LATEST NEWS

Smadar Naoz awarded astronomy’s Annie Jump Cannon Prize for outstanding research

Smadar Naoz, assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy, was selected to receive the prestigious 2015 American Astronomical Society Annie Jump Cannon Prize for outstanding research and the promise for future exceptional research. Her research has explained the surprising observations of many hot Jupiters with orbits that are eccentric or inclined relative to the equator of their host star. Naoz provided the first complete and accurate treatment of the dynamics of such a system, the citation noted. Read more at UCLA News Release Page

G2 - Bizarre object in our Galactic Center Explained (2014-11-07)

For years, astronomers have been puzzled by G2, a bizarre object in the center of the Milky Way that was believed to be a hydrogen gas cloud headed toward our galxy's enormous black hole. The Galactic Center Group members have determined that G2 is most likely a pair of binary stars that had been orbiting the black hole in tandem and merged together into an extremely large star, embedded in gas and dust, its movements choreographed by the black hole's powerful gravitational field. Read more at UCLA News Release Page

Evidence of Jet in Milky Way's Black Hole (2013-11-20)

Former UCLA assistant researcher Zhiyuan Li and Professor Mark Morris led a team which found evidence for a parsec-scale jet from the galactic center black hole with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope. Read more at UCLA News Release Page

Mission to Build the Thirty Meter Telescope (2013-08-01)

A major milestone has been reached for building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The UC President and several international partners have signed the agreement. UCLA astronomers will play a significant role in the development and use of the TMT, which will be located in Hawaii and slated ot start in 2022 for the scientific operations. Read more at UCLA News Release Page

Discovery of the Star with the Shortest Known Orbit around Our Black Hole (2012-10-04)

The Galactic Center Group discovered a star orbiting the supermassive back hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy with the shortest known orbital period of 11.5 years! Such stars, with their complete orbits observed, can not only provide a means for determining black hole mass but also be used to test general relativity. Read more at UCLA News Release Page