Stephen Hawking Was Wrong—Extremal Black Holes Are Possible

Stephen Hawking Was Wrong—Extremal Black Holes Are Possible

Now two mathematicians have proved Hawking and his colleagues wrong. The new work—contained in a pair of recent papers by Christoph Kehle of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ryan Unger of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley—demonstrates that there is nothing in our known laws of physics to prevent the formation of an extremal black hole. Their mathematical proof … Read more

Science moves closer to an answer on the mystery of dark matter

Science moves closer to an answer on the mystery of dark matter

(NewsNation) — For years, scientists have attempted to determine the mystery of missing matter in the universe and a new paper offers a possible link to exotic black holes. Dark matter is an issue that has confounded science since the term was coined in the 1930s, a reference to unseen matter that holds the universe … Read more

The Hunt for Ultralight Dark Matter

The Hunt for Ultralight Dark Matter

If or when SLAC’s planned project, the Light Dark Matter Experiment (LDMX), receives funding—a decision from the Department of Energy is expected in the next year or so—it will scan for light dark matter. The experiment is designed to accelerate electrons toward a target made of tungsten in End Station A. In the vast majority … Read more

NASA’s Quest to Touch the Sun

NASA’s Quest to Touch the Sun

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Our sun is the best-observed star in the entire universe. We see its light every day. For centuries, scientists have tracked the dark spots dappling its radiant face, while in recent decades, telescopes in space and on Earth have scrutinized sunbeams in wavelengths spanning the … Read more

The Mysterious ‘Dark’ Energy That Permeates the Universe Is Slowly Eroding

The Mysterious ‘Dark’ Energy That Permeates the Universe Is Slowly Eroding

Beyond DESI, a slew of new instruments are coming online in the coming years, including the 8.4-meter Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. “Our data in cosmology has made enormous leaps over the last 25 years, and it’s about to make bigger leaps,” … Read more