Carnegie Science

🧭 In 1907, a Carnegie "magnetician" named Harlan Wilbur Fisk boarded a ship for Bermuda with a magnetometer, an observing tent, and a mystery to solve.

🔗 carnegiescience.edu/object-11-bermuda-cahiers

🥼💎⚛️ We sat down with Timothy Strobel, whose lab at predicts, synthesizes, and characterizes novel materials using high-pressure, high-temperature laboratory techniques. 

Some of his team’s work occurs on our Washington, D.C., campus and other aspects of his research require travel to and other highly specialized facilities that scientists call “beamlines.” He talked us through how they work and some of the things they can help experts like him learn.

There are a lot of different techniques that are deployed at beamlines, Strobel said. One method that's commonly used by Carnegie scientists is what’s called X-ray diffraction, which involves taking a small sample, usually but not necessarily a crystal, and seeing how the X-rays scatter after hitting the sample. The pattern that this creates allows you to understand the material’s structure. 

Other people use different techniques, Strobel explained, but regardless of what approach you are taking during your beam time, what you’re trying to reveal are the material’s atomic structure and physical properties including thermodynamics, mechanical strength, and response to external stimuli.

To ensure success at the beamline, Strobel indicated that you need to develop a clear experimental plan tied to your proposal, and well‑prepared samples. For high‑pressure work that means many pre‑loaded diamond anvil cells—specialized tools that scientists use to compress materials to extreme pressures between two gem-quality diamonds—alignment and insulation for heating, and wiring for electrical or cryogenic setups if needed. 

"We plan months ahead but expect last‑minute packing," he said, noting that airport security can be a challenge for traveling with samples.

📡🌟“Radio astronomy is simply looking at the universe in its radio emission,” said Allison Matthews, a postdoc at , who studies the cosmos in wavelengths far longer than can be perceived by human eyes.

✨ She explained that radio astronomy has unveiled some of the most energetic physics occurring in the cosmos.

“We can see the dynamic processes occurring within and around the objects in the universe in a totally different way than optical astronomers do," she said.

For Matthews, radio astronomy’s appeal has always been tactile. A formative moment occurred at Arecibo Observatory when she was an undergraduate. She was awestruck by standing before a wall of oscilloscopes and watching electromagnetic waves from space ripple across screens. 〰️〰️〰️

“You’re seeing the waves that are coming from the universe, rather than an optical picture,” she concluded. “That directness—the feeling of listening to signals rather than looking at photons—hooked me.” 🪝

LEARN MORE ➡️ https://carnegiescience.edu/tuning-cosmos

What if we told you that Bermuda shouldn't exist?

A hidden geologic structure deep below the island may explain why Bermuda still rises above the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 million years after its volcanoes went quiet.

Next week, Carnegie Science seismologist Will Frazer—alongside Carnegie's Diana Roman, Katy Cain, and Navid Marvi—returns to the island for the next phase of the Bermuda Earthquake & Structure Test ( ). The team will check in on a network of 10 broadband seismometers deployed back in February, and collect the first major dataset from the project.

Learn more about the project: https://carnegiescience.edu/bermuda-under-surface

Bermuda: Under the Surface Carnegie Science researchers are using seismic waves to investigate a geologic mystery hidden beneath Bermuda. In late May 2026, they will return to the island to service their instruments and collect new data that could reveal a clearer picture of what lies below.

Want to know the REAL mystery of Bermuda? 🤯 🏝️

At a recent , William Frazer took us beyond the triangle to explore an even deeper question: Why does Bermuda exist at all?

Good news, we recorded it for you: bit.ly/4tUuhlK

As one of the first institutions founded in Pasadena more than a century ago, the Carnegie Science Observatories is woven tightly into the city’s community fabric. From the beloved spring Astronomy Lecture Series to the annual Open House that draws nearly a thousand visitors to the historic Observatories building each fall, public outreach is part and parcel with our standing as community members.

These programs bring the same wonder of the cosmos, on which our astronomers have built their careers, to local learners of all ages, abilities, and interest levels. One of the most beloved of our educational initiatives, however, has the smallest footprint, fitting into the trunk of a car.

For that reason, the Inflatable Planetarium is the ninth featured item in our historic objects campaign.

We sat down with Carnegie Science Outreach Coordinator Jeff Rich to learn more about the inflatable planetarium’s origins and how it’s come to be our most requested outreach initiative.

Read the full Q&A: carnegiescience.edu/object-9-inflatable-planetarium

The first rule of Lunch Club is: no complaints about the food. The second is no seconds before 12:45. The third is no hot dogs more than once a week.

Object 10 of our series: a Washington Post clipping and a worn grey notebook. These two objects are windows into Lunch Club, the oldest surviving tradition at the Earth & Planets Laboratory.

So, you want to buy a telescope?

Carnegie experts share advice for stargazers who are ready to graduate to being amateur astronomers with their own telescopes.

🔭 carnegiescience.edu/so-you-want-buy-telescope

So you want to be a stargazer, but you don't know how to get started? Carnegie Science Observatories astronomers are here to help—no telescope required.

Stargazing Without a Telescope So you want to be a stargazer, but you don't know how to get started? Carnegie Science Observatories astronomers are here to help!