News: Astronomy
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
McDonald Observatory
April 8 Eclipse Update from McDonald Observatory
On Monday, April 8, parts of North America will experience a total solar eclipse and the UT observatory offers tips.
![A woman dawns protective eclipse glasses and looks at the sun on a cloudless day](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/womanshades-evanzucker.jpg)
A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event
In honor of the impending total solar eclipse on April 8th, we present this special eclipse podcast.
![solar eclipse](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/suns_corona_during_total_solar_eclipse_noirlab1902a-1200x800.jpg)
McDonald Observatory
Giant Magellan Telescope Expands Global Science Impact with Taiwanese Partner
GMT's consortium expands to 14 institutions with addition of Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
![A giant telescope enclosure open to a starry night sky](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/gmt1200x800.jpg)
McDonald Observatory
Discovery of Ultra-Massive Galaxies May Not Rewrite Cosmology, But Still Leaves Questions
Based on the most widely accepted cosmological model, they shouldn’t have been able to evolve until much later in the history of the Universe.
![A field of stars and galaxies in deep space](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/webb_deep_field_600x400.jpg)
McDonald Observatory
LightSound Workshops Make April’s Eclipse More Accessible to Visually Impaired
As the moon eclipses the sun during a solar eclipse the sunlight begins to dim and the LightSound device outputs a change in musical tone.
![A person holds a soldering iron above an electronic circuit board](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/lightsound_3x2_0.jpg)
UT News
UT Austin’s Top Research Stories of 2023
From a brain decoder to a supermassive black hole to a cancer drug advance, College of Natural Sciences researchers made breakthroughs this year.
![A dense field of galaxies set against a black background of space](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ceers-nircam-crop2400x1600.png)
Ghostlike Dusty Galaxy Reappears in James Webb Space Telescope Image
Astronomers with the COSMOS-Web collaboration have identified the object AzTECC71 as a dusty star-forming galaxy.
![A diffuse red patch emerges from the center of an inky black background](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/aztecc71_f277w_f444w_almab6_rgb_1200x800.png)
McDonald Observatory
Discovery of Planet Too Big for Its Sun Throws Off Models of Solar System Formation
Brendan Bowler, Bill Cochran and others discovered a planet that's much more massive compared to its host star than Earth is to our sun.
![A red star rises over a purple planet and casts a reflection on its surface](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/bowler-cochran-exoplanet_3x2.jpg)
McDonald Observatory
The Giant Magellan Telescope’s Final Mirror Fabrication Begins
Together, the mirrors will collect more light than any other telescope in existence, allowing humanity to unlock the secrets of the Universe.
![A large round flat pile of glass pieces](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/gmt_glass-1200x800.jpg)
Department of Energy Advances Research and Education at Wootton Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties
Grant will help center led by Don Winget continue its research and train the next generation of scientists.
![Room full of scientific equipment glowing blue and purple](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/zmachine.jpg)