University of California, Berkeley Department of Astronomy B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y Hearst Field Annex MC 3411 Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 Upcoming Events: Science@Cal Monthly Lectures 3rd Saturday of each month 11:00 a.m. UC Berkeley Campus location changes each month Consult website for details http://scienceatcal. berkeley.edu/lectures UniversityUNIVERSITY of California OF CALIFORNIA | 2014 2014 Evening with the Stars TBA Fall 2014 From the Chair’s Desk… co-PI on the founding grant for the Berkeley the Friends of Astrophysics Postdoctoral Please see the Astronomy website for more Institute for Data Science (BIDS) to bring Fellowship and many other coveted prize information together scientists with diverse backgrounds, fellowships. http://astro.berkeley.edu The Astronomy Department is a yet all dealing with “Big Data” (see page In addition to the rigorous research they vibrant, evolving 2). He is also on the management council pursue, our students and postdocs also find 2015 Raymond and Beverly Sackler community. It’s hard that oversees the Large Synoptic Survey time to get involved in other interesting Distinguished Lecture in Astronomy to fully capture all Telescope. This past summer Bloom again career-building and public outreach activities. Carolyn Porco, Space Science Institute that is happening organized the annual Python Language Matt George, Adam Morgan, and Chris Klein Public lecture: Wednesday, Jan 28 here in a few brief Bootcamp, an immensely popular three-day joined the Insight Data Science Fellows Joint Astronomy/Earth Planetary Sciences paragraphs, but I’ll summer workshop with >200 attendees. His Program (http://insightdatascience.com). Colloquium: Thursday, Jan 29 attempt to provide semester-long graduate-level course “Python This is a 6-week program that brings together Please see the Astronomy website for more some highlights! Computing for Data Science” included more PhDs with science backgrounds to learn the information than 30 PhD-candidates from departments Our faculty methods and tools of Data Science. The main http://astro.berkeley.edu across campus, the largest graduate-level class objective of the program is to form smallish continue to receive taught by the astronomy department. recognition at the teams and work on an interested data science highest levels for their research and teaching. In this newsletter we also feature our most application. At the end of the program This is conveyed not only through prizes recently hired Assistant Professor, Mariska the teams present to local tech companies and awards, but also by the sheer number Kriek, a co-PI on a large survey of faint looking to hire data scientists. It has a very of invitations to conferences, workshops, galaxies, carried out with the revolutionary good placement rate, and it’s an invaluable and summer schools. This year I call out in multi-object near-infrared spectrograph networking opportunity. Astronomy T-Shirts particular the 2014 Distinguished Teaching MOSFIRE on the 10-m Keck telescope I’d like to conclude this letter by talking Award, the most prestigious teaching (page 3). about New Campbell Hall – our new home All-American Astros designs. Purchases can be made via award on our campus, which was To continue our theme of “flying that will have an enormous impact on PayPal using a credit or debit card. presented to Professor Eugene Chiang. astronomers” we write about the SOFIA virtually all we do, every day. Construction airborne observatory on page 3. The Annual Departmental T-Shirt Design The design contest for 2014-15 With numerous students commenting on of New Campbell Hall is on schedule and Contest continues to provide distraction will be announced in fall 2014, Eugene’s “passion” for teaching, “being an In October we hosted our annual Raymond proceeding as planned. We will start moving from the rigors of astrophysics and an with the winning design selected engaging lecturer, a captivating speaker, and Beverly Sackler Distinguished Lecture in into the new building on 22 September, 2014 passionate, persuasive”, and as “if telling a Astronomy, a public talk which featured Dr. opportunity to explore hidden artistic and printed in time for Cal Day Continued on page 2 and creative talents. in April 2015. All Astronomy story”, it’s clear the award is well-deserved David Spergel from Princeton University. In Last year’s winner “Baseball”, was Department students, staff, (see page 3). this free public lecture Dr. Spergel discussed submitted by graduate student, Adam faculty, postdocs, and researchers A paper authored by our graduate student the role of ongoing and future Cosmic Morgan. His All-American design, as well are welcome to submit their designs Erik Petigura, together with former postdoc Microwave Background (CMB) observations CONTENTS as limited numbers of previous designs, for consideration. Andrew Howard (now a Professor at and described how the combination of large- From the Chair...... 