Announcements: June 30, 2021

Monthly siren test scheduled Thursday

The monthly test of the all-hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System, coordinated with the test of the Live Audio Broadcast segment of the Emergency Alert System, is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Thursday.

During this monthly test, all Statewide Outdoor Warning Sirens will sound a one-minute Attention Alert Signal (Steady Tone). A simultaneous test of the Live Audio Broadcast segment of the Emergency Alert System is conducted with the monthly siren sounding, in cooperation with Hawaii’s broadcast industry. There will be no exercise or drill accompanying the test.

The all-hazard Outdoor Siren Warning System for Public Safety is one part of Hawaii’s Statewide Alert &Warning System used to notify the public during emergencies. To report sire operation issues call Hawaii County Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.

Kasliwal to discuss ‘Cosmic Fireworks’

The W. M. Keck Observatory will host a virtual Astronomy Talk titled “Cosmic Fireworks” at 5 p.m. on July 20 featuring guesting speaker Mansi Kasliwal, assistant professor at the Caleifornia Institute of Technology.

Our dynamic universe is adorned by cosmic fireworks: energetic and ephemeral beacons of light that are a million (nova) to a billion (supernova) times brighter than our sun. Fireworks synthesize most elements in our periodic table — while supernovae synthesize the lighter elements, neutron star mergers synthesize half the elements in the periodic table heavier than iron.

Kasliwal will share how she discovered cosmic fireworks with robotic telescopes and how she undertook a global, panchromatic follow-up campaign to characterize the astrophysics and astrochemistry. She will also describe a brand new wide-field infrared surveyor, Palomar Gattini-IR, and the next generation WINTER, DREAMS, and Cryoscope surveyors. In addition, she will also discuss combining information from multiple messengers: light, neutrinos and gravitational waves.

The presentation is free and open to the public. The Zoom webinar can be accessed at https://bit.ly/Keck-Kasliwal or Zoom ID: 981 0503 1130. The talk will also be live-streamed on Facebook.