NEWS

S U N D AY 4 / 2 6 / 2 0 > > H O N O L U L U S TA R - A D V E R T I S E R > > A3

SKYWATCH

See comet mid-month — MEI (MAY ) SKIES AT 8 P.M.

‘Akau (north)
sky over the past few
months. As spring comes to
an end and summer follows,
if it holds its brightness Orion’s shape will be setting
in our early evening sky. As

on au
this happens, keep an eye on

M (NW
By Chad Kalepa Baybayan object in the starline, the Big

riz ol

an
Hokupa‘a

)
the westernmost star in the

ho o‘

u ho
and Emily Peavy North Star

E K
Dipper. The two stars in the

H riz
belt of Orion, Mintaka. Sit-

(N nu

o‘ on
Special to the Star-Advertiser scoop of the Big Dipper Comet C/2019Y4

ol )
a
M
on May 15 ting almost exactly on the

ua
point toward Polaris, the

K
Hokulei celestial equator, Mintaka
aiwikuamo‘o (the North Star. Polaris forms Nahiku will rise exactly in the east
Backbone) is the fea- the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and set exactly in the west.
tured evening star Little Dipper. The Big Dipper
family for the months of is positioned above the Little
Nanamua Venus Morning observing
April, May and June. The Dipper when it is rising in Castor Early-bird stargazers will
Backbone runs from Hoku- the east, with each of the
enjoy a very different per-
pa‘a (Polaris) in the north to scoops facing and pouring

Komohana (west)
Hokule‘a Hokupa Nanahope spective of the night sky. As

Hikina (east)
Hanaiakamalama (Southern their contents into each Arcturus Leo Pollux
summer approaches, the
Cross), the meridian pointer other. Orion sun will be rising earlier and
for the south celestial pole. “The handle of the Big Dip- KAIWIKUAMO‘O Puana the nights will be getting
The Backbone is one of per points toward Arcturus, Procyon shorter. Throughout May,
four star families that are the red giant Hokule‘a, the
the sun will rise just before
modern heuristic devices for zenith star for Hawaii and Hikianalia A‘a
Spica Me‘e Sirius 6 a.m and the light of dawn
visually organizing the night brightest star in the North-
Covus will start to color our sky
sky around prominent stars ern Hemisphere. Following
around 5:30 a.m. In the early
and constellations. Devel- the North Star to Southern
Milky Way morning hours, the bright
oped in Hawaii around 1992, Cross flow, we cross the ce-
galaxy planet, Jupiter, and the
the four star families are lestial equator and come to
fainter planet, Saturn, will be
M (S

used as a tool for oceanic the binary star Spica in the

riz na
an E

high in the southeastern sky.

)
ho Ko
on
u hor

voyagers to read the night constellation Virgo. The next Hanalakamalama

M izo

These two gas giants will

W u
al n

(S an
sky in order to navigate. constellation is the trapezoi- Southern Cross
an )

