Astronomy

A team of Columbia University physicists who participated in the first detection of gravity waves will describe the monumental discovery in a free public lecture on campus Thursday, Feb. 18. Read More

With discoveries ranging from the origins of consciousness to the end of the universe, 2015 was a year of incredibly diverse research at Vanderbilt University. Read More

A new generation of gamma-ray spectrometer being developed by researchers and students in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's-to-Ph.D. Bridge program is perfectly suited for detecting valuable minerals hidden within the asteroids, comets, moons and minor planets in the solar system. Read More

Gregory Benford, a physicist at UC-Irvine and a noted science fiction author, is giving a free public lecture titled "Our Next Century in Space" that will describe steps that could see the opening of the solar system to productive use and colonization. Read More

Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, associate professor of physics and astronomy, has been named director of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, College of Arts and Science Dean Lauren Benton announced. Read More

The award honors highly accomplished women working in science, technology, engineering or mathematics who have made a positive impact on the trajectories of other women thinking about or newly embarking on STEM careers. Read More

A new map of the Milky Way has discovered that 30 percent of the galaxy's stars are wanderers, making major shifts in their orbits during their lifetimes. Vanderbilt post-doc Jonathan Bird played a major role in the study. Read More

Astronomer David Weintraub, who is an expert on Pluto, reacts to the new images of the distant world and its twin, Charon, coming back from the New Horizons spacecraft. Read More

A Vanderbilt team of scientists have developed a new formulation for cosmic viscosity which strongly favors the "Big Rip" end of the universe. Read More

Increasing the number of minority students who earn a Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering and math is the aim of a new “bridge to doctorate” program being launched by a coalition of Tennessee universities and led by Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University. Read More

Explainer: the mysterious dark energy that speeds the universe’s rate of expansion Read More

Bob O'Dell reflects on the challenges of building the Hubble Space Telescope, launched 25 years ago. Read More

Dyer will celebrate a quarter-century of groundbreaking science and images with an open house and two lectures by Hubble Space Telescope project scientist and Vanderbilt astrophysicist C.R. O'Dell. Read More

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the theory’s publication, Dyer Observatory will host a talk by "What is Relativity?" author Jeffrey Bennett on April 8. Read More

The American Association of Physics Teachers has given its 2015 Klopsteg Memorial Lecture Award to Vanderbilt’s David A. Weintraub, professor of astronomy. The award recognizes educators who have made notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics. Read More

Read about the latest faculty and staff awards, appointments and achievements. Read More

Electricity, learning, marijuana, outer space and planet Earth were the hot topics of 2014. Read More

MyVU asked a handful of Vanderbilt faculty members to name the book that left a lasting impression on them this year. Their diverse recommendations span fiction, nonfiction, history, thriller, biography, memoir and more. Read More

"No matter which (a)theistic background informs your theology, you may have to wrestle with the data astronomers will be bringing to houses of worship in the very near future," writes astronomy professor David Weintraub for The Conversation. Read More

The possibility of extraterrestrial life and its impact on religion is the subject of Professor of Astronomy David Weintraub’s latest book, which he'll discuss in a free campus lecture on Thursday. Read More