“We’re witnessing a new era as skies fill with thousands of bright satellites,” said Meredith Rawls, a research scientist with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the DiRAC Institute at the UW. “In just the last two years, astronomers have realized this will impact our ability to achieve science goals from ground-based facilities like Rubin Observatory.”
Nine years ago today, an asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia. It was only about 20 meters in diameter (or 55-65 feet) — by meteor and asteroid standards, pretty small, but as you may remember, it packed a punch.
The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet is named after its discoverers, University of Washington postdoctoral scholar Pedro Bernardinelli, and University of Pennsylvania cosmologist Gary Bernstein, who first spotted the comet in the Dark Energy Survey dataset.
UW Department of Astronomy research scientist, Meredith Rawls, explains the effects of satellite constellations on observatories.
Schmidt Futures philanthropy launches Virtual Institute for Scientific Software
DiRAC Alumni, Dr. Gwendolyn Eadie, wins 2021 Polanyi Prize in Physics for her leadership and research in the emerging interdisciplinary field of astrostatistics.
On January 3, 2022, Željko Ivezić assumed the role of Director of Rubin Observatory Construction, appointed by Matt Mountain, AURA President.
Professor Ivezić has been involved with Rubin Observatory/LSST since its inception in the early 2000s, serving for many years as Project Scientist and head of the Project Science Team.
UW astronomers take on the liftoff of an Ariane 5 rocket and James Webb Space Telescope.
Northwest astronomy fans got a treat Monday night as clear skies provided an excellent view of the northern lights over Washington state.