1 scale structure, supernova and CMB data are available for purchase online: http:// The winning design is determined by University of Hawaii) and Professor Geoff Institute for Data Science...... 2 could be used to address questions such as: qmorgan.dyndns.org/tshirts/ departmental vote. More information Marcy, has won the Cozzarelli Prize from the What happened during the first moments of Marc Davis Retires...... 2 Cost is $16 plus shipping for the most can be found on the department National Academy of Sciences. Their paper, the big bang? What is the dark energy? What SOFIA Flight...... 3 recent design and $14 for previous year’s website, http://astro.berkeley.edu. titled The prevalence of Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars, was judged the top were the properties of the first stars? MOSFIRE Deep Evolution...... 3 physical and mathematical sciences paper Our undergraduate, graduate, and Eugene Chiang Receives Award...... 3 published in the Proceedings of the National postdoctoral programs continue to thrive. Habitable Planets?...... 4 Academy of Sciences in 2013. (see page 4 for In 2013 and 2014 we conferred 26 and 29 New Campbell Hall...... 5 Astronomy News 2014 Banner photographs, L-R: 1. Sather Gate, University of California, Berkeley, 2. Keck a featured article) Bachelors degrees in Astonomy, respectively. Ph.D.s in 2013 /14...... 5 University of California, Berkeley Telescopes, Laser Guide Star, 3. Graduate student Ryan Foley and Professor Alex Four students were awarded their Ph.D. in Filippenko in Keck II Control Room, 4. Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT), With the numerous astronomical observations Awards...... 6 Newsletter Contributors: Imke de Pater, Rayna Helgens, Lochland Trotter, Barbara 2013, and five in 2014 (see page 5). Several Hoversten, Mariska Kriek, Josh Bloom, Geoff Marcy, Marc Davis. Lick Observatory, 5. The full moon above one of the CARMA antennae. and surveys, whether from space or the Giving Opportunities ...... 7 Banner photography provided by Laurie Hatch (www.lauriehatch.com), Keck ground, the sheer volume of data is growing new students from across the country joined Newsletter photography and graphics: Steve Croft, Laurie Hatch (www.lauriehatch.com), Coming Events ...... 8 Observatory, and Steve Croft. at an ever increasing rate – perhaps to be our graduate program both years. Over STUDIOS Architectural Design, Lochland Trotter, Rayna Helgens, Michael Masahiro Astronomy T-Shirts ...... 8 Yano, PNAS Editorial ([email protected]). Design: Lisa Krieshok, [email protected] compared to the accelerated expansion of two dozen postdoctoral fellows worked in our universe? Professor Josh Bloom was a the department, including those holding 2 B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y 7

Chair’s Desk from page 1 room will serve both as boardroom and as report writing, presentation, and teamwork. an intimate space for small lectures. This However, to maintain and upgrade these (see page 5 for recent photos and progress). enclosed space will open up on another facilities, we seek donors for our Student DEPARTMENT OF space with floor to ceiling windows, offering Observatory Fund, an endowed fund that will ASTRONOMY It’s exciting to see the new building take UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA WE WELCOME YOUR GIFT! shape. We most eagerly await a piece of sweeping views of the Bay. The outside enable our students, the astronomers of the o Enclosed is my tax-deductible gift of: upper deck will house one of the building’s future, to have full observational capabilities BERKELEY art for the dome in the lobby of the new o $5,000 o $2,500 o $1,000 o $500 o $250 o $100 o Other $______building (see page 5). We are happy to report highlights – a new state-of-the-art rooftop covering the entire visible-to-radio that all the design features that promise to observatory to be used for teaching and wavelength range. Your gifts are welcome Please direct my gift to: public outreach events. – and essential – to realize our vision. We facilitate research collaboration, enhance The Department of Astronomy wishes o The New Campbell Hall Student Observatory Fund The Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory, gratefully acknowledge the commitment of all teaching and learning, and engage the public to thank the alumni, parents, students, o The Friends of Astronomy (Chair’s Discretionary) Fund where students get hands-on experience in those who demonstrate their support with a are incorporated in the building. There faculty, staff and friends who so optical, infrared and radio astronomy, add contribution or a pledge. o Designate my gift to (other) ______will be numerous open interaction spaces generously support us! for informal meetings and discussions to tremendous value to a student’s education. If you would like to learn more about how Please make your check for the Department of Astronomy payable to UC Regents. bring together those involved in theory, As stated by an External Review Committee, you can contribute, please contact me at In addition to my donation, a matching gift form from my employer: instrumentation, observations, and