How does Earth sustain its magnetic field?
How did the chemical makeup of our planet's core shape its geologic history and habitability?
Earth Sciences
Jul 6, 2020
10
1407
Carnegie Institution for Science
Mercury's mysterious 'darkness' revealed
Scientists have long been puzzled about what makes Mercury's surface so dark. The innermost planet reflects much less sunlight than the Moon, a body on which surface darkness is controlled by the abundance of iron-rich minerals. ...
Space Exploration
Mar 7, 2016
4
897
'Elegant' solution reveals how the universe got its structure
The universe is full of billions of galaxies—but their distribution across space is far from uniform. Why do we see so much structure in the universe today and how did it all form and grow?
Astronomy
Apr 27, 2020
33
1079
Solar could meet California energy demand three to five times over
In the face of global climate change, increasing the use of renewable energy resources is one of the most urgent challenges facing the world. Further development of one resource, solar energy, is complicated by the need to ...
Environment
Mar 16, 2015
110
764
Next-gen astronomical survey makes its first observations toward a new understanding of the cosmos
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey's fifth generation collected its very first observations of the cosmos at 1:47 a.m. on October 24, 2020. This groundbreaking all-sky survey will bolster our understanding of the formation and ...
Astronomy
Nov 2, 2020
0
2356
Biggest and best diamonds formed in deep mantle metallic liquid
New research from a team including Carnegie's Steven Shirey and Jianhua Wang explains how the world's biggest and most-valuable diamonds formed—from metallic liquid deep inside Earth's mantle. The findings are published ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2016
3
939
Oldest known planet-forming disk: Citizen scientists and professional astronomers join forces
A group of citizen scientists and professional astronomers, including Carnegie's Jonathan Gagné, joined forces to discover an unusual hunting ground for exoplanets. They found a star surrounded by the oldest known circumstellar ...
Astronomy
Oct 21, 2016
8
947
What makes a planet habitable
Which of Earth's features were essential for the origin and sustenance of life? And how do scientists identify those features on other worlds?
Astronomy
May 2, 2019
16
907
Discovery nearly doubles known quasars from the ancient universe
Quasars are supermassive black holes that sit at the center of enormous galaxies, accreting matter. They shine so brightly that they are often referred to as beacons and are among the most-distant objects in the universe ...
Astronomy
Sep 12, 2016
59
1643
Surprise: Small elliptical galaxy actually a giant disk
Astronomers have believed since the 1960s that a galaxy dubbed UGC 1382 was a relatively boring, small elliptical galaxy. Ellipticals are the most common type of galaxy and lack the spiral structure of disks like the Milky ...
Astronomy
Jul 11, 2016
9
902
