2008 News
Astronomy professor Douglas Lin receives Outstanding Faculty Award
November 19, 2008
The Division of Physical and Biological Sciences has given its 2007-08 Outstanding Faculty Award to Douglas Lin, professor of astronomy and astrophysics.
UCSC earns top ranking for scientific impact of astronomy research
November 14, 2008
UCSC is the top-ranking university in the country for the quality of its research in astronomy and astrophysics, according to a new analysis of papers published in scientific journals and how often those papers are cited by other scientists.
Princeton awards Madison Medal to astronomer Claire Max
November 09, 2008
Princeton University will present the James Madison Medal, one of its top honors for alumni, to Claire Max, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz who has developed techniques to enable astronomers to more clearly observe the universe.
Serendipitous observations reveal rare event in life of distant quasar
October 22, 2008
Thanks to the sharp eyes of a UCSC undergraduate, astronomers have obtained a surprise view of a never-before-observed event in the birth of a galaxy.
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz wins prestigious Packard Fellowship
October 15, 2008
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics, is the ninth young scientist at UCSC to receive a prestigious Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering.
Study shows clumps and streams of dark matter in inner regions of the Milky Way
August 07, 2008
Using one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world to simulate the halo of dark matter that envelopes our galaxy, researchers found dense clumps and streams of the mysterious stuff lurking in the inner regions of the halo, in the same neighborhood
Strange ring found circling dead star
May 28, 2008
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a bizarre ring of material around the magnetic remains of a star that blasted to smithereens.
May 22, 2008
Thirty-Meter Telescope focuses on two candidate sites
May 15, 2008
After completing a worldwide survey of astronomical sites for the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), the TMT Observatory Corporation board of directors has selected two outstanding sites, one in each hemisphere, for further consideration.
May 1, 2008
Astronomer Claire Max elected to National Academy of Sciences
April 29, 2008
Claire Max, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 23, 2008
Nearby star should harbor detectable, Earth-like planets
March 06, 2008
A rocky planet similar to Earth may be orbiting one of our nearest stellar neighbors and could be detected using existing techniques, according to a new study led by UCSC astronomers.
Unusual supernovae may reveal intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters
January 28, 2008
A strange and violent fate awaits a white dwarf star that wanders too close to a moderately massive black hole.