numerical our flagship courses where students get this [email protected] or call the department at o Is enclosed or o Will be mailed to the Astronomy Department separately modeling. The marvelous suspended experience is “highly regarded beyond the 510-643-5040. Please return this form with your o Please send me information related to giving through my estate. Send this information to pedestrian bridge on the south side of the confines of Berkeley.” The UG Teaching Lab check to: my address listed below or contact me at the e-mail address or telephone number shown: building, linking New Campbell Hall with Le is featured prominently in the new building. Imke de Pater is a planetary scientist, specializing in Lochland Trotter Conte Hall, will fulfill a long-standing dream In addition to a cluster of computers, it will radio and infrared observations of planets, including University of California Name______their magnetic fields, satellites and ring systems. to promote interaction between astronomers have direct access to the optical and radio Department of Astronomy Address______and experimental physicists. On both sides telescopes on the roof of new Campbell During her term as Chair she managed to publish B20 Hearst Field Annex, MC 3411 her second textbook: Lissauer, J.J., and I. de Pater, City/State/Zip: ______of the bridge, open areas will be available for Hall, as well as computer links to Leuschner Berkeley, CA 9470-3411 Observatory’s optical/infrared and radio 2013. Fundamental Planetary Science. Physics, Email: ______relaxed, informal discussions; other glassed- Chemistry and Habitability. Cambridge University in rooms nearby will provide more private telescopes. The new lab will provide all Press, pp. 583. Phone number: ______settings to meet. the components needed to learn about the statistical nature of astronomical signals, The building’s roof will feature both inside You can also donate to the Astronomy Department online at: and outside spaces. Inside, a fully equipped the filtering effects of instrumentation, noise and errors, data analysis and display, http://givetocal.berkeley.edu/search/?s=astronomy A portion of all gifts is used to defray the costs of administering the funds. All gifts are tax-deductible, as prescribed by law.

Newly created Berkeley Institute for Data Science Professor Marc Davis The rapidly increasing importance of data- pace of scientific discovery, with implications to Retire GIVING OPPORTUNITIES intensive and data-driven approaches at for our understanding of the universe, Marc Davis, renowned Cosmologist and Berkeley has led to the establishment of the climate and biodiversity research, seismology, Physicist, has announced his retirement As state funding has declined over the past decade, the Astronomy Department has increasingly relied on the generosity of alumni and friends to Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS), a neuroscience, human behavior and many from UC Berkeley this year. Since 1981, maintain excellence in research and teaching. Your support will ensure that Berkeley Astronomy continues to thrive in the years to come. collaborative effort supported by the Gordon other areas. The Institute officially kicked off Davis has held dual appointments in We invite you to make a gift to one of our funding priorities, listed below, or to a priority of your choice: and Betty Moore Foundation Astronomy and Physics, and the Alfred P. Sloan punctuating his time as a INCREASING THE IMPACT Foundation. The new 5-year, professor and researcher Student Observatory Fund New Campbell Hall $37.8 million initiative by serving as chair of the The new Student Observatory Fund is a OF YOUR GIFT Though the building itself has been funded, was announced in late 2013. Astronomy department vitally important investment in our future. Corporate Matching Gift Program BIDS will be an intellectual additional donations are needed for from 1988-1992. In It will sustain our new teaching observatory Many employers of all sizes will match home for data science on addition to his work at on the rooftop of New Campbell Hall and programmatic and facility enhancements. campus, if not nationwide The new building will play a key role in your gifts to UC Berkeley. Consult Berkeley, Davis served as also upgrade our undergraduate lab and the employer matching-gift search and internationally. It will lead Principal Investigator associated telescope facilities for our majors. inspiring and educating the next generation help researchers harness of astronomers. page: http://givetocal. berkeley.edu/ on the ambitious DEEP2 See page 4 for further details. browse/?u=172 for further details. the full potential of the Redshift Survey, studying data-rich world that today the properties and Research Endowment Matching Programs: characterizes all fields of clustering of galaxies. Friends of UC Berkeley Endowments created for student support science and discovery, He was instrumental in Until the Student Observatory Fund is fully Astronomy funded, it remains our highest priority. We can be named in recognition of the donor including