News
Astro Group News
Jul 9, 2025
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@theU
Astronomers celebrate images decades in the making
On June 23, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located in Cerro Pachón, Chile, presented its inaugural data release of images that will…
Jun 5, 2025
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@theU
Humans of the U: Gail Zasowski
“I was raised in a fairly rural area where being a scientist wasn’t really seen as a career option, but when I…
Mar 20, 2025
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@theU
DESI results strengthen hints that dark energy may evolve
The fate of the universe hinges on the balance between matter and dark energy: the fundamental ingredient that drives its accelerating expansion.…
Feb 19, 2025
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@theU
‘Vast discovery’ of black holes in dwarf galaxies
Using early data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), a team of scientists, led by University of Utah postdoctoral researcher Ragadeepika…
Feb 6, 2025
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U of U Science
Widening our Cosmic View
In a field of groundbreaking discoveries and analytical research papers, it’s easy to lose sight of the humanity behind the STEM fields.…
Sep 25, 2024
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@theU
How special is the Milky Way Galaxy?
Is our home galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, a special place? A team of scientists started a journey to answer this question…
Aug 8, 2024
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@theU
The Milky Way is actually kinda basic
The Milky Way has always seemed a little bit weird in comparison to other galaxies. For decades, research suggested that our galaxy…
Jul 10, 2024
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@theU
Astronomers find missing link in massive black hole formation
Omega Centauri is a spectacular collection of 10 million stars, visible as a smudge in the night sky from Southern latitudes. Through…
Apr 18, 2024
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@theU
B.O.A.T. Brightest of All Time
In October 2022, an international team of researchers, including University of Utah astrophysicist Tanmoy Laskar, observed the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever…
Apr 5, 2024
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U of U Physics
First Results from DESI Make the Most Precise Measurement of Our Expanding Universe
DESI has made the largest 3D map of our universe to date. Earth is at the center of this thin slice of…
Jan 17, 2024
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@theU
The ‘Barbenheimer Star’
Astronomy’s new blockbuster was announced in New Orleans during the 2024 American Astronomical Society meeting. Astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey…
Oct 25, 2023
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@theU
NASA’s Webb makes first detection of heavy element from star merger
A team of scientists has used multiple space and ground-based telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope…
Jul 27, 2023
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U of U Physics
Gravitational waves thrum through the cosmos
On June 28, dozens of astronomy enthusiasts gathered on the University of Utah campus to watch a live stream of a mysterious…
Jun 13, 2023
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@theU
DESI early data release holds nearly 2M objects
The universe is big, and it’s getting bigger. To study dark energy, the mysterious force behind the accelerating expansion of our universe,…
May 31, 2023
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@theU
U joins Association of Universities for Astronomy
The Association of Universities for Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to welcome two new member institutions: the University of Utah and the University…
May 4, 2023
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@theU
Aurora borealis caught on video
On April 21, the sun released huge coronal mass ejection (CME). Magnetic fields pulsed across the surface of the sun’s southern hemisphere;…
Mar 28, 2023
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@theU
New study questions decades-long understanding of gamma ray bursts
On Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, a pulse of intense gamma-ray radiation swept through our solar system, saturating detectors on numerous spacecraft and…
Feb 8, 2023
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@theU
Space dust as Earth’s sun shield
On a cold winter day, the warmth of the sun is welcome. Yet as humanity emits more and more greenhouse gases, the…
Nov 30, 2022
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@theU
Mysterious bright flash is a black hole jet pointing straight at Earth
Earlier this year, astronomers at the Palomar Observatory detected an extraordinary flash in a part of the sky where no such light…
Sep 22, 2022
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U of U Physics
U students create new presentations during planetarium internship
Cosm/E&S, considered the world’s first computer graphics company, has developed advanced computer graphics technologies for more than five decades. Their technology developed…
Aug 24, 2022
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U of U Physics
U astrophysicist Dan Wik is member of team whose proposal has been selected by NASA for further study
NASA has selected four mission proposals submitted to the agency’s Explorers Program for further study. U astrophysicist Dan Wik is a member…
Aug 18, 2022
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@theU
BOOM! A meteor crashes across Utah’s sky
On the morning of Aug. 13, a mysterious BOOM rattled windows and Utahns’ nerves across the Wasatch Front. Immediately, people speculated on…
Aug 18, 2022
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@theU
To boldly know what no one has known before
According to Captain James Kirk, space is the final frontier (although oceanographers might have something to say about that). Beyond Earth’s atmosphere,…
Aug 5, 2022
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@theU
U astronomers tackle decade’s biggest questions
Astronomers and astrophysicists at the University of Utah have been driving discoveries in the field for years. The innovative research from the…