For 75 years, CU Boulder has been a leader in space exploration and innovation. We travel to space to monitor sea level rise, melting ice, weather patterns and more. Our researchers explore how to track and remove dangerous debris in space. We research the health of humans in space to inform medical applications for people on Earth. Learn more about the latest in space research and science at CU Boulder.
 

TESS illustration

Planet-hunting satellite launches to search for alien worlds

April 20, 2018

CU Boulder Assistant Professor Zach Berta-Thompson was on the ground in Florida to watch the launch of NASA's latest mission to hunt for worlds outside of Earth's solar system.

Galaxy

Black hole and stellar winds form giant butterfly, shut down star formation in galaxy

April 18, 2018

Researchers in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Science have completed an unprecedented "dissection" of twin galaxies in the final stages of merging.

NASA Van Allen belt

Shoebox-sized cube satellite to study Earth's inner radiation belt

March 14, 2018

A NASA-funded satellite will study the inner radiation belt of Earth's magnetosphere, providing insight into the energetic particles that can disrupt satellites and threaten spacewalking astronauts.

first star formation graphic

Astronomers detect ancient signal from first stars in universe

Feb. 28, 2018

A team that includes a CU Boulder astronomer has detected a signal from stars emerging in the early universe.

The Moon

Fossilized feature records moon's slow retreat from Earth

Feb. 6, 2018

The moon's excessive equatorial bulge, frozen into place over 4 billion years ago, may contain secrets of Earth's early history.

Andromeda galaxy

Supermassive black holes can feast on one star per year

Feb. 1, 2018

During post-galactic merger periods, orbiting stars can be flung into supermassive black holes and destroyed at a rate of one per year.

SES satellite

GOLD space weather instrument launches

Jan. 25, 2018

NASA's Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) instrument, built by CU Boulder, will study space weather in the Earth's upper atmosphere.

Mars surface

Dust storms linked to gas escape from Martian atmosphere

Jan. 22, 2018

Rising air during global dust storms on Mars hoists water vapor high in the the planet's atmosphere, new research shows.

black hole

Researchers catch supermassive black hole burping...twice

Jan. 11, 2018

Researchers have caught a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy snacking on gas and then "burping" not once, but twice.

Student-created satellite during long-range field testing

How a student satellite solved a major space mystery

Dec. 13, 2017

A 60-year-old mystery regarding the source of energetic and potentially damaging particles in Earth's radiation belts is now solved, thanks to a satellite built and operated by students.

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