By Julie Hammonds
Office of the Vice President for Research
Northern Arizona University assistant professor Ryan Behunin collaborated with a team of physicists from Yale and the University of Texas at Austin in discovering an innovative way to manipulate light in silicon. By demonstrating a new type of laser that amplifies light with sound waves in a silicon chip, the team’s research… Read more
Life on Mars? NAU astronomy professor discusses NASA’s finding of organic matter on Red Planet
Mark Salvatore has been studying Mars’ surface for years, including through his work with the Curiosity rover. He talked to NAU News about NASA’s announcement Thursday that showed evidence of organic material and methane on Mars—both of which could be indicative of life on the Red Planet.
Salvatore is an assistant professor in the Department of… Read more
What are the Chances that the Next Generation LSST Could Find New Planets in the Solar System? – Universe Today
In the past few decades, thanks to improvements in ground-based and space-based observatories, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting neighboring and distant stars (aka. extrasolar planets). Strangely enough, it is these same improvements, and during the same time period, that enabled the discovery of more astronomical bodies within the Solar System.
These include the “minor planets” of Eris, Sedna, Haumea,… Read more
NAU grad student awarded NSF research fellowship with proposal to take astronomy research to the people – NAU News : NAU News
By Heidi Toth
NAU Communications
Colin Chandler’s middle name is Orion.
It should be no surprise, then, that at age 7 he was stargazing, or that today, after years owning an IT business in Silicon Valley, he has chosen a career as an astronomer. Like his namesake, he is a celestial hunter, searching space for hints at signs of life on other planets or simply the existence of other planets altogether.
His search just got some help, when Chandler, who is… Read more
What Makes Jupiter’s Great Spot Red? It’s Still a Mystery
Space.com article By Science & Astronomy
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has swirled for hundreds of years, but the source of its distinctive color remains a mystery. New laboratory experiments are working to produce that color — and others found in Jupiter’s stormy cloud tops — here on Earth, and researchers have found that radiation and temperature play key roles… Read more