astronomy. It will the DEFW collaboration, or another honoree and may be eligible for build on existing campus which established the This unrestricted fund gives the department realize, however, that some of our donors are Astronomy Faculty 2014. inspired to give to research. Please contact matching through the following programs: strengths to facilitate and validity of the “cold dark Chair the flexibility to allocate spending and • The Graduate Fellowship Matching enhance the development and application of in December 2013 with a star-studded day of matter” theory that is now cited as the resources on the highest priorities and new us if you would like to explore the option talks, panel discussions, and a “data science of supporting a faculty member or a specific Program for gifts of $50K or more cutting-edge data science techniques in the accepted explanation for the formation opportunities that arise. The fund supports pledged over five years. biological, social, physical and engineering faire.” BIDS will open its doors in the newly important initiatives that benefit both line of research. of galaxies. His work has garnered wide • The William and Grace Ford sciences. There will be more than a dozen renovated wing of Doe Library in Fall 2014. recognition and a long list of awards, students and faculty, including mentorship data science Fellows employed at all levels Astronomy Professor, Joshua Bloom, is a co- programs, conferences, technology upgrades, Undergraduate Scholarship Matching including the Gruber Prize, the Heineman Program for endowments of $100K (staff, post-docs and faculty). The center will PI on the Berkeley Institute for Data Science Prize, and an Honorary PhD from the department activities and much more. offer enhanced trainings for undergrads and founding grant and one of the members of University of Chicago. graduate students, including bootcamps and the BIDS team. Prof. Saul Perlmutter is the PI For further information, please contact: hack-a-thons. The goal is to accelerate the of the grant. Lochland Trotter, [email protected], 510-643-5040 6 B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y 3

detects unseen neighboring stars near a Professor Imke de Pater takes flight with NASA’s SOFIA aircraft much brighter primary star. She discovered OUTSTANDING GRADUATE 2013/14 AWARDS over 60 binary stars in the Kepler database. STUDENT INSTRUCTOR AWARD Observations over this wavelength and regularly invite teachers and educators to range can be accomplished because join the flight. This award provides campus-wide recognition 2014: Caleb Levy SOFIA can reach altitudes of 41,000 Imke de Pater had the good fortune to fly of excellence in teaching by Graduate Student MARY ELIZABETH UHL PRIZE Will be graduating in Fall 2014 and will feet, placing those onboard above the with SOFIA in early May 2014 in order to instructors. The Mary Elizabeth Uhl Prize is awarded each apply to graduate school for Mathematics– terrestrial water vapor layer which observe the planet Jupiter. Each of the two year to a graduate student for outstanding functional analysis. 2014: Sedona Price, Lauren Weiss, and is blocking most of the incoming flights was 10 hours long - taking off and scholarly achievement. Caleb is a double major in Astrophysics Drummond Fielding light at infrared – submillimeter landing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research wavelengths. Additionally, because the Center in Palmdale, CA, and were dedicated and Applied Math. He’s currently 2013: Ryan Turner and Katherine 2014: Mike McCourt (advisor Eliot observatory is in an airplane, it can go to observations conducted with the Faint Quataert) engaged in research with Phillip Marcus, a de Kleer professor in the department of Mechanical to specific sites to observe transient Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Mike’s thesis includes many original phenomena and specific events, such Telescope (FORCAST), a dual-channel mid- contributions to our understanding of Engineering. Last summer he worked on a project to figure out how energy flows in DEPARTMENT CITATION as occultations of stars by asteroids, infrared camera and spectrograph sensitive the physics of galaxy cluster plasmas. For moons and planets. from 5-40 μm. The observations, overall, protoplanetary disks using ray tracing. The Departmental Citation is a prestigious example, he developed an analytical and The SOFIA aircraft, a modified Boeing were very successful, and the team is working award given to an undergraduate in numerical understanding of how thermal 2013: Andrew Vanderburg NASA’s SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for 747-SP, houses and transports a German- hard to reduce and analyze the data. instabilities regulate the rate at which cold Andrew was recipient of the 2013 Dorothea recognition for his or her distinguished Infrared Astronomy) is a project dedicated built 2.5 meter, 17-ton telescope, along with Although observing with SOFIA is much gas flows to small radii, fueling star formation Klumpke Roberts prize. As an astronomy undergraduate work. The