The Stewart Group celebrating Sarah's MacArthur Fellowship.  

Some thoughts on the theme of World Space Week. I love this graphic by Photon Illustration. https://americangeophysicalunion.tumblr.com/post/178727321633/photo-courtesy-of-sarah-t-stewart-uc-davis-space  

We are pleased to announce the launch of CLEVER Planets (the Cycling of Life-Essential Volatile Elements on Rocky Planets), a NASA NExSS team investigating the necessary chemistry for a rocky planet to host life. UC Davis announcement: How Do you Make an Earth-Like Planet?

We present a new model for lunar accretion with a terrestrial synestia. The Moon is depleted in volatile elements compared to Earth. Our model explains the pattern and magnitude of depletion of these elements. The key is understanding the pressures and temperatures of the rock vapor environment around the growing Moon. More information about our [...]

Graduate student Simon Lock and Sarah Stewart define and explain a new type of planetary object. A synestia is formed by a giant impact. Synestias are an important stage of terrestrial planet formation, leading to mixing within the structure and the formation of moons. Our work is published today in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. [...]

U. California has funded a new center in high energy density science. This center is a collaboration between 5 UC campuses, LLNL and LANL. One of the themes of our center is material properties under extreme conditions and applications to planetary science.