The summer research programs at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) kicked off in May 2021 with a 67-percent increase in participation over the prior year and a record number of incoming program mentors.

Fourteen outstanding high school seniors were selected for the AUI 2021 Scholarship—including 9 children of NRAO staff. Each scholarship awardee will receive a $3,500 scholarship, renewable for up to four years.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. Radio astronomers can see hydrogen by the light it emits, reflects, and even absorbs. Because hydrogen is everywhere, it can tell stories about the cosmos from the Big Bang to today.

Join our host Summer Ash of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory as she talks about how hydrogen can tell us so much about the structure and evolution of the universe.

AUI and NRAO have announced the establishment of the National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) Bridge Scholarship Award program to assist and recognize NAC alums on their achievements as they enter graduate school.

Using data for more than 500 young stars observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), scientists have uncovered a direct link between protoplanetary disk structures—the planet-forming disks that surround stars—and planet demographics. The survey proves that higher mass stars are more likely to be surrounded by disks with “gaps” in them and that these gaps directly correlate to the high occurrence of observed giant exoplanets around such stars. These results provide scientists with a window back through time, allowing them to predict what exoplanetary systems looked like through each stage of their formation.

The 2021 Jansky Lectureship has been awarded to Professor Luis F. Rodriguez of the National University of Mexico, in recognition of his accomplishments as a scientist, an educator, a popularizer of astronomy and a mentor to a generation of radio astronomers.