... Read more about NSF Press Conference on the Joint Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Detection of a Neutron Star Binary Merger

Marking the beginning of a new era in astrophysics, scientists have detected gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, or light, from the same event for the first time. This historic discovery reveals the merger of two neutron stars, the dense cores of dead stars, and resolves the debate about how the heaviest elements such as platinum and gold were created in the Universe.

... Read more about Astronomers See Light Show Associated With Gravitational Waves

"If governments and their space agencies are serious about protecting Earth from solar storms, one team of researchers argues a giant space shield is the most logical solution."

... Read more about Impact and Mitigation Strategy for Future Solar Flares

Astronomy Department Chair Avi Loeb is included along with 6 other speakers and performers.  He will offer a talk on Cosmic Modesty.

http://www.tedxharvard.org/speakers/

When: October 14, 2017 at 2 PM
Location: Sanders Theater

The Astronomy Department will be posting photos and videos from trips across the US to view the eclipse of August 21, 2017. Check this page for updates: https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/great-american-eclipse-2017

Image: D. Finkbeiner

Hear about an amazing discovery in the Plate Stacks and the Wolbach library spanning more than a century. Items are on display in Wolbach. 

Full Story: https://www.pri.org/...

Press Release:

First Prototype ‘Sprites’ – Precursors to Eventual ‘StarChip’ Probes – Achieve Low Earth Orbit

San Francisco – July 26, 2017 – Breakthrough Starshot, a multi-faceted program to develop and launch practical interstellar space missions, successfully flew its first spacecraft – the smallest ever launched.

On June 23, a number of prototype “Sprites” – the world’s smallest fully functional space probes, built on a single circuit board – achieved Low Earth Orbit, piggybacking on OHB...

Cambridge, MA -

Many rock stars don’t like to play by the rules, and a cosmic one is no exception. A team of astronomers has discovered that an extraordinarily bright supernova occurred in a surprising location. This “heavy metal” supernova discovery challenges current ideas of how and where such super-charged supernovas occur.

Supernovas are some of the most energetic events in the Universe. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it can collapse onto itself and create a spectacular explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy, dispersing vital elements...

Evolver social movement & the Hive to Thrive speaker series hosted Harvard University director of astronomy Avi Loeb for a wide ranging discussion. From the nature of scientific discovery to possible origins of FRBs (Fast Radio Bursts) emanating from the cosmic background radio noise. 
Produced...

"The world's most indestructible species, the tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, also known as the water bear, will survive until the Sun dies, according to a new Oxford University collaboration."

"The new study published in Scientific Reports, has shown that the tiny creatures, will survive the risk of extinction from all astrophysical catastrophes, and be around for at least 10 billion years – far longer than the human race."

CFA Press Release:...

"The teams, both led by researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Mass., say the behavior of the star in the TRAPPIST-1 system makes it much less likely than generally thought, that planets there could support life."

Press Release: ...

"An Earth-sized planet next door: that was the startling announcement last August. Astronomers had found an exoplanet orbiting the sun’s closest stellar neigh- bor, a cool red dwarf star called Proxima Centauri (1). Even better, the nearby world orbited within its parent star’s habitable zone, meaning liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface, which raised the prospects for its harboring life."

Read More:

• All eyes on Proxima Centauri b: http://www.pnas.org/content/114/26/6646.full.pdf
• Is there life around the nearest...

Hannah Jang-Condell, our alum who received her Ph.D. in 2004, has been given tenure at the University of Wyoming.  She is an Associate Professor in their Physics and Astronomy Department. She studies planet formation theory, protoplanetary disk models, extrasolar planets, computational astrophysics, astrobiology.  Congratulations, Hannah!

Press coverage of a new paper in Scientific American: A new study sheds light on how damaging black holes can be to the habitability of planets throughout the Milky Way and the universe.

Link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ravenous-supermassive-black-holes-may-sterilize-nearby-planets/

Astrobites: https://astrobites.org/2017/05/30/blown-away-by-black-holes-losing-planetary-atmospheres-to-quasar-radiation/

Image: This artist’s conception of a distant quasar shows how luminous they can be—...

Sarah Wellons, Andrew Vanderburg, Yuan-Sen Ting, Josh Suresh, Sukrit Ranjan, Philip Mocz, Meredith MacGregor, Kirit Karkare, Dawn Graninger (not shown Laura Schaefer)

In case you haven't already heard the news about Ryan Hickox - a former Harvard grad student - now tenured professor at Dartmouth!  Ryan also is one of the first "house professors" in the house system that Dartmouth is expanding:  

...

Astronomy Undergraduates in Ay100 Observational Astronomy course over spring break went on a trip. They traveled to the Desert Museum, University of Arizona mirror lab to see telescope mirrors being made, and to Whipple observatory to observe on the 1.2-m and 1.5-m telescope collecting data for their class project.

...

Dear Colleagues,

I am very sorry to report that our colleague Pat Thaddeus passed away this morning. 

Pat was a highly influential teacher and astronomer for over 50 years, including the past 30 at the CfA. His interests were extremely broad, including pioneering work on the cosmic microwave background radiation, planetary atmospheres, and large-scale studies of star formation and galactic structure. He was one of the founders of the now flourishing field of astrochemistry.  His elegant laboratory spectroscopy provided ironclad identifications of...

Listen to Hannah Devlin interview with Avi Loeb. 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2017/apr/20/breakthrough-starshot-getting-to-proxima-centauri-b-science-weekly-podcast

Read an interview with Dava Sobel about her book the Glass Universe about the Harvard College Observatory. 

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/star-analysts-of-harvard-college-observatory-inspired-new-book-by-dava-sobel/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=04.12.2017%20(1)