Project News

Trio of Fast-Spinning Brown Dwarfs May Reveal a Rotational Speed Limit

Spitzer • April 7th, 2021

Brown dwarfs, sometimes known as “failed stars,” can spin at upwards of 200,000 mph, but there may be a limit to how fast they can go.

The 7 Rocky TRAPPIST-1 Planets May Be Made of Similar Stuff

Spitzer • January 22nd, 2021

Precise measurements reveal that the exoplanets have remarkably similar densities, which provides clues about their composition.

Citizen Scientists Help Create 3D Map of Cosmic Neighborhood

Spitzer • January 13th, 2021

Is our solar system located in a typical Milky Way neighborhood? Scientists have gotten closer to answering this question, thanks to the NASA-funded Backyard Worlds: Planet 9...

Continue to Follow Spitzer as you “ExploreAstro at Caltech IPAC”

Spitzer • December 16th, 2020

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope was officially decommissioned on January 30, 2020, but Spitzer’s discoveries will continue for years to come. A great way to learn about these...

16-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved, Revealing Stellar Missing Link

Spitzer • November 18th, 2020

The Blue Ring Nebula, which perplexed scientists for over a decade, appears to be the youngest known example of two stars merged into one.

Data reveals evidence of molecular absorption in the atmosphere of a hot Neptune

Spitzer • October 26th, 2020

An international team of scientists recently measured the spectrum of the atmosphere of a rare hot Neptune exoplanet, whose discovery by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey...

3 UCF Researchers Part of Nature Astronomy Articles Chronicling Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy

Spitzer • October 12th, 2020

The papers provide an inventory of some of the greatest discoveries of the past decade and suggest targets for the next generation telescope, scheduled to launch in 2021.

Data Sonification: Sounds from Around the Milky Way

Spitzer • September 24th, 2020

Telescopes give us a chance to see what the Galactic Center looks like in different types of light. By translating the inherently digital data (in the form of ones and zeroes)...

NASA Missions Spy First Possible Planet Hugging a Stellar Cinder

Spitzer • September 16th, 2020

The violent events leading up to the death of a star would likely drive away any planets. The newly discovered Jupiter-size object may have arrived long after the star died.

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.