This support will help underwrite her year-long sabbatical to expand her theoretical astrophysics and cosmology research of the universe and objects in the universe.
With forward-looking, concurrent development of a new global research hub and a unique graduate curriculum, Penn State is growing the worldwide SETI community, looking for intelligent life across the cosmos.
Astronaut Mike Fincke will discuss his experience with NASA at an Open House Night in Astronomy at Penn State Behrend on Thursday, Nov. 1. His presentation, “Space Exploration: the International Space Station, the Moon and Beyond,” will begin at 7 p.m. in room 180 of the Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center, 5101 Jordan Road.
Darren Williams, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics, and Jim Gavio, director of the college’s Yahn Planetarium, will host a special telescope fundamentals session when Open House Nights in Astronomy returns to Penn State Behrend on Thursday, Oct. 4.
On a morning last August, a text alert from the worldwide LIGO research collaboration heralded the discovery of a gravitational wave generated by the collision of two neutron stars. Penn State astronomer Chad Hanna describes how this event brought astronomy into the era of "talkies," with multiple channels including gamma, ultraviolet, and X rays each providing a different view of the story.
Now in its 20th year, Penn State’s popular AstroFest program will offer four nights of astronomy activities and stargazing during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The program will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. nightly from July 11 to 14.
This summer, four planets — Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars — will be visible after sunset. To commemorate the occasion, the School of Science at Penn State Behrend invites guests to visit the college for three special Telescopic Observing Nights.
A team of astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, including several Penn State scientists, announced new measurements of the masses of a large sample of supermassive black holes far beyond the local universe.
The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory in Mexico, built and operated by an international team that includes Penn State scientists, has captured the first wide-angle view of very-high-energy light emanating from two rapidly spinning stars. The fresh perspective on these stellar neighbors casts serious doubt on one possible origin for a mysterious excess of particles near Earth.
Astronomers at Penn State have used the Hubble Space Telescope to find a blistering-hot giant planet outside our solar system where the atmosphere "snows" titanium dioxide — the active ingredient in sunscreen. This discovery, and other observations made by the Penn State team, provide insight into the complexity of weather and atmospheric composition on exoplanets, and may someday be useful for gauging the habitability of Earth-size planets.
On Aug. 21, faculty and students from the Penn State Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics will be handing out hundreds of safe “eclipse glasses” for students and community members who want to see the partial solar eclipse that will be visible in central Pennsylvania.
To commemorate the Great American Eclipse, Penn State Behrend invites guests to visit its School of Science on Monday, Aug. 21, for telescopic viewing of the phenomenon. Free parking will be available in the parking lot outside the School of Science Complex, which is also the site for the telescopic viewing.
A newly discovered Jupiter-like world is so hot that even its nights are like the flame of a welding torch. Planet KELT-9b is hotter than most stars. With a day-side temperature of more than 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit (4,600 Kelvin), it is only about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 Kelvin) cooler than our own sun.
In the sixth annual George J. Losoncy Lecture in Physics and Astronomy, Alexey Prokudin, assistant professor of physics at Penn State Berks, will give a presentation titled “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Proton,” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. March 30 in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.
A free presentation titled “CosmoQuest: You can help discover our universe" will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park Campus. The lecture will be presented by Pamela Gay, the director of technology and citizen science for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
