astrophysics
Vanderbilt astronomers among NASA’s TESS Mission team to discover a rare newly formed planet
Jun. 24, 2020—Stars mapped out by Vanderbilt astronomers for exploration by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission and recently decommissioned Spitzer Space Telescope have led to the discovery of AU Mic b, a newly formed Neptune-like exoplanet located a relatively short 31.9 light-years away.
New grant helps minority STEM scholars advance as postdocs
Apr. 8, 2020—With support from the Heising-Simons Foundation, Vanderbilt will help advance underrepresented minority astrophysics scholars to secure faculty appointments with elite postdoctoral fellowships.
How many stars eventually collide as black holes? The universe has a budget for that.
Jan. 31, 2020—A promising new study developed by one Vanderbilt astrophysicist may give us a method for finding the number of available stars in the history of the universe that collide as binary black holes.
Here’s how a Vanderbilt astrophysicist plans to observe a black hole ‘symphony’ using gravitational wave astronomy
Nov. 18, 2019—New research led by Vanderbilt astrophysicist Karan Jani presents a compelling roadmap for capturing intermediate-mass black hole activity.
National Academies committee including Vanderbilt astrophysicist publishes review of latest NASA Science Plan
Oct. 18, 2019—An astrophysicist at Vanderbilt is part of the committee behind a review of NASA’s updated Science Plan, a five-year strategic roadmap for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
Consider the Martians: Scientists need to confirm whether life exists on Mars before sending humans
Sep. 6, 2018—Before we go further and send humans to Mars, we need to know if doing so could trigger the extinction of existing life on the planet, writes Professor of Astronomy David Weintraub.
NASA’s TESS mission to discover new worlds will use a map developed at Vanderbilt
Apr. 16, 2018—Vanderbilt’s Keivan Stassun serves as a deputy principal investigator on the mission and is tasked with identifying the most promising stars to target in its search for habitable nearby planets.
Better way to weigh millions of solitary stars
Dec. 14, 2017—Astronomers have come up with a new and improved method for measuring the masses of millions of solitary stars, especially those with planetary systems.
Puffy planet provides opportunity for testing alien worlds for signs of life
May. 18, 2017—Astronomers from Vanderbilt, Lehigh and Ohio State universities have discovered a “puffy planet" with the density of Styrofoam that is an excellent test-bed for probing exoplanets for signs of life.
Physics colloquium: From exoplanets to personalizing clothing
Dec. 1, 2016—Data scientist Dave Spiegel presents a physics and astronomy colloquium, “From Exo-Worlds to Health Monitoring to Clothing Personalization,” Dec. 8.
Vanderbilt physicists Keivan Stassun and Kalman Varga elected APS fellows
Oct. 18, 2016—Two Vanderbilt physicists, Keivan Stassun and Kalman Varga, have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society.
Astrophysicist explains meaning of the discovery of gravitational waves
Jun. 17, 2016—Vanderbilt Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kelly Holley-Bockelmann explains the meaning of the first discovery of gravitational waves at TEDx Nashville.