UC Santa Cruz Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Join us for Astronomy on Tap at Humble Sea Brewery on Thursday, June 15th at 6:30pm!

Join us for Astronomy on Tap on May 18th at 6:30pm at Humble Sea! See you there!

Join us for this exciting event on April 17th at the Rio Theater!

On Monday, April 17, at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz will host the Whispers from Other Worlds event -- a lecture & discussion on NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's search for life in the cosmos.

The event will feature Thomas Zurbuchen, Retired Director of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, and Nadia Drake, Science Journalist. The presentation will first frame the discussion of looking for extraterrestrial life in the context of the famed 1961 Drake equation, and then cover the ways in which NASA’s Science program focuses on identifying signatures of life elsewhere in the universe.

Join us for this free event, sponsored by the UCSC Astrobiology and Science Communication programs.

Date: Monday, April 17, 2023
Time: 6:30 – 8 PM
Location: The Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Dr., Santa Cruz CA

RSVP here: bit.ly/whispers-event

Join us for Astronomy on Tap at Humble Sea on Thursday April 20th at 6:30pm!

Congratulations to UCSC grad Yuting Feng for this amazing discovery!

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.

Natalie Batalha, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and director of astrobiology at UC Santa Cruz and leader of the NASA Interdisciplinary Consortium for Astrobiology Research, presented her team’s initial scientific findings from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to the space and aeronautics subcommittee on Nov. 16 during a hearing titled, “Unfolding the Universe: Initial science results from the James Webb Space Telescope.”

Batalha testifies at Congressional hearing on the initial scientific findings of the JWST The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest and most powerful telescope humans have sent to space and, Batalha asserts, it is ushering in a new era of exoplanet science.

Congratulations to UCSC Astronomy & Astrophysics PhD students Rosa Wallace Everson and Joey Murphy for receiving ARCS scholarships in 2022!

The ARCS Foundation is a national organization that provides scholarships and fellowships for the country's most promising science, medical, and engineering students. Well done, both of you!

ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students Sixteen UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $160,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2022-23 academic year.

New astronomy network catalyzes scientific excellence A new STEM mentoring network seeks to maximize scientific excellence and output within the astronomy and astrophysics community by cultivating inclusive environments where people with marginalized identities can thrive.

Congratulations to Prof. Kevin Bundy and Prof. Holger Schmidt! They have recently won an NSF grant that will allow them to pursue emerging technology of making spectrometers on a chip – tiny devices for separating and measuring light at ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths to to study the properties of objects in the sky, including their composition and distance. Follow the link to learn more.

Collaboration between engineering and astrophysics will develop cutting-edge spectrometers-on-a-chip Two researchers have won an NSF grant that will allow them to pursue the emerging technology of spectrometers on a chip – tiny devices for separating and measuring light at ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths which can enable advances in astronomy when used as part of telescope instrume...

Congratulations Dr. Ari Murguia-Berthier! What an incredible honor.

Astronomer Ariadna Murguia-Berthier wins 2022 Trumpler Award for Ph.D. thesis The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is honoring Murguia-Berthier for the research she completed as a graduate student in astronomy at UC Santa Cruz.

For the first time, astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of an exoplanet. Congratulations to Dr. Aarynn Carter & Prof. Andy Skemer who led the analysis of the image data.

The other UC Santa Cruz astronomers involved in this work include Brittany Miles, Prof. Jonathan Fortney, Prof. Bruce Macintosh, Sagnick Mukherjee, and Callie Hood, as well as Prof. Xi Xhang in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

NASA releases Webb telescope's first exoplanet image UCSC astronomers led the analysis of the first exoplanet images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Remembering Frank Drake, Professor Emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics - pioneer in search for extraterrestrial intelligence I write today with sadness to share news of the passing of Frank Drake, UC Santa Cruz professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics and an eminent radio astronomer. Drake was known for pioneering work in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). He died at his home in Aptos on Sept. 2....

Welcome Dr. Macintosh!

Astrophysicist Bruce Macintosh appointed director of UC Observatories UC President Michael Drake has appointed Bruce Macintosh director of UC Observatories, an astronomical research unit headquartered at UC Santa Cruz and serving nine UC campuses.

An exciting day for UCSC Astronomy & Astrophysics!

