News
New observations of black hole devouring a star reveal rapid disk formation
August 26, 2020
The first clear confirmation of accretion disk formation in a tidal disruption event without x-ray emissions supports theoretical predictions.
UC’s Lick Observatory threatened by fire
August 20, 2020
Residences on Mt. Hamilton sustained some damage, but fire crews have so far been able to protect the observatory’s telescope domes and visitor center.
Calcium-rich supernova examined with x-rays for first time
August 5, 2020
An international team has obtained unprecedented observations of a rare calcium-rich supernova.
How galaxies die: New insights into the quenching of star formation
July 16, 2020
A simple model explains a wide range of observations by describing a contest between galaxy halos and their central black holes that eventually turns off star formation.
Astrophysics graduate student Diana Powell wins 2020 Ford Fellowship
July 15, 2020
Powell won a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to support her work as she completes her Ph.D. thesis on exoplanets.
White dwarfs reveal new insights into the origin of carbon in the universe
July 6, 2020
A new analysis of white dwarf stars supports their role as a key source of carbon, an element crucial to all life, in the Milky Way and other galaxies.
Black Lives Matter: A statement from our department
June 24, 2020
Physicist Tesla Jeltema wins Mentorship Award from American Physical Society
May 28, 2020
An accomplished astrophysicist, Jeltema is also a champion for diversity and a dedicated supporter of students at all levels.
Universe’s ‘missing matter’ finally found in the space between galaxies
May 27, 2020
An international team of astronomers has solved the decades-old mystery of the ‘missing matter’ long predicted to exist in the universe but never before detected.
Astronomers create cloud atlas for hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets
May 26, 2020
Giant planets in our solar system and circling other stars have exotic clouds unlike anything on Earth, and the gas giants orbiting close to their stars—so called hot Jupiters—boast the most extreme.
Astronomers discover a massive rotating disk galaxy in the early universe
May 20, 2020
The discovery by an international team of astronomers of a massive rotating disk galaxy, seen when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, challenges traditional models of galaxy formation.
Powerful new AI technique detects and classifies galaxies in astronomy image data
May 12, 2020
UCSC researchers developed a deep-learning framework called Morpheus to perform pixel-level morphological classifications of objects in astronomical images.
Watch UCSC participants talk about hope during TEDx Santa Cruz
April 23, 2020
Last December, TEDx Santa Cruz hosted a day-long extravaganza of talks curated around the theme of "The Art of Hope." Those talks, including ones by several UCSC affiliates, are now available for online viewing.
Astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 23, 2020
Other new members of the class of 2020 include singer Joan Baez, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and poet and playwright Claudia Rankine.
New formation theory explains the mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua
April 13, 2020
A new scenario based on computer simulations accounts for all of the observed characteristics of the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system.
Physics undergraduate wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
April 2, 2020
Elizabeth Yunerman, a junior studying physics and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Postdoctoral fellowship supports planetary science research
March 26, 2020
Elizabeth Bailey has won a 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation for research at UC Santa Cruz on exoplanets and the formation of planetary systems.
In Memoriam: Lloyd Robinson (1929–2020)
March 16, 2020
Lloyd Burdette Robinson died peacefully in his sleep on March 12, 2020. He was 90.
UCSC thin-film expertise to help develop NASA’s next generation of space telescopes
March 11, 2020
Engineer Nobuhiko Kobayashi's expertise in thin-film technology could improve the performance of NASA’s next generation of space telescopes.
Astronomers use slime mold model to reveal dark threads of the cosmic web
March 10, 2020
The problem-solving prowess of a simple slime mold has been harnessed to trace the large-scale structure of the universe.
Five UC Santa Cruz astronomers are among the first class of AAS Fellows
February 25, 2020
The American Astronomical Society has designated an initial group of more than 200 Legacy Fellows, including five faculty members in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
Heising-Simons Foundation supports exoplanet imaging projects at UC Santa Cruz
February 24, 2020
Three new grants totaling $2.4 million will fund work at UCSC on new instruments and technologies to support research on planets beyond our solar system.
Bringing new perspectives to astronomy
February 11, 2020
An array of grants from the Heising-Simons Foundation is helping UC Santa Cruz accelerate astrophysics and other sciences while changing what we think an astrophysicist looks like
Astronomer Sandra Faber awarded Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal
January 10, 2020
The Royal Astronomical Society has awarded its Gold Medal in Astronomy to Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
$1 million gift creates William Wallace Campbell Director’s Fund for Lick Observatory
January 8, 2020
A new endowment honoring the third director of Lick Observatory will support current and future directors’ priorities for the observatory.
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz gives TED talk at National Academy of Sciences
December 17, 2019
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, is among a select group of scientists who delivered TED talks at the National Academy of Sciences in November.
Composition of gas giant planets not determined by host star, study finds
December 3, 2019
Research led by astronomers at UC Santa Cruz and Carnegie Institution for Science has implications for understanding how planets form.
Nine UCSC speakers join TEDx Santa Cruz extravaganza Dec. 7
December 2, 2019
Nine UCSC affiliates will join novelist Jonathan Franzen and a host of other speakers for TEDx Santa Cruz, a daylong extravaganza focused this year on the "Art of Hope," on Saturday, Dec. 7.
