Shannon Hall
First Microlensing Detection of a Planet Circling a Brown Dwarf Candidate
When astronomers detect new exoplanets they typically do so using one of two techniques. First, there's the famous transit technique,…
Landmark Discovery: New Results Provide Direct Evidence for Cosmic Inflation
Astronomers have announced Nobel Prize-worthy evidence of primordial gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of spacetime — providing the first…
Rumors Flying Nearly as Fast as Their Subject: Have Gravitational Waves Been Detected?
Last week the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) stated rather nonchalantly that they will be hosting a press conference on…
Physicists Reveal the Hidden Interiors of Gas Giants
In astronomy we love focusing on the bigger picture. We’re searching for exoplanets in the vast hope that we may…
New Technique Could Measure Exoplanet Atmospheric Pressure, an Indicator of Habitability
Measuring the atmospheric pressure of a distant exoplanet may seem like a daunting task but astronomers at the University of…
“Climate Change is Now More Certain Than Ever,” New Report Says
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. So begins the latest report by the U.S. National…
Nearby Stream of Stars Reveals Past Cosmic Collision
The tangled remains of vast cosmic collisions can be seen across the universe, such as the distant Whirlpool Galaxy’s past…
Is Eta Carinae Heading Toward Another Eruption?
Massive stars can devastate their surroundings, unleashing hot winds and blasting radiation. With a mass over 100 times heavier than…
NSF Report Biased, Expert Says: Americans Don’t Think Astrology is Scientific
Every Thanksgiving when I was home from college, at least one family member would turn to me and ask me…
Zooniverse Reaches One Million Volunteers
Zooniverse — the renowned home of citizen science projects — is now one million strong. That’s one million registered volunteers…