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Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Astronomy
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.
A two-minute totality, an opportunity of a lifetime
A two-minute totality, an opportunity of a lifetime
Graduate student David Sliski observed the July 2 eclipse at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile as a member of a scientific team tasked with imaging the sun’s corona.
Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse
Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of his observations of the 1769 transit of Venus, a glimpse into the story of the man whose name became synonymous with astronomy and mathematics.
Philadelphia: The new city of science
Philadelphia: The new city of science
Penn researchers will be involved in a weeklong series of interactive activities and events across the city as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival.
By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
An overview of how scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration were finally able to see the unseeable, and what it means for the future of astronomy.,
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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