CoolSci 2026: Celebrating STScI Achievement in Astronomical Research Award Winners

Описание: Speaker: Marco Chiaberge (STScI)

Title: From Black Holes to Human Health: Keeping Astronauts Healthy for Long Duration Human Space Flight

Abstract: Astronomy and human physiology may seem worlds apart, yet both are essential to our exploration of the cosmos. The human body remains one of the most limiting factors in long-term space exploration. In this talk, I will present results from my JHU-based interdisciplinary team’s study investigating how jumping exercise can mitigate cartilage degradation during prolonged unloading, as occurs in microgravity. These findings have direct implications for maintaining astronaut health on future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, and more broadly for sustaining the human presence in space that will enable the next generation of astronomical discoveries.

Speaker: Stephanie La Massa (STScI)

Title: Discovering Black Holes Across the Universe with the Stripe 82X Survey

Abstract: How do supermassive black holes grow over cosmic time and shape the galaxies in which they live? When supermassive black holes are accreting and are observed as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), they release prodigious amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum and can be discovered and characterized via multi-wavelength surveys. “Stripe 82X”, a wide-area X-ray+multi-wavelength survey covering ~30 deg^2 of the legacy Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field, was designed to uncover rare luminous AGN enshrouded by large amounts of dust and gas within their host galaxies. In this talk, I will summarize the demographics of AGN discovered in Stripe 82X and discuss how the properties of this population evolve over cosmic time which gives us a window into a key phase of black hole growth.

Speaker: Marc Rafelski (STScI)

Title: The Baryon Cycle in Galaxies and their Circumgalactic Medium

Abstract: The formation and evolution of galaxies is governed by the baryon cycle — an intricate interplay of gas inflows, outflows, star formation, feedback, and recycling. Understanding this cycle requires tracing the evolution of metallicity and gas content in both the interstellar medium (ISM) and the circumgalactic medium (CGM). In this talk, I will present results from multiple surveys undertaken by the Galaxies and the Circumgalactic Medium group. First, the MUSE Ultra Deep Field (MUDF) enables us to probe the metallicity evolution and mass dependence out to z~2. Since the MUDF includes two bright quasars at z~3.2 separated by ~500 kpc, we can directly connect galaxy properties observed in emission with gas seen in absorption. We find compelling evidence for gas recycling in the CGM of galaxies with high specific star-formation rates. Second, I will present new results from the KCWI Analysis of Gas around Galaxies (KAGG) survey, which significantly expands the sample of galaxies associated with neutral hydrogen absorption systems (Damped Lyman-alpha systems; DLAs). We find these galaxies are detected at large impact parameters, suggesting extended distributions of neutral gas and confirming that high-redshift DLAs are integral components of the CGM. Third, using the Qz5 survey of z~5 quasars, we find that the cosmic HI mass density as traced by DLAs peaks at z ~ 3–4 rather than flattens as previously believed. From these results emerges a qualitative agreement between how the cosmic densities of H I gas mass, molecular gas mass, and star formation rate build up with cosmic time. These results provide critical constraints for future simulations of galaxy formation and the baryon cycle across cosmic time.