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Tag Space & astronomy

High Throughput Computing helps LIGO confirm Einstein’s last unproven theory

March 8, 2016

A software program pioneered at UW–Madison churned away in the background, helping analyze data from billions of particle collisions.

After long hiatus, Washburn Observatory public viewing to resume

February 26, 2016

The observatory had closed unexpectedly in April 2014 when a motor and gear box that operate a sliding door on the dome malfunctioned.

UW astronomer recognized for demystifying star system

January 15, 2016

Sebastian Heinz has been honored by the American Astronomical Society for his work to unravel the mystery of Circinus X-1, a bizarre binary star system in our galaxy that exploded some 2,500 years ago.

Recent sightings: Moon over Madison

September 28, 2015

Seen from the roof of Memorial Library, a supermoon rises in the nighttime sky behind the Wisconsin statue headdress atop the dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol building on Sept. 27, 2015.

Dark energy to be topic of Space Place event

May 26, 2015

"To Infinity and Beyond: The Accelerating Universe," a live broadcast from the World Science Festival about dark energy, an antigravitational force that confounds the conventional laws of physics, will be hosted on the evening of May 28 by UW–Madison's Space Place.

Slideshow: Pieces of UW–Madison astronomy history off to the nation’s attic

February 12, 2015

While cleaning out Sterling Hall cabinets that hadn’t been opened in decades, UW–Madison Space Place Director Jim Lattis and colleagues in the Astronomy Department struck historical gold: a collection of old photodiode and photomultiplier tubes dating to the earliest days of photoelectric astronomy. The university is donating 20 of the vintage photo detectors to the Smithsonian Institution for its permanent collection of astronomical instruments.