Other Events:
Astronomy in the News
Tuesday, September 17, 2009:
The NASA predictions are that we will be passing through a pair of debris streams most likely around 4:39pm EST on Tuesday. This is right after sunset, and well worth a look to see if there are any fireballs right around that time. Unfortunately, the Leonids are approaching the Earth from the other side (over India and Asia), so the only meteors we would see are those that curve over the horizon thanks to Earth's gravitational pull. If any are seen, they will be traveling roughly from north to south, but you might see them anywhere in the sky.
Our position on the Earth doesn't turn toward the source of the meteor shower until much later at night, and both tonight (Tuesday morning really) and tomorrow night (Wednesday morning) will give you your best opportunities for seeing the meteors. You can start seeing the shower after midnight, but we are closest to facing directly into the meteor stream around dawn, so your best bet is to get up very early.
You should find a dark location with as few obstructions of the sky as possible. Meteors can hit the atmosphere anywhere over the visible sky, but they will seem to "radiate" away from the constellation Leo (hence the name Leonids). The best shot at viewing a possible "mini storm" may be tonight at 2:27am EST when there's a chance that we'll pass through a swarm from the 1567 passage of the comet which is the source of the debris.
Keep in mind that the Leonid shower is one of the more irregular meteor showers, so you may see very few meteors (just a few over an hour), or you may be treated to a "storm." Astronomers are still trying to work out all the details of the debris field, so if you do see something unusual, try to record as much information about it as possible, such as your location and the exact time and number of meteors in different time intervals.
Good luck with your observations!
---Prof. Steve Schneider
Head, Dept. of Astronomy
September 9, 2009:
Astronomers win coveted access to upgraded Hubble telescope
With this week's announcement by NASA that a "fully rejuvenated Hubble Space Telescope" is ready to begin a new decade of observations, two campus astronomers, Daniela Calzetti and Todd Tripp, with colleague Suzan Edwards at Smith College, are excited to begin using those instruments to explore the origins and evolution of galaxies and stars throughout the universe.
August 19, 2009:
A
Look into the Hellish Cradles of Suns and Solar Systems
Astronomer Robert Gutermuth, currently of Smith College and University of
Massachusetts/Amherst, and colleagues unveil ultra-high resolution view of
massive embedded stellar cluster RCW 38 from ESO's adaptive optics-enhanced VLT.
July 7, 2009:
Astronomers Grant Wilson and Min Yun given $339,000 NSF grant to analyze
newly found galaxies
June 5, 2009:
NSF funds Houjun Mo's search for 'missing' mass in universe
June 2, 2009:
William Irvine chosen for International Astronomical Union panel
May 20, 2009:
Astronomers photograph star-forming backbone of massive structure in early
universe
January 5, 2009:
Hubble Views Galactic Core in Unprecedented New Detail
January 12, 2009:
Supernovas starve supermassive black holes
June 3, 2008:
Galaxy Collision Debris As A Laboratory To Study Star Formation
An international team of researchers led by Médéric Boquien of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has shown that debris formed when two galaxies collide makes a simpler, more accessible laboratory for studying the process of star formation. (More.)
March 21, 2008:
Sunwheel marks new season
They were calendars before there were calendars. To the uninitiated, sunwheels are probably a complete mystery, but to ancient farmers these assemblages of stones (think Stonehenge) were needed to know when to plant or harvest crops. (More.)
January 25, 2008:
Cosmic fireworks fizzled out at universe's mid-life
We all start to party less around middle age, and new studies by a team led by University of Texas at Austin astronomer Shardha Jogee [including UMass astronomer Dan McIntosh] now finds that the universe, as a whole, is no exception. (More.)
January 10, 2008:
New Hydrogen Clouds in the M81 Group of Galaxies
A composite radio-optical image shows five new clouds of hydrogen gas discovered using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The spiral galaxy M81 and its satellite, M82, are seen in visible light (white); intergalactic hydrogen gas revealed by the GBT is shown in red; and additional hydrogen gas earlier detected by the Very Large Array is shown in green. (More.)
