Tag Space & astronomy
Northern lights dance above campus
Those who got outside after about 9 p.m. on Thursday night enjoyed a show in the sky as the aurora borealis danced above campus.
Astronomers map Milky Way by light of exploding star
The burst of radiation has given astronomers an unprecedented look at the structure of the Milky Way and a new understanding of the sources of subatomic particles zipping through our planet.
Supernova remnant is source of extreme cosmic particles
Astronomers have long sought the launch sites for some of the highest energy protons in our galaxy. Now, a study using 12 years of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope confirms that a remnant of a supernova, or star explosion, is just such a place, solving a decade-long cosmic mystery.
Speed and dense gas bend jets of matter streaming away from some galaxy centers
Understanding the environment that shapes jet direction helps astronomers understand how galaxies evolve, but just how the matter is launched away from a black hole is an open question.
Madison-based computing power makes it possible to see our black hole for the first time
A team of scientists and the National Science Foundation shared images of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Dark Energy Survey catalogs nearly 700 million astronomical objects
Astronomical researchers around the world can access these unprecedented data and mine them to make new discoveries about the universe.
Astronomers model, determine how disk galaxies evolve so smoothly
Using advanced computer simulations, scientists from UW, Iowa State and IBM are learning how galaxies get their characteristic structure — super-bright centers fading away to dark edges.
Massive halo finally explains stream of gas swirling around the Milky Way
Astronomers have solved a 50-year-old puzzle, discovering that the halo of warm gas surrounding the Magellanic Clouds likely acts as a protective cocoon.
NSF Physics Frontier Center for neutron star modeling to include UW–Madison
The center expands the reach and depth of existing capabilities in modeling some of the most violent events known in the universe: the mergers of neutron stars and their explosive aftermath.
Comet watching at Pine Bluff
A group of people gathered at UW–Madison's Pine Bluff Observatory in Cross Plains earlier this week to see a rare sight. Comet NEOWISE – officially called C/2020 F3 – passed overhead and was visible to the naked eye, although binoculars helped.
Peering under galactic dust, study reveals radiation at center of Milky Way
Our view of the galaxy’s dense and active center is blocked by immense clouds of dust, but telescopic data has set researchers on a path to better understanding the Milky Way's energy.
First optical measurements of Milky Way’s Fermi Bubbles probe their origin
Using the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper telescope, astronomers have for the first time measured the Fermi Bubbles in the visible light spectrum.
UW–Madison VisPy data visualization project awarded Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant
A programmer is working to make scientific data easier to picture, from creating images of spiral galaxies based on theoretical data to visualizing satellite imagery.
Wilcots named dean of College of Letters & Science
The former interim dean, Eric Wilcots has championed a collaborative approach to decision-making and has consistently worked to advance the level of research and scholarship in the college.
New research helps explain why the solar wind is hotter than expected
When the sun expels plasma, the solar wind, which causes events such as auroras above the earth, cools as it expands through space — but not as much as the laws of physics would predict. UW–Madison physicists now know the reason.
Astronaut Mae Jemison to speak at UW–Madison for Martin Luther King Jr. event
A physician and engineer, Jemison — the first woman of color in space — is the founder of two medical technology companies and leader of 100 Year Starship, an effort to ensure human travel to another star within the next century.
Mysterious cloud ‘absorbers’ seen to drive Venusian albedo, climate
A better picture of the weather on Venus and how it is influenced by changes in the reflectivity of the clouds has emerged, thanks to new research.
MEDIA ADVISORY: 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first two human beings to land on the moon. UW–Madison offers several media opportunities in light of the anniversary.
Technique pulls interstellar magnetic fields within easy reach
Researchers have developed a more accessible and much cheaper approach to surveying interstellar magnetic fields — one of the most potent forces in nature, which weave through space in our galaxy and beyond.
Astronomer Snezana Stanimirovic named a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow
Stanimirovic uses both radio and infrared astronomy to address questions about star formation in and around the Milky Way by probing the properties of interstellar gas.