LPL Spotlight Stories
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.
Planetary Defense Exercise Uses Apophis as Hazardous Asteroid Stand-in
Over 100 participants from 18 countries – including UArizona scientists and NASA's UArizona-led NEOWISE mission – took part in the international exercise.
How to Spot Asteroids
“Stay up all night,” says Gregory Leonard , a research scientist at the University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey , who uses a network of powerful telescopes to find and track what NASA calls near-Earth objects, including asteroids that come within 120 million miles of the sun. Go looking in a place without light pollution on a cloudless night with a steady atmosphere. Avoid a full moon.
Dr. Sarah Moran Named UArizona Sursum Fellow
Dr. Moran was selected for her proposal on Haze Evolution in sub-Neptune Exoplanets through UV Laboratory Experiments .
Dr. Sukrit Ranjan Joins LPL Faculty Starting Fall 2022
Sukrit's work is focused on the origin of life on Earth, the search for life on other worlds, and the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets. He applies photochemistry to questions related to the origin of life on Earth and the search for life on other worlds.
NASA Deputy Administrator: UArizona a 'Crown Jewel' for the US
During a visit to campus, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy discussed some of the space agency's most ambitious and impactful space missions with the UArizona scientists who pursue them.
Planetary Science Decadal Survey Prioritizes UArizona-led Planetary Defense Mission
A new decadal survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends NASA fully support NEO Surveyor, a space-based survey designed to discover and measure asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. Amy Mainzer, a professor of planetary sciences, leads the effort.
Dr. Kathryn Volk, Vera Rubin Early Career Prize Winner
LPL Research Scientist Dr. Kathryn Volk has been named the recipient of the Vera Rubin Early Career Prize, which recognizes an early career dynamicist who demonstrates excellence in scientific research in dynamical astronomy. Dr. Volk received her Ph.D. from LPL in 2013.
NASA Gives Green Light for OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft to Visit Another Asteroid
The extended mission, dubbed OSIRIS-APEX, will study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, which will have a close encounter with Earth in 2029.
Small but Mighty: How UArizona Professors are Harnessing the Power of Algae to Capture Carbon
An astrobiologist, an engineer and an ecologist have teamed up to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.