Committee on Prizes to observing the infrared universe through onboard consoles astronomers and mission more flexible than with the Hubble Space and black hole growth in the centers of student at Berkeley, Vanderburg’s research initiated the Departmental Citation plan in the use of a flying observatory. Key scientific staff use to monitor data collected from the Telescope, it is very strict compared to clusters. This likely provides a key to ranged from improving the precision of 1955 with the approval and support of the goals of SOFIA are to study the dynamics and telescope during flight. In addition to the ground-based observations. Placement of the understanding why cluster plasmas have radial velocity measurements taken at Keck Chancellor. chemistry of interstellar matter, formation pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer, there is the telescope at the side of the airplane requires the properties they do. Mike will be an ITC to using externally dispersed interferometry 2014: Kevin Yu and evolution of stars, the composition, mission director, science flight planner, two specific flight “tracks” that zig-zag across the postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard. to measure high resolution infrared spectra. Kevin is a double major with Astrophysics structure, and evolution of comets, and telescope operators, instrument operators, Pacific Ocean and inland areas in order to Andrew is currently a graduate student at 2014: Chat Hull (advisor Carl Heiles and Physics. His research has involves a planetary atmospheres and surfaces through and security guards. SOFIA’s Educational and observe particular objects. and Dick Plambeck) Harvard University. comparison of the relationship between observations between 0.3 and 1600 mm. Public Outreach Program is extremely active, Chat Hull’s research is focused on polarization stellar and dynamical masses of simulated measurements of the radio continuum ROBERT J. TRUMPLER galaxies to observations. He will begin work and spectral lines to learn more about star GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD as a Software Engineer at FiveStars Loyalty formation in molecular clouds. Before starting Inc., in SF. UC-Wide collaboration underway: MOSFIRE Deep Evolution The Robert J. Trumpler Graduate Student as a Jansky Fellow at Harvard, he will be taking 2013: Peter Blanchard Mariska Kriek, our most recently hired improvement over existing galaxy surveys at a additional co-PIs include Alison Coil from a cross-country road trip across the northern Excellence Award recognizes academic excellence in the field of Astronomy. This award Peter had a superb academic record as a astronomy professor is co-PI on a major new similar distance. UC San Diego, Alice Shapley from UCLA, U.S. and southern Canada, hoping he will double major in astronomy and physics. faint galaxy survey being undertaken at the and Naveen Reddy, Brian Siana, and Bahram arrive at Harvard when the first snow falls. is given to one or more high achieving graduate With these data in hand, the team will study students in recognition of academic excellence He began working with Professor Alex 10-meter Keck I Telescope on Mauna Kea, the stellar and gaseous content of galaxies Mobasher from UC Riverside. Together they 2013: Jonnie Pober (adviser Don Backer as well as outreach. Filippenko in searching for supernovae Hawaii. This survey, called the MOSFIRE when the Universe was only 1.5-4.5 billion have been awarded a total of 47 observing and Aaron Parsons) using KAIT, was upgraded to using Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey, will years old. Professor Kriek will lead the study nights on the Keck I Telescope for the survey, Jonnie initially worked with Professor Don 2014: Garrett (Karto) Keating the Nickel 1-meter telescope at Lick exploit the new capabilities of a recently- which will be executed over 4 years. The Karto’s thesis research involves intensity of the stellar content, and the motions of the Backer on PAPER: Precision Array for Probing Observatory remotely from Evans Hall completed multi-object near infrared stars and gas in these distant galaxies. Both team just completed their second observing the Epoch of Reionization. When Backer mapping of CO at high redshifts (z ~ 5), with and ultimately was allowed to work spectrograph MOSFIRE. Using this new semester and is currently analyzing the CARMA. He is using over a 1000 hrs on the these probes provide powerful clues to how passed away in 2010, new faculty member on the 3-meter Shane telescope at Lick spectrograph, the MOSDEF survey will target galaxies grow and build up their stellar mass first data. They have also been awarded a Aaron Parsons essentially became Don’s Hubble Deep ‘Goods-North’ field, achieving Observatory. He is currently attending 2,000 extremely distant galaxies, lying 9 to $975,000 grant from the National Science sensitivities that are of interest for current over cosmic time. successor and as a result, became Jonnie’s Harvard University to get his graduate 12 billion light years away. MOSDEF will MOSDEF is a UC-wide collaboration; Foundation, which will be divided among the advisor. Jonnie received a NSF Astronomy and cosmological models. This research involves degree. result in more than an order of magnitude four campuses. Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship, which not only astronomy–but also a very high he took to the University of Washington. Pober level of statistical and instrumental analysis. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT completed his Ph.D. in 2013 and is currently a 2014: James Gold McBride Professor Eugene Chiang Receives 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral James McBride is fascinated by galactic COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER Fellow at the University of Washington, evolution and structure. He has worked 2014: Skylar Kerzner On March 13th 2014, Chancellor Nicholas origin of planetary systems, both extra- Department of Physics. on the observational effect of magnetic Skylar was a double major in Astrophysics Dirks announced faculty member Dr. solar and solar. Dr. Chiang is an active fields in galaxy and star formation, the and Physics and will start grad school this Eugene Chiang as a recipient of the 2014 member within the campus community: DOROTHEA KLUMPKE ROBERTS starburst phenomenon, AGN and angular fall at UC San Diego, where he will pursue Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Chiang In addition to acting as head Graduate PRIZE IN ASTRONOMY momentum transport therein, cooling flows his interests in Artificial Intelligence and has been a professor with the Astronomy Advisor for the Astronomy Department, in clusters of galaxies, and the interaction Brain-Computer interfaces through a PhD department since he serves on multiple Outstanding scholarly achievement by an upper- of radio jets with the intercluster medium. program in Cognitive Science. 2001 and currently committees which include level undergraduate student. He studies these through a variety of 2013: Peter Blanchard serves as director of the Berkeley Committee 2014: Rea Kolbl observations including full-Stokes VLBI the Berkeley Center on Undergraduate mapping of OH megamasers. Peter was an Astrophysics and Physics Rea will be attending Stanford University double major and has since gone on to for Integrative Scholarships, Honors, in teaching with a public ceremony: in in the fall for Applied Physics, researching 2013: Chat Hull Harvard where he is pursuing his graduate Planetary Science. and Financial Aid and is the attendance were members of the chancellor’s condensed matter. Rea is a double major in Chat was an observational astronomer degree. His research focuses Astronomy Liaison and Co-I office, the department, Dr. Chiang’s Astrophysics and Physics, and is engaged in whose research focused on polarization on theoretical for the Berkeley Science and family and colleagues, and many of his research with Geoff Marcy. Rea has created a from protostellar disks. He completed his astrophysics, with Diversity program. On April undergraduate and graduate students. sophisticated spectroscopic technique that Ph.D. in 2014. an emphasis on 23rd the campus honored understanding the Dr. Chiang’s excellence 4 B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y B E R K E L E Y A S T R O N O M Y 5 Astronomers answer key question: How common are habitable planets? NEW CAMPBELL HALL UPDATE Artist Chosen to create new CONGRATULATIONS NASA’s Kepler space telescope, now the faculty of the Institute for Astronomy at look out into the habitable zone, the planets We are happy to report construction of artwork for Campbell Hall to our recent PhD’s! crippled and its four-year mission at an the University of Hawaii. “With this result, Erik is describing may be Earth-size, rocky the new Campbell Hall is on schedule and Mungo Thomson has been commissioned end, nevertheless provided enough data to we’ve come home, in a sense, by showing that planets,” Howard said. proceeding as planned. Our move into the to create a new installation in the dome May 2013 new building is slated for September 2014 answer its main research question: How many planets like our Earth are relatively common Transiting planets located in the lobby on the first floor of of the 200 billion stars in our galaxy have throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.” and we simply cannot wait to settle in and Campbell Hall. The ceiling dome marks Jonathan Pober potentially habitable planets? Petigura, Howard, and Marcy published their NASA launched the Kepler space telescope start making use of the building’s state-of- Adviser: Aaron Parsons in 2009 to look for planets outside the solar the entrance to the building and will Based on a statistical analysis of all the Kepler analysis and findings in Proceedings of the the-art classrooms, remote observing labs, greet visitors with a moving image of the Overcoming the Challenges of 21cm Cosmology observations, astronomers at UC Berkeley and National Academy of Sciences in November system that cross in front of, or transit, their and newly built roof-top