NEWS FROM ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Discover CMPS
Professor Doug Hamilton, Department of Astronomy, and research collaborators at the University of Virginia have discovered an immense new ring of dust and ice around Saturn associated with the planet's outer moon Phoebe. It is Saturn's largest and outermost ring by far, and thus is also the largest planetary ring in the solar system.

Erin Grand, an Astronomy undergraduate working with Assistant Research Scientist, Dr. Stefan Immler (Maryland Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology), is studying an ultraviolet image of the nearest spiral galaxy, Andromeda. Erin put together an image as an intern at Goddard and received attention from Fox News. This image was selected as Astronomy Picture of the Day on Sept. 17, 2009.

Maryland Astronomers Jessica Sunshine, Tony Farnham, Lori Feaga, Frederic Merlin, Mike A'Hearn and Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille’s Olivier Groussin, discovered that there is water all over the moon. Although it is in trace amounts, brought by the solar wind, and it disappears as fast as it is brought in, this is big news, as indicated in this press release. The Deep Impact observations of the Moon not only unequivocally confirm the presence of OH/H2O on the lunar surface, but also reveal that the entire lunar surface is hydrated during at least some portions of the lunar day. This is work done with the EPOXI spacecraft.

Pioneering theorist and Nobel Laureate, Philip W. Anderson, has been named the first recipient of the Richard E. Prange Prize and Lectureship in Condensed Matter Theory and Related Areas. Anderson, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1977 for "fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems" is currently the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics at Princeton University, will deliver a public presentation on campus on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. in Room 1412 of the John Toll Physics Building. The award honors the late Professor Richard Prange.