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Powerful new radio telescope could unmask the ancient universe — if satellites don’t ruin the view
When completed, the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO) will be the world’s most sensitive and most powerful radio telescope — that is, if SpaceX’s Starlink satellites don’t ruin its view. Private companies have begun launching scores of “constellations” of communications satellites into low and medium Earth orbits, with the stated goal of blanketing the globe…
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Astronomers spot record-breaking radio signal that took 8 billion years to reach Earth: “Mind-blowing”
Eight billion years ago, something happened in a distant galaxy that sent an incredibly powerful blast of radio waves hurtling through the universe. It finally arrived at Earth on June 10 last year and — though it lasted less than a thousandth of a second — a radio telescope in Australia managed to pick up…
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Mountain Xpress
Press release from UNC Asheville: Out of the only 13 available statewide, two North Carolina Space Grants were awarded to UNC Asheville students. Abigail Grulick and Riley McBride are recipients of these competitive awards that come with an $8,000 scholarship to support their astronomy-related undergraduate research. NC Space Grant is a state-wide network of higher-education…
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“Astronomy is an antidote to music” – Bombay Bicycle Club’s Jack Steadman on finding peace among the stars
For many artists, astronomy and space science is a source of inspiration. After all, there is immeasurable beauty to be found in the cosmos. But for others, astronomy can be a release from the pressures that come with the need for constant creative output. Ahead of the release of Bombay Bicycle Club’s sixth album My…
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JWST Detects Quartz Crystals in an Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
An artist’s impression of the silicate-rich atmosphere of WASP-17b. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and R. Crawford (STScI) Advertisement <div class="article-block article-text" data-behavior="newsletter_promo dfp_article_rendering" data-dfp-adword="Advertisement" data-newsletterpromo_article-text=" Sign up for Scientific American’s free newsletters. ” data-newsletterpromo_article-image=”https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/4641809D-B8F1-41A3-9E5A87C21ADB2FD8_source.png” data-newsletterpromo_article-button-text=”Sign Up” data-newsletterpromo_article-button-link=”https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/newsletter-sign-up/?origincode=2018_sciam_ArticlePromo_NewsletterSignUp” name=”articleBody” itemprop=”articleBody”> Thousand-mile-per-hour winds are blowing a hail of tiny quartz crystals through the silicate-enhanced, scorching hot atmosphere…
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Author Correction: A super-massive Neptune-sized planet
Correction to: Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06499-2 Published online 30 August 2023 In the version of the article initially published, Ian Crossfield (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA) was missing from the author list and is now included, while Fig. 2 has been updated with the correct density values of all the exoplanets.…
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Community Views the Solar Eclipse
By Rose Chen ’26 Students and members of the community gathered at Van Vleck Observatory (VVO) on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 14 for solar eclipse and astronomy-related fun. Despite the cloudy weather, attendees received eclipse glasses for safe future viewings and a planetarium show, as well as books available to check out from Russell…
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Looking To Outer Space To Find Meaning On Earth
A quest for life in the cosmos has given astronomer and astrobiologist Dr. Aomawa Shields new perspective on a meaningful life on Earth. October 20, 2023 The following is an excerpt from Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe by Aomawa Shields. Disclaimer: When you purchase products through the…
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Stille Named APS Fellow
Dale Stille, an Instructional Resource Specialist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). The APS Fellowship Program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions in physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Each year, no…
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The search for extraterrestrial intelligence gets a new home at Oxford
The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has been selected as the new international headquarters for the world’s largest SETI project, the Breakthrough Listen initiative. SETI, which stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, received a huge boost in 2015 with the launch of Breakthrough Listen. This $100-million-dollar private venture by the Breakthrough Initiatives…