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Excellence in Space Sciences

From Earth to the edge of the universe, UC Santa Cruz makes giant impacts in astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary science. We are pioneering new technologies for giant telescopes, adaptive optics, and gamma-ray astrophysics; discovering planets beyond our solar system and the most distant galaxies in the universe; and reshaping paradigms in cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics. From NASA missions to the UC Observatories, we help people see what has never been seen before.

$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Astronomers create the first 3D-printed stellar nurseries
Researchers can now hold stellar nurseries in their hands thanks to 3D printing, revealing features often obscured in traditional renderings and animations.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Nearby star-forming region yields clues to the formation of our solar system
The Ophiuchus star-forming complex offers an analog for the formation of the solar system, including the sources of elements found in primitive meteorites.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Haziness of exoplanet atmospheres depends on properties of aerosol particles
A laboratory study of haze particles produced under different conditions helps explain why some exoplanets may be obscured by hazy atmospheres.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Jonathan Fortney garners Simons Investigator in Astrophysics award
The $500,000 award from the Simons Foundation will support Fortney’s research on planetary atmospheres.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Giant planets found in the stellar suburbs
A planetary census conducted by the California Legacy Survey illuminates where giant planets tend to reside relative to their stars.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Astronomers track down fast radio bursts to galaxies’ spiral arms
Mysterious flashes of radio energy that disappear in the blink of an eye originate from young, massive galaxies.

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