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Giant comet found in outer solar system
an image of the night sky with an object circled and annotated with Bernardinelli-Bernstein (C/2014-UN271)

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

The largest comet ever found is making its move into a sky near you
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.

Connecting a star’s chemical composition and planet formation
a start in the center of a dark sky surrounded by orbiting planets and a ring of dust

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Beyond topological insulators
liang wu lab

Graduate student Xingyue Han works in the lab of Liang Wu on terahertz signals, submillimeter waves not visible to the naked eye, and uses magnetic topological materials to study interactions between matter and light. (Pre-pandemic image)

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration
International leaders celebrate the Paris Climate Accord

President Biden made good on his promise to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord on his first day in office. The agreement was originally adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015. (Image: UNclimatechange)

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Metamaterial tiles boost sensitivity of large telescopes
a person in a hardhat inspecting a metal device with gold plates and wires

Metamaterial tiles boost sensitivity of large telescopes

Research on a low-cost, mass producible technology is poised to help the Simons Observatory uncover new insights into how the universe began.

Erica K. Brockmeier

A rare celestial treat on the winter solstice
jupiter and saturn visible at dusk just above the horizon of a dark mountain landscape

A rare celestial treat on the winter solstice

Four tips and takeaways from astronomer Cullen Blake on the upcoming alignment of Jupiter and Saturn and how to best catch a glimpse of the “great conjunction.”

Erica K. Brockmeier