Astronomy and Astrophysics
- March 27, 2025
Astronomy Ph.D. candidate researching mysteries of sub-Neptune planets wins fellowship
UC Santa Cruz astronomy Ph.D. candidate Sagnick Mukherjee has received one of the most sought-after postdoctoral awards in the field: the prestigious 51 Pegasi b Fellowship. In its March 27 announcement, the awarding Heising-Simons Foundation named Mukherjee one of eight new fellows, recognizing them as exceptional postdoctoral scientists who deserve support to continue their research in planetary astronomy.
- March 19, 2025
Long-accepted theory explaining the nature of our universe may need updating, new analysis indicates
The standard model of how the universe works involves the widely accepted theory that dark energy is a fundamental constant of nature that drives the accelerating expansion of the universe. But a new analysis announced today by the international Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration raises the possibility that this theory may need to be updated.
- March 12, 2025
Research Corporation for Science Advancement honors Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz has been named a recipient of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s (RCSA) Robert Holland Jr. Award, which honors outstanding contributions to research, leadership, and mentorship in the sciences.
- February 24, 2025
UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist explores the interconnectedness of art and science in 'Painting the Cosmos'
A new book by UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist and visual artist Nia Imara debuts tomorrow that explains the universe and traces how art has blended with science throughout human history.
- February 18, 2025
Cosmic radiation from supernova altered virus evolution in Africa, study proposes
A new study led by recent undergraduate student Caitlyn Nojiri and co-authored by astronomy and astrophysics professor Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz and postdoctoral fellow Noémie Globus examined iron isotopes to identify a 2.5 million-year-old supernova. The researchers connected this stellar explosion to a surge of radiation that pummeled Earth around the same time, and they assert that the blast was powerful enough to break the DNA of living creatures.
- January 17, 2025
Hubble Telescope images combined into giant mosaic of neighboring Andromeda Galaxy
Astronomers are celebrating the completion of a 2.5-billion-pixel panoramic picture of the entire Andromeda Galaxy. The team includes several UC Santa Cruz researchers who made significant contributions to the enormous photomosaic that combines some 600 snapshots taken by the Hubble Space Telescope over more than a decade and 1,000 orbits.
- January 17, 2025
American Astronomical Society honors four UC Santa Cruz affiliates at national meeting
At this week's AAS national meeting, the society named UC Observatories Director Bruce Macintosh and two alumni, Laura Lopez and Mark Phillips, among the 24 new fellows chosen for 2025.
- January 10, 2025
Researchers link mysterious cosmic signals to collapsed stars
An international team of scientists has provided the clearest evidence yet that some fast radio bursts (FRBs)—enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio waves from space—originate from neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that have exploded in a supernova.
