The wildfire that erupted in the foothills west of Boulder in September 2010 sent a thick plume of smoke right over NCAR’s chemistry labs. Even as their offices smelled of smoke, scientists took measurements from the roof.

Scientists have detected "starspots," on the surface of a star using stellar seismology. The technique offers the potential to examine hundreds of stars.

The new research has implications for satellite orbits.

NCAR scientists are collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help fight plague in Uganda. Plague is believed to have been responsible for the Black Death pandemic that swept Europe in the 14th century, killing more than 25 million people.

A windstorm that swept across Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois on May 8, 2009, was so remarkably fierce that NCAR scientists coined a new term to describe it: super derecho.