Cyndi Atherton Appointed to the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Academy of Sciences Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 11/22/2019 on 11/22/2019 Cyndi Atherton, the Foundation’s director of Science, has been appointed to the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
New Telescope Installed at McDonald Observatory, Texas Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 11/13/2019 on 11/13/2019 A new, 1-meter telescope—funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program—has been installed at the University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory. The telescope is part of the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) global network of robotic telescopes, and the second of a pair located at the McDonald Observatory.
How Fast Will Seas Rise as a Result of the Melting Greenland Ice Sheet? Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 10/10/2019 on 10/10/2019 The melt from Greenland’s ice sheet already accounts for 25 percent of global sea level rise (double Antarctica’s contribution), and its share is growing under the strain of human-driven global warming.
From Science Idea to NASA Mission Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 10/2/2019 on 10/2/2019 To support future principal investigators interested in submitting their first NASA mission proposal, the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program is sponsoring an all-expenses paid three-day workshop on November 18-20, 2019, in Tucson, AZ.
Astronomer Andrea Ghez Transforms Scientific Understanding of Supermassive Black Holes Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/25/2019 on 7/25/2019 Over the past 23 years, grantee partner Dr. Andrea Ghez and her team of astronomers at UCLA’s Galactic Center Group (GCG) have patiently observed and analyzed data to understand the interplay between galaxies and supermassive black holes. The latter possess such strong gravitational fields that not even the speed of light can escape their pull.
Northwest Passage Project: Exploring a Changing Arctic Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/16/2019 on 7/16/2019 The consequences of climate change are dramatically observable in the Arctic region. From July 18 to August 4, US and Canadian scientists, supported by 25 post-secondary students, will study vital signs of a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean this summer, and offer the public a chance to share the experience in real time.
Searching for Earth-like Exoplanets in the Northern Skies Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/3/2019 on 7/3/2019 Artemis, the first ground-based telescope of the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) Northern Observatory, has completed installation and is officially hunting for Earth-like exoplanets in the Northern Hemisphere.
Our Ignorance About Gravity Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 6/20/2019 on 6/20/2019 How universal is Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation? We already know that this law does not apply when the gravitational force is very strong (like near a black hole). And when the gravitational force is very weak (like between two billiard balls) we don’t really know if Newton’s Law applies or not, because such a tiny force is very difficult to measure.
Increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Physics and Astronomy Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/16/2019 on 5/16/2019 The Foundation supports innovative and scalable initiatives to promote a more inclusive and diverse physics and astronomy braintrust. We hope to inspire more such efforts from the funders’ community, and within academic institutions.