Bookmarks for January 2nd

by Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · Published January 2, 2013 · Updated January 3, 2013

When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on January 2nd:

2013 set to be an exciting year for astronomy: The comet Pan-STARRS will be visible in March – an unexpected visitor from the depths of the solar system. The automatic Pan-STARRS telescope system in Hawaii spotted this chunk of ice in March 2011.
Sempra and BP Complete Hawaii Wind Farm: Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and BP Wind Energy today announced the full commercial operation of the 21 megawatt (MW) Auwahi Wind facility. The power project includes eight new wind turbines on the southeast ridge of Maui's Haleakala volcano.
$9.2 Million Gift Commitment to Transform our Community: An inspired donor has made one of the largest gift commitments to the University of Hawaii by a private individual to benefit UH students and research. Through endowed and expendable accounts, this donor's impact will be immeasurable for many years to come.
Huge Asteroid Will Miss Earth in 2040: Astronomers solidified the asteroid's harmless status during an observation campaign in October using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, bolstering a NASA study that came to a similar conclusion in June.
Potentially Habitable Planet Detected Around Nearby Star: A sun-like star in our solar system's backyard may host five planets, including one perhaps capable of supporting life as we know it. Astronomers have detected five possible alien planets circling the star Tau Ceti, which is less than 12 light-years from Earth.
Hawaiian Islands are dissolving from within, study says: Someday, Oahu's Koolau and Waianae mountains will be reduced to nothing more than a flat, low-lying island like Midway. But erosion isn't the biggest culprit. Instead, scientists say, the mountains of Oahu are actually dissolving from within.
UH biosafety lab on Kalaeloa site gets federal OK: The National Institutes of Health has given its approval to a biosafety lab planned for Kalaeloa. The NIH accepted an environmental assessment last week for the University of Hawaii's proposed $47.5 million Pacific Health Research Laboratory.
National project examines online learning patterns: The University of Hawaii System is participating in a national project to bring the power of big data to online learning. UH and 15 other higher education institutions will share information to look for patterns that predict success in online learning.