Tag Space & astronomy

Massive storm pulls water and ammonia ices from Saturn’s depths

September 3, 2013

Now, thanks to near-infrared spectral measurements taken by NASA’s Cassini orbiter and analysis of near-infrared color signatures by researchers at UW–Madison, Saturn’s superstorm is helping scientists flesh out a picture of the composition of the planet’s atmosphere at depths typically obscured by a thick high-altitude haze.

With Ceres back in orbit, Planet Trek blasts off for the bike season

June 10, 2013

The Rodney Dangerfield of celestial bodies is back.

IceCube Neutrino Observatory reports first evidence for extraterrestrial high-energy neutrinos

May 15, 2013

A massive telescope in the Antarctic ice reports the detection of 28 extremely high-energy neutrinos that might have their origin in cosmic sources. Two of these reached energies greater than 1 petaelectronvolt (PeV), an energy level thousands of times higher than the highest energy neutrino yet produced in a manmade accelerator.

Experience the South Pole in Madison with an exploration of sound, light and images

April 30, 2013

Deep in the Antarctic ice, more than 5,000 detector modules sit in frozen darkness, waiting for the blue bursts of radiation released by particle interactions. Optimized to detect signs of neutrinos - tiny, nearly massless particles that can travel from the edges of the universe - these basketball-sized detectors comprise the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, one of the biggest astrophysics projects in the world.

International astrophysics reaches Milwaukee

April 16, 2013

Trips to the South Pole usually require a lot of specialized equipment, but Nils Irland's packing list for his November 2012 visit included some items unusual even by those standards: a specially designed video camera, extra batteries, and lots and lots of data storage.

Puzzle of how spiral galaxies get their arms comes into focus

April 2, 2013

Despite their common morphology, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics. How do the arms of spiral galaxies arise? Do they change or come and go over time?

Badgers eager for chance to blast off into space

March 13, 2013

It’s no secret that Badgers excel in everything from sports to science, finance to fashion. Now, two UW–Madison alumni have hopes of bringing Badger pride to outer space.

Speakeasy Science: Space Place tees up science for grown-ups

March 5, 2013

Line up your baby sitter for the evening of Friday, March 8, and lift off for a night of fun and science at UW–Madison’s Space Place for the first edition of Speakeasy Science.

Botany experiment will try out zero gravity aboard space station

December 17, 2012

Gravity: It's the law in these parts. But to reach the stars, humans may have to learn to live outside the law.

Suomi satellite reveals Earth’s dark side

December 5, 2012

A remarkable new view of the dark side of our planet from space released today by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is just a peek at the nighttime capabilities of the agencies' newest weather satellite, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.

‘Bringing the Universe to Wisconsin’ begins at UW–River Falls

November 26, 2012

It took seven years and the efforts of an international collaboration of scientists to turn the South Pole ice into the world's largest, most innovative telescope: the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

Keck observations bring weather of Uranus into sharp focus

October 17, 2012

In 1986, when Voyager swept past Uranus, the probe's portraits of the planet were "notoriously bland," disappointing scientists, yielding few new details of the planet and its atmosphere, and giving it a reputation as a bore of the solar system.

Universe in the Park takes astronomy to Wisconsin state parks

September 12, 2012

"I want to blow your mind, take you places you have never seen before. Do not hesitate to ask question. I will not bite."

A Hubble Space Telescope original returns to Wisconsin

July 17, 2012

After a journey of some 535 million space miles, give or take, and years languishing in a cavernous government warehouse, one of the original scientific instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope has splashed down in Wisconsin.

Learn about science in Spanish at Explorando las Ciencias

June 13, 2012

Explorando las Ciencias, a popular Spanish-language science outreach event, will take place from 2 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 22, at Warner Park in the Community Recreation Center and shelter at Warner Park, 1625 Northport Drive, and with the help of “Amigos en Azul,” a Madison police organization aimed at building partnerships in the city’s Hispanic community.

Transit of Venus a rare event

June 1, 2012

On the evening of Tuesday, June 5, the planet Venus will cross the disk of the Sun in what astronomers call a "transit."

Washburn telescope optics get 130-year checkup, cleaning

May 10, 2012

Bit by bit over the last two decades, the University of Wisconsin–Madison's iconic Washburn Observatory has been restored to its original sheen.

Launch of new satellite will sharpen weather observations

October 28, 2011

From a launching pad at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base our newest weather satellite rose into orbit this morning, buoyed by know-how from the University of Wisconsin–Madison's atmospheric and space science community.

Astronomers discover how mysterious blue straggler stars stay young

October 19, 2011

Mysterious "blue stragglers" are old stars that appear younger than they should be: they burn hot and blue. Several theories have attempted to explain why they don't show their age, but, until now, scientists have lacked the crucial observations with which to test each hypothesis.

Clocking the mosh pit of interstellar space

October 5, 2011

The space between the stars in the Milky Way and all other galaxies is full of dust and gas, the raw materials from which stars and planets are made.