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  • NAU astronomer on team confirming orbit of most distant object ever observed in our solar system

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NAU astronomer on team confirming orbit of most distant object ever observed in our solar system

Posted by Heather Tate on February 10, 2021

A team of astronomers, including associate professor Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, have confirmed a planetoid that is almost four times farther from the Sun than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. The planetoid, which has been nicknamed “Farfarout,” was first detected in 2018, and the team has now collected enough observations to pin down its orbit. The Minor Planet Center has now given… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

NAU astronomers discover activity on distant planetary object; findings lead to reclassification of Centaur as comet

Posted by Heather Tate on October 28, 2020

Panstarrs digital image
This new image of C/2014 OG392 (PANSTARRS) and its extensive coma combines many digital images into a single 7,700 second exposure. The dashed lines are star trails caused by the long exposure. Images captured October 14, 2020 using the Large Monolithic Imager on the 4.3 m Lowell Discovery Telescope.

Centaurs are minor planets believed to have originated in the Kuiper Belt in the outer solar system. They sometimes… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

NAU scientists author papers in Nature Astronomy chronicling legacy of Spitzer Space Telescope

Posted by Heather Tate on October 12, 2020

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, designed to study the early universe in infrared light, was the first telescope to see light from a planet outside our solar system. Launched in 2003, Spitzer contained infrared detectors of unprecedented sensitivity, providing astronomers a never-before-possible look at the universe.

Spitzer made important discoveries about comets, stars, exoplanets and distant galaxies. Decommissioned earlier this year—11 years beyond its prime mission—the… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

NAU planetary astronomer receives NASA grants for two new studies of Main Asteroid Belt

Posted by Heather Tate on September 2, 2020

Cristina Thomas sitting as a computer The majority of asteroids in our solar system are found in the Main Asteroid Belt, which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Although millions of objects populate the belt, most are relatively small, and astronomers have not actually studied many of them in detail.

NAU assistant professor Cristina Thomas, whose research focuses on asteroids, recently received two grants from NASA to study two different… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

NAU planetary scientist recreating icy space conditions to understand the makeup of molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars

Posted by Heather Tate on March 24, 2020

Mark Loeffler and students in the PEAXS lab
NAU planetary scientist Mark Loeffler works with students in his PEAXS (Processes, Environments, and Astrochemistry on Extraterrestrial Surfaces) Research Laboratory.

Icy gas clouds found in deep space between stars are believed to be the birthplace of planets and solar systems. Scientists want to know what these clouds are made of,… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

NAU planetary scientist Chad Trujillo awarded prestigious international Farinella Prize

Posted by Heather Tate on September 20, 2019

Chad Trijillo sitting in front of computer Chad Trujillo, assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, has been awarded the 2019 Paolo Farinella Prize by the Europlanet Society for his contributions in the field of planetary science concerning “The Trans-Neptunian Population.”

Along with collaborator Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science, Trujillo was honored at an award ceremony on Sept. 16 at the… Read more

Filed Under: College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

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