Astronomy & Astrophysics
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AAUW awards fellowships to three scholars at UC Santa Cruz
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has awarded 2021-22 American Fellowships to three scholars at UC Santa Cruz who will pursue academic work and lead innovative community projects to empower women and girls.
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Astrophysicists explain the origin of unusually heavy neutron star binaries
Simulations of supernova explosions of massive stars paired with neutron stars can explain puzzling results from gravitational wave observatories.
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Building community connections and STEM identity with science in the garden
A pilot program funded by the Packard Foundation brings science into the home environment through gardening.
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Astronomers create the first 3D-printed stellar nurseries
Researchers can now hold stellar nurseries in their hands thanks to 3D printing, revealing features often obscured in traditional renderings and animations.
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Nearby star-forming region yields clues to the formation of our solar system
The Ophiuchus star-forming complex offers an analog for the formation of the solar system, including the sources of elements found in primitive meteorites.
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Blazing a Slug trail to the Olympics
Rhythmic gymnast Izzy Connor will be the first UC Santa Cruz student to compete in the Olympics—the result of years of both personal struggle and success.
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Jonathan Fortney garners Simons Investigator in Astrophysics award
The $500,000 award from the Simons Foundation will support Fortney’s research on planetary atmospheres.
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Cosmic dawn occurred 250 to 350 million years after Big Bang
Cosmic dawn, when stars formed for the first time, occurred 250 million to 350 million years after the beginning of the universe, according to a new study.
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Searching for answers in the cosmos
Alumna Olivia Ross, winner of this year’s prestigious Steck Award, took on the daunting quest of trying to find primordial black holes. Her faculty mentor calls this young, tireless scientist a “one-in-a-generation gem.”
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Claire Max to retire as director of UC Observatories
Claire Max, director of the University of California Observatories (UCO) and the Bachmann professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, will retire at the end of June.
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Giant planets found in the stellar suburbs
A planetary census conducted by the California Legacy Survey illuminates where giant planets tend to reside relative to their stars.
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Astronomers track down fast radio bursts to galaxies’ spiral arms
Mysterious flashes of radio energy that disappear in the blink of an eye originate from young, massive galaxies.