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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.
Astronomers Release Unprecedented Data Set on Celestial Objects that Brighten and Dim
01/12/2012

Astronomers Release Unprecedented Data Set on Celestial Objects that Brighten and Dim

Marcus Woo

Astronomers from Caltech and the University of Arizona have released the largest data set ever collected that documents the brightening and dimming of stars and other celestial objects—two hundred million in total.

Ironing Out the Details of the Earth's Core
12/20/2011

Ironing Out the Details of the Earth's Core

Katie Neith
A team led by mineral-physics researchers at Caltech has honed in on how iron behaves under the conditions found in Earth's core by conducting extremely high-pressure experiments.
The "Supernova of a Generation" Shows Its Stuff
12/14/2011

The "Supernova of a Generation" Shows Its Stuff

Marcus Woo

It was the brightest and closest stellar explosion seen from Earth in 25 years, dazzling professional and backyard astronomers alike. Now, thanks to this rare discovery—which some have called the "supernova of a generation"—astronomers have the most detailed picture yet of how this kind of explosion happens. Known as a Type Ia supernova, this type of blast is an essential tool that allows scientists to measure the expansion of the universe and understand the very nature of the cosmos.

More Clues in the Hunt for the Higgs
12/14/2011

More Clues in the Hunt for the Higgs

Marcus Woo

Physicists have announced that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has produced yet more tantalizing hints for the existence of the Higgs boson. The European Center for Nuclear Research  in Geneva, the international team of thousands of scientists—including many from Caltech—unveiled for the first time all the data taken over the last year from the two main detectors at the LHC, the Compact Muon Solenoid and ATLAS. The results represent the largest amount of data ever presented for the Higgs search.