University of Arizona in the News

Researchers led by University of Arizona Regents Professor of Astronomy Marcia Rieke collected spectral data which helped identified three objects that could be the first dark stars ever detected – giant clouds of gas heated by the annihilation of dark matter. 

In September, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will rendezvous with Earth to deliver the sample it collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020. Scientists hope the material sheds light on how amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, came to earth in the first place. "We're looking at the whole history of the solar system here, right?" said University of Arizona Regents Professor of Planetary Sciences Dante Lauretta, the OSIRIS-REx principal investigator.

Bashar Malkawi, a professor in the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, writes about how the U.S. sanctions China and how China attempts to counter these sanctions.

Unusual weather in California may be the single biggest factor in an 18% increase in frozen vegetable prices over the past year. The state is "by far" the biggest supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables in the U.S. an record rainfall over the winter resulted in a record snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains which, as the weather warmed, resulted in overflowing rivers, mudslides and soaked farmland.

When a cloudless sky combines with outdoor temperatures over 100 degrees, your house turns into an "air fryer" or "broiler," as the roof absorbs powerful heat and radiates it downward, said Jonathan Bean, co-director of the Institute for Energy Solutions at the University of Arizona.

Andrea Gerlak, director at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and professor in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment at the University of Arizona, discusses the progress cities around the world are making in water availability and equity.

University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Chris Impey writes about efforts to mitigate the effects of satellite constellations – groups of artificial satellites working together as a system – on many types of astronomy.

It has been a year since the James Webb Space Telescope reached orbit and began sending back spectacular photos of the universe by the dozens and hundreds. University of Arizona Regents Professor of Astronomy Marcia Rieke, who led development of the Near Infrared Camera aboard Webb and now serves as NIRCam principal investigator, joins a discussion of the telescope's performance so far.

Phoenix on Tuesday will almost certainly surpass its record of 18 days above 110 degrees – a mark established in 1974 – with temperatures forecast well above that threshold through the end of the week. "Although it is always hot in the summer in Phoenix, this heat wave is intense and unrelenting," said Kathy Jacobs, director of the University of Arizona Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions.

Phoenix is poised to break a record set half a century ago of consecutive days with 110-degree or higher temperatures. The monsoon schedule varies from one year to the next, said Michael Crimmins, an environmental science professor at the University of Arizona, so while it is not yet clear whether climate change is to blame for the heat wave’s persistence, it has very likely made the daily high temperatures even higher.