UC Santa Cruz marvels at the release of the first James Webb Telescope Images A new era of discoveries is upon us with the very first images from the James Webb Telescope revealed today! UC Santa Cruz astronomers are…

UCSC alumna Laura Lopez was featured in UC Santa Cruz Magazine. Congrats, Laura, on an "astronomical" year!

https://magazine.ucsc.edu/2022/05/laura-lopez-triumph-and-survival/

Laura Lopez: Triumph and survival M.S. ’07; Ph.D. ’11, astronomy and astrophysics

UC Santa Cruz Athletics to host "Astroslugs" with two NASA Astronauts in May - University of California, Santa Cruz On Thursday, May 26, UC Santa Cruz welcomes two distinguished NASA astronauts to share highlights from their history-making 168-day mission aboard the International Space Station.

Check out these incredible photos of Lick Observatory taken this past Friday during an undergraduate student field trip for ASTR 3 - Introductory Astronomy: Planetary Systems w/ Prof. Andy Skemer

Congratulations to Prof. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz for this incredible honor!

White House honors astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz with mentoring award The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring represent the highest honors bestowed upon mentors who work to expand STEM talent.

UC Santa Cruz Prof. Natalie Batalha recently appeared in this 60 minutes interview to share the revolutionary potential of the James Webb telescope! It is now set to launch on December 24.

James Webb Space Telescope: Looking back in time to catch the earliest starlight in creation Scott Pelley reports on the James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch December 22. Scientists hope it will be able to see the universe's first stars and galaxies.

If Planet B exists, what might it be like? Since the first exoplanets were discovered in the 1990s, many have wondered if we might find another Earth out there, a place scientists call Planet B.

UCSC astronomers help shape influential report on national priorities for their field The 'Astro2020' Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics identifies the most compelling science goals and provides recommendations for funding agencies.

💥This is what the explosion of a massive star looks like.💥 UCSC Astronomers recently witnessed a supernova explode located about 60 million light-years away providing unprecedented observations of the death of a red supergiant star. https://go.ucsc.edu/3jrmvxx

Congratulations to Professor Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz! He was awarded the American Physical Society’s 2021 Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach. Ramirez-Ruiz was recognized for his support and retention of women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

https://news.ucsc.edu/2021/10/nicholson-medal.html

Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz awarded American Physical Society’s Nicholson Medal The American Physical Society’s 2021 Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach recognizes Ramirez-Ruiz for innovations in mentoring.

Congratulations to UCSC Astronomy & Astrophysics graduate student, Amanda Quirk! Amanda was a recent winner of an ARCS award. Read more below:

https://news.ucsc.edu/2021/09/arcs-scholars.html?utm_source=09-14-2021&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tuesday-newsday

ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students Sixteen UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $160,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2021-22 academic year.

Dr. Nia Imara has been using sophisticated printing processes and data from simulations of star-forming clouds to create the first 3D-printed stellar nurseries. Read on to learn more about her work.

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.

Huge congratulations to Prof. Natalie Batalha for being appointed the UCSC Presidential Chair!

Natalie Batalha is appointed the UCSC Presidential Chair Natalie Batalha, professor of astronomy & astrophysics and director of the Astrobiology Initiative, has received the UCSC Presidential Chair appointment to support her work to unite the sciences, humanities, and arts in a search for evidence of life on earth.

Astro grad, César Rojas-Bravo, is featured in this month's LIGO Magazine for his contributions to the Swope Team's groundbreaking discovery on August 17, 2017.

"Foley’s team was the first to photograph the kilonova and to announce their findings. The discovery swept them into an overwhelming media wave. It was the first time that astronomers had seen light and gravitational waves produced by the same event. Science named the discovery the 2017 Breakthrough of the Year."

Congratulations César!
https://www.ligo.org/magazine/LIGO-magazine-issue18.pdf =32

www.ligo.org

One of our former PhD students, Kirsten Howley, is in the news for research focused on protecting the Earth from asteroids like the ancient asteroid Bennu.

What Hollywood gets wrong (and right!) about protecting the Earth from asteroids Meet alumna Kirsten Howley, the real-life astrophysicist working to prevent 'Armageddon'.

Check out this article on the James Webb Space Telescope featuring Prof. Natalie Batalha. NASA plans to launch JWST into orbit as early as Oct. 31.

The Webb Telescope, NASA’s Golden Surfer, Is Almost Ready, Again After decades of fits and starts, the multibillion dollar successor to the Hubble telescope is expected to launch as soon as this fall.

A recent Science News article features the work of Prof. J. Xavier Prochaska's team on fast radio bursts. Click the link to read more!

Half the universe’s ordinary matter was missing — and may have been found Astronomers have used fast radio bursts as cosmic weigh stations to tease out where the universe’s “missing matter” resides.