Astronomers Discover Bizarre “Forbidden” Planet That Should Not Exist
“Forbidden” Planet Orbiting Small Star Challenges Gas Giant Formation Theories Based on our current understanding of planet formation, TOI-5205b should not exist; it is a…
Carnegie Institution for Science News
Scientists Discover Vast Diversity of Organic Compounds in Martian Meteorite
Tissint, a Martian meteorite that plummeted to Earth and crash-landed in Morocco over 11 years ago, is one of only five such meteorites that have…
Isotope Analysis of Primitive Meteorites Reveals Solar System Formed From “Poorly Mixed Cake Batter”
New work reveals Earth’s potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service. Earth’s potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service finds new research led by Carnegie’s Nicole Nie…
Diverse Origins of Earth’s Minerals: Helping Find New Minerals, Habitable Planets, and Extraterrestrial Life
An innovative new perspective on mineralogy, findings rank amongst the field’s most important in the last century. Scientists decipher and catalog the diverse origins of…
Rapid Neutron Capture: Astronomers Discover “Gold Standard” Star in Milky Way
A team of astronomers led by University of Michigan’s Ian Roederer and including Carnegie’s Erika Holmbeck have identified the widest range of elements yet observed…
Your Gut Microbiome Shapes Your Life. But Where Did It Come From?
The role of chance in microbiome composition. The gut microbiome is an ecosystem of hundreds to thousands of microbial species living within the human body….
What’s Happening in the Depths of Distant Worlds? Physics and Chemistry Fundamental to the Existence of Life
Discovery could have revolutionary implications for how we think about the dynamics of exoplanet interiors. The physics and chemistry that take place deep inside our…
Cosmic Mistaken Identity: “Supernova” Is Actually Something Much Rarer
In a case of cosmic mistaken identity, an international team of astronomers revealed that what they once thought was a supernova is actually periodic flaring…
The Search for Life on Mars: Organic Molecules in Martian Meteorite Not From Aliens
Martian meteorite’s organic materials origin not biological, formed by geochemical interactions between water and rock. The search for life on Mars can teach us about…
Analyzing Meteorites To Track Down the Forces That Shaped Our Solar System’s Evolution
Meteorites are remnants of the building blocks that formed Earth and the other planets orbiting our Sun. Recent analysis of their isotopic makeup led by…
New Ultrahard Diamond Glass Synthesized Using Carbon Buckyballs
It is the hardest known glass with the highest thermal conductivity among all glass materials. Carnegie’s Yingwei Fei and Lin Wang were part of an…
How Do Ice Giants Like Uranus and Neptune Maintain Their Magnetic Fields?
Probing the structures and properties of superionic ice. A layer of “hot,” electrically conductive ice could be responsible for generating the magnetic fields of ice…
Solar System’s Fastest-Orbiting Asteroid Discovered – Orbits the Sun in Just 113 Days
The Sun has a new neighbor that was hiding in plain twilight. An asteroid that orbits the Sun in just 113 days—the shortest known orbital…
New Crystalline Form of Silicon Could Enable Next-Gen Electronic and Energy Devices
Novel crystalline form of silicon could potentially be used to create next-generation electronic and energy devices. A team led by Carnegie’s Thomas Shiell and Timothy…
Forecasting a Volcano’s Eruption Style Using Early Indicators of Magma Viscosity
2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano in Hawai’i provided scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to identify new factors that could help forecast the hazard potential of…
Violent Stellar Flare From Sun’s Nearest Neighbor Breaks Record
Discovery a ‘coup’ in astrophysics involving observations with nine instruments. A team of astronomers including Carnegie’s Alycia Weinberger and former-Carnegie postdoc Meredith MacGregor, now an…
Diamonds That Formed Deep in the Earth’s Mantle Contain Evidence of Deep-Earth Recycling Processes
Findings allow us to trace how minerals from the surface are drawn down into the mantle. Diamonds that formed deep in the Earth’s mantle contain…
Are Super-Earths Capable of Creating Conditions That Are Hospitable for Life to Arise and Thrive?
Can super-Earth interior dynamics set the table for habitability? New research led by Carnegie’s Yingwei Fei provides a framework for understanding the interiors of super-Earths…
