Astro and Planets
- November 28, 2023
Dwarf planet Eris is squishier than expected
University of California, Santa Cruz Professor of Planetary Sciences Francis Nimmo recently co-authored a Science Advances paper about the internal structure of the dwarf planet Eris.
- May 31, 2023
Astronomers map temperatures and find traces of water in a super-hot gas giant’s atmosphere
Astronomers used the Webb Telescope to make a temperature map of the “hot Jupiter” exoplanet WASP-18b, revealing dramatic temperature gradients in its atmosphere.
- May 16, 2023
Summer programs draw visitors to Lick Observatory for music and stargazing
The Summer Series program at UC's Lick Observatory draws concert fans and astronomy devotees to the summit of Mt. Hamilton for live music, evening astronomy lectures from world-renowned scientists, and the opportunity to view celestial objects through historic telescopes.
- May 15, 2023
Astronomers observe the first radiation belt seen outside of our solar system
High-resolution imaging of radio emissions from an ultracool dwarf show a double-lobed structure like the radiation belts of Jupiter.
- April 03, 2023
NASA’s search for life in the cosmos is focus of April 17 lecture and discussion
‘Whispers from Other Worlds,’ a public lecture and discussion at the Rio Theater, features NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen and science journalist Nadia Drake.
- March 30, 2023
Grad student Huazhi Ge wins postdoctoral fellowship for planetary science research
Huazhi Ge, a doctoral candidate in planetary science at UC Santa Cruz, has won a prestigious 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation to support his postdoctoral research.
- March 22, 2023
JWST’s first direct spectrum of planetary-mass object reveals dynamic atmosphere
The most detailed spectrum ever for a planetary-mass object outside our solar system covers an unprecedented range of wavelengths, providing a wealth of new insights.
- March 20, 2023
UCSC names astronomer Bryan Gaensler dean of Physical and Biological Sciences
UC Santa Cruz has appointed internationally recognized astronomer Bryan Gaensler to serve as dean of the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, effective August 15.
- March 15, 2023
Young Supernova Experiment releases first set of transient survey data
UC Santa Cruz astronomers organized the survey, which has discovered thousands of cosmic explosions and other transient events of interest to astronomers and astrophysicists.
- March 09, 2023
First images released from James Webb Space Telescope’s largest general observer program
Mosaic images from the COSMOS-Web program offer a treasure trove of early galaxies, including dazzling examples of spiral galaxies, gravitational lensing, and evidence of galaxy mergers.
- March 03, 2023
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz wins 2023 AAAS Mentor Award
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has awarded the 2023 AAAS Mentor Award to Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
- February 21, 2023
Major expansion of Lick Observatory education programs will benefit Bay Area students
Scientific Teaching through Astronomy Research (STARs), a suite of new outreach and education programs at UC’s Lick Observatory, will reach a diverse population of K-12 and college-age students.
- February 02, 2023
Astronomers observe light bending around an isolated white dwarf
The first detection of gravitational lensing for a single, isolated star other than our sun comes 100 years after a landmark experiment using the sun to confirm Einstein’s prediction.
- January 16, 2023
Study finds active galactic nuclei are even more powerful than thought
A new study indicates that scientists have substantially underestimated the energy output of active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes because their light is dimmed by dust.
- January 09, 2023
Astronomers find the most distant stars in our galaxy halfway to Andromeda
A search for variable stars called RR Lyrae has found some of the most distant stars in the Milky Way’s halo a million light years away.
