Tag Space & astronomy
From rocks in Colorado, evidence of a ‘chaotic solar system’
New evidence confirms a critical theory of how the planets in our solar system behave in their orbits around the sun, producing big changes in Earth's climate.
UW-Madison astrophysics innovator Lawler wins national award
James Lawler is a professor of physics known for devising techniques to measure the chemical elements in the sun and other stars.
Astronaut James Lovell’s commencement speech
Read the complete text of Capt. James A. Lovell's commencement address to 2016 winter graduates.
Supermoon? Meh. It may be closer, but it won’t be super duper
"It’s always good when people take an interest in astronomical objects, but I wouldn't wake the kids up at 3 a.m.” says UW–Madison Space Place Director Jim Lattis.
Hilldale lecture draws noted astrophysicist with climate message
Frank Shu, who has done pioneering research in astronomy on planetary disks, the origin of meteorites and the evolution of stars, will talk about reversing climate change.
UW-Madison scientists help fly Global Hawk drone into Hermine, other hurricanes
The Global Hawk is part of a three-year experimental mission called SHOUT (Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology), focused on studying whether the drone can improve hurricane analysis and forecasting in an economically feasible way.
Cataclysm at Meteor Crater: Crystal sheds light on Earth, moon, Mars
In molten sandstone extracted by prospectors a century ago, an international team of scientists has discovered microscopic crystals telling of unimaginable pressures and temperatures when an asteroid formed Meteor Crater in northern Arizona some 49,000 years ago.
UW-Madison’s Zweibel wins 2016 Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics
University of Wisconsin–Madison astrophysicist Ellen Gould Zweibel has won the American Physical Society’s 2016 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics.
Washburn Observatory open Monday for public viewing of Mercury crossing sun
Weather permitting, Washburn Observatory will be open to the public for safe viewing of the event.
High Throughput Computing helps LIGO confirm Einstein’s last unproven theory
A software program pioneered at UW–Madison churned away in the background, helping analyze data from billions of particle collisions.
After long hiatus, Washburn Observatory public viewing to resume
The observatory had closed unexpectedly in April 2014 when a motor and gear box that operate a sliding door on the dome malfunctioned.