A team of astronomers, including assistant professor Kate Whitaker, recently published research in the journal Nature that many popular publications have said “breaks the universe.” While not literally true, the team, which used the newest trove of data retrieved from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), discovered that very old, very massive galaxies seem to exist on the fringes of the universe—which, according to current astronomical theory, shouldn’t be possible. Click the link to see more of the article.

Decades ago, Andy Morris-Friedman didn’t imagine that the odd collection of stones he stumbled upon during a bike ride would lead to involvement in a community for more than 25 years — and that he’d be one of the ones keeping it alive after the woman who built it died. Astronomy-lovers have been gathering since the mid-1990s each solstice and equinox — the days the seasons change — at the UMass Sunwheel, a group of stones that mark the angles of sunrises, moonrises and other celestial events. Click the link to the article to read more.

Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Whitaker. UMass Press Release: https://www.umass.edu/news/article/help-umass-amherst-nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-uncovers-new-details-pandoras WWLP Channel 22 News Article: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope unveils new details of Pandora's Cluster (wwlp.com) CBS Boston Article: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/pandoras-cluster-james-webb-telescope-umass-amherst/ Yahoo Article: UMass astronomers help NASA capture pictures of "Pandora's Cluster" (yahoo.com) Boston Globe Article: New image from Webb Telescope, processed by UMass astronomers, reveals the deepest parts of space in Pandora’s Cluster - The Boston Globe

Many congratulations to Dr. Sean Linden, who has been awarded the Strittmatter Postdoctoral Fellowship of the University of Arizona. Dr. Linden, currently a postdoctoral associate in Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts, will join the University of Arizona in the Fall of 2023. The Peter A. Strittmatter Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Advanced Study in Astronomy & Astrophysics is a prize fellowship created in 2016 in honor of Peter A. Strittmatter, who directed Steward Observatory for 37 years, starting in 1975. More information can be found at: https://www.as.arizona.edu/strittmatter-postdoctoral-fellowship