CU Boulder Dept. of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences

05/13/2024

THE STORM IS OVER, BUT... This weekend's extreme geomagnetic storm is over, but there might be a last gasp. NOAA forecasters are predicting a return to severe (G4) conditions on May 12th when one or more CMEs might hit Earth's magnetic field. The CME from yesterday's X5.8-class flare is exciting - a potent storm cloud that could spark renewed auroras if its internal magnetic field is oriented correctly. The only way to know for sure is to go out and see for yourself! Spaceweather.com will update.

12/20/2023

11/09/2023

LASP at the University of Colorado Boulder is proud to welcome planetary scientist Shannon Curry, PI of NASA's MAVEN Mission to Mars, which studies the Red Planet's upper atmosphere, ionosphere & interactions with the Sun & solar wind. Curry will also hold a faculty position in the CU Boulder Dept. of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences. https://bit.ly/46cdOxv

03/16/2022

"The images are as focused as the laws of physics allow"
- Marshall Perrin, STScI

03/15/2022

Are coronal loops real?

Many coronal loops -- ropey strands of plasma that scientists have long thought existed in the sun's atmosphere -- may actually be optical illusions, according to a new paper that challenges prevailing assumptions of what we know, and don't know, about the sun.

03/14/2022

The assembly effort is already underway in clean rooms at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Science instruments and other hardware for the spacecraft will come together in the mission’s final phase before a launch to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in 2024.

03/02/2022

Have you ever wondered what the atmosphere of an exo-gas giant looks like? These researchers did. The answer, apparently, is 11000 mph winds and rain made of metal.

MIT astronomers have obtained the clearest view yet of the perpetual dark side of an exoplanet that is “tidally locked” to its star. The planet is WASP-121b, a massive gas giant nearly twice the size of Jupiter.

02/15/2022

Remember that feeling the 1st time you learned that prisms turn sunbeams into rainbows? It gets so much more mind-blowing when you realize we can use that same method to search for life on other worlds.

The process of spectroscopy can help scientists hunt for biosignatures.

02/11/2022

Enormous magnetic field + rapid spinning = a giant particle accelerator.

The planet’s auroras are known to produce low-energy X-ray light. A new study finally reveals higher-frequency X-rays and explains why they eluded another mission 30 years ago.

02/05/2022

Still a long way from first image because they have to align the mirrors. But promising nonetheless.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first photons — the genesis of its scientific mission to image the universe in new ways.

02/02/2022

Congratulations to APS' own Professor Kowalski!

NSO scientist Dr. Adam Kowalski received the 2022 Karen Harvey Prize in recognition of his early career research in solar and stellar physics.