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NASA Lends Ultraviolet Space Telescope to Caltech
05/16/2012

NASA Lends Ultraviolet Space Telescope to Caltech

Marcus Woo

Caltech has taken over operation from NASA of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a space telescope that for the last nine years has been surveying the cosmos in ultraviolet light.

Overactive Black Holes Shut Down Star Formation
05/11/2012

Overactive Black Holes Shut Down Star Formation

Marcus Woo

A team of astronomers has found that the most active galactic nuclei—enormous black holes that are violently devouring gas and dust at the centers of galaxies—may prevent new stars from forming.

Two Galaxies in One
04/27/2012

Two Galaxies in One

Marcus Woo

Observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope show that the Sombrero galaxy is actually two galaxies in one. With a halo of stars surrounded by the thin edge of a stellar disk, the galaxy resembles a big hat.

Fermi Space Telescope Helps Scientists Narrow Search for Dark Matter
04/04/2012

Fermi Space Telescope Helps Scientists Narrow Search for Dark Matter

Marcus Woo

Scientists have further narrowed the search for a hypothetical particle that could be dark matter, the mysterious stuff that makes up 80 percent of all the mass in the universe.

Astronomers Find Light-Bending Quasars
03/16/2012

Astronomers Find Light-Bending Quasars

Marcus Woo

Astronomers have found celestial objects called quasars that bend and distort the light coming from galaxies behind them. The discovery may finally allow astronomers to determine the masses of galaxies that host quasars.

Experiment Observes Elusive Neutrino Transformation
03/08/2012

Experiment Observes Elusive Neutrino Transformation

Marcus Woo

An international team of physicists—including several from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)—has detected and measured, for the first time, a transformation of one particular type of neutrino into another type. The finding, physicists say, may help solve some of the biggest mysteries about the universe, such as why the universe contains more matter than antimatter—a phenomenon that explains why stars, planets, and people exist at all.

Buckyballs in Space
02/24/2012

Buckyballs in Space

Kimm Fesenmaier

Buckyballs—those odd molecules made up of 60 carbon atoms arranged like hollow spheres—have been found, for the first time, in their solid form in space.

Plasmas Torn Apart
02/15/2012

Plasmas Torn Apart

Marcus Woo

Using high-speed cameras to look at jets of plasma in the lab, Caltech researchers have made a discovery that may be important in understanding phenomena like solar flares and in developing nuclear fusion as a future energy source.

A Powerful New Astronomy Instrument Gets Ready for Hawaii
02/06/2012

A Powerful New Astronomy Instrument Gets Ready for Hawaii

Marcus Woo

MOSFIRE, a new near-infrared spectrometer is now on its way to the W. M. Keck Observatory, atop Mauna Kea. The instrument will be the newest weapon in the Keck's arsenal to survey the cosmos, helping astronomers learn about star formation, galaxy formation, and the early universe.

Radio Stars
02/03/2012

Radio Stars

Marcus Woo
Caltech's newest astronomy professor searches for cosmic radio waves.
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