Student Spotlight: Derek Berman
Derek Berman, doctoral student in geological sciences, studies the geophysical environment of Mars’ Jezero crater.
Jurassic worlds might be easier to spot than modern Earth
Telescopes could better detect potential chemical signatures of life in the atmosphere of an Earth-like exoplanet more closely resembling the age the dinosaurs inhabited than the one we know today, Cornell astronomers find.
How would we know whether there is life on Earth? This bold experiment found out
Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to turn a passing space probe’s instruments on Earth to look for life — with results that still reverberate today.
Nature’s missing evolutionary law identified
An interdisciplinary group of researchers has identified a missing aspect of Darwin's theory that applies to essentially everything.
Webb detects quartz crystals in clouds of hot gas giant
The quartz crystals are only about 10 nanometers across (one-millionth of one centimeter), so small that 10,000 could fit side-by-side across a human hair.
Cornell astronomy to offer Brinson Prize
The Brinson Prize supports postdoctoral scholars in carrying out novel research in observational cosmology.
Webb telescope finds carbon source on Jupiter’s Europa
Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified carbon dioxide on the icy surface of Europa – one of a handful of worlds in our solar system that could potentially harbor conditions suitable for life.
Decadal survey sets agenda for biological, physical sciences in space
A&S Astronomy and Cornell Center for Astrophysical and Planetary Science (C-CAPS) faculty are key to “Thriving in Space,” released Sept. 12.
‘Thermometer’ molecule confirmed on exoplanet WASP-31b
Researchers have discovered a molecule that could determine the temperature and other characteristics in exoplanets.
James Webb Space Telescope sees Jupiter moons in a new light
A Cornell astronomer who is part of JWST’s Early Release Science program report the first detection of hydrogen peroxide on Ganymede and sulfurous fumes on Io, both the result of Jupiter’s domineering influence.
Space-ready menstrual cup a giant leap for womankind
“With AstroCup, what we really wanted was not only to launch the cup but to launch this conversation.”
After 15 years, gravitational waves detected as cosmic ‘hum’
A 15-year collaboration in which Cornell astrophysicists have played leading roles has found the first evidence of gravitational waves slowly undulating through the galaxy.
Exoplanet may reveal secrets about the edge of habitability
A recently discovered exoplanet may be key to solving how close a rocky planet can be to a star, and still sustain water and life.
Exoplanet may reveal secrets about the edge of habitability
A recently discovered exoplanet may be key to solving how close a rocky planet can be to a star, and still sustain water and life.
Holycross wins NSF CAREER award to research Earth's crust
Megan Holycross, assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell Engineering, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award for her research into the origins of the Earth’s continental crust.
Humans need Earth-like ecosystem for deep-space living
Carl Sagan Institute researcher Morgan Irons examined the long-term physical needs of humans living far from Earth.
Giant planet atmospheres vary widely, JWST confirms
Researchers discovered that the atmosphere of exoplanet HD149026b, a ‘hot Jupiter’ orbiting a star comparable to our sun, is super-abundant in the heavier elements carbon and oxygen.
Astronomers discover metal-rich galaxies in early universe
Scanning the first images of a well-known early galaxy taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Cornell astronomers were intrigued to see a blob of light near its outer edge.
Postcards from Earth: Hologram project showcased at Intrepid
A yearslong effort to launch Cornell-made satellite technology into a neighboring solar system is making a terrestrial stop at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.
Happy Pale Blue Dot Day!
Today is the anniversary of the "Pale blue Dot" image - a portrait of Earth from 3 billion miles away.
Cornell, global partners discuss the next ‘grand challenge’
Global Cornell will host a town hall in December for additional feedback and announce the new Global Grand Challenge theme in the coming year.
Webb telescope shows exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before
“This is the first time we see concrete evidence of photochemistry – chemical reactions initialized by energetic stellar light – on exoplanets.”
In Photos: See Giant Planet Jupiter Looking Its Best In New Images Just Back From NASA’s Juno Spacecraft
"Close-ups of Jupiter and its gorgeous cloud-tops star in the latest batch of images sent back from NASA’s Juno orbiter."
A dream of discovering alien life finds new hope
For Lisa Kaltenegger and her generation of exoplanet astronomers, decades of planning have set the stage for an epochal detection.
"A Dream of Discovering Alien Life Finds New Hope"
"A Dream of Discovering Alien Life Finds New Hope for Lisa Kaltenegger and her generation of exoplanet astronomers, decades of planning have set the stage for an epochal detection."
Nexus Scholar applications open for summer 2023
The program matches undergraduate students with summer opportunities to work side by side with faculty from across the College.
Juno’s new views heighten Europa Clipper excitement
Scientists believe Europa’s global ocean contains more than twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined and may be suitable for life.
