May 06, 2026
Dr. Kite, Brandon Coy, and the team used the telescope to focus on a planet known as Kuaꞌkua, or LHS 3844 b by its formal scientific name, which is 48 light-years away from Earth. Kua’kua is about twice the mass of Earth, but is much closer to its sun and zips around it faster—its “year,” the time it takes to complete a full trip around its host star, is the equivalent of 0.5 Earth days.
Kua’kua’s surface appears to be very dark, most likely made up of basalt or similar rock—much like the rock you might see in Iceland or Hawaii. The planet is probably covered in a dark, weathered powder, as our moon and Mercury are. And there’s no signature in the readings for an atmosphere with carbon dioxide, or even a sulfurous one belched from volcanoes. The color is of particular interest because a lighter-colored surface might have indicated a granite crust, which on Earth, is made in the presence of water and could also have indicated the presence of plate tectonics.
The paper is published in Nature Astronomy.
April 22, 2026
A project led by Associate Prof. Pedram Hassanzadeh and Nobel laureate Michael Kremer was selected as the inaugural winner of the ambitious research competition.
April 16, 2026
She was awarded the fellowship in recognition of her groundbreaking research in ocean biogeochemistry.