LPL Spotlight Stories

This artist’s impression shows the binary asteroid 288P, located in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. The object is unique as it is a binary asteroid that also behaves like a comet. The cometlike properties are the result of water sublimation, caused by the heat of the sun. The orbit of the asteroids is marked by a blue ellipse. (Image: ESA/Hubble, L. Calçada)

Asteroid-Comet Is New Type of Object

By ESA/Hubble Space Telescope and Daniel Stolte, University Communications - Sept. 25, 2017 With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to arrive at Bennu, a primitive carbonaceous asteroid, in the fall of 2018. After surveying Bennu for two years, the spacecraft will extend its sampling arm to touch down on the asteroid's surface and collect a sample of pristine asteroid material.

OSIRIS-REx Swings by Earth

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 20, 2017 As you are reading this, a spacecraft is coming right at
NASA's Cassini spacecraft delivered this glorious view of Saturn on Dec. 18, 2012, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn's shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

After Farewell Kiss, Cassini Takes the Plunge

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 13, 2017 When NASA's Cassini spacecraft careens to its final destination, the upper
This composite image of the Crab Nebula was assembled with arbitrary color scaling by combining data from five telescopes spanning nearly the entire electromagnetic spectrum. (Image credits: NASA, ESA, NRAO/AUI/NSF and G. Dubner/University of Buenos Aires)

Stellar Corpse Sheds Light on Cosmic Rays

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 4, 2017 The origin of cosmic rays, high-energy particles from outer space unceasingly
This artist's concept shows a brown dwarf with bands of clouds, thought to resemble those seen on Neptune and the other outer planets in the solar system. By using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have found that the varying glow of brown dwarfs over time can be explained by bands of patchy clouds rotating at different speeds. (Animation: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Scientists Solve Mystery of Blinking Brown Dwarfs

By University Communications - August 17, 2017 Dim objects called brown dwarfs, less massive than the sun but more massive
The sun is eclipsed by the moon against a starry background.

PTYS Undergrad Minor and the 2017 Eclipse

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - Aug. 16, 2017 Asked about her favorite planet in the solar system, Adriana Mitchell
Vishnu Reddy: "The question is: How prepared are we for the next cosmic threat?" (Photo: Bob Demers/UANews)

Asteroid Flyby to Help NASA Observation

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - July 27, 2017 For the first time, NASA will use an actual space rock
Images and data from the UA’s Mars HiRISE camera are being used to help visually impaired students gain interest in scientific exploration and study.

UA Trains Visually Impaired Youth for STEM

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications - July 5, 2017 Using images and data from the University of Arizona's Mars
A yet to be discovered, unseen "planetary mass object" makes its existence known by ruffling the orbital plane of distant Kuiper Belt objects, according to research by Kat Volk and Renu Malhotra of the UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. The object is pictured on a wide orbit far beyond Pluto in this artist's illustration. (Image: Heather Roper/LPL)

UA Scientists and the Curious Case of the Warped Kuiper Belt

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - June 20, 2017 An unknown, unseen "planetary mass object" may lurk in the outer

UA to Host Special Events Tied to Asteroid Day

University Communications - June 13, 2017 A presentation at the University of Arizona on June 27 will feature six experts