Latest news with #Hawaii
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The newest member of the Solar System, Ammonite? It was discovered by a wide-lens, 870MP camera that weighs more than three tons
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Typically, telescopes are synonymous with bringing far-off objects close, but the newest member of the solar system was discovered using wide-field imaging. The Subaru Telescope has spotted a distant orbiting Sedonite called 2023 KQ14, nicknamed Ammonite by researchers. Ammonite isn't a planet, but a member of distant orbiting objects called Sednoids, which are objects beyond Neptune's orbit with a non-circular orbit around the sun. Ammonite is the fourth Sednoid discovered, but has an orbit that's significantly different than the earlier three Sednoids. First spotted in 2023, Ammonite was officially shared with the public when researchers published the data on July 14, 2025. Ammonite is 71 times farther from the sun than the Earth – and that's at its closest point in the celestial object's orbit. So how did researchers spot the Sednoid? The newest member of the Solar System was first spotted by researchers using the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA). Located in Hawaii at the top of a volcano, the Subaru Telescope is 8.2 meters / 26.9 feet and weighs more than three tons. The telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam first spotted the new sednoid using its 870MP sensor and 1.5-degree field of view. That wide field-of-view scans large sections of the sky, looking for faint, slow-moving objects, and in the summer of 2023, picked up on the movement of Ammonite. Ammonite's existence was then confirmed by observations with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in 2024. While researchers using the Subaru Telescope were the first to spot the Sednoid by noting its movement, researchers have now found evidence of Ammonite by digging through 19 years of archival images taken from multiple observatories, including the Dark Energy Camera and data from Kitt Peak National Observatory. Gathering data spanning nearly two decades has allowed scientists to create a more accurate picture of Ammonite's orbit, and researchers now believe that Ammonite's orbit has been stable for 4.5 billion years. While the discovery of Ammonite highlights the advancement of telescope and camera technology, it also disrupts Planet Nine, the theory that a ninth planet exists beyond the orbit of Pluto, the dwarf planet that was reclassified and lost its label as the ninth planet in 2006. Data on Ammonite lowers the probability of a ninth planet, researchers believe, although a ninth planet could still exist farther out than first thought. Above: video animation shows the orbit of a newly discovered sednoid, 2023 KQ₁₄ 'The fact that 2023 KQ14's current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis,' said Dr. Yukon Huang of NAOJ. 'It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.' The Subaru Telescope made the discovery as part of a project nicknamed FOSSIL, or the Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy. The survey, led by scientists from Japan and Taiwan, uses the telescope's wide-field imaging to scan the sky, looking for objects in the outer solar system. The researchers are looking specifically at the icy outer Solar System for evidence of how the Solar System was formed. FOSSIL Lead Dr. Fumi Yoshida said the Subaru Telescope is one of the few equipped to make distant discoveries like the existence of Ammonite. "Ammonite was found in a region far away where Neptune's gravity has little influence,' Yoshida said. 'The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when Ammonite formed." "Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System," Yoshida continued. "At present, the Subaru Telescope is among the few telescopes on Earth capable of making such discoveries. I would be happy if the FOSSIL team could make many more discoveries like this one and help draw a complete picture of the history of the Solar System." You may also like The largest camera in the world is also a camera designed to scan the skies. Or, to photograph the stars with a camera that you can hold in your hands, browse the best cameras for astrophotography or the best tripods. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Are you paying way more for gas than your neighbor? This state-by-state map shows where gas prices are highest.
For many Americans, the cost of gasoline is a key indicator of how the economy is doing. While prices at the pump can be influenced by a number of factors, including global oil markets, geopolitics and seasonal demand, fuel costs still shape public opinion. So far, gas prices have been relatively stable this summer, compared with previous, more volatile seasons. Even with lower costs nationwide, what people pay in each county can vary dramatically. Drivers in California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon pay the most. In California's case, the state requires drivers to use a special blend of gas to reduce pollution, a process that can cost more and relies mostly on in-state refineries. Washington and Oregon have similar but less strict low carbon fuel standard programs. Other factors that can drive up prices include distance from refineries, transportation costs, market competition and gas taxes. California, Illinois and Pennsylvania have the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. View the map and table to see where people pay the most for gas.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
I Thought I Was Giving My Daughter A Life Any Kid Would Dream Of. I Was Shocked By Her Response.
