4-5 Thursday, August 10, 2017 Maui’s mighty fishhook ‘Imiloa program spotlights constellation, wayfinding Anew program at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo will feature the fishhook constellation of the demigod Maui for its next two sessions. Called Navigating the Night Sky, the one-hour presentation will take place at 7 p.m. Friday and Aug. 25. The interactive program will use live observations from the Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea, the Hawaiian star compass and star lines, and two ‘Imiloa staff. Also known as Scorpius, the Maui fishhook constellation can best be viewed right after sunset and it sits toward the center of the Milky Way, Earth’s home galaxy. Currently popularized by the Disney movie “Moana,” Maui and his fishhook have a long history in Polynesian culture. A sneak peak into the presentation revealed it might feature Maui’s attempt to pull the islands together, creating Coconut Island. The story will lead participants from past to present, from navigating the seas to navigating Earth’s place in the universe. Timeless stories connect to the almost unlimited time of space. “Science helps us to define what it is that we are looking at. The cultural side helps us to create the human connection to that story,” said Ka‘iu Kimura, ‘Imiloa’s executive director. The idea for Navigating the Night Sky started after Hokule‘a completed its worldwide voyage. ‘Imiloa was having success with its Live Stargazing program and connection with Mauna Kea’s VIS, but staff wanted to go further. They decided to combine the history and knowledge of wayfinding with modern astronomy and technology in a hands-on way. Two ‘Imiloa education associates, Emily Peavy and ‘Ahia Gay Dye, lead the presentations with guest appearances by VIS staff. “We wanted to invite people to come and explore the interconnectedness with the sky,” Dye said. “Sometimes we have the big star compass out, sometimes we do participatory things like measuring the sky with our hands. We try to host all parts of the experience from the naked eye to the telescope to interpretation.” When live-streaming isn’t available for VIS, data and images from the astrograph — a telescope designed to take photos — will be sent down to ‘Imiloa so participants can see their outerspace neighborhood. “We’re utilizing navigation techniques and pairing those with astronomical observations to gain perspective of where we are in the universe,” Peavy said. Kimura added that Navigating the Night Sky is a new opportunity to share ‘Imiloa’s ultimate mission, which she described as “to bring together these multiple world views and perspectives — particularly the Hawaiian world view because that is our foundational lens — in a way that we can create new knowledge and ways of understanding our universe.” The program also will touch on the Hawaiian star compass, also known as the Nainoa compass named for Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, who recorded it for modern navigators. ‘Imiloa has a 20-by-20-foot representation of the compass, which is supposed to sit on the horizon in a navigator’s mind. The compass is divided into 32 houses that are tied to specific constellations. The position of these constellations alongside the compass helps a navigator know their direction without the aid of modern technology. Another part of the discussion is the four Oceanic navigational star lines. Each star line has a theme and stories derived from old records. Comprised of several constellations or objects, the star lines are now used by modern navigators to organize the stars. “In Hawaiian culture, we do a lot of things through story to pass things down,” Kimura said. “Attaching meaning to these star lines help to make it stick better. It helps that knowledge make sense in a way that’s relatable and practical in terms of navigation and wayfinding.” All ages are welcome to attend. General admission is a discounted rate of $10. The price drops to $8 for ‘Imiloa members and students of Hawaii Community College or University of Hawaii with valid ID. The program debuted at 7:30 p.m. July 28 and will continue to evolve each presentation, factoring in the current view of the night sky and available technology. “It’s morphing as we keep developing content,” Dye said. “Participants can come every month and see a different presentation.” By AJA HANNAH Special to Island Beat practi-
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