Santa Cruz’s Year in Scientific Discoveries

In 2011, UCSC astronomers found the most distant galaxy yet.

February

A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Using images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, UCSC astronomers Garth Illingworth and Rychard Bouwens discovered the most distant galaxy yet, 13.2 billion light years from Earth.

Six More Earths?

UCSC astronomer Jonathan Fortney worked on a team that analyzed findings from the Kepler telescope—including six Earth-like planets orbiting an 8-billion-year-old star that is comparable in size to our sun. It’s 2,000 light years away.

August

Earth’s Two Moons

In a study published in the journal Nature, Erik Asphaug, professor of earth and planetary sciences at UCSC, and postdoctoral researcher Martin Jutzi hypothesized that the Moon’s strange topography is the result of a collision with another, smaller moon that once circled the planet as well.

September

Fish Using Tools

The first documented evidence of fish using tools was captured on video by UCSC professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Giacomo Bernardi. The video, which depicts a fish digging up a clam, carrying it to rock and throwing the clam against the rock repeatedly to crack its shell, was published in the journal Coral Reef.

November

Big Bang Gas

UCSC Astronomers Xavier Prochaska and Michele Fumagalli discovered primordial clouds of gas containing only hydrogen and helium, the two elements present at the Big Bang. The findings serve to further confirm the leading theory of the universe’s creation. 

• • A
  • A
  • A
• 2 Comments
• Share