Leavitt’s Standard Candles
Happy International Women’s Day! In today’s beyond post we investigate two classic papers by Henrietta Swan Leavitt that are key to our understanding of the universe today.
Seeing Double: Binary stars in dwarf galaxies
Two (stars) aren’t always better than one, especially when you’re trying to track down dark matter in tiny galaxies.
The Stuff of Stars
I attempt to summarize what some astronomers have called “undoubtedly the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy.”
Astrophysical Classics: Evidence for Europa’s Subsurface Ocean
Let’s take a trip back to 1979 to check out the first signs of an ocean hidden deep beneath Europa’s icy shell.
What to Do When You’re Stuck
A handy guide from 1945!
Like a Captured Stone: How did Pluto Settle in its Peculiar Orbit?
We dive back into one of the earliest studies of the outer solar system that helped us understand how four gas giants playing a chaotic game of catch could have knocked Pluto into its topsy-turvy orbit.