News
Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D.

Planetary nebulae have been studied for centuries, but astronomers are getting new looks and a better understanding of the structures and compositions of these gaseous remnants of dying stars thanks to the ability to study objects at multiple wavelengths and dimensions.

RIT scientists will be the lead researchers on a $1.8 million NASA grant to study electromagnetic signals from merging supermassive black holes.

Joel Kastner, a professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and School of Physics and Astronomy, and a team of researchers with the European Southern Observatory have discovered new evidence of how planets as massive as Jupiter can form.

The Washington Post talks to Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor in RIT's School of Physics and Astronomy, and Rebecca Larson, postdoctoral research associate in RIT’s School of Physics and Astronomy, about images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

An RIT postdoctoral researcher and an associate professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy, along with a team behind the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey, have used new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope to confirm the existence of the most distant active supermassive black hole ever found.

Astrophysicists using large radio telescopes to observe a collection of cosmic clocks in our galaxy have found evidence for gravitational waves that oscillate with periods of years to decades, according to a set of papers published Thursday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

According to scientists from across the globe—including those working on the project from RIT—this observing run by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration features upgraded instruments, new and even more accurate signal models, and more advanced data analysis methods.

In collaboration with NASA, RIT unveiled a website asking for volunteers to join an effort to take critical measurements that will aid astronomers in identifying the “fingerprints” of different chemical elements present in galaxies and measuring their distances.

Associate Professor Jeyhan Kartaltepe has her hands full studying data from the most powerful observational instrument ever made, while continuing to bolster her reputation as a teacher and mentor. Her work has gotten the attention of the astronomy community worldwide.

RIT will confer a record 69 Ph.D. degrees during commencement May 12, marking a 53 percent increase from last year.

RIT graduate degree programs are among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report annual statistical survey of graduate programs.

Scientists from RIT, Caltech, Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute will launch a rocket on Sunday for a short flight into space with the goal of resolving discrepancies about the sources of near-infrared light in the universe.