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<p>An unusually star-deprived black hole at the site of two merged galaxies could provide new insight into black hole evolution and behavior.</p>

<p>A NASA-funded miniature satellite built by Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ students will launch at 5:55 p.m. EST on Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the start of a six-month-long mission to study solar flares and the powerful X-rays emitted by the sun.</p>

<p>United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced Thursday it's taking CubeSat rideshares to the next level by launching a new, innovative program offering universities the chance to compete for free CubeSat rides starting in 2017. The first free CubeSat launch is going to CU-Boulder.</p>

<p>Scientists involved in NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, which is being led by the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ, have identified the process that appears to have played a key role in the transition of the Martian climate from an early, warm and wet environment that might have supported surface life to the cold, arid planet Mars is today.</p>

<p><span>A collaborative effort involving six counties, the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ and the nonprofit aerospace advocacy group, UAS Colorado, has paved the way for the launch and testing of two unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the San Luis Valley. </span></p>

<p dir="ltr">When he was in high school, Daniel Pette was fascinated by stars. When his earth science teacher told him that massive stars die out faster than smaller ones, Pette diagrammed a theory to figure out why this was. When he discovered that his findings were correct, Pette became determined to pursue a career in astrophysics. </p>

<p class="p1">NASA has awarded the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ’s Fiske Planetarium $1 million for the development of short, full-dome videos about space science-related discoveries that will be distributed to hundreds of planetariums nationwide.</p>

<p>The Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ is the lead institution on a $1.9 million federal grant to develop autonomous aerial robotic systems that will enable new atmospheric science applications, including observing and better understanding the behavior of severe storms.</p>

<p>CU-Boulder's <a href="http://ccar.colorado.edu/pages/axelrad.html">Penina Axelrad</a>, professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace Sciences, received the 2015 Aerospace Educator Award from the <a href="http://www.womeninaerospace.org/">Women in Aerospace</a> association.</p>

<p>Waleed Abdalati, professor of geography at the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ and director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), will co-chair a <a href="http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/CurrentProjects/SSB_166359">prestigious national committee</a> charged with developing U.S. priorities for observing Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land surfaces by satellite.</p>