Moving to Hawaii may sound like a dream come true, but for our family, it was a forced relocation thanks to a set of orders from the U.S. Navy. We were excited about island life, but five military duty stations into my marriage, I knew better than to expect an easy transition. Week one felt like a vacation. My husband and I had never been to Hawaii, so everything was fresh: waterfall hikes, shave ice, world-class beaches. Even the one-lane traffic on the North Shore felt charming. These weren't orders we requested or expected, but we kept telling ourselves: This is going to be great! As well as: The kids are resilient! They're going to be fine! By week two, our 5-year-old middle child, Alice, had fully committed to not being fine. Her Hawaii life was starting to sound like her personal version of 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.' She had to share a bed with her little sister. Her nose got sunburned. On day three at the new-to-us beach, she got stung by a box jellyfish. And all the other kids at the Navy Lodge seemed to be either her big brother's age or her little sister's — not a single new best friend in sight. Every sentence began with 'I juuuust don't like…' and ended with '…and can we please juuuuust go back to Virginia?' Meanwhile, my husband and I were running dangerously low on optimism ourselves. Living in Hawaii quickly stopped feeling like vacation and started feeling like crushing reality: unbelievable grocery bills, including $9 for a gallon of milk, $4,000 to ship our car overseas, and mountains of paperwork to dig through, ranging from car registration to reimbursement for our stay at said Navy Lodge. We pinned our hopes on the first day of school. Surely, a little structure would help everyone. Surely Alice would come home bubbling with new-friend stories, tired and happy from a long kindergarten day. Nope. At pick-up, full of best-case-scenario expectations, we asked, 'How was your day?' But instead of happily chirping about new friends and exciting specials, she launched into a tirade that rivaled any talking head you've seen on cable news. Her school didn't even have a real playground — just a blacktop. All the other kindergartners had gone to pre-k together and didn't want to be her friend. She couldn't FaceTime Grandma after dinner because of the time difference. Her favorite after-school activity (playing on the backyard swingset) was 4,800 miles away. She was outraged that our hotel had only one potty instead of 'three potties, like a regular house.' And the novelty of eating dinner on paper plates on a hotel floor? Worn off, big time. I want to be the mom who validates feelings and listens with saintly patience. But when your 5-year-old delivers a personalized podcast nightly on why your new home is the actual worst —and blames you personally— it wears a person down. After a week, I made a quiet decision: I'd stop asking her how her day was. Not out of spite, but survival. If she wanted to tell me, she could, but I wasn't going to prompt her. Next, I tried that thing adults always tell other adults: 'Focus on the positive.' I have journaled on and off for decades — from middle school drama to post-partum exhaustion — and I hoped maybe it could help Alice, too. I bought a jaunty little composition book with a cartoon sun on the cover and dubbed it 'Alice's Positivity Notebook.' We were going to fake it until we made it. I told her we could still talk about every part of her day if she wanted, but for this notebook, she would just write down the good stuff. She could even draw a picture to go with it. Fifteen minutes into our first journaling session, I was already defeated. Every prompt I offered — What made you smile? Who was kind to you? What was something fun? — was met with a shrug or a flat 'no.' We were living any middle child's dream, sitting outside on a warm Hawaiian evening just the two of us, and here was Alice complaining about never getting a snow day again. (Please note that during our two years in Virginia Beach, we only had half a day of snow, and she had not enjoyed it.) Finally, she gave me something. 'I liked the clear noodles at lunch,' she mumbled. Victory. I wrote down her verbatim sentence about the 'clear noodles,' handed her the crayons, and watched fallen plumeria blooms drift across the hotel lanai while she drew. A sad realization dawned on me: I couldn't force her into gratitude. She had lost the only home she could remember. And even though we were somewhere beautiful, the view didn't erase the hard parts. I couldn't positivity-journal her way out of the grief of change. I remembered how I felt when we first got our orders to Hawaii. I was losing a job I loved (it turns out 'remote work' has limits). We were heading to one of the most expensive places in the country. We were moving away from our friends and community we'd established in the military-friendly town of Virginia Beach. I was nervous and overwhelmed. But when I voiced that to civilian friends, I was met with, 'We honeymooned in Maui, you're so lucky!' and 'We loved our week at Turtle Bay!' Talking about Friday night fireworks in Waikiki made for better conversation for my friends, so I stopped bringing it up, swallowing my apprehension. And now here I was, asking Alice to do the exact same thing. Trying to gaslight her into enjoying things she wasn't (Yet, I told myself. Yet.). If an adult talked to me the way I was talking to her — 'You're whining about having no friends and a pause in your career? Look at the sunsets and the novelty of wild chickens!!' — I'd want to scream. I was allowed to struggle with the transition, to miss what we had and to take time to build something new. She was allowed that, too. That night, I closed the notebook and reminded myself that with consistency, this notebook would be filled. Eventually, the