Earth’s Orbit Is About to Get More Crowded

January 19, 2023 | EOS | Sarah Scoles

Sometime this coming March, a network of 10 small satellites winged with solar panels is scheduled to launch into Earth’s low orbit. Though likely invisible to the naked eye, the satellites will be part of a future herd of hundreds that, according to the Space Development Agency, or SDA, will bolster the United States’ defense […]

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The seven-year photobomb: Distant star’s dimming was likely a ‘dusty’ companion getting in the way, astronomers say

January 10, 2023 | UW News | James Urton

UW doctoral student Anastasios “Andy” Tzanidakis announced the discovery of a rare type of binary star system. Tzanidakis and Dr. James Davenport, a UW research assistant professor of astronomy and associate director of the DiRAC Institute, were investigating why the star Gaia17bpp had gradually brightened over a 2 1/2-year period. In some investigative follow-up work, […]

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Big Data in the Night Sky

December 1, 2022 | Nancy Joseph | UW News

In conversation with James Davenport and 2022 DiRAC Research Prize recipients read more about Vera C. Rubin Observatory and important role of the scientists at the UW’s DiRAC Institute.

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UW Space Dialogue with Meredith Rawls

May 3, 2022 | DiRAC NEWS

Astronomy, satellites, and the future of our sky Join us Thursday, May 5th at Noon PDT on Zoom We are witnessing a new era as skies fill with thousands of low-Earth-orbit satellites that reflect sunlight. Observational astronomy at all wavelengths is increasingly affected, and so is the shared human experience of the night sky. For optical ground-based astronomy, the […]

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NASA releases first image from an in-focus Webb telescope

March 16, 2022 | Ars Technica | John Timmer

Distant galaxies come into focus as Webb is on track to meet or exceed expectations. Today, NASA announced that it has successfully completed two further steps to align the mirrors of the Webb telescope. The resulting performance indicates that Webb will meet or exceed its design goals.

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