Mukremin Kilic, Ph.D., an associate professor of astrophysics and cosmology in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, is one of 14 scientists selected by NASA to join the Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite Participating Scientists Program.
Known as ULTRASAT, this three-year mission is a collaboration between NASA and the Israel Space Agency through the Weizmann Institute of Science and will launch in 2026. A key science goal of ULTRASAT is the discovery of electromagnetic emission following the detection of gravitational waves from the mergers of binaries involving neutron stars.
Kilic will be searching for planets around white dwarf stars using high-cadence data. His selection also comes with funding for OU student participation.
“I’ve already joined several working groups that will help maximize the science output of ULTRASAT,” Kilic said. “These groups are focusing on gravitational wave sources, exoplanets and star-planet connection, stellar structure and evolution, and more.”
Learn more at nasaprs.com.
