New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
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Recent News from MacCenter Fellows
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XL-Calibur Telescope Launched to Study Black Holes
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Scientists from WashU have launched a balloon-borne telescope to unlock the secrets of astrophysical black holes and neutron stars, some of the most extreme objects in the universe.
The device, known as XL-Calibur was launched on a stadium-sized scientific balloon from the Swedish Space Corporation’s Esrange Space Center, situated north of the Arctic Circle near Kiruna, Sweden, on July 9.
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“We are excited to measure polarization of the black hole X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 to determine how matter swirls around a black hole before it falls in, liberating enormous amounts of energy in the process,” said Henric Krawczynski, who is the principal investigator for XL-Calibur. “We hope that our results will have some impact on the measurement of black hole spin.”
The mission concluded successfully with touchdown of the payload near Kugluktuk in Nunavut, Canada, on July 14. The next adventure will be for the team to retrieve the payload.
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Postdoc Spotlight: Exploring Unseen Forces Shaping the Universe
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McDonnell Center Postdoctoral Fellow Saurav Das's primary research focus revolves around the intriguing field of dark matter, which is believed to exist in significantly greater quantities than visible matter. Despite its prevalence, the exact nature of dark matter remains unknown.
Das moved from India to the United States in 2017 to pursue his PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park. Upon completing his degree in 2023, he was awarded a two-year MCSS postdoctoral fellowship. He collaborates with Bhupal Dev.
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NASA Planetary Science Advisory Committee
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Ryan Ogliore has been selected as a member of the NASA Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC) starting January 1, 2025. The scope of the PAC includes all aspects of planetary science, scientific exploration of the Moon and Mars, the robotic exploration of the solar system, astrobiology, exoplanet research, space- and ground-based research, technology development, planning, and training required to support these science areas.
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Bhupal Dev talked with the Black Hills Pioneer at Homestake Opera House during their live coverage of Neutrino Day. Neutrino Day is Sanford Underground Research Facility's signature event and a destination for curious minds of all ages. On the second Saturday of July each year, this free science festival takes over the city of Lead, South Dakota to inspire science discovery and delight guests in hands-on science experiences, activities and speakers. Dev also participated in a panel discussion for Neutrino Day titled "Discoveries from underground breakthroughs."
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Meteoritical Society Meeting Talks
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Katharina Lodders will be presenting two talks at the 86th annual meeting of The Meteoritical Society, which will take place in Brussels, Belgium, July 28 - August 2.
One of her topics, Meteorite Mayhem in Ancient Egypt, records two instances from ancient Egypt showing the millennia-old recognition of stones falling from the sky.
One of these instances is from a tale, where the translations of the hieroglypics below state, "Then a star fell, and because of it they went up in flames. It happened when I was not there, they burnt when I was not with them."
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MacCenter Fellows in the News
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St. Louis Astronomical Society July Meeting
Ashley Davies
Jet Proplusion Laboratory
TONIGHT, Friday, July 19
7:30pm, McDonnell 162
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2024 NASA Exploration Science Forum
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Focus on questions fundamental to understanding the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, the moons of Mars, and the environments of these bodies; a particular emphasis will be placed on the Moon.
The Knight Center at Washington University
July 23-25, 2024
General Registration will close on July 11.
Sponsored by NASA and MCSS
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NASA Exploration Science Forum
Public Lecture
Robin Canup
Southwest Research Institute
Tuesday, July 23
7:30pm, Graham Chapel
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Compiled and edited by Alison Verbeck. Please send any contributions to alison@wustl.edu.
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