News from

Astronomy

Reset All Filters
81 Results
Philadelphia: The new city of science
a large group of people in front of the Franklin Institute building with a science demonstration (with smoke and the aftermath of an explosion that caused colored balls to fly into the air) in the foreground

The Philadelphia Science Festival, happening from April 26th until May 4th, brings together hundreds of institutions from the Greater Philadelphia area and culminates in the grand finale Science Carnival along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (Photo credit: Philadelphia Science Festival). 

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
inset image of black hole surrounded by a ring of light and a larger image showing where the black hole sits inside a galaxy

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.,

Erica K. Brockmeier

The search for Planet 9, 10, and beyond
a large black circle in the center of the milky way galaxy with a very small Sun in the background

Artist’s impression of Planet Nine, depicted as a dark sphere with the Milky Way in the background. Neptune’s orbit is shown as a small ellipse around the Sun. The sky view and appearance are based on the conjectures of Planet Nine’s co-proposer, Mike Brown (Image: Tom Ruen).

The search for Planet 9, 10, and beyond

Planetary scientists and cosmologists at Penn work together to find planets that might be hiding in the far reaches of the solar system.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Women in Physics Group inspires the next generation of physicists and astronomers
a group of women talking while sitting around a table

Willman (center) and a group of undergraduates, including physics majors as well as students studying other STEM-related disciplines, chatted informally over breakfast about their personal experiences as STEM students and researchers.   

Women in Physics Group inspires the next generation of physicists and astronomers

Students had the opportunity to interact with a world-renowned astronomer during a day of informal get-togethers, networking events, and physics lectures at the annual conference.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Solar system exploration Q&A with Cullen Blake
a satellite flying above earth with the moon in the distant background
  • Q&A

    • Solar system exploration Q&A with Cullen Blake

    Blake, an observational astronomer at Penn who specializes in the search for exoplanets, discusses the busy start of 2019 in the research of solar system exploration.

    Erica K. Brockmeier

    Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission
    Dark energy telescope with star trails

    Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission

    A global research effort to map a portion of the sky in unprecedented detail is coming to an end, but the task of learning more about the expansion of the universe has only just begun.

    Erica K. Brockmeier

    Electric bond
    Presentation ceremony with background image of Kane and Mele

    During the gala ceremony held on Nov. 4 at NASA’s Hangar 1 in Mountain View, Calif., Charles Kane and Eugene Mele were presented the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics award by writer and science educator Lucy Hawking (the daughter of Stephen Hawking) and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

    Electric bond

    Behind the discovery of a new class of electronic materials is a 20-year collaboration between two Penn physicists, winners of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

    Angelo Fichera