Space
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How eclipse chasing inspires generations of scientists
Speaking with “TTBOOK” in 2017, journalist David Baron describes how witnessing a total solar eclipse set him on a path to examine how eclipses have propelled many inquisitive minds to see more deeply into the universe.
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Wisconsin researchers prepare for ‘BEEclipse’ by recruiting beekeepers along path of totality
Entomologists and a beehive tech company hope to capture how honeybees react to the total solar eclipse on April 8.
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Sad tomatoes in space: Wisconsin scientists develop TASTIE experiment to grow plants without gravity
Scientists hope to help the tomatoes find happiness without gravity by setting the plants up with a fungus from the genus Trichoderma.
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Experts say only far northern Wisconsin has a chance to see the northern lights this week
Talk of the northern lights being visible this week has many Wisconsinites ready to look toward the night sky. But experts caution most of the state doesn’t have a strong chance of seeing an aurora. Ketzel Levens, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, Minnesota, said the latest forecast from the National Oceanic and…
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UW-Madison IceCube researchers produce first neutrino image of Milky Way
New data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s IceCube neutrino detector has led to the first ever image of our Milky Way galaxy using the subatomic “ghost particles.” An international team of researchers also found the Milky way is a neutrino desert compared to others. The Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory has been using highly sensitive sensors…
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Ahead of Wisconsin visit, Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to critiquing science in movies
Asked if scientifically baseless plots prevent him from enjoying a lot of movies, famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson replied, “No.” “I just observe it. I don’t invest emotion in it,” said Tyson, who directs New York City’s Hayden Planetarium and has popularized science through many books, lectures and media appearances. Tyson is scheduled to visit…
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Wisconsin researchers have tracked neutrinos to distant galaxy, supermassive black hole
For the first time ever, an international team of scientists has traced neutrinos coming from the galaxy NGC 1068 in the constellation Cetus. The “ghost particles” appear to be accelerated toward Earth by a supermassive black hole. In a scientific breakthrough, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 1-billion-ton IceCube Neutrino Observatory, buried around 1 mile under the…
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Part of latest NASA discovery, UW-Madison alum reflects on James Webb Telescope’s breakthrough
When Kenneth Sembach studied astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he had no idea what heights he would reach—and the role he would have in NASA’s latest groundbreaking discovery. As director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, the UW-Madison alum now leads the group conducting science and flight operations for the James Webb Telescope, which…
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Big achievement in black hole imaging gets assist from UW scientists
If your to-do list feels daunting, imagine if there were 5 million tasks on it. That’s what it took to capture the first image of Sagittarius A* — a massive black hole at the center of our galaxy. And that big achievement had a small assist from computer scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Event…
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How to see the aurora borealis from Wisconsin and the Midwest
Back in the late 1980s, David Eicher saw what looked like a Disney light show in the Milwaukee sky. He considers that vivid of an aurora borealis sighting “a very rare one,” but even more standard versions of the stunning aerial display are still awe-inspiring. That’s because most sights in the sky are so far…