved in the submillimeter observing effort.
We (Kuan et Coulson et al) were first to detect hydrogen cyanide in its coma.
This occurred early September 2025 when 3I was 2.1 AU from the Sun.
In December and January, post-perihelion, we observed strong methanolvemissions, enabling us to determine that the abundance of methanol compared to water was several times larger than has ever been measured in Solar System
comets, and that the temperature of the gas in the coma was a very cold 20 K.
Emission line widths were extremely (and, in a sense, commensurately) narrow;
3I/ATLAS has been in the deep-freeze for the past 10 billion years, after all!
We also detected carbon monoxide while other observers detected formaldehyde, amongst other organic chemicals.
All the chemicals mentioned are common in Solar System comets.

- Two 'telegrams' were issued at the time (CBET 5608 and CBET 5628), the HCN detection was reported in MNRAS (Vol 546, p1) , and a further paper is in preparation.

Thanks to Iain Coulson!

Address

660 N Aohoku Place
Hilo, HI
96720

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 4:30pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when East Asian Observatory posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to East Asian Observatory:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category