LPL Spotlight Stories

Hot, puffy gas giant: This illustration shows what exoplanet WASP-39 b could look like, based on current understanding of the planet

UArizona Scientists Thrilled by Unprecedented 'Portrait' of an Alien World

Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have identified a "mystery molecule" that previously stumped astronomers. They've also gained insights needed to interpret potential signs of habitability on other exoplanets.

 Time-lapse photograph by Robert Weryk his home in London, Ontario, Canada of fireball streaking directly overhead and continued east until it broke up.

Catalina Sky Survey Predicted Impact of Small Asteroid Over Ontario, Canada

NASA Communications - November 22, 2022 In the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 19, the skies over southern Ontario, Canada
Lead author and graduate student Tyler Meng standing with radar equipment on the Sourdough rock glacier in Alaska in August 2021.

Mapping Rock Glaciers to Understand Their Future on Earth and Mars

University of Arizona researchers developed a new method for analyzing rock glaciers, which could help scientists better understand these "hidden giants" on Earth and Mars.

 Image - Dani DellaGiustina at South by Southwest festival.

Planetary Scientist Dani DellaGiustina Makes Popular Science Brilliant 10

University of Arizona planetary scientist Dani DellaGiustina was chosen because of her work to understand the past and future of the solar system by studying asteroids. Her work also includes exploring the mysterious interiors of other worlds.
Image of Daniella DellaGiustina named on of the "Brilliant 10" by Popular Science magazine.

Daniella DellaGiustina Named One of the "Brilliant 10" by Popular Science

Assistant Professor Daniella DellaGiustina is named one of the "Brilliant 10 2022" by Popular Science Magazine.

 Image of a meteor as it fell to Earth over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Scientists Identify Potential Source of 'Shock-darkened' Meteorites, with Implications for Hazardous Asteroid Deflection

University of Arizona planetary scientists identified a potential source of a special kind of meteorite. Its characteristics could explain certain discrepancies in how near-Earth asteroids are classified.
Photo of Award Announcement - Kristopher Klein awarded 2022 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award

Kristopher Klein Receives 2022 Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award

Assistant Professor Kristopher Klein receives 2022 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.

 Fishers in the Mekong River.

Science Diplomacy Students Present Climate Strategy to State Department

Students from various academic backgrounds applied their classwork to take real action against climate change.
An artist's representation of NASA's DART spacecraft flying toward the twin asteroids, Didymos and Dimorphos. The larger asteroid, Didymos, was discovered by UArizona Spacewatch in 1996. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

UArizona Spacewatch Discovered the Larger of the Twin Asteroids Targeted in NASA's Upcoming DART Mission Encounter

In 1996, the University of Arizona Spacewatch program discovered Didymos, the larger of the two asteroids that are the focus of NASA's upcoming DART mission encounter.

 This illustration shows what exoplanet WASP-39 b, a hot, puffy gas giant 700 light-years from Earth, could look like, based on current understanding of the planet. NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

With Webb Space Telescope, UArizona Astronomers Help Detect Carbon Dioxide in Exoplanet Atmosphere

After years of preparation and anticipation, exoplanet researchers are ecstatic about the first official scientific observation of an exoplanet by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.