Science
After contentious tenure atop sacred Hawaiian summit, Caltech observatory gets dismantled
After decades of mounting tension between scientists and native Hawaiians, Caltech has completed its removal of a telescope from the summit of Maunakea, a dormant volcano that is revered by the island’s Indigenous population.
The decommissioning of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in July follows the removal of a University of Hawaii observatory a month earlier, and comes amid a cultural resurgence among native Hawaiians.
“Nothing is forever,” said Gregory Chun, the executive director of the Center for Maunakea Stewardship at the University of Hawaii and a native Hawaiian.
“It was important for these two facilities to come down, not just because they were not productive anymore but because it’s an acknowledgment of the privilege of being up there. You were pau — you were done. So, you can go home now.”
Prized for its altitude, dark skies and low humidity, Maunakea still hosts 11 other telescopes. Although the facilities have brought Hawaii international acclaim in astronomy and have helped to boost the local economy, native Hawaiians have long regarded the summit as their spiritual connection to the heavens.
Protests erupted at the base of the mountain in 2019, when Caletch and the University of California proposed construction of another observatory called the Thirty Meter Telescope. The outcry led the state to shift oversight responsibilities from the University of Hawaii — which leased the land to Caltech — to the new Maunakea Stewardship Oversight Authority, which is composed of local, environmental and scientific stakeholders.
The closure of the Caltech observatory marks the end of a contentious era, as locals and the new authority debate what’s next for the mountain.
“I have incredible respect for the people at the University of Hawaii, who can audit their own actions,” said John De Fries, the executive director of the new authority. “If this authority can begin to pioneer a new model of leadership, that’s reason to be grateful, but the task of that remains ahead of us.”
The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory’s telescope will now move to Chile. With new upgraded instruments, the observatory will continue doing science under a new name, the Leighton Chajnantor Telescope.
(Sayer Houseal / Caltech)
In response to public criticism, the University of Hawaii created the Center for Maunakea Stewardship in 2020 to oversee operations on the mountain. It worked closely with Caltech to decommission the observatory.
Throughout the process, cultural observers were present to ensure deconstruction was done in a respectful way, and while the new authority was not involved in the decommissioning process, Caltech invited members to perform cultural ceremonies at its conclusion.
A senior member from the authority also inspected the site for final sign-off of completion, and reported that “the site had been restored to as near a pristine level that you can expect,” De Fries said.
Over its roughly three decades of observations, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory has played a key role in several scientific breakthroughs in astrophysics.
The observatory was first designed to detect some of the most unexplored wavelengths of light, between a third of a millimeter and one millimeter — much longer than visible light.
The telescope, with its fellow Maunakea resident the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, discovered that Earth is basking in light from excited molecules living quietly in interstellar space.
Since the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory started looking at the night sky in 1987, the telescope has played a key role in several scientific breakthroughs. It helped identify molecules in interstellar space and created maps of cosmic dust and galaxy clusters.
(Caltech Submillimeter Observatory)
Toward the turn of the century, an upgraded Caltech Submillimeter Observatory started making maps of the sky. It was a “quantum leap in capability,” said Sunil Golwala, director of the observatory and a physics professor at Caltech.
This allowed scientists to map everything from dust in the interstellar medium to the largest scale of structure in the universe, galaxy clusters.
Now, the Caltech telescope moves to Chile with a new name (the Leighton Chajnantor Telescope), new instruments and the opportunity to reestablish itself on the cutting edge of astronomy.
Golwala said the team has learned from their time on Maunakea and that the Chile site is farther from population centers and not regarded as sacred. They’ll also build near other observatories to reduce their environmental footprint.
In the aftermath of the observatory protests, finding the right balance between astronomy and preservation of the Maunakea sacred site remains a challenge.
Despite criticisms, the telescopes do help the state economically, and they support science and engineering on the islands as many of Hawaii’s young people are leaving to pursue degrees in these fields.
“You don’t have a unified consensus in the community — much less the Hawaiian community — about [Thirty Meter Telescope] or astronomy,” Chun said. “So, balance is not going to be something that’s easily found, but I think if the authority can come up with a vision where people see themselves in it, we have a better chance.”
Over his time heading the center, Chun has come to think empathy is the path toward reconciliation, and the authority is an opportunity to find it.
“We certainly have a lot of lessons learned and scars that we’ve accumulated over the years,” Chun said.
“I also think, however, that it’s not by happenstance that one of the most sacred lands here in Hawaii to native Hawaiians is also the premier place, certainly in the northern hemisphere if not in the world, for astronomy.”
Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with the naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.
The latest observable meteor shower will be the Lyrids, which has been active since April 14 and is forecast to continue through April 30. The shower reaches its peak April 21 to 22, or Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
According to NASA, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers, and have been enjoyed by stargazers for nearly 3,000 years. Their bright, speedy streaks are caused by the dusty debris from a comet named Thatcher. They appear to spring from the constellation Lyra, which right now can be seen in the eastern sky at night in the Northern Hemisphere.
The moon will be about 27 percent full tonight, appearing as a thick crescent in the sky, according to the American Meteor Society.
