Wednesday, August 13, 2025

New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences

Recent News from McDonnell Center Fellows

Tectonic Activity in Russia’s Far East Coincides with Historic Volcanic Eruption

The large earthquake that struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula last week registered a total magnitude of 8.8, tying it for the sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded by seismometers and the largest in the world since 2011.  Shockwaves caused by this earthquake triggered volcanic eruptions in the region, including new activity at Klyuchevskoy volcano.

Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Mike Krawczynski, who studies the intense volcanic activity in the Kamchatka Peninsula, recently published a study in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. This research utilized a comprehensive dataset of olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) from Klyuchevskoy volcano, with many samples collected during fieldwork in 2017.

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Kaya, A., & Daylan, T. (2025). Radio Prospects of Extrasolar Aurorae polaris as a probe of Planetary Magnetism. The Astrophysical Journal, 988(2), 203. 

Kizovski, T. V., VanBommel, S. J., Christian, J. R., Knight, A. L., et al. (2025). Fe-phosphates in Jezero Crater as evidence for an ancient habitable environment on Mars. Nature Communications, 16(1). 

Vacher, L. G., Iskakova, M., Ogliore, R. C., et al. (2025). Amides from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu: Nanoscale spectral and isotopic characterizations. Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

From NewAthena to Gamma-Ray Lenses:
The Potential of Silicon Pore Optics

Space Sciences/Astrophysics Seminar
Nicolas Barrière
Cosine
NEW DATE & LOCATION: Thursday, August 14
10:00am, Crow 206

A Journey to the Ring Giant:
The Legacy of Cassini-Huygens

St. Louis Astronomical Society
August Meeting
Megan Dickson
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Friday, August 15
7:30pm, McDonnell 162

How do explosive eruptions through water change climate and why does it matter?

EEPS Colloquium
Mark Jellinek
University of British Columbia
Thursday, August 28
11:30am, Rudolph 301

Open House

EEPS Open House
Thursday, August 28
2:00pm, Rudolph 301

TBA

Theory Seminar
Fabrizio Rompineve
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona & IFAE
Thursday, August 28
3:00pm, Compton 241

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Interim Director: William McKinnon
Associate Director: Michael Nowak
Assistant to the Director: Vickie Gee
Communications Specialist: Alison Verbeck

Compiled and edited by Alison Verbeck. Please send any contributions to alison@wustl.edu.

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