9.30
Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Astronomy
Did scientists detect chemical signals from Venusian microorganisms?
Four takeaways from astronomer Cullen Blake on what this potentially groundbreaking study shows and what comes next for scientists who are keen to understand these faraway chemical signals.
New stellar stream, born outside the Milky Way, discovered with machine learning
New stellar stream, born outside the Milky Way, discovered with machine learning
Finding this new stellar stream, named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of night, was made possible using machine learning tools and simulations of data collected by the Gaia space observatory.
New view of nature’s oldest light adds fresh twist to debate over universe’s age
New view of nature’s oldest light adds fresh twist to debate over universe’s age
Observations by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope suggest that the universe is 13.77 billion years old, and reveals how fast the cosmos is expanding.
Additional challenges in bringing research online
Additional challenges in bringing research online
As research on campus slowly restarts, those whose work requires field surveys, large-scale collaborations, or travel face additional challenges in bringing their research back online.
New minor planets beyond Neptune
New minor planets beyond Neptune
This updated catalog of trans-Neptunian objects and the methods used to find them could aid in future searches for undiscovered planets in the far reaches of the solar system.
New astronomical instrument on the hunt for exoplanets
New astronomical instrument on the hunt for exoplanets
A state-of-the-art instrument called NEID, from the Tohono O’odham word meaning “to see,” collected its “first light” and is poised to look for new planets outside the solar system.
A new way to measure cosmic black holes
A new way to measure cosmic black holes
Researchers find a link between the masses of supermassive black holes and the distances between the galaxies which surround them, allowing astronomers to more easily study many astronomical phenomena.
By the Numbers: Dark matter
By the Numbers: Dark matter
Key facts and figures about the unseen matter that remains one of cosmology’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
In search of signals from the early universe
In search of signals from the early universe
Penn astronomers are part of an international collaboration to construct the Simons Observatory, a new telescope that will search the skies in a quest to learn more about the formation of the universe.
Remembering the past while looking forward
Remembering the past while looking forward
As the nation celebrates the Apollo 11 mission, a look at Penn’s connection to the historic event and how the Moon impacts science, politics, and culture.
Media Contact
In the News
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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Smithsonian Magazine
Astronomers discover second-closest know exoplanet
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Cullen Blake weighed in on the identification of an earth-like exoplanet called Barnard’s Star b. Blake said that while the data used to locate it may be muddied by nearby stellar activity, the exoplanet has been observed enough times to be a strong planetary candidate.
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