Experiments with particles known as muons suggest that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos that are not yet known to science.
Author: DENNIS OVERBYE
The Most Intimate Portrait Yet of a Black Hole
Two years of analyzing the polarized light from a galaxy’s giant black hole has given scientists a glimpse at how quasars might arise.
Once Upon a Time on Mars
A dune buggy is about to set off on behalf of its human owners to fulfill a primordial yearning.
Seven Hundred Leagues Beneath Titan’s Methane Seas
Mars, Shmars; this voyager is looking forward to a submarine ride under the icebergs on Saturn’s strange moon.
At the Edge of Time, a Litter of Galactic Puppies
The discovery of a black hole surrounded by protogalaxies provides astronomers with a rare glimpse of the web of matter permeating the cosmos.
On Venus, Cloudy With a Chance of Microbial Life
Astrobiologists shift their gaze, and speculations, to Earth’s broiling sister planet.
This Star Looked Like It Would Explode. Maybe It Just Sneezed
The mysterious dimming of the red supergiant Betelgeuse is the result of a stellar exhalation, astronomers say.
Two Black Holes Colliding Not Enough? Make It Three
Astronomers claim to have seen a flash from the merger of two black holes within the maelstrom of a third, far bigger one.
Self-Isolated at the End of the World
Alone in the long Antarctic night, Adm. Richard E. Byrd endured the ultimate in social distancing.
The Interstellar Comet Has Arrived in Time for the Holidays
This weekend an ice cube from beyond our solar system will make its closest approach to the sun, trailing mystery and dust.