Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

This is a release from The Franklin.

• The search for Earth-like planets outside of our solar system – technological developments in recent years, including fine spectroscopic analysis, have allowed astronomers to see planets more readily. Now, planets are being discovered once a month or so – and the hunt is on for one that is closer to an Earth-like planet in composition and proximity to sun.
• The search for elemental particles – i.e. Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – Physicists believe that there is one elemental and as yet undiscovered and elusive particle that has given rise to all the other particles from which all matter and forces are formed. The LHC is the machine physicists have built to discover this so-called “God” particle. If the LHC can reveal this particle, physicists may be able to answer many perplexing but fundamental questions about the origins of the universe and its basic structure and fate.
• Dark Matter/Dark Energy – Our understanding of the origin and fate of the universe is being transformed by research into dark matter/dark energy. Forces are pushing the universe to expand beyond Einstein’s understanding of it, and scientists are trying to unlock the key to what is causing it.
• The search for alien life – It’s closer than you think – NASA has confirmed the existence of water in our solar system -- our building block of life. New experiments are now being designed to look for evidence of life on Mars and at least one moon of Jupiter.
• Gamma Ray Explosions - Action at The Edge of the Universe – These newly visible explosions at the edge of our universe have sent shockwaves through the scientific community, and may provide clues to the early history of the universe.
• Holy Hubble Telescope Batman! One last fix before lights out forever – Five more years and this monumentally historical telescope will be de-orbited. The most far-seeing telescope mankind has ever had has opened up the universe for us in the same way that Galileo’s simple telescope did in his time.
• The Implosion of NASA – ISS, the Space Shuttle program and the demise of US superiority in Space Exploration.
• The Rise of American Commercial and Foreign Space Exploration (particularly the Asian Space Program) – Space: The Next Tourist Destination. All you need is money.

Contact(s):

• Kat Stein, (215) 448-2375
• Donna Schorr, (215) 599-0782