Carnegie Science

Unveiling the Atmospheres of Distant Worlds The Henrietta Infrared Spectrograph will study alien atmospheres in unprecedented detail, transforming how we understand worlds beyond our Solar System.

What are distant worlds made of?

Carnegie’s new Henrietta Infrared Spectrograph will help answer that—bringing alien planets into sharper focus than ever before.

Read the story ↓
https://carnegiescience.edu/unveiling-atmospheres-distant-worlds

The Nettie Stevens Grant Object 3 | The document that awarded Nettie Stevens a $1,000 grant to study the biological basis of sex.

This month, we'll be sharing more of the objects, stories, and women that shaped our first 125 years. Stay tuned! #Carnegie125 🔗 carnegiescience.edu/nettie-steve...

In 1904, Carnegie Science awarded Nettie Maria Stevens for the "Investigation of problems related to Sex Determination." Her findings proved that X and Y chromosomes—not environment—determine biological sex.

It's #WomensHistoryMonth, and we're kicking it off with object No. 3 in our #Carnegie125 series: a $1,000 grant application that helped change biology forever.
🔗 carnegiescience.edu/nettie-steve...

This Monday (3/2), we're kicking off our #AstronomyLectureSeries at The Huntington w/ ULTRAVIOLET SUSPECTS.

Go back in time with #CarnegieObservatories' Tony Pahl, who uses UV light from early galaxies to uncover the universe's dramatic beginnings.

Learn more 👉 bit.ly/4qZEZow
#HuntingtonLecture

Wanted: Exoplanets With a Flair for Drama We sat down with Carnegie Science Observatories Hale Scholar Shreyas Vissapragada, who elucidates the life stories of exoplanets and has a particular interest in worlds with dramatic backstories.

"Even though the planets that are the focus of my work are not anyplace someone would want to live, they are still interesting for thinking about how habitability evolves."

Read the full Q&A with Shreyas Vissapragada: carnegiescience.edu/wanted-exopl...

But in the case of the rare exoplanets that Vissapragada studies, nature has done the work for us by literally removing the atmosphere of a gas giant and exposing its bare core.

Thanks, nature!

"Historically, one of the most challenging things to learn about a planet is its interior, " says Vissapragada.

We're still learning about Earth's interior...and we live here! Gas giants—let alone exoplanet gas giants—are on a whole other level of hard to read!

For example, he looks at Neptune-sized planets that have had their atmospheres literally boiled away into space, leaving an exposed core.

The planets he studies are not the ones we would go to look for life since they're busy being irradiated, having their atmospheres stripped away, or undergoing some other extreme planetary activity.

Yet their strangeness is precisely what can teach us about habitability!

Wanted: Exoplanets With a Flair for Drama We sat down with Carnegie Science Observatories Hale Scholar Shreyas Vissapragada, who elucidates the life stories of exoplanets and has a particular interest in worlds with dramatic backstories.

"Yes, I'm always a fan of drama." - Shreyas Vissapragada, Hale Scholar, Carnegie Science

Vissapragada's research aims to uncover the complex life stories of exoplanets—and he has a particular interest in worlds with dramatic backstories.

Q&A: carnegiescience.edu/wanted-exopl...

🤯 What if there's a missing law of nature?

Join @CarnegiePlanets' Bob Hazen & Mike Wong as they unveil their new book Time's Second Arrow—moderated by NPR Short Wave's Regina Barber.

🏆 Win a signed copy!
📅 3/18 | 6:30 PM ET
📍Washington, D.C.
🎟️ https://bit.ly/4cELw4w

💘 Mission Matchmaker puts YOU in charge of designing a space mission...before you know where it's going!

Ask smart questions, read the signs, and try not to catch feelings for the wrong asteroid.

📅 Mon, March 23 | Caveat NYC
🎟️ carnegiescience.edu/mission-matchmaker

Four free lectures. Four of astronomy's biggest mysteries. One science-packed spring!

The 24th season of our popular #AstronomyLectureSeries starts March 2—and you won't want to miss a single one!

📍 The Huntington | San Marino, CA
🔗 Reserve your spot (they go fast!)—bit.ly/3ZMPDUD

Object 2 | The Yale Embryo

In 1932, Elizabeth Ramsey discovered a 14-day-old embryo so tiny (2.75 mm) it was mistaken for an insect. The embryo became a cornerstone of our Carnegie Collection & launched Ramsey's 60-year career. #Carnegie125

👉 https://bit.ly/4agmaZh

My world revolves around you.

Our love is like dark matter, it may be invisible but it's always there holding everything together.

Are we mutalistic symbiotes? Because I can't live without you.

Have I told you lately that I lava you?

💕Science + Valentine's Day = the perfect equation!

Download our collection of #ScienceValentines and share the love (of discovery) with your statistically significant other.

