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Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Astronomy
A ‘vibrant nexus’ for research and discovery in the physical sciences
A ‘vibrant nexus’ for research and discovery in the physical sciences
With the construction of a new Physical Sciences Building and updates to the David Rittenhouse Laboratory, Penn will create a modernized physical sciences quadrant that integrates state-of-the-art research in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering.
In These Times: Fear and loathing and science
In These Times: Fear and loathing and science
Season three of the School of Arts & Sciences podcast explores scientific ideas that get big reactions.
Penn cosmology team ready to field the largest ever cosmic microwave background camera
Penn cosmology team ready to field the largest ever cosmic microwave background camera
A new study details the inner workings of the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver, the cryogenic camera that will be installed at the Simons Observatory at 17,000 feet in northern Chile.
On the hunt for new exoplanets
A state-of-the-art instrument called NEID, from the Tohono O’odham word meaning “to see,” has officially started its scientific mission: discovering new planets outside of the solar system.
Giant comet found in outer solar system
The discovery of the comet estimated to 100-200 kilometers across was made by Penn researchers following a comprehensive search of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the most distant comet ever discovered and possibly the largest seen in modern times.
Connecting a star’s chemical composition and planet formation
Connecting a star’s chemical composition and planet formation
Along with developing a new statistical method for studying exoplanets, researchers from Penn found that the majority of stars in their dataset are similar to the sun, implying that many stars in the Milky Way could host their own Earthlike planets.
Dark Energy Survey interim analysis sheds light on the evolution of the universe
Dark Energy Survey interim analysis sheds light on the evolution of the universe
Analysis of the survey’s first three years of data, which were used to make the most precise 3D map of the universe to date, is a key step towards understanding dark matter and dark energy.
Beyond topological insulators
Beyond topological insulators
Charlie Kane and Eugene Mele’s groundbreaking theories on the existence of a new class of materials continues to inspire an upcoming generation of physics researchers.
27 million galaxy morphologies quantified and cataloged with the help of machine learning
27 million galaxy morphologies quantified and cataloged with the help of machine learning
Using data from the Dark Energy Survey, researchers from the Department of Physics & Astronomy produced the largest catalog of galaxy morphology classifications to date.
The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration
The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration
Penn Today spoke with experts in various areas of science and environmental policy about what they anticipate will shift now that President Biden has assumed the nation’s leadership.
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In the News
Space
The ‘megacomet’ Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the find of a decade. Here’s the discovery explained
Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences comment on being an unlikely pair to have discovered the largest icy-bodied comet which is named in their honor.
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USA Today
Fact check: 62-mile-wide mega comet unlikely to hit Earth, will just pass by it in 2031
Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the giant comet they recently discovered. “There is no possibility of this thing getting any closer to Earth than Saturn gets,” said Bernstein.
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USA Today
The largest comet ever discovered in modern times is zooming toward the sun
Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the giant comet he and Ph.D. candidate Pedro Bernardinelli discovered. "We have the privilege of having discovered perhaps the largest comet ever seen—or at least larger than any well-studied one—and caught it early enough for people to watch it evolve as it approaches and warms up," Bernstein said.
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The New York Times
The largest comet ever found is making its move into a sky near you
Ph.D. candidate Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences have discovered the largest comet ever observed, with a nucleus between 62 and 125 miles long.
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NBC News
Our solar system’s mysterious ‘Planet 9’ may actually be a tiny, ancient black hole
Bhuvnesh Jain of the School of Arts and Sciences commented on a new theory that Planet 9 may actually be a tiny, primordial black hole: “From a theoretical standpoint, it’s exciting even if its plausibility right now is early to judge.”
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Forbes
Astronomers want to look for Planet X in Big Bang’s cosmic glow
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Eric Baxter, Bhuvnesh Jain, Cullen Blake, Gary Bernstein, and Mark Devlin co-authored a paper outlining ways to find undetected planets on the outskirts of our solar system.
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