2013

Shep Doeleman: Imaging Black Holes with The Event Horizon Telescope

Shep Doeleman: Imaging Black Holes with The Event Horizon Telescope

July 15, 2019

Recent technical advances and observations have now demonstrated that the goal of making an image of a black hole is within reach. Using the technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), in which widely separated radio dishes are linked together to form an Earth-sized array, our group has succeeded in confirming event horizon scale structures in two super massive black holes: Sagittarius A*, the 4 million solar mass black hole at the center of the Milky Way (Nature, 455, 78, '08), and M87, a 6 billion solar mass black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy Virgo A (Science, 338,...

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Galaxy Quest: Just How Many Earth-Like Planets Are Out There?

Galaxy Quest: Just How Many Earth-Like Planets Are Out There?

November 5, 2013

A team of planet hunters estimates that about 22 percent of the Sun-like stars in our galaxy may have planets about the size of Earth that are bathed in similar amounts of sunlight — and potentially habitable. That's the conclusion of a new analysis by Erik Petigura, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley of observations taken by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, which was launched in 2009 to hunt for potentially habitable Earth-like planets around other stars.... Read more about Galaxy Quest: Just How Many Earth-Like Planets Are Out There?

Time Magazine names two Astronomy faculty and two alumni amongst 25 most influential space scientists

Time Magazine names two Astronomy faculty and two alumni amongst 25 most influential space scientists

September 25, 2013

Referring to them as "an array of the most brilliant," David Bjerklie and the editors of Time Magazine in a photo-centric supplement entitled The 25 Most Influential People in Space named Avi Loeb, Dave Charbonneau, Adam Reiss and Sara Seager for their contributions to astronomical research. 

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Harvard Bok Center awards 9 in the Astronomy department for Distinction and Excellence in Teaching

Harvard Bok Center awards 9 in the Astronomy department for Distinction and Excellence in Teaching

September 19, 2013

The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning works to advance the quality of undergraduate education by providing Harvard’s teachers with resources, programs and support that promote excellence in teaching.  Each semester it recognizes with a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching those student instructors whose work is exemplary based on peer evaluations. 

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Life’s Beginnings studying how life bloomed on Earth—and might emerge elsewhere

Life’s Beginnings studying how life bloomed on Earth—and might emerge elsewhere

August 20, 2013
Are the inhabitants of Earth the only life forms in the universe, or could life exist elsewhere? As astronomers rapidly identify exoplanets—those beyond our solar system—the question has been transformed from a science-fiction trope to one discussed in scientific journals and conferences according to Professor of Astronomy, Dimitar Sasselov.