All Stories

Start the new year with lectures, performances, and more.

Something is amiss in the Butterfly Nebula. When a team led by astronomers at the University of Washington compared two exposures of this planetary nebula that had been taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 and 2020, they saw dramatic changes in the material within its "wings." As the team will report on Jan. 12 at the 241^st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, powerful winds are apparently driving complex alterations of material within the Butterfly Nebula, behavior not seen in planetary nebulae to date. The researchers want to understand how such activity is possible from what should be a “sputtering, largely moribund star with no remaining fuel.

On Jan. 11 at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, a team led by scientists at the University of Washington and the Center for Computational Astrophysics reported something unexpected about the distinct populations of stars that make up the Triangulum galaxy: In this satellite galaxy, a close companion of the much larger Andromeda galaxy, old and new stars occur in separate parts of the galaxy's structure, something not seen in galaxies like our own and so far not reporter for other satellite galaxies.

University of Washington astronomers were on the lookout for “stars behaving strangely” when an automated alert from pointed them to Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually brightened over a 2 1/2-year period. But follow-up analyses indicated that Gaia17bpp wasn’t changing. Instead, the star is likely part of a rare type of binary system. Its apparent brightening was the end of a years-long eclipse by an unusual, "dusty" stellar companion.

Z Yan Wang, Assistant Professor in Psychology and Biology, discusses her research and what she looks forward to at the University of Washington.

Gabriel Cher discusses their research and what they look forward to at the University of Washington.

Gabriel Cher, Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, discusses their research and what they look forward to at the University of Washington.

Sama Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Psychology, discusses his research and what he looks forward to at the University of Washington.

Nathan Jones (2015) tells stories through animation. Both of his UW degrees — creative writing and art — are reflected in is his work. 

Community and mentorship made all the difference to Sherri Berdine (2008) as an Alaska Native (Aleut & CIRI Descendent) UW student. Now she's the University's Director of Tribal Relations.