astronomy

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a flagship astronomy and astrophysics project currently under construction on a mountaintop in Chile, will be named for astronomer Vera Rubin, a key figure in the history of the search for dark matter.

From CNN, Feb. 16, 2019: Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln discusses the Zwicky Transient Facility, a massive sky-survey instrument designed to scan the heavens and look for “transients” or things that brighten unexpectedly. When the instrument sees a change, alerts go out to other astronomers subscribed to the service, who can then use even more powerful telescopes to study the transient event in detail. Even the public can get a daily summary of the previous night’s happenings.

From CNN, Jan. 3, 2019: Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln discusses NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and Ultima Thule, a frigid, snowman-shaped block of ice located about 4 billion miles from the sun.

From CNN, Nov. 20, 2018: Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln talks about a stellar stream called S1, which consists of nearly 100 stars of similar age and composition, orbiting the Milky Way in a direction exactly opposite that of normal stars.