M
accompany each other
ai

Chad Kalepa Baybayan’s dal shaped Corvus, the

through the sky less than
early encounters with the Crow. An imaginary line
10 degrees apart, continuing
night sky were guided by a drawn through the center of Hema (south) to get closer to each other
beloved astronomer and ed- Corvus points toward the
HIGHLIGHTS until they reach a conjunc-
ucator (read his full account top of the Southern Cross.” February moon phases
>> Evening observations — Venus continues to tion in December. A conjunc-
online at staradvertiser.
stand out in the northwestern sky just after tion occurs when two
com): Special events
sunset; however, by the end of May, this planets appear to be less
“My first experience learn- A comet discovered in beautiful bright planet will be setting along than 1 degree apart from
ing about the night sky came Hawaii has been decorating with the sun. By mid-June, you will start to see
FULL LAST NEW FIRST each other. The conjunction
42 years ago in the Bishop our night sky for a while and Venus only in the early morning sky.
5/7 5/14 5/22 5/29 of Jupiter and Saturn is quite
Museum Planetarium under may be bright enough to be
>> C/2019 ATLAS comet — A comet discovered rare, occurring only once ev-
the tutelage of lecturer-as- visible to the naked eye in
in Hawaii has been decorating our night sky This star chart is oriented for an ery 20 years or so.
tronomer Will Kyselka. A mid-May — if it doesn’t disin- since its discovery in December of last year. observer looking up and facing south. The distinctive red planet,
kind and profound educator, tegrate first. While C/2019 ATLAS was the brightest comet In this orientation, the Hikina (east)
Mars, will also be rising high
Kyselka had a keen passion In late December 2019, the of 2019, the nucleus of the comet began to horizon is on the left and the Komohana
break into fragments in mid-April. If it is still (west) horizon is on the right. up in the southeastern sky.
for inspiring learning Asteroid Terrestrial-impact
bright enough to see, the best viewing
through exploration. Last Alert System on Halea­ opportunity will be around May 15 from sunset
———
“From 1980 to 1992, during kala and Maunaloa discov- to just after 8 p.m. Chad Kalepa Baybayan
my voyages on board the ered a new comet which is (Kalepa.Baybayan@hawaii.
Hokule‘a, I relied on Kysel- now named C/2019 ATLAS; edu) serves as navigator-­in-
ka’s book, ‘North Star to this comet was quickly de- residence and Emily Peavy
Southern Cross,’ and its clared the brightest comet of ([email protected])
month-by-month pictures of 2019. In the first quarter of Source: Polynesian Voyaging Society Archives Astronomy Center of Hawaii as planetarium technician
the night sky to learn all 2020, the comet was getting support facilitator at the ‘
about the constellations and brighter as it approached If the comet continues to dis- (Capella) from sunset until tiful bright planet will be set- Imiloa Astronomy Center
stars. the sun and it was originally integrate, its brightness will just after 8 p.m. ting along with the sun. By of Hawaii, a center for infor-
“In 1978, Kaiwikuamo‘o expected to be the brightest be difficult to determine. mid-June, you will start to mal science education at the
was taught to me as the star- comet of 2020, becoming vis- However, the best time to Evening observing see Venus only in the early University of Hawaii at Hilo
line ‘North Star to Southern ible in mid-May. view this comet will likely be Venus continues to stand morning sky. showcasing astronomy and
Cross.’ Kyselka would al- Unfortunately, starting in around May 15 by looking to- out in the northwestern sky The distinctive shape of Hawaiian culture as parallel
ways begin by identifying mid-April the nucleus of the ward the northwest direc- just after sunset; however, Heiheionakeiki (Orion) has journeys of human explora-
the obvious big-picture comet began disintegrating. tion of the star Hokulei by the end of May, this beau- been clearly visible in the tion.

Dear Members,
Emergency
Assistance Program
For us, “always right by you” is more
than a tagline. It also means standing
with you.

With so many lives disrupted by the

pandemic, we want our members
FOR HAWAII STATE FCU MEMBERS
to know we’re ready to help. We’ve
created a new Emergency Assistance
With the recent impacts of COVID-19, we understand your
Program to offer quick financial
relief for our members. Get access to financial concerns. You may be wondering what relief is
money with an emergency assistance available. We are here to help.
loan. Defer loan payments on existing
consumer loans and mortgages. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE LOAN*
And we’re waiving early withdrawal Get access to money with a low rate personal loan with no
fees on our term-share accounts.
We understand the enormous financial
prepayment penalty for qualifying members.
difficulties created by the pandemic
and we want you to know, we’ll stand LOAN PAYMENT DEFERRALS & MORTGAGE FORBEARANCE**
with you. Get relief from making scheduled monthly payments for
qualified members. Hawaii State FCU consumer loan payments
Sincerely, may be deferred for one to three months. A forbearance
program for mortgage payments is also available.
Andrew Rosen
President and CEO PENALTY FREE TERM SHARE WITHDRAWALS***
Make withdrawals from your term share without an early
withdrawal penalty.

Let us know how we can help. Call (808) 587-2700 or visit

www.HawaiiStateFCU.com/assistance for more details.

Program subject to change without prior notice. Certain terms and conditions apply. rates are effective as of 3/23/2020 and are subject to change at any time without prior
notice. Speak to a Hawaii State FCU representative at (808) 587-2700 for more information.
*The Emergency Assistance Loan features 0% interest rate and no payments for the first 3
months, with a subsequent interest rate of 8.000% for the remaining 3 years. The blended ** Speak to a Hawaii State FCU representative at (808) 587-2700 for more information.
APR over the entire 39-month term of the loan is 6.845%. No prepayment penalty.
*** Withdrawals will reduce earnings on the account. Penalty free withdrawals do not apply
A loan of $1,000 will have 36 payments of $31.34 per month, and total interest paid of to IRA Term Shares. Minimum withdrawal is $500. If your account falls below the $1,000
$128.11. This Emergency Assistance Loan is available to affected Hawaii residents who (minimum balance requirement) the account must be closed. Speak to a Hawaii State FCU
have been members as of 12/31/2019. Members must meet minimum qualifications representative at (808) 587-2700 for more information.
established for this special program. The loan amount is determined by the amount of
income that has been adversely impacted, with a minimum loan amount of $500 and a
maximum loan amount of $5,000, as calculated by Hawaii State FCU. This program and