To get a hint at when to best watch for the Lyrids, you can use this tool, which relies on data from the Global Meteor Network. It shows fireball activity levels in real time.
And while you gaze at the heavens, keep an eye out for other stray meteors streaking across the night sky. Skywatchers are reporting that the amount of fireballs is double what is usually seen by this point in the year.
Where meteor showers come from
There is a chance you might see a meteor on any given night, but you are most likely to catch one during a shower. Meteor showers are caused by Earth passing through the rubble trailing a comet or asteroid as it swings around the sun. This debris, which can be as small as a grain of sand, leaves behind a glowing stream of light as it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteor showers occur around the same time every year and can last for days or weeks. But there is only a small window when each shower is at its peak, which happens when Earth reaches the densest part of the cosmic debris. The peak is the best time to look for a shower. From our point of view on Earth, the meteors will appear to come from the same point in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower, for example, peaks in mid-August from the constellation Perseus. The Geminids, which occur every December, radiate from the constellation Gemini.
How to watch a meteor shower
Michelle Nichols, the director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, recommends forgoing the use of telescopes or binoculars while watching a meteor shower.
“You just need your eyes and, ideally, a dark sky,” she said.
That’s because meteors can shoot across large swaths of the sky, so observing equipment can limit your field of view.
Some showers are strong enough to produce up to 100 streaks an hour, according to the American Meteor Society, though you probably won’t see that many.
“Almost everybody is under a light-polluted sky,” Ms. Nichols said. “You may think you’re under a dark sky, but in reality, even in a small town, you can have bright lights nearby.”
Planetariums, local astronomy clubs or even maps like this one can help you figure out where to go to escape excessive light. The best conditions for catching a meteor shower are a clear sky with no moon or cloud cover, sometime between midnight and sunrise. (Moonlight affects visibility in the same way as light pollution, washing out fainter sources of light in the sky.) Make sure to give your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark.
Ms. Nichols also recommends wearing layers, even during the summer. “You’re going to be sitting there for quite a while, watching,” she said. “It’s going to get chilly, even in August.”
Bring a cup of cocoa or tea for even more warmth. Then lie back, scan the sky and enjoy the show.
Where weather is least likely to affect your view
Storm systems sweep across the country in early spring, and some will be obscuring skies tonight. But there will still be plenty of areas with clear skies, particularly in parts of the central United States.
“The best spot is going to be in the Upper Midwest,” said Rich Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa will offer especially good sky-viewing weather and a beach on the Great Lakes could be a nice spot to look up at the stars.
But don’t expect to view the show from Chicago, as Illinois could see some thunderstorms. The weather will be better in the Northern and Central Plains, particularly the eastern Dakotas.
High, wispy clouds are expected over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. But, Mr. Bann said, “you may be able to see some shooting stars through thin clouds.”
Clouds will be draped across much of the Southeast and the Northeast, though there could be some clearing in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. Remember, the meteors could be visible all night long. If you look outside and see clouds, try again later.
Catching the spectacle will be challenging across much of the West, particularly from Washington into Northern California, where a storm system is bringing rain and snow. That system will move east overnight.
There are likely to be some pockets of clear skies at times across southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah, Mr. Bann said.
Amy Graff contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
Snyder has been charged with murder.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech, which manages JPL, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sun had barely risen over the Pacific Ocean when a small motorboat carrying a team of Indigenous artisans and Mexican biologists dropped anchor in a rocky cove near Bahías de Huatulco.
Mauro Habacuc Avendaño Luis, one of the craftsmen, was the first to wade to shore. With an agility belying his age, he struck out over the boulders exposed by low tide. Crouching on a slippery ledge pounded by surf, he reached inside a crevice between two rocks. There, lodged among the urchins, was a snail with a knobby gray shell the size of a walnut. The sight might not dazzle tourists who travel here to see humpback whales, but for Mr. Avendaño, 85, these drab little mollusks represent a way of life.
Marine snails in the genus Plicopurpura are sacred to the Mixtec people of Pinotepa de Don Luis, a small town in southwestern Oaxaca. Men like Mr. Avendaño have been sustainably “milking” them for radiant purple dye for at least 1,500 years. The color suffuses Mixtec textiles and spiritual beliefs. Called tixinda, it symbolizes fertility and death, as well as mythic ties between lunar cycles, women and the sea.
The future of these traditions — and the fate of the snails — are uncertain. The mollusks are subject to intense poaching pressure despite federal protections intended to protect them. Fishermen break them (and the other mollusks they eat) open and sell the meat to local restaurants. Tourists who comb the beaches pluck snails off the rocks and toss them aside.
A severe earthquake in 2020 thrust formerly submerged parts of their habitat above sea level, fatally tossing other mollusks in the snail’s food web to the air, and making once inaccessible places more available to poachers.
Decades ago, dense clusters of snails the size of doorknobs were easy to find, according to Mr. Avendaño. “Full of snails,” he said, sweeping a calloused, violet-stained hand across the coves. Now, most of the snails he finds are small, just over an inch, and yield only a few milliliters of dye.
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