News: Astronomy
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Studying Radioactive Aluminum in Solar Systems Unlocks Formation Secrets
An international team of astronomers including Stella Offner of The University of Texas at Austin has proposed a new method for the formation of aluminum-26...
![An elliptically shaped galaxy with a light streak representing its black hole and dust and stars all around](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/pia03243.jpg)
The Next 50 Years: Anybody Out There?
Astronomer Caroline Morley speculates on the possibility of finding life on other planets in the near future.
![Giant microbes float alongside planets](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/50yrs-morley-2400x1350.jpg)
UT News
Three UT Austin Faculty Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Astrophysicist Katherine Freese, astronomer John Kormendy and evolutionary biologist Mark Kirkpatrick of The University of Texas at Austin have been elected to the National Academy...
![Head shots show three smiling scientists, two men and a woman](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/everyone-1200x800-c-default.jpg)
Science Amid the Social Distance
A compilation from our previous episodes that we hope will help you find some solace right now: in rediscovering life, the people we're closest with...
![A cross-section of a nautilus shell](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nautilus2400x1350.jpg)
The Texas Scientist
20/20 Foresight
So what will the next 50 years bring? Absent a crystal ball, your best bet would be to ask a scientist.
![Illustration by David Steadman.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/feature-next-fifty-years.jpeg)
UT News
Planet Finder Validates Its First Habitable-Zone Exoplanet, a Mini Neptune
Bill Cochran was a part of the research team that detected an exoplanet twice the size of Earth and possibly 12 times as massive, believed...
![A large and modern apparatus has tubes, metal boxes, wires and insulation](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/habitable-planet-finder.jpeg)
Distant Giant Planets Form Differently than ‘Failed Stars’
A team of astronomers led by Brendan Bowler of The University of Texas at Austin has probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown...
![Nine different shaped circular and elliptical representations of orbits](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/orbits_v2.jpg)
Caroline Morley Receives Annie Jump Cannon Award
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) selected Morley for outstanding research and promise for future research.
![Caroline Morley wearing glasses and earrings and smiling](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/carolinemorley.jpeg)
Twin Astronomer Probes ‘DNA’ of Twin Stars to Reveal Family History of Milky Way
Twin stars appear to share chemical "DNA" that could help scientists map the history of the Milky Way galaxy, according to new research by astronomer...
![Identical twins, one with a beard and glasses, stand together in a classroom with a periodic table on the wall](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/hawkinstwins.jpg)
UT Austin Astronomer Spies Most Distant Dusty Galaxy Hidden in Plain Sight
Astronomer Caitlin Casey of The University of Texas at Austin has used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to spot the light of a massive...
![A globular and luminescent representation of a galaxy with bright and dark spots](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nrao19in01a.jpg)