Project News

Astronomers gather clues about unseen cataclysmic collisions

ZTF • September 14th, 2020

Two large international collaborations of astronomers joined forces to look for light from some of the most cataclysmic events – the collisions of a neutron star and black hole....

Primary Mirror for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Completed

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope • September 3rd, 2020

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s primary mirror, which will collect and focus light from cosmic objects near and far, has been completed. Using this mirror, Roman will...

Where Are Stars Made? NASA's Spitzer Spies a Hot Spot

Spitzer • August 25th, 2020

The most massive stars in the universe are born inside cosmic clouds of gas and dust, where they leave behind clues about their lives for astronomers to decode.

Unveiling Rogue Planets With NASA’s Roman Space Telescope

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope • August 21st, 2020

New simulations show that NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to reveal myriad rogue planets – freely floating bodies that drift through our galaxy untethered...

ZTF Finds Closest Known Asteroid to Fly By Earth

ZTF • August 19th, 2020

On August 16, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic survey camera located at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, spotted an asteroid that had, just hours earlier,...

ZTF Finds Closest Known Asteroid to Fly By Earth

ZTF • August 18th, 2020

On August 16, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic survey camera located at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, spotted an asteroid that had, just hours earlier,...

Ground System for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Completes Major Review

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope • July 24th, 2020

The Roman Space Telescope's ground system, which will make data from the spacecraft available to scientists and the public, has just successfully completed its preliminary...

Spectacular Ultraviolet Flash May Finally Explain How White Dwarfs Explode

ZTF • July 23rd, 2020

For just the second time ever, astrophysicists have spotted a spectacular flash of ultraviolet (UV) light accompanying a white dwarf explosion. An extremely rare type of...

Spectacular Ultraviolet Flash May Finally Explain How White Dwarfs Explode

ZTF • July 23rd, 2020

For just the second time ever, astrophysicists have spotted a spectacular flash of ultraviolet (UV) light accompanying a white dwarf explosion. An extremely rare type of...

Two Bizarre Brown Dwarfs Found With Citizen Scientists' Help

Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer • July 10th, 2020

Data from NASA's NEOWISE mission, managed by the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, fuels the search for these not-quite-planets-but-not-quite-stars. With the help of citizen...