The UI Department of Physics and Astronomy is inviting you to join us for a live viewing event celebrating the launch of NASA’s TRACERS mission. The live viewing event has been postponed until Wednesday, July 23 in Lecture Room One, Van Allen Hall, from 12 to 3 p.m.

NASA’s new TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission will study magnetic reconnection, answering key questions about how it shapes the impacts of the Sun and space weather on our daily lives.

With the TRACERS launch imminent, take a trip through the timeline of the university’s largest externally funded research project, which will examine the powerful interactions between the magnetic fields of the sun and Earth.

A University of Iowa engineering student built a replica of the TRACERS satellite that will study the magnetic fields of the sun and Earth.

The journal Space Science Reviews is publishing a collection of articles about the University of Iowa-led Tandem Reconnection And Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission. This collection presents the science objectives of the mission, descriptions of the design and calibration of the plasma instruments, and other important aspects of the mission.

Prof. Gregory Howes is the new Departmental Executive Officer (DEO) of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, effective July 1, 2025.

The TRACERS mission, led in part by University of Iowa researchers, will use twin satellites to study how magnetic reconnection drives dynamic processes in Earth’s cusp region, advancing our understanding of space weather and magnetospheric physics.

Scientists in Iowa are celebrating the release of the first high-resolution images from Chile’s Rubin Observatory, whose powerful 3,000-megapixel camera is expected to revolutionize our understanding of the universe by capturing unprecedented data on billions of celestial objects.

With support from the American Institute of Physics, SPS students transform outreach into impact by crafting a creative, science-rich children's book that brings the wonders of astronomy to young readers.

Five members of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) visited the Department of Physics and Astronomy on June 8, touring labs and facilities and learning about research programs.