LPL Spotlight Stories

Kristopher Klein Receives 2022 Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award
Assistant Professor Kristopher Klein receives 2022 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.

Science Diplomacy Students Present Climate Strategy to State Department
Students from various academic backgrounds applied their classwork to take real action against climate change.

UArizona Spacewatch Discovered the Larger of the Twin Asteroids Targeted in NASA's Upcoming DART Mission Encounter
In 1996, the University of Arizona Spacewatch program discovered Didymos, the larger of the two asteroids that are the focus of NASA's upcoming DART mission encounter.

With Webb Space Telescope, UArizona Astronomers Help Detect Carbon Dioxide in Exoplanet Atmosphere
After years of preparation and anticipation, exoplanet researchers are ecstatic about the first official scientific observation of an exoplanet by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

More Than One Asteroid Could Have Spelled Doom for the Dinosaur
A newly discovered impact crater below the seafloor hints at the possibility that more than one asteroid hit Earth during the time when dinosaurs went extinct.

As Reflective Satellites Fill the Skies, UArizona Students Are Making Sure Astronomers Can Adapt
University of Arizona students have completed the first comprehensive brightness study to characterize mega-constellation satellites cluttering the skies.

Project RAVEN, Summer 2022
Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton is again in Iceland this summer, leading a team in support of his RAVEN project. RAVEN combines rovers and drones to explore landscapes that may otherwise be inaccessible, such as young volcanic terrains on Mars that are too rough for a rover to traverse.

Webb Telescope's Stunning First Images Made Possible by UArizona Instruments and Expertise
The highly anticipated observations mark just the beginning of many years of new science and discovery, and University of Arizona experts are at the helm.

OSIRIS-REx Scientists: Taking Asteroid Sample Was Like Punching a Ball Pit
Before-and-after images and measurements revealed a treasure trove of data from the few seconds that it took for the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect an asteroid sample, which is currently en route to Earth.

Dying stars could seed interstellar medium with carbon nanotubes
Evidence suggests that carbon nanotubes, tiny tubes consisting of pure carbon, could be forged in the envelopes of dust and gas surrounding dying stars. The findings propose a simple, yet elegant mechanism for the formation and survival of complex carbon molecules in space.