Waikoloa and Supernova

This week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Supernova 1987A's discovery. The supernova, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, was the closest observed since Kepler's supernova in 1604. More than one meeting was held to celebrate the event, including one at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Never mind the conference, just look at that pool!

Observing a Supernova relatively close-up is always fascinating. One mystery involves a neutron star--one hasn't been found yet! Astronomers are not sure whethre something is blocking it or whether it has collapsed completely into a Black Hole. If the latter is true, maybe there was a Black Hole there all along.

For obvious reasons the resort attracts many conferences, like Protostars to Planets in 2005 and the Seismological Society of America April 11-13. The resort is huge, covering nearly 60 acres of former lava field on the Kohala Coast. It's not actually in Waikoloa Village, but they had to call it something. The grounds contain enclosures for many native birds, even Nene birds.

Guests can get around either on those little boats or on the sleek electric train. As we know, supernovae have become very important for cosmology. On that subject, there may be good news about publishing soon.