Tags: computational astrophysics

Cassandra Hall

NASA grant supports Franklin astrophysicist searching for Earth's origins

Some giant planets appear to have formed millions of years faster than prevailing theories predict. With more than $365,000 in new NASA funding, University of Georgia astrophysicist Cassandra Hall is investigating how that could happen.  Hall, an assistant professor of computational astrophysics in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will use computer simulations to determine how two planet formation theories may interact during the…
digital image of planetary disk, with blue, red, and space in black

New research challenges long-standing paradigm on planet formation

Two theories of planet formation have long-dominated astronomy - the first theory, “core accretion,” posits that planets grow slowly from particles of dust ultimately forming pebbles, then boulders, which coalesce to form planets over tens of millions of years.  The second theory – “gravitational instability,” in which planets form quickly from direct collapse of gas and dust, requiring hundreds to thousands of years instead – received new…
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