51 Pegasi b Fellow Dr. Samantha Trumbo Identifies Internal Carbon Source on Europa Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 9/22/2023 on 9/22/2023 Jupiter’s moon Europa has a subsurface ocean thought to contain twice the amount of water of Earth’s oceans. But scientists had not been able to confirm if the ocean contains biologically essential chemicals for life as we know it, particularly carbon, until now.
Looking to Clouds in the Search for Habitable Exoplanets Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 9/8/2023 on 9/8/2023 What can clouds on distant planets tell us in our search for habitable planets elsewhere? How could the next generation of telescopes amplify our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres?
Imagery that Moves Planets and People Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 8/21/2023 on 8/21/2023 A glowing dot passes behind a blackened circle and reappears on the other side. Four luminous pin pricks orbit a dark central body. These moving images are not models. They are real exoplanets: directly observed, recorded, and time-lapsed, inviting people around the world to glimpse distant solar systems and their dynamics over more than a decade—in just seconds.
Science Program Director Dr. Cyndi Atherton Appointed to National Academies’ Climate Crossroads Advisory Committee Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 8/3/2023 on 8/3/2023 Heising-Simons Foundation Science Program Director Dr. Cyndi Atherton has been appointed to the inaugural advisory committee of Climate Crossroads, a new climate initiative of grantee partner the National Academies. Climate Crossroads will focus on key pathways to tackle the climate crisis. “The National Academies are committed to marshaling the deep and broad expertise that this …
Heising-Simons Foundation Funds Six Scientists Looking for Signatures of Life in the Universe Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/14/2023 on 7/14/2023 The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program has made a suite of grants totaling $550,000 to support six exoplanet scientists working on projects that originated in a Scialog program entitled “Signatures of Life in the Universe,” convened by Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
Science Program Director Cyndi Atherton to Moderate Climate Crossroads Summit Panel Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/7/2023 on 7/7/2023 Science Program Director Dr. Cyndi Atherton will moderate the Pathways to Climate Action panel session at The National Academies’ Climate Crossroads Summit on July 11. The National Academies’ Climate Crossroads Summit will bring together leaders spanning the breadth of expertise for a vibrant discussion about how to catalyze action among a diverse range of stakeholders …
51 Pegasi b Fellow Discovers First Extrasolar Radiation Belt: Q&A with Dr. Melodie Kao Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 6/13/2023 on 6/13/2023 A team of scientists led by Dr. Melodie Kao, a 51 Pegasi b postdoctoral fellow based at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has discovered the first extra-solar radiation belt, a zone of energetic charged particles that are captured by and held around a planet by that planet’s magnetosphere. See below for a Q&A with …
Solving the Astrophysical N-body Problem More Efficiently Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/26/2023 on 5/26/2023 A new algorithm developed by a grantee of the Foundation’s Science program has the potential to trace the evolution of large astrophysical systems, such as galaxies, planetary systems, or clusters of stars.
1400 Degrees: Exploring the Universe of Materials with Nadya Mason Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/2/2023 on 5/2/2023 “Condensed matter is the physics of stuff. We’re surrounded by wood, metal, and electronics that we take for granted. But we should be wondering more about materials. Why does a metal conduct electricity? Is it the little dudes running from one end to another?” Dr. Nadya Mason Dr. Nadya Mason, a condensed matter physicist who …