11/15
Astronomy
New neutrino detection method
New neutrino detection method
Research by Joshua Klein of the School of Arts & Science and an international team has found a way to detect distant subatomic particles using water.
Who, What, Why: Sarah Kane on the sonification of astronomical data
Who, What, Why: Sarah Kane on the sonification of astronomical data
Fourth-year Sarah Kane participates in research mapping the galaxy and converting astronomical data into sound for the visually impaired.
Two Penn fourth-years and an alumna named 2023 Marshall Scholars
Two Penn fourth-years and an alumna named 2023 Marshall Scholars
Fourth-years Sarah Kane and Amy Krimm are in the College of Arts and Sciences, as was 2021 graduate Carson Eckhard.
New analysis shows how sulfur clouds can form in Venus’ atmosphere
New analysis shows how sulfur clouds can form in Venus’ atmosphere
An international research team, including atmospheric chemists from the School of Arts & Sciences, used computational chemistry methods to identify a novel pathway for how sulfur particles can arise high in the atmosphere of the second planet from the sun.
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.
In the News
The Wall Street Journal
Russia aims to restore prestige in race to moon’s south pole
Benjamin L. Schmitt of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Weitzman School of Design says that sentiment in the scientific and astronaut communities has begun to shift toward a future in which NASA and Roscosmos are no longer close partners.
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Scientific American
Audio astronomy unlocks a universe of sound
College of Arts and Sciences fourth-year Sarah Kane discusses her use of data analysis and machine learning to circumvent her blindness in studying astronomy.
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The Guardian
UK joins international effort to uncover first moments of the universe
In a statement for the Simons Observatory, Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences says that new telescopes and researchers from the UK will make a significant addition to their efforts to examine the origins of the universe.
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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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