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HETDEX Opens Massive Cosmic Dataset to Scientists, Novices, and AI

On June 3, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) - which recently completed the largest survey ever taken of the early universe - released all of its immense, information-rich database to the public. Built from more than half a petabyte of raw and processed data, it will allow astronomers to study how the first galaxies formed and evolved, measure how gas and stars were distributed within these galaxies, map the large-scale structure of the cosmos, and investigate rare and unexpected objects not easily found in traditional surveys.

IGRINS Confirms Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Stars

Using the high-resolution Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS), astronomers were able to simultaneously quantify the magnesium and silicon content of the exoplanet’s atmosphere. This is the first time such a measurement has been made. And with it, astronomers have found that the planet WASP-189b shares the same magnesium-to-silicon ratio as its host star, providing the first observational evidence of a widely adopted assumption about planet formation.

A Night at the Telescope

A group of astronomy undergraduate students from the University of Texas at Austin is invited to “test drive” the 107 inch Harlan J. Smith telescope at the McDonald Observatory. As Harlan J. Smith Scholars, the students are tasked with investigating a distant globular cluster and determining whether it may contain a black hole.

Black Hole Found that Formed Before Its Galaxy

Which comes first, the galaxy or the black hole? For decades, the standard response has been that we don’t really know. Now, researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, including several from UT Austin, have detected clear observational evidence that some supermassive black holes were enormous from the beginning, forming without going through a stellar collapse phase, and without a significantly more massive host galaxy to feed them.

Help Renovate Our Visitors Center - Gifts Being Matched!

As our Frank N. Bash Visitors Center enters its third decade in service, we’ve started an extensive renovation of its public spaces. You are invited to be part of this transformative project by contributing to its funding. All gifts are currently being matched by sponsors!