Astronomy and astrophysics

Members of MIT's panel on the LIGO observation of a merger of neutron stars, (left to right) Anna Frebel, Salvatore Vitale, Nergis Mavalvala, Erik Katsavounidis, and Matthew Evans, pose for a photo at the Oct. 16 event.

MIT researchers discuss the new "multi-messenger" era of astrophysics research

Mavalvala, Evans, Frebel, Katsavounidis, and Vitale discuss the science behind LIGO's observations of a neutron star collision.

October 18, 2017

3Q: Scott Hughes on cosmic distances and the future of gravitational wave astronomy

Professor of physics describes our understanding of the expansion of the universe through “standard sirens.”

October 16, 2017

Artist’s illustration of two merging neutron stars. The rippling space-time grid represents gravitational waves that travel out from the collision, while the narrow beams show the bursts of gamma rays that are shot out just seconds after the gravitational waves. Swirling clouds of material ejected from the merging stars are also depicted. The clouds glow with visible and other wavelengths of lig...

LIGO and Virgo make first detection of gravitational waves produced by colliding neutron stars

Discovery marks first cosmic event observed in both gravitational waves and light.

October 16, 2017

Rainer Weiss at home early this morning, after learning that he has won the 2017 Nobel Prize in physics.

MIT physicist Rainer Weiss shares Nobel Prize in physics

LIGO inventor and professor emeritus of physics recognized “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.”

October 3, 2017

An aerial view of the Virgo site shows the Mode-Cleaner building, the Central building, the 3km-long west arm and the beginning of the north arm. The other buildings include offices, workshops, computer rooms and the control room of the interferometer.

Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo

Finding represents first joint detection of gravitational waves with both detectors.

September 27, 2017

This artist’s impression shows the view from the surface of one of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. At least seven planets orbit this ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth and they are all roughly the same size as the Earth. Several of the planets are at the right distances from their star for liquid water to exist on the surfaces.

Neighboring exoplanets may hold water, study finds

Observations and modeling suggest TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets may have held onto water, billions of years after their formation.

August 31, 2017

The Millstone Hill radar facility at MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts

Investigating space weather effects of the 2017 solar eclipse

Atmospheric scientists at the MIT Haystack Observatory will study North American eclipse effects on space weather with radar and navigational satellites.

August 17, 2017

The path of the International Space Station can be seen from the Observe@MIT rooftop observing platform on Building 37. Participants in the second annual MIT Astronomy Training Camp took to the roof for pointers on night sky observing.

Training students' eyes on the skies

MIT hosts Astronomy Training Camp for student-run national astronomy team.

August 10, 2017

New measurements of lunar rocks have demonstrated that the ancient moon generated a dynamo magnetic field in its liquid metallic core (innermost red shell). The results raise the possibility of two different mechanisms — one that may have driven an earlier, much stronger dynamo, and a second that kept the moon’s core simmering at a much slower boil toward the end of its lifetime.

Lunar dynamo’s lifetime extended by at least 1 billion years

Findings suggest two mechanisms may have powered the moon’s ancient churning, molten core.

August 9, 2017

Engineers test one of the TESS cameras at the Kavli Institute lab.

TESS mission to discover new planets moves toward launch

Satellite’s cameras have been delivered by MIT researchers and passed NASA inspection.

August 4, 2017

The Tadpole Galaxy, a disrupted spiral galaxy, shows streams of gas stripped by gravitational interaction with another galaxy. Molecular gas is the required ingredient to form stars in early universe galaxies.

New insights into the early universe’s galaxy clusters

MIT Kavli Institute scientists help conduct one of the largest-ever studies of molecular gas in distant galaxy clusters.

July 25, 2017

Rainer Weiss wins Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research

Prestigious Spanish award shared with Caltech's Kip Thorne and Barry Barish and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration for work in detecting gravitational waves.

June 29, 2017

“We now strongly believe that these magnetic fields critically affect structure formation in the universe — they are critical to shaping the world as we see it," says Associate Professor Nuno Loureiro.

Probing the magnetic universe

Nuclear Science and Engineering Associate Professor Nuno Loureiro ponders the origins of magnetic fields.

June 23, 2017

This artist's conception shows two merging black holes similar to those detected by LIGO. The black holes are spinning in a nonaligned fashion, which means they have different orientations relative to the overall orbital motion of the pair. LIGO found hints that at least one black hole in the system called GW170104 was nonaligned with its orbital motion before it merged with its partner.

LIGO detects merging black holes for third time

Nearly 3 billion light years from Earth, the black holes are the farthest ever detected.

June 1, 2017

Space Systems Engineering students (left to right) Jeremy Stroming, Tori Wuthrich, and Nicholas James compare the properties of stony and iron meteorites.

Project Apophis

Space Systems Engineering students design a close-range mission to a giant asteroid that will fly by Earth in 2029.

May 31, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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