observatory, which Pober is a NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics stars, which causes a slight diminution – wonder and magnificence inspired by the University of Hawaii, Manoa now estimate 2013. Their paper, titled The prevalence of will house a new 17 inch Dall-Kirkham study of astronomy. Fellow at the University of Washington in the that one in five stars like the sun have Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars was about one hundredth of 1 percent – in the Astrograph telescope. Department of Physics. star’s brightness. From among the 150,000 About Mungo Thomson planets about the size of Earth and a surface judged the top physical and mathematical December 2013 temperature conducive to life. sciences paper and was awarded the stars imaged every 30 minutes for four years, Mungo Thomson is a Los Angeles- Cozzarelli Prize for 2013. NASA’s Kepler team reported more than 3,000 based artist whose work explores mass Adam Miller planet candidates. Many of these are much culture, cosmology, and reception with Adviser: Joshua Bloom Earth-size may not mean habitable larger than Earth – ranging from large planets economy and wit. He has been described Time-Domain Studies as a Probe of Stellar “For NASA, this discovery is vitally with thick atmospheres, like Neptune, to gas as a perceptual artist who works with Evolution important, because future missions will try to giants like Jupiter – or in orbits so close to language and context rather than light and Miller is a Hubble Fellow at the Jet Propulsion take an actual picture of a planet, and the size their stars that they are roasted. space. His work addresses the voids that Laboratory in Pasadena, California. of the telescope they have to build depends To sort them out, Petigura and his colleagues exist within culture—the gaps, pauses, Yookyung Noh on how close the nearest Earth-size planets are using the Keck telescopes in Hawaii to digressions and mistakes that surround Adviser: Joanne Cohn are,” Howard said. “An abundance of planets obtain spectra of as many stars as possible. material production, institutional space, The Largest Structure to the Smallest orbiting nearby stars simplifies such follow- This will help them determine each star’s true and everyday life. He has had solo Collapsed Object in the Universe up missions.” brightness and calculate the diameter of each exhibitions, projects and performances transiting planet, with an emphasis on Earth- Joshua Hajime Shiode Given that about 20 percent of stars are The team cautioned that Earth-size planets at The High Line, New York; SITE Santa Adviser: Eliot Quataert diameter planets. sun-like, the researchers say, that amounts to in orbits about the size of Earth’s are not Fe; The Times Museum, Guangzhou, The Evolution and Stability of Massive Stars several tens of billions of potentially habitable, necessarily hospitable to life, even if they Independently, Petigura, Howard and Marcy China; The Aspen Art Museum, Aspen; Shiode is a John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow Earth-size planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. reside in the habitable zone around a star focused on the 42,000 stars that are like the sun DON’T FORGET–THE The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The at the American Astronomical Society in “When you look up at the thousands of stars where the temperature is not too hot and not or slightly cooler and smaller, and found 603 Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, France; and Washington DC. too cold. candidate planets orbiting them. Only 10 of STUDENT OBSERVATORY GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy, among others. in the night sky, the nearest sun-like star with FUND IS NOW ACTIVE! May 2014 an Earth-size planet in its habitable zone is “Some may have thick atmospheres, making it these were Earth-size, that is, one to two times the diameter of Earth and orbiting their star at probably only 12 light years away and can be so hot at the surface that DNA-like molecules This fund was established to support Adam Nolan Morgan a distance where they are heated to lukewarm seen with the naked eye. That is amazing,” said would not survive. Others may have rocky the upgrade of our undergraduate lab Adviser: Joshua Bloom temperatures suitable for life. The team’s UC Berkeley graduate student Erik Petigura, surfaces that could harbor liquid water and telescopes used by our astrophysics Classification, Follow-up, and Analysis of definition of habitable is that a planet receives who led the analysis of the Kepler data. suitable for living organisms,” Marcy said. majors, and to maintain the New Gamma-ray Bursts and their Early-time NIR/ between four times and one-quarter the amount “We don’t know what range of planet types Campbell Hall Rooftop Observatory. Optical Afterglows Petigura has been doing research under the of light that Earth receives from the sun. supervision of professor Geoff Marcy, UC and their environments are suitable for life.” The fund also supports our off-site Adam will be participating in a 6 