Seven Postdocs Honored with Achievement Awards
Elizabeth Riley, postdoc in psychology, and Eileen Gonzales, postdoc in astronomy, represent the College of Arts and Sciences among the honorees.
Scientists depict Dragonfly landing site on Saturn moon Titan
When NASA’s 990-pound Dragonfly rotorcraft reaches Saturn’s moon in 2034, Cornell’s Léa Bonnefoy '15 will have helped to make it a smooth landing.
Synthetic lava in the lab aids exoplanet exploration
Cornell researchers developed a starter catalog for finding volcanic worlds that feature fiery landscapes and oceans of magma.
NASA releases first Webb Telescope image of exoplanet
Observation team member Eileen Gonzales, 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow, says this is just the beginning.
Cornell scientists show how terrain evolves on an icy comet
Astronomers have shown how smooth terrains – a good place to land a spacecraft and to scoop up samples – evolve on the icy world of comets.
Cornell helps detect CO2 for first time on faraway world
A large international team found molecular evidence of carbon dioxide on the exoplanet WASP-39b, a giant gaseous world orbiting a sun-like star about 700 light-years away.
Misattribution will often carry us to quotes that never were
“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were” (-Carl Sagan, Cosmos, Chapter 1)
Cornell astronomers cheer new space telescope’s first images
Faculty respond to the release of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Peering through alien atmospheres
Jonathan Barrientos is exploring the possibility of life on Earth-like planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets.
Cornell-chaired panels advocate Uranus, Enceladus missions
Professors Jonathan I. Lunine and Alexander Hayes played leadership roles in identifying U.S. national scientific priorities through 2033.
Glowing Planets and Chemical Fingerprints
Nikole Lewis will be one of the first to characterize distant exoplanets using infrared data from the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope.
More than $12M donated to support students in 24 hours
On Cornell’s eighth Giving Day, held March 16, 15,905 alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends from more than 80 countries made gifts totaling a record-breaking $12,268,629.
Tint of life: Color catalog built to find frozen worlds
As ground-based and space telescopes improve, astronomers need a color-coded guide to compare Earth’s biological microbes to cold, distant exoplanets to grasp their composition.
Tint of life: Color catalog built to find frozen worlds
Aided by microbes found in the subarctic conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay, an international team – including researchers from Portugal’s Instituto Superior de Agronomia and Técnico, Canada’s Université Laval in Quebec, and Cornell – has created the first color catalog of icy planet surface signatures to uncover the existence of life in the cosmos...
Comet 67P emits ancient molecular oxygen from its nucleus
After a European spacecraft rendezvoused with Comet 67P about seven years ago, astronomers now have found a cosmic revelation: It emits molecular oxygen drawn from its nucleus.
50th Anniversary of Pioneer 10
NASAFifty years ago, on March 2nd, 1972, Pioneer 10 touched off from Cape Canaveral on humanity’s first mission to the outer solar system. Just five months before the first moon landing in 1969, NASA approved a pair of spacecraft designated Pioneer F and G. They would use entirely nuclear power and travel faster than any previous manmade...
Support Arts & Sciences on Giving Day March 16
Gifts allow the College to fulfill its mission: preparing students to do the greatest good in the world.
Taking Earth with us: Is space exploration "sustainable"?
In this Interesting Engineering article, read about how space agencies from around the world will be venturing farther out into space than ever before. This includes returning to the Moon (perhaps to stay this time), exploring Mars, and maybe even establishing human settlements on both. Beyond that, there are even proposals for establishing...
Rock stars on Mars: Students look for life on big red planet
For the past year, two Cornell doctoral students have been living, thinking and working on the red planet Mars, digitally commuting from our own blue world.
Student-built CubeSats to rendezvous in space
In the future, mass transportation will almost certainly involve self-driving vehicles. The aerospace industry is pushing that idea even further, all the way to space, but the results for autonomous small spacecraft have been mixed.Now, a Cornell Space Systems Design Studio project that demonstrates the technology’s potential is poised to take...
Cornell scientists coolly recall fiery volcano visit
Far above the populated towns on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of western Africa, Esteban Gazel and Kyle Dayton carried equipment from their car and hiked toward the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano’s active vents.Gazel, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Engineering, and...
James Webb Space Telescope: Explained
The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in December 2021. Regarded as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, it will peer deep into space and take images of distant astronomical objects. Most of the images we see from Hubble show galaxies, star clusters, or gas clouds. Here’s an image taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3,...
Astrophysicist Earns Dorner Prize
The Rhode Island School of Design has awarded astrophysicist Jack Madden the annual Dorner Prize for his digital project exploring the confines of language.Read the full story.