COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Columbus State University’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center is getting a major boost from NASA to help students explore the universe.
The center was awarded a $300,000 NASA grant to expand undergraduate research at its WestRock Observatory. Over the next two years, the funding will pay for significant equipment upgrades and give students hands-on roles in two high-level astronomy projects: monitoring black holes and tracking potentially hazardous asteroids.
One of those projects, led by CSU alumnus and University of Chicago researcher Dr. John Hood, will study blazars supermassive black holes that shoot out jets of energy. Hood, a graduate of Carver High School, will return to Columbus to work alongside current students…