About: Shari


Recent Posts by Shari

Mar 14

Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5-6, 2024, capturing both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). This is because these large worlds are shrouded in clouds and hazes stirred up by violent winds, causing a kaleidoscope of ever-changing weather patterns.

Mar 12

Ghostly Stellar Tendrils Captured in Largest DECam Image Ever Released

With the powerful, 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), astronomers have constructed a massive 1.3-gigapixel image showcasing the central part of the Vela Supernova Remnant, the cosmic corpse of a gigantic star that exploded as a supernova. DECam is one of the highest-performing wide-field imaging instruments in the world and is mounted on the US National Science Foundation’s Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.

Mar 11

NASA’s Webb, Hubble Telescopes Affirm Universe’s Expansion Rate, Puzzle Persists

When you are trying to solve one of the biggest conundrums in cosmology, you should triple check your homework. The puzzle, called the “Hubble Tension,” is that the current rate of the expansion of the universe is faster than what astronomers expect it to be, based on the universe’s initial conditions and our present understanding of the universe’s evolution.

Feb 29

Astronomers Measure Heaviest Black Hole Pair Ever Found

Using archival data from the Gemini North telescope, a team of astronomers have measured the heaviest pair of supermassive black holes ever found. The merging of two supermassive black holes is a phenomenon that has long been predicted, though never observed. This massive pair gives clues as to why such an event seems so unlikely in the Universe.

Feb 22

Webb Finds Evidence for Neutron Star at Heart of Young Supernova Remnant

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a compact object has long been sought, and while indirect evidence for the presence of a neutron star has previously been found, this is the first time that the effects of high-energy emission from the probable young neutron star have been detected. 

Feb 5

Scott Dahm

NOIRLab – Interim Director International Gemini Observatory Before Scott Dahm moved into the Interim Director role, he was Deputy Director of Gemini Observatory. He received his PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa under George Herbig, on the study of young stellar clusters. He subsequently served as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at […]

Jan 29

Jon S. Tuma

Vice President for Human Resources Jon is an accomplished Human Resources (HR) professional with a strong ability to assess organizational needs and implement effective action plans to prepare organizations for the future. He brings more than 20 years of experience innovating strategic talent management across all areas of HR. Prior to his last role as […]

Jan 29

Jon S. Tuma new AURA VP of Human Resources

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce that Jon Tuma will join the AURA Corporate Office on January 29, 2024, as our new Vice President of Human Resources. 

Jan 29

NASA’s Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies

It’s oh-so-easy to be absolutely mesmerized by these spiral galaxies. Follow their clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to their centers, where there may be old star clusters and – sometimes – active supermassive black holes. Only NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope can deliver highly detailed scenes of nearby galaxies in a combination of near- and mid-infrared light – and a set of these images was publicly released today.

Jan 25

Gemini South Captures Twisted Dusty Disk of NGC 4753, Showcasing the Aftermath of Past Merger

The lenticular galaxy NGC 4753, captured by the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, is a truly remarkable object. Its prominent and complex network of dust lanes that twist around its galactic nucleus define its ‘peculiar’ classification and are the likely result of a galactic merger with a nearby dwarf galaxy about 1.3 billion years ago.

Jan 25

NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Small Exoplanet’s Atmosphere

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observed the smallest exoplanet where water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere. At only approximately twice Earth’s diameter, the planet GJ 9827d could be an example of potential planets with water-rich atmospheres elsewhere in our galaxy.

Jan 4

AURA Appoints Christoph Keller as next National Solar Observatory Director

AURA is pleased to announce that Dr. Christoph Keller has been appointed as the next Director of the National Science Foundation’s National Solar Observatory (NSO) succeeding Dr. Valentin Pillet, who will be retiring as Director in 2024. Previously Dr. Keller was Director of Science at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.


Recent Comments by Shari

    No comments by Shari yet.