Decades of research on tiny life in one of the most inhospitable places can reveal the planet’s biggest changes.
NAU Astronomy & Planetary Science In the News
NASA’s Crash Into an Asteroid May Have Altered Its Shape
A computer model simulated the DART spacecraft colliding with the asteroid Dimorphos.CreditCredit…Raducan et al., Nature
Dimorphos’s response is “completely outside of the realm of physics as we understand it” in our day-to-day lives, said Cristina Thomas, the lead of the mission’s observations working group at Northern Arizona University who was not involved with the study. And “this has overarching implications for planetary defense.”
DART showed that a tiny spacecraft can deflect an asteroid. But the… Read more
Did the Galileo mission find life on Earth?
Ryder Strauss’ new paper (see Accomplishments, January 2024), is garnering some media attention.
Did the Galileo mission find life on Earth?
by Brian Koberlein , Universe Today
Microbe Goo Could Help Guide the Search for Life on Mars
Great feature article about PhD student Natalie Jones in EOS, which is the news magazine of the American Geophysical Union.
Humans of NAU: David Koerner
Many people have rafted through the Grand Canyon. How many have done it with a string quartet? David Koerner has. An emeritus professor of astronomy, Koerner also is finishing a graduate certificate in piano performance and has a master’s degree in instrumental performance for the viola. He’s combining his two loves with his new appointment: astronomer in residence at the Grand Canyon.
Read the full story at Read more
Hello, aliens? If you’re out there, give us a wave.
After spending a weekend in Roswell, New Mexico, to watch the solar eclipse—and pay a visit to the UFO Museum—Gavin Moriarty, president of NAU’s Astronomy Club, weighed in on alien life, a staple of scary stories. Is the research pointing more toward ET, Independence Day or Coneheads?
Read the full story by Heidi Toth at The NAU Review.