News

2021

Major step for UChicago partnership: “Engineering Marvel: Sixth Mirror Cast for Giant Magellan Telescope”, GMTO News

March 5, 2021

The Giant Magellan Telescope announces fabrication of the sixth of seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors. These mirrors will allow astronomers to see farther into the universe with more detail than any other optical telescope before.


“Scientists confirm third-nearest star with a planet—and it’s rocky like Earth”,  by Louise Lerner, UChicago News

March 4, 2021

MAROON-X instrument built by UChicago team measures its first planet.
In the past two decades, scientists have discovered more and more planets orbiting distant stars—but in some sense, they’re still just dots on a map.
“It’s kind of like looking at a map of Europe and seeing the dot that’s labeled ‘Paris,’” said University of Chicago astrophysicist Jacob Bean. “You know where it is, but there’s a whole lot that you’re missing about the city.”


“Aging stars provide a new cosmological yardstick”, by Nora Bailey, PSD News

March 1, 2021

Astrophysicist and University of Chicago graduate student Abigail Lee is the lead author on a new paper that analyzed observations of light from a nearby galaxy to validate the JAGB method for measuring cosmological distances. This novel technique will allow future independent distance measurements that can help answer one of the biggest outstanding questions in cosmology: how fast is the universe expanding?


“Synergies and a supernova”,  by Sherry Byrne, UChicago Library News

February 24, 2021

Library staff, faculty, and students join forces to drive new astronomical discoveries
The University of Chicago Library continues to look to the sky in our ongoing collaborative work with Professor Rich Kron, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, exploring the use of data obtained from historical astronomical glass plates to drive new astronomical discovery. Since we last reported on the project in 2019 (“Mining historical glass slides for astronomical data”), a National Science Foundation grant, new collaborations, and detection of a likely supernova have furthered our work, strengthened our partnerships, and expanded our experiences and expertise.


New metamaterials for studying the oldest light in the universe

February 19, 2021


Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Awards

February 18, 2021


Richard Kron, Sloan Digital Sky Survey co-founder, retires

February 9, 2021


Dan Hooper: What happened at the Big Bang?

February 4, 2021


Joshua Frieman & Eugene Parker named Fellows of the American Astronomical Society

February 4, 2021


Roger Hildebrand, Manhattan Project veteran and ‘giant’ of physics and astrophysics, 1922-2021

January 27, 2021


Cosmologist Brian Nord discusses building coalition of physicists & computer scientists to promote algorithmic accountability

January 27, 2021


Dark Energy Survey releases catalog of nearly 700 million astronomical objects to the public

January 14, 2021


UChicago undergrads discover bright lensed galaxy in the early universe

January 13, 2021


2020

Peter O. Vandervoort, astrophysicist and beloved UChicago mentor, 1935-2020

December 18, 2020


Graduate students selected for fellowship

December 18, 2020