The idea of alien worlds conjures images of planets populated by the beings found in a “Star Wars” bar scene. But the reality is much more nuanced. University of Virginia astronomer Anna Dignan takes a more scientific approach in her summer session astronomy course, Alien Worlds, which wrapped up Friday.

This interview is part of Astrobites coverage of #BlackSpaceWeek presented by Black in Astro. Black in Astro is a grassroots organization that offers support and networking for Black people working in or studying astronomy and space-related fields across the globe. 

At the University of Virginia, a new initiative is reshaping how scientists think about the universe’s biggest mysteries.
The Interconnected Cosmos Initiative brings together researchers and students from across disciplines to create opportunities for discovery by breaking down academic barriers.
“The universe doesn’t respect disciplinary boundaries,” said Steven Majewski.

The U.S. Department of Defense recently released a cache of once-classified papers on unidentified anomalous phenomena (once called unidentified flying objects) – a collection of fuzzy photos and unresolved reports. This first in a planned series of documents on unexplained phenomena does not impress Kelsey Johnson, a professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia and author of the book “Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos.”

The universe has a hidden structure, and a University of Virginia professor is mapping it in 3D, using 46 million galaxies and quasars and 19 million stars. Satya Gontcho A Gontcho is part of a team using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to conduct one of the most extensive surveys of the cosmos ever.

Why did the radio telescope go up the mountain? To look out into space, of course. A German-made DSA-2000 radio telescope, weighing in at 5,000 pounds with a dish 5 meters in diameter, journeyed to the University of Virginia’s Grounds on March 31 following three weeks at sea.

The University of Virginia’s Department of Astronomy has long punched above its weight. Once a cornerstone of Thomas Jefferson’s vision for a model public-university education, the department today — backed by major new investments from the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and energized by ambitious, cross-disciplinary initiatives — is entering what Chair and Vanderbilt Professor of Astronomy Steven Majewski calls a defining era.