Department of Physics and Astronomy Content

Egghead Weekend Basket for May 8

Andy Fell — May 08, 2026 - 10:24am

This week in 51�ԹϺ�� Davis science news, we go from the far reaches of the Universe to the human heart, survey western wildfires and take a trip to Alcatraz.

Non-Rotating Early Galaxy Is a Surprise to Astronomers

Andy Fell — May 04, 2026 - 3:06pm

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have made a surprising discovery about a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away: It isn’t rotating.

Shields Up! Cosmic Rays a Challenge for Deep Space Travel

Andy Fell — April 09, 2026 - 10:38am

One of the big challenges with traveling to the Moon and beyond is protecting both human bodies and the electronics that support them in space against the onslaught of radiation from the sun and the rest of the universe.

A New Road Map to Room Temperature Superconductors

Andy Fell — March 16, 2026 - 10:44am

Superconductors play a critical role in the modern-day scientific enterprise, from the magnets used in the CERN Large Hadron Collider to those in medical MRI machines. But these superconductors require very low temperatures to work. The discovery of room-temperature superconductors would open a huge range of applications and new technologies.

Short Films Explore Quantum Physics

Andy Fell — February 26, 2026 - 11:51am

The Department of Physics and Astronomy will hold a screening March 13 of “What is Real? Six Short Films About Quantum Physics.” The screening will take place at 7 p.m. in 1002 Cruess Hall, followed by a Q&A.

What Happens Inside a Black Hole?

Andy Fell — January 21, 2026 - 11:28am

You hurtle through space, barreling toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy. A cosmic traveler, you shed the confines of human speed. As you reach our galaxy’s heart, you see it. Sagittarius A, our galactic center, a supermassive black hole.

The black hole is visible as negative space around which the accretion disk swirls in a chaotic, fiery fashion. Plasma particles shoot out in jets from its polar regions.

Astronomers Find Mystery Dark Object in Distant Universe

Andy Fell — October 09, 2025 - 2:40pm

Using a global network of telescopes, astronomers have detected the lowest-mass dark object yet found in the universe. Finding more such objects and understanding their nature could rule out some theories about the nature of dark matter, the mystery substance that makes up about a quarter of the universe. The work is described in two papers published Oct. 9 in Nature Astronomy and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

First Images Revealed From Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Andy Fell — June 23, 2025 - 10:47am

The results of two decades of scientific and technological innovation were unveiled today with the reveal of the first imagery captured by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a facility jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

Tony Tyson: Sifting Through the Cosmic Noise

Andy Fell — February 07, 2025 - 9:51am

In a dark, light-tight room on the fifth floor of the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Physics Building, researchers recreate the night sky. But the simulated sky isn’t projected onto a wall or ceiling. Instead, a large, tube-like device, housed in a transparent cage, uses a reticle mask, also known as a photomask, to achieve the simulation. Wires crisscross the instrument — known as an optical simulator — and liquid nitrogen cools it when it’s in use.

Is This Universe Tuned to Support Life?

Andy Fell — January 10, 2025 - 3:17pm

For life to flourish, the universe had to meet a nesting doll of conditions. The quantum fluctuations that led to the Big Bang had to be just right to kickstart the cosmological chemistry necessary for star, galaxy and planetary formation. Eventually, conditions on one of these planets — Earth — were just right to support the rise of organic matter, leading to the evolution of life. Leading to us.

Was the universe tuned to support life? Or was it cosmological happenstance?