entries would expand to include more than lunch noodles. The good, the bad: I needed to let her feel it all. I decided I would still notice the beauty for her, gently saving it for her when she was ready, but I wouldn't use it to silence the hard stuff. The luaus and waterfalls weren't going anywhere, so for the moment, we could be excited about clear noodles. Meanwhile, I started tending to my own feelings, too. I sought support from fellow military spouses — women who understand the 'and' of this lifestyle: the beauty and the privilege of living here and the challenges it presents. One friend in particular always reminds me, 'You're not imagining it. This is as hard as it feels.' It's her mantra, and I've adopted it as my own — a phrase I reach for whenever I start wondering if I'm overreacting or if someone else would be handling it all better. It doesn't fix anything, but it reminds me that what I'm navigating is genuinely challenging and that working through it is something to be proud of. Speaking my concerns and frustrations out loud gave me the space to fully show up for my kids — not as the relentlessly cheerful mom, but just as a steady one. We kept journaling, one entry a day. Slowly, the sessions and the tone began to shift with mentions of a fun math game in class, a few names of new friends, hula lessons, a sea turtle spotting, and a game of sharks and minnows on the blacktop. Inside the pages, we taped positive notes from teachers ('Alice is such a good listener!' and 'Alice helped a classmate today.') and birthday party invitations. And while I'm not sure Alice will ever reconcile her not-so-new-now school's lack of playground equipment, I can report that today, no one in our family loves our island life more than Alice. We still talk about the hard days when they come, but now the good parts of her day fill more than one bullet point… and Alice cheerfully recites them unprompted. This experience didn't just teach me to sit with my daughter's feelings — it taught me to stop trying to rush her out of them. My job isn't to shield her from discomfort or aggressively mine her for silver just to create a lining. It's to walk beside her with honesty, to hold space for what's hard, while teaching her to notice the 'and'— the beauty that can exist alongside the hard parts. Do you have a compelling personal story you'd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we're looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@ Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Drivers in these states pay the most for gas
For many Americans, the cost of gasoline is a key indicator of how the economy is doing. While prices at the pump can be influenced by a number of factors, including global oil markets, geopolitics and seasonal demand, fuel costs still shape public opinion. So far, gas prices have been relatively stable this summer, compared with previous, more volatile seasons. Even with lower costs nationwide, what people pay in each county can vary dramatically. Drivers in California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon pay the most. In California's case, the state requires drivers to use a special blend of gas to reduce pollution, a process that can cost more and relies mostly on in-state refineries. Washington and Oregon have similar but less strict low carbon fuel standard programs. Other factors that can drive up prices include distance from refineries, transportation costs, market competition and gas taxes. California, Illinois and Pennsylvania have the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. View the map and table to see where people pay the most for gas.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Singer George 'Fiji'Veikoso who co-wrote Baywatch Hawaii theme song dies aged 55 as heartbroken fans pay tribute to 'king of Polynesian music'
The musician who composed the theme for Baywatch: Hawaii, George ' Fiji ' Veikoso, has died at the age of 55. George passed away on Wednesday surrounded by his family on the island nation of Fiji where he was born, according to Hawaii News Now. His death was announed by the Polynesian News Network who said in a statement: 'He was a movement, a voice for the people, a light in the dark. 'There was, and always will be, only one Fiji. His music wasn't just something we listened to.' Born in 1970, George grew up singing in church and moved to Hawaii in 1987. He released his first album, Evolution, in 1994 while his second, Born & Raised, topped the charts in 1996. The musician co-wrote the theme tune for Baywatch Hawaii - which starred Jason Mamoa - and was filmed on the island from 1999 to 2001. He also tried his hand at acting, appearing in the 2002 surfer film Blue Crush alongside Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez. In 2014, he was awarded the Best Pacific International Artist Award at the Pacific Music Awards. In 2021, he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the Polynesian reggae stream. Fans took to social media to pay tribute to George following the news of his passing. They wrote: 'Man this one is tough. RIL George 'Fiji' Veikoso. Thank you for blessing the world with your voice and your music. One of the most talented Polynesian artists to ever do it. Your sound, your soul, your legacy will live on.' Fans took to social media to pay tribute to George following the news of his passing Another added: 'George 'Fiji' Veikoso has passed on. A true son of Fiji. Your melodies will always remain a timeless echo of your passion, your talent and the beauty you shared with the world. 'Thank you for the songs, the memories, and the inspiration. You will never be forgotten.' Others added: 'Wow so young, thoughts and prayers to his family'... 'Dang! So young too'... 'Wow, so young!! RIP'... 'Rest in peace to the king of Polynesian music'.
