Tag: Physics & Astronomy

Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument team begins 3D mapping of universe

sarah JonasFeature

Irvine, Calif., May 18, 2021 — The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument collaboration launched a new era in cosmology today with a five-year endeavor to construct the largest three-dimensional map of the universe. Comprised of nearly 500 scientists from around the globe, including astronomers at the University of California, Irvine, the DESI group will collect spectral data from more than 30 million galaxies to study dark energy, an as-yet-unknown substance believed to be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.

Trident Team Reaches NASA’s Discovery Program Finals

sarah JonasFeature

Two Weizmann Institute scientists are on a team selected as a finalist for a mission to Triton, Neptune’s largest moon. The duo designed a super-accurate clock that will help them study Triton’s atmosphere – and even search for life. The mission, called Trident, would launch in 2026.

How to Build a 3D Map of the Universe – and Why

sarah JonasFeature

In the 1980s, Saul Perlmutter at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and his collaborators realized that they could use data about supernovae to research the history of the universe. They expected to see that very distant supernovae appear a bit brighter than they would in an expanding universe that wasn’t slowing in its growth.

The data revealed something else entirely.

Researchers Discover Highest-Energy Light From a Gamma-ray Burst

sarah JonasResearch Results

An international team of researchers, including two astrophysicists from the George Washington University, has observed a gamma-ray burst with an afterglow that featured the highest energy photons—a trillion times more energetic than visible light—ever detected in a burst.