Q&A: What can we learn from the Icelandic eruption?

Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula exploded into the public spotlight after several weeks of seismic activity gave way to a brand new volcano late on March 16, 2021. We spoke with Carnegie volcanologist and geodesist Hélène Le Mével about what we can learn from eruptions like Geldingardalsgos and how this may be the start of a longer period of volcanic activity on the island.

Our top 6 questions in astronomy and astrophysics

At the Earth and Planets Laboratory (EPL), the astronomy and astrophysics team explores space to find distant planets and understand their (and our!) origins. In this article, we’ve distilled this work into our top six research questions (with a couple of extras sprinkled in.) Each question is complex and connected to the others in a way that requires EPL scientists to collaborate across research interests to answer. 

"FarFarOut" officially added to count of dwarf sized planets in distant Solar System

A team of researchers including Carnegie astronomer Scott Sheppard discovered the most distant object ever observed in our Solar System. The object is officially named 2018 AG37 but is nicknamed "FarFarOut" for just how far away from the Sun it is orbiting—about 132 AU, where 1 AU is the distance between the Earth and Sun. At that distance, it takes an entire millennium to orbit the Sun.