From lava puns to dark matter romance, we've got you covered. 🌋✨

https://bit.ly/3MxAByV

10 Cool Papers | January 2026 In labs and in the field. Under microscopes and behind telescopes. Every month, Carnegie scientists publish research that reshapes what we know about life, Earth, and the universe.

Introducing our new monthly roundup showcasing groundbreaking research from Carnegie Science!

This month: coral heat tolerance, CRISPR in symbiotic worms, hidden magma beneath Oregon volcanoes, pristine organics from asteroid Bennu, and galaxies from cosmic dawn.

https://bit.ly/3Mq3ux6

World-class science depends on world-class tools—and the world-class people who keep them running!

Meet Lori Willhite, who recently led a major renovation of the geochemistry & mass spectrometry lab at Carnegie Science’s Earth and Planets Laboratory.

🔗 bit.ly/4rf8KTy

“We contend that evolution is a universal phenomenon, in play since the Big Bang.”

In Time’s Second Arrow, Carnegie's Robert Hazen and Michael Wong argue that complex systems—from atoms to life—evolve toward greater functional information.

🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/3Oe9U2M

#TimesSecondArrow

Does Time Have a Second Arrow? Two Carnegie Scientists Probe the Evolution of Everything

Nature runs on laws—motion, energy, heat. But what about complexity?

Carnegie's Robert Hazen and Michael L. Wong think it needs a law of its own.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Oe9U2M
#TimesSecondArrow

Does Time Have a Second Arrow? Two Carnegie Scientists Probe the Evolution of Everything At Carnegie, our scientists study the "evolution of everything." Two Earth and Planets Laboratory researchers are taking that charge to heart in a new book that proposes a law of increasing functional...

"Out just in time to make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for science-minded nerds who like to ponder life’s big questions." @carnegiescience.bsky.social with gift ideas AND the back story on TIME'S SECOND ARROW, in stores 2/10.
carnegiescience.edu/does-time-ha...

#CarnegieScienceDay may be over—but the science never stops!

Subscribe to our newsletter for breaking science news, deep dives with scientists, sneak peeks, upcoming events, and more—all delivered straight to your inbox.

👉📬 bit.ly/49OvC5Y

We’re kicking off the countdown to #Carnegie125 next year! To celebrate, we're opening the archives to share 125 objects that tell our story of scientific excellence.

📸 Object 1
On this day in 1902, Andrew Carnegie convened our first Board of Trustees—founding Carnegie Science.

#HBDCarnegieScience

🎉 It’s #CarnegieScienceDay!

For 124 years, we’ve advanced discovery by bringing together ideas, disciplines, and people to study humanity’s biggest questions.

Because breakthroughs don't come from staying in one lane.

Explore how → bit.ly/carnegie-science-day

#HBDCarnegieScience

They're not like us! More than 6K exoplanets have been discovered—and many don’t resemble anything in our Solar System.

Carnegie astronomer Shreyas Vissapragada explores exoplanet atmospheres to uncover the clues to habitability.

👉 bit.ly/49LwV5B
#HBDCarnegieScience

It’s the microbe’s world; we’re just living in it A revolution is brewing in biology. Scientists are linking genomes to ecosystems in ways that cross disciplinary boundaries and define new fields of inquiry.

“No organisms in this world live by themselves.”

Carnegie scientist Yixian Zheng studies how 🪸 depend on 🦠 living inside their cells—and what happens when that partnership breaks down.

https://bit.ly/4a8jRq2

Carnegie Science Day Every year on January 29, we come together to celebrate the moment that set more than a century of world-transforming discovery in motion.

Martian rocks, coral symbionts, and more! We’re adding new content throughout the week as we count down to #CarnegieScienceDay.

Head to the landing page to see what's new👇
bit.ly/carnegie-science-day

#HBDCarnegieScience | 🎂 January 29

New stories, fresh perspectives, and behind-the-scenes science are live on our #CarnegieScienceDay landing page. (There's more on the way, so stay tuned!)

✨ bit.ly/carnegie-science-day

#HBDCarnegieScience | 🎂 January 29

The Rocks That Remember What Earth Forgot “Two of the biggest questions that our species has thought about over the years are, ‘Are we alone?’ and ‘How did we get here?’”

Leading up to #CarnegieScienceDay, we’re diving into some big questions, starting with one of the biggest—How did we get here?

Carnegie's Andrew Steele talks about the search for life on Mars & what it can tell us about life itself.

https://bit.ly/4rcNFs6

#HBDCarnegieScience

What Makes Carnegie Science So Special? Inside Carnegie Science's blueprint for discovery.

✨ From star stuff to 🧬 life itself, Carnegie Science is built for big questions. Carnegie President John Mulchaey on what makes Carnegie so special. https://carnegiescience.edu/carnegie-science-day/what-makes-carnegie-so-special

#HBDCarnegieScience

#CarnegieScienceDay | 🎂 January 29