Designing new mirror materials for better gravitational-wave detection
Nicholas Demos, a first-generation college graduate and MathWorks Fellow in MIT’s Kavli Institute, is improving our ability to listen to the cosmos.
Oct. 28, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: physics astrophysics astronomy profile research stars black-holes students awards-honors-and-fellowships graduate-postdoctoral school-of-science kavli-institute space-astronomy-and-planetary-science ligo
The wobbling shadow of the M87* black hole
Analysis of Event Horizon Telescope observations from 2009 to 2017 reveals turbulent evolution of the M87* black hole image.
Sept. 23, 2020 • ~5 min
Tags: astrophysics astronomy research black-holes space-astronomy-and-planetary-science haystack-observatory
Astronomers discover an Earth-sized “pi planet” with a 3.14-day orbit
The rocky world, with its baking-hot surface, is likely not habitable.
Sept. 21, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: astronomy exoplanets research stars tess school-of-science algorithms kavli-institute planetary-science space-astronomy-and-planetary-science eaps
Astronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus
Evidence indicates phosphine, a gas associated with living organisms, is present in the habitable region of Venus’ atmosphere.
Sept. 14, 2020 • ~10 min
Tags: physics astrophysics astronomy research school-of-science kavli-institute planetary-science space-astronomy-and-planetary-science eaps
MIT-led team to develop software to help forecast space storms
National Science Foundation awards proposal for space weather modeling.
Sept. 10, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: mathematics physics solar solar-system funding nasa data research school-of-engineering school-of-science computer-science-and-technology aeronautical-and-astronautical-engineering national-science-foundation-nsf computer-modeling space-astronomy-and-planetary-science grants software haystack-observatory computation
An unexpected origin story for a lopsided black hole merger
Researchers suggest a novel process to explain the collision of a large black hole and a much smaller one.
Sept. 2, 2020 • ~8 min
Tags: physics astrophysics astronomy research black-holes school-of-science national-science-foundation-nsf kavli-institute space-astronomy-and-planetary-science ligo
A “bang” in LIGO and Virgo detectors signals most massive gravitational-wave source yet
A binary black hole merger likely produced gravitational waves equal to the energy of eight suns.
Sept. 2, 2020 • ~10 min
Tags: physics astrophysics astronomy data research black-holes school-of-science national-science-foundation-nsf kavli-institute space-astronomy-and-planetary-science ligo
Software finds the best way to stick a Mars landing | MIT News
Program users can tinker with landing and path planning scenarios to identify optimal landing sites for Mars rovers.
Sept. 26, 2018 • ~9 min
Tags: space geology artificial-intelligence robots nasa mars research autonomous-vehicles school-of-science algorithms aeronautical-and-astronautical-engineering national-science-foundation-nsf kavli-institute planetary-science space-astronomy-and-planetary-science eaps
Professor Emeritus Bernard Burke, astrophysics pioneer, dies at 90 | MIT News
Former Astrophysics Division chair discovered radio noise from Jupiter and the first Einstein Ring, and developed tools to map the universe.
Sept. 24, 2018 • ~12 min
Tags: physics astrophysics astronomy school-of-science faculty kavli-institute planetary-science space-astronomy-and-planetary-science obituaries
3Q: A bold mission to touch the sun | MIT News
MIT’s John Belcher discusses the launch of the Parker Solar Probe, which will fly directly into the sun’s atmosphere.
Aug. 13, 2018 • ~6 min
Tags: physics space solar nasa research school-of-science 3-questions aeronautical-and-astronautical-engineering kavli-institute planetary-science satellites space-astronomy-and-planetary-science
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