Author: Vince Stricherz

For the first time, astronomers have created a rough map of a planet orbiting a distant sun-like star, using a technique that eventually could allow mapping of planets with Earth-like characteristics.

Throughout history civilizations expanded as they sought new soil to feed their populations, then ultimately fell as they wore out or lost the dirt they depended upon.

Throughout history civilizations expanded as they sought new soil to feed their populations, then ultimately fell as they wore out or lost the dirt they depended upon.

It is an inevitability of life — you are born and you begin to age.

It is an inevitability of life — you are born and you begin to age.

Hurricanes can gain or lose intensity with startling quickness, a phenomenon never more obvious than during the historic 2005 hurricane season that spawned the remarkably destructive Katrina and Rita.

African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a rate unprecedented since an international convention banning ivory trade took effect in 1989, a UW biologist says.

African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a rate unprecedented since an international convention banning ivory trade took effect in 1989, a University of Washington biologist says.

Two-winged insects such as houseflies and mosquitoes that are active during the light of day rely on their vision for flight control, but they also get help from organs called halteres, which grow where a second set of wings might otherwise be found and aid in navigation.

Two-winged insects such as houseflies and mosquitoes that are active during the light of day rely on their vision for flight control, but they also get help from organs called halteres, which grow where a second set of wings might otherwise be found and aid in navigation.

As humans exert ever-greater influence on the Earth, their preferences will play a substantial role in determining which other species survive.

As humans exert ever-greater influence on the Earth, their preferences will play a substantial role in determining which other species survive.

Astronomers have found evidence of a supermassive black hole at the heart of a dwarf elliptical galaxy about 54 million light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy where Earth resides.

Earth’s inhabitants are used to temperatures that vary, sometimes greatly, between day and night.

Earth’s inhabitants are used to temperatures that vary, sometimes greatly, between day and night.

Albert Einstein theorized long ago that moving matter would warp the fabric of four-dimensional space-time, sending out ripples of gravity called gravitational waves.

Astronomers have found evidence of a supermassive black hole at the heart of a dwarf elliptical galaxy about 54 million light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy where Earth resides.

Contrary to a popular scientific notion, there was enough mixing in the early solar system to transport material from the sun’s sizzling neighborhood and deposit it in icy deep-space comets.

A number of researchers in recent years have reported perplexing findings of water vapor at concentrations as much as twice what they should be in and around cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere, a finding that could alter some conclusions about climate change.

A University of Washington team will lead a new $15 million U.

It’s time for the United States to have a national climate service — an interagency partnership led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and charged with understanding climate dynamics, forecasts and impacts — say six members of the UW’s Climate Impacts Group.

A number of researchers in recent years have reported perplexing findings of water vapor at concentrations as much as twice what they should be in and around cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere, a finding that could alter some conclusions about climate change.

It’s time for the United States to have a national climate service — an interagency partnership led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and charged with understanding climate dynamics, forecasts and impacts — say six members of the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group.

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, a Canadian physics research facility with substantial involvement by UW scientists, this month will complete more than seven years of neutrino measurements using a heavy water detector core.

Insects have proven to be highly adaptable organisms, able through evolution to cope with a variety of environmental changes, including relatively recent changes in the world’s climate.

Insects have proven to be highly adaptable organisms, able through evolution to cope with a variety of environmental changes, including relatively recent changes in the world’s climate.

Vertebrate creatures first began moving from the world’s oceans to land about 415 million years ago, then all but disappeared by 360 million years ago.

An earthquake swarm — a steady drumbeat of moderate, related seismic events — over hours or days, often can be observed near a volcano such as Mount St.

Vertebrate creatures first began moving from the world’s oceans to land about 415 million years ago, then all but disappeared by 360 million years ago.

If you think Pacific Northwest winters are gray and rainy now, just wait.

PHILADELPHIA — If you think the world is on the verge of running out of oil or other mineral resources, you’ve been taken in by the foremost of seven myths about resource geology, according to a University of Washington economic geologist.

If you think Pacific Northwest winters are gray and rainy now, just wait.

It’s not unusual for UW astronomers to use the Hubble Space Telescope in their research, but for the first time a UW scientist has been granted the largest share of observation time for an entire year.