The Astronomy Department will host the first "Astronomy on Tap," a monthly informal discussion about some of the biggest questions in the Universe, on Thursday, Feb 18, 6-7 pm in the back room of Pizza M at 208 W. Main St. in Urbana. Future sessions will be held the third Thursday of each month.
- Following the detection of the first gravitational wave event by LIGO on Sept. 16, 2015, the Dark Energy Survey team, including astronomers at Illinois, rapidly turned the DECam to that sky region to search for a visible light counterpart. No event was found, but is a model for future follow-ups.
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the Earth from the merger of black holes in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Einstein’s general theory of relativity and opens a new window to the cosmos.
A detailed study of young stars and their surroundings has produced dramatic new evidence about how the dusty disks that are the raw material for planets grow. The team, led by Dominique Segura-Cox, found that the disks around some of the protostars are larger than some theoretical models predict.- Using new images that show unprecedented detail, scientists have found that material rotating around a very young protostar probably has dragged in and twisted magnetic fields from the surrounding area. Illinois astronomers Leslie Looney and Erin Cox lead the team studying the protostar.
- Catalogs of galaxies and stars derived from the data collected during the Dark Energy Survey’s science verification season prior to beginning official observations have been released to the public. Astronomy buffs can download the data from NCSA, which manages data processing and archiving for DES.
- Prof. Ben McCall has been elected as a Fellow to the Optical Society. Prof. McCall is being honored specifically for the development of ultrasensitive, ultrahigh resolution molecular ion spectroscopy methods that help elucidate chemical and physical conditions in interstellar clouds.
Undergrad Lilly Kettler, grad student Kedar Phadke, and Prof. Joaquin Vieira are part of a team that detected organic molecules in the furthest galaxy to date. Read about it here.
Triple congratulations to Prof. Yue Shen. Not only has he been approved by campus to be promoted to Full Professor, but he has won the 2023 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award and he has been appointed a 2023 LAS Dean's Distinguished Professor Scholar.
Congratulations to Prof. Xin Liu for being named a Norman P. Jones Professorial Scholar! This is a college award based upon her outstanding contribution to the college’s educational mission including research, teaching, service, and diversity and inclusion.