Ashley Piccone
News FellowEmail: piccone33@gmail.com
I am the 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Fellow at KUNC. My goal is to tell the true stories of science — and make them understandable and fascinating for all.
I am also an astronomy PhD student at the University of Wyoming, where I image and examine the tiny particles of dust between the stars. I graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a degree in Engineering Physics in 2018. In 2020, I began writing for the astronomy blog Astrobites and creating science stories at Wyoming Public Radio.
I was recently named a Future Investigator in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology. The grant will fund the remainder of my PhD work.
When I’m not chasing down scientists, translating their research, or doing some of my own, you can find me running, hiking, snuggling my cat, or munching on a bagel.
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For the first time, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have taken pictures of the sun's middle corona, one layer of the solar atmosphere responsible for spitting out material known as solar flares. The images could improve space weather forecasting and how we prepare for it on Earth. -
In Colorado, multiple efforts are underway to find and fix methane leaks, which could make a big difference when it comes to fighting climate change. -
For the next week, Colorado’s night skies will be full of shooting stars. Despite the name, they aren’t actually stars — they’re space debris, and they’re part of the annual Perseid meteor shower. -
A study from the University of Colorado Boulder has found that trees in the state are dying from drought and heat. -
Last week, flash flooding in Poudre and Glenwood canyons resulted in multiple fatalities and road closures. Burn scars from the Cameron Peak and Grizzly Creek fires played a big role in the dangerous water flows, but the monsoon was also a factor. -
In recent weeks, Colorado’s air quality has rapidly deteriorated. Smog, a portion of which is composed of smoke from wildfires within and outside the state, has obscured our view of the mountains from the Front Range. And this week the state failed to meet an Environmental Protection Agency deadline for reducing ozone pollution. -
This week has brought hazy skies and air quality alerts to the Front Range and Mountain communities. Some of the pollution is coming from wildfires outside and within Colorado. -
Climate change is raising temperatures, changing weather patterns and causing droughts. It also impacts wildlife like the American pika by threatening its high mountain habitat in Colorado and other parts of the West, but a group of scientists and outdoor enthusiasts are trying to help. -
NASA is planning two missions to Venus in order to study how the planet became Earth’s “evil twin.” Colorado scientists are involved in each stage of the projects, which will launch at the end of the decade. -
As Colorado enters the hottest months of the year, drought and high temperatures are on most people's minds. But researchers at Colorado State University are still focused on snow.
