On the Astronomy Trail in Nebraska

Nebraska
Sunset over the Nebraska Star Party. Dave Dickinson

It’s a never-ending quest for observers, lovers of the night sky and astrophotographers. Where to go to get away from encroaching light pollution, and find truly dark skies?

Most of us think of distant sites such as Death Valley, the Kalahari Desert or the Canary Islands when it comes to dark skies. And while it’s true that many observers are now traveling farther and farther away from home in search of truly dark skies, that trip need not be as far as you think.

We had the opportunity to visit one such often overlooked dark sky gem: the state of Nebraska. From fossils to aeronautics and astronomy, there’s lots of science to explore in the Cornhusker State. Though the state has a rich science heritage, and an active amatuer astronomy community, Nebraska is an often overlooked dark sky haven. But science tourism is also becoming increasingly popular, and Nebraska has lots to offer.
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Optical Rocket Boosts Electrons to Nearly the Speed of Light

Artist's impression of the Nebraska experiment, where the white orbs represent two laser pulses with plasma waves in their wakes. The waves interfere with one another after the laser pulses cross, and electrons ride the wake field waves to higher energy. Credit: University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ELL

A team of researchers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln recently conducted an experiment where they were able to accelerate plasma electrons to close to the speed of light. This “optical rocket”, which pushed electrons at a force a trillion-trillion times greater than that generated by a conventional rocket, could have serious implications for everything from space travel to computing and nanotechnology.

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