week Berkeley professor of astronomy. “Erik is an However Howard, Marcy and their colleagues A census of extrasolar planets Leuschner Observatory, which is used for Insight Data Science Fellows Program. undergraduate teaching and research. For absolutely brilliant graduate student in our provide hope that many such planets actually Petigura rigorously subjected his planet- more information on how you can support Christopher Robert Klein department. He brings deep insights about are rocky and could support liquid water. finding algorithms to a battery of tests in order the Student Observatory Fund or discuss Adviser: Joshua Bloom astrophysics and planetary science to his They reported that one Earth-size planet to measure how many habitable zone, Earth- how you can contribute to new Campbell Improving RR Lyrae Distance Indicators Through research. I can’t imagine anyone else doing size planets they missed. Petigura actually Hall, please contact Lochland Trotter at Instrumentation, Observation, and Calibration the monumental analysis of the Kepler data introduced fake planets into the Kepler data 510-643-5040 or, [email protected]. Chris will be participating in a 6 week Insight that Erik accomplished,” Marcy said. in order to determine which ones his software Data Science Fellows Program. “The primary goal of the Kepler mission was to could detect and which it couldn’t. Charles Lindsay Hopkins Hull answer the question, ‘What fraction of the Sun- “What we’re doing is taking a census of Habitable planets? from page 4 Advisers: Carl Heiles and Richard Plambeck like stars have Earth-size planets at lukewarm extrasolar planets, but we can’t knock on every From Cores to Envelopes to Disks: A Multi- temperatures so that water would not be door. Only after injecting these fake planets are cooler and slightly smaller than the sun, instrumentation to image and take spectra of scale View of Magnetized Star Formation frozen into ice or vaporized into steam, but and measuring how many we actually found Petigura said. But the researchers’ analysis these Earths need only observe a few dozen Chat will be a Jansky and SMA fellow at Harvard. remain a liquid, because liquid water is now could we really pin down the number of real shows that the result for K stars can be nearby stars to detect a sample of Earth-size understood to be the prerequisite for life?’” planets that we missed,” Petigura said. Michael Kingsley McCourt Jr. extrapolated to G stars like the sun. Had planets residing in the habitable zones of Adviser: Eliot Quataert Marcy said. “Until now, no one knew exactly The field of view of the Kepler space telescope, located Accounting for missed planets, as well as the Kepler survived for an extended mission, it their host stars.” how common potentially habitable planets Gas Dynamics in Galaxy Clusters in the constellation Cygnus, just above the plane of the fact that only a small fraction of planets are would have obtained enough data to directly In January, the team reported a similar were around sun-like stars in the galaxy.” Milky Way Galaxy. Kepler made precise measurements Mike will be an ITC Fellow at Harvard, oriented so that they cross in front of their detect a handful of Earth-size planets in the analysis of Kepler data for scorched planets working on the hot plasma in galaxy clusters “It’s been nearly 20 years since the discovery of the brightnesses of 156,000 stars for four years. host star as seen from Earth, allowed them to habitable zones of G-type stars. that orbit close to their stars. The new, more and in the galactic center. of the first extrasolar planet around a normal discovered by Kepler – albeit, a planet with a estimate that 22 percent of all sun-like stars “If the stars in the Kepler field are complete analysis shows that “nature makes star. Since then, we have learned that most likely temperature of 2,000 Kelvin, which is in the galaxy have Earth-size planets in their representative of stars in the solar about as many planets in hospitable orbits as December 2014 stars have planets of some size orbiting them, far too hot for life as we know it – is the same habitable zones. neighborhood, … then the nearest (Earth- in close-in orbits,” Howard said. and that Earth-size planets are relatively Matthew Richard George density as Earth and most likely composed of All of the potentially habitable planets found size) planet is expected to orbit a star The research was funded by UC Berkeley common in close-in orbits that are too hot Advisers: Uros Seljak and David Schlegel rock and iron, like Earth. in the team’s survey are around K stars, which that is less than 12 light-years from Earth and the National Science Foundation, with for life,” said Andrew Howard, a former UC Galaxies and Dark Matter in Group Halos and can be seen by the unaided eye,” the the assistance of the W. M. Keck Observatory Berkeley post-doctoral fellow who is now on “This gives us some confidence that when we Matt will be participating in a 6 week Insight Continued on page 5 researchers wrote in their paper. “Future and NASA. Data Science Fellows Program.