Topic: Pamela Gay
Closer Look: Rubin Observatory

Closer Look: Rubin Observatory

In the early 2000s, the massive scientific return from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey made it clear that there are questions we can only answer by investing in systems that survey the sky and inventory everything visible. From learning about the distribution of galaxies by type to exploring the distribution of stars by age, that survey gave us a glimpse of just how much we don’t yet know. Apache Point hosts the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's telescope. Credit: SDSS The SDSS survey used a 2.5-m telescope to initially explore an 8,000 square degree area of the sky, and has since added new areas and...

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Aurora Alert: Neptune & Jupiter

Aurora Alert: Neptune & Jupiter

Aurora on Neptune shine along the right side of the planet in Webb's IR images (right). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Heidi Hammel (AURA), Henrik Melin (Northumbria University), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Stefanie Milam (NASA-GSFC) Earth isn’t the only...

1 year ago this week: Aurorae!

1 year ago this week: Aurorae!

Aurorae from Bethalto, Illinois . Credit: Pamela L Gay A year ago this week, on May 10-13, 2024, the Sun triggered an amazing series of auroras that were visible to folks living in the mid-latitudes. Those amazing few nights - and another set of events in October 2024...

Dying Stars’ Final Artwork

Dying Stars’ Final Artwork

One of the justifications for building the Hubble Space Telescope was to finally get a detailed enough view  of the fuzzy blobs we call planetary nebulae that we could finally understand what is going on. Turns out, for some of the nebulae, we actually needed...

It’s a Star-Eat-Planet Universe

It’s a Star-Eat-Planet Universe

One of the most mystifying planets to many of us are the hot Jupiters. These massive worlds have orbits smaller than Mercury’s and in some cases are so close to their stars that starlight is pushing mass off the planet or the planet is raising tides on the star....

New Weird Star-Star-Planet Combination

New Weird Star-Star-Planet Combination

The Universe sometimes likes to mock us. Such is the case with exoplanets. Once upon a time, researchers would sagely say, “Solar Systems like Tatooine, with twin stars, likely don’t exist.” The thing is, this was based on models that relied on limits created with...

Rubin Observatory Brings Much Needed Joy

Rubin Observatory Brings Much Needed Joy

Ok, so we held off running this last little section while I waited to see if Vera Rubin observatory would put out a First Light press release. Rubin Observatory did not put out a first light press release. They put out a Facebook post saying “on-sky engineering tests...