{"id":482048,"date":"2026-02-21T14:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T14:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482048\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T14:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T14:03:12","slug":"subaru-telescopes-prime-focus-spectrograph-given-hawaiian-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482048\/","title":{"rendered":"Subaru Telescope\u2019s Prime Focus Spectrograph Given Hawaiian Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BIVN) \u2013 Subaru Telescope\u2019s advanced Prime Focus Spectrograph, or PFS, has received a Hawaiian name: \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The PFS is a wide-field, multi-object spectrograph that began full science operations at the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea back in March 2025. The instrument is \u201cable to view up to about 2,400 objects simultaneously across a wide field of view and obtain their spectra over an extensive wavelength range -from visible to near-infrared light \u2013 in a single exposure\u201d, astronomers say. \u201cPFS has been opening a new era of large-scale spectroscopic surveys in cosmology, galaxy evolution, and the structure of the Milky Way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The name of \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula \u201crecognizes the instrument\u2019s embodiment of the idea of \u2018perceiving the realm of our origins,\u2019 honoring the people and land of Hawai\u02bbi and expressing our commitment to exploring the Universe together with the local community,\u201d the Subaru telescope says.<\/p>\n

From a Subaru Telescope news release:<\/p>\n

On November 19, at the naming ceremony held at the base facility of Subaru Telescope in Hilo, Hawai\u02bbi Island, Professor Larry Kimura of the University of Hawai\u02bbi at Hilo formally presented the Hawaiian name \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula.<\/p>\n

The name \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula is rich with meaning. The word \u02bb\u014cnohi refers to \u201cwhat one perceives from their sight,\u201d an idea inspired by the role of the telescope\u2019s prime focus\u2014where \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula PFS is mounted\u2014as a kind of \u201ceye.\u201d The component \u02bbula means \u201cred,\u201d evoking both the countless redshifted galaxies that \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula PFS will observe and the studies of the early Universe and galaxy evolution\u2014our cosmic origins\u2014that these observations will enable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

photo courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)<\/p>\n

Kimura further explains, \u201cThe name \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula represents the spectrum of the rainbow that we can see here, on the ground on Earth, and the eye of the instrument and in particular the color red, a sacred color which is associated with what we call the heavens in Hawaiian culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

This naming reflects a deep resonance between state-of-the-art scientific exploration and perspectives grounded in Native Hawaiian knowledge. It symbolizes Subaru Telescope\u2019s commitment to honoring both the global importance of astronomical research and the profound cultural significance of Maunakea for the people of Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important for Subaru Telescope to connect to our culture here in Hawai\u02bbi and the way we can do that is through this name,\u201d says Kimura.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula represents not just a powerful new eye on the Universe, but a commitment to conduct that exploration in conversation and collaboration with the people and place of Hawai\u02bbi,\u201d says Professor Naoyuki Tamura, who has long served as PFS Project Manager. \u201cWe are honored to carry this name forward as \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula PFS opens a new era of discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Hitoshi Murayama, principal investigator of PFS, expresses both gratitude and resolve: \u201cOur instrument received a beautiful name in the Hawaiian language. It represents the science of PFS very well. I have a renewed resolve to make sure we will produce exciting science with \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula PFS just as this name indicates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The instrument will be referred to as \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula PFS in scientific publications and press releases, expressing Subaru Telescope\u2019s ongoing respect for Hawaiian culture and its people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(BIVN) \u2013 Subaru Telescope\u2019s advanced Prime Focus Spectrograph, or PFS, has received a Hawaiian name: \u02bb\u014cnohi\u02bbula.\u00a0 The PFS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-482048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}