Auburn astrophysicist selected as one of 14 researchers for the 2026 launch of NASA’s ULTRASAT – Israel’s first space telescope mission

Dennis Bodewits, an associate professor in the Department of Physics in COSAM, is one of just 14 researchers selected to use NASA’s Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT), which will launch for orbit in the summer of 2026. Bodewits and John Noonan, a postdoctoral scientist in his lab, will study the water production rates and behaviors of comets throughout the solar system with this wide field space telescope.

Their research effort, titled "Mapping Cometary Water Production Rate Throughout the Solar System," is supported by a three-year, $200,000 grant.

“This is an exciting opportunity to develop an online portal to track the changes of a wide array of comets,” said Bodewits who is the only researcher from the state of Alabama to participate from the 13 institutions in just 10 states chosen by NASA. "This telescope enables us to study a broad population of comets with an unbiased perspective, transcending the traditional focus on the brightest few."

Auburn’s ichthyologist honored with award of excellence

Most people know Jonathan Armbruster as the director of Auburn University’s Museum of Natural History, which is a position he has proudly served in since 2016. He is also known for naming a previously unknown catfish species, Peckoltia greedoi, after a Rodian bounty hunter character, Greedo, from Star Wars. Now Armbruster has another accolade to add to his impressive list of achievements, the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Robert H. Gibbs Award for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology.

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