August 9, 2007
Bright Galaxies Hidden In Distant Universe Unveiled
By combining the capabilities of several telescopes, teams of scientists, including University of Massachusetts Amherst astronomers, have spotted extremely bright galaxies hiding in the distant, young universe. They are the most luminous and prolific galaxies seen at that great distance, churning out stars at a rate 1,000 times greater than that of the Milky Way. (More.)
June 27, 2007
Trustees make tenure decisions
Daniela Calzetti, Associate Professor in Astronomy was awarded tenure along with 14 other faculty members. (More.)
Older News
November 11, 2006
Scientists Flick Switch of Giant Telescope
November 15, 2006
UMass Amherst Astronomer Creates Map That Reveals Relativistic Pinball Machine
Chandra Discovers Relativistic Pinball Machine
July 24, 2006
UMass Amherst Astronomer's Image Reveals a Rough and Crowded Galactic Neighborhood
July 19, 2006
Arches, Quintuplet, and GC Star Clusters: Rough and Crowded Neighborhood at Galactic Center
June 5, 2006
Andromeda Galaxy (M31): The Heat is on in Andromeda's Center
Group Living Takes a Toll on Galaxies
May 22, 2006
2MASS Team Wins Award, Survey Provides Unprecedented View of Galaxies
January 9, 2006
Model Created by UMass Amherst Astronomer Confirms a Warp in the Disk of the
Milky Way
June 1, 2005
SWAS Awakens for Comet Impact Study
August 13, 2004
Chandra Catches Early Phase of Cosmic Assembly
January 17, 2004
Galactic Mergers and Acquisitions
September 25, 2003
UMass Astronomer on Team that Finds the Milky Way Consuming a Neighboring Galaxy
March 26, 2003
Astronomical Archive Produced by 2Mass Telescope Project Now Available Online
January 21, 2003
NSF Funds Online Program for Middle School Science Teachers
October 18, 2002
UMass Receives $10 Million for Mexico Telescope
July 1, 2002
Chandra Discovers High-energy Activity Heating up the 'Whirlpool'
June 25, 2002
Astronomers Find Energetic Ring Shows Way to Discovery of Pulsar Bulls-Eye
June 4, 2002
UMass Astronomers Exploring How Exploded Stars Are Swept
Back Into the Universe
January 9, 2002
Team Led by UMass Astronomer Gets Sharpest-Ever Look at the Heart of the
Milky Way
January 8, 2002
Astronomers Find Evidence for Possible Galactic Fountain in NGC 4631
Team Led by UMass Astronomer Explores How Galaxies Change in Varying
Environments
December 7, 2001
Seven New Faculty Join UMass Amherst in Range of Scientific Disciplines
July 19, 2001
Chandra Detects Halo Of Hot Gas Around Milky Way-Like Galaxy
June 6, 2001
Star Factory Near Galactic Center Bathed In High-Energy X-Rays
June 5, 2001
New Map of the Nearby Universe Reveals Large-Scale Structure of Galaxies
May 24, 2001
UMass Researchers to Build South Pole Receiver; Expected to Offer New Perspectives on Galactic Evolution
February 21, 2001
Mission Accomplished By Twin-Telescope Sky Survey Led By UMass Amherst
Astronomer
December 19, 2000
Public, Press Invited to Witness Winter Solstice at UMass Amherst Sunwheel
December 13, 2000
Six New Faculty Join College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
November 2, 2000
Major Construction to Take Place Starting Nov. 6 on UMass Sunwheel
August 16, 2000
Satellite Analyzes Cosmic Gas Clouds; UMass Amherst Researchers Find Puzzling Concentrations of Water
July 14, 2000
"2MASS" Twin Telescopes Bring the Stars to Earth
June 6, 2000
Dwarf Galaxy Provides Clues About Early Universe, Says Team Led by UMass Amherst Astronomer
March 15, 2000
Astronomer at UMass Amherst Receives $75,000 Grant to Expand Sunwheel
October 13, 1999
Chemistry of Comet Hale-Bopp May Offer Clue About Early Solar System, UMass Amherst Astronomer Says
June 6, 1998
Astronomers Look at Whether Comet Chemistry Can Reveal Clues About the Early Solar System
March 24, 1998
Astronomers from UMass Amherst Find Rare, Interstellar Molecule
November 20, 1997
UMass Amherst Astronomer Receives Start-Up Funding to Erect Sunwheel Project on Campus
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