SciAm.com - Space & Physics

June 08, 2023

This week, we’re pondering what’re arguably the universe’s weirdest particles—neutrinos. These subatomic particles are so ghostly that they scarcely interact with anything at all, able to travel through a light-year’s worth of lead entirely unscathed. Yet they suffuse our surroundings—trillions upon trillions pass through your body every day—and they also may play crucial roles in fundamental mysteries like the nature of dark matter, or why there’s more matter than antimatter in the present-day universe. Our lead story discusses these bizarre wee beasties—and a new book all about them. Elsewhere, we have stories on Venus’s unmissable brightness in the sky, the best-yet map of our solar system’s boundaries, further setbacks for Boeing’s crew-carrying Starliner spacecraft, and much more. Enjoy!

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics

Particle Physics

The Weirdest Particles in the Universe

Neutrinos are bizarre and ubiquitous and may just break the rules of physics

By Clara Moskowitz

Space Exploration

Crewed Starliner Launch Delayed by Flammable Tape, Botched Parachutes

Boeing's first Starliner flight for NASA astronauts was scheduled for July 21, but is now delayed—perhaps indefinitely

By Tariq Malik,SPACE.com

Astronomy

Why Venus Is So Bright Right Now

Our planetary neighbor Venus becomes a brilliant beacon in the sky each time it reaches its greatest orbital distance from the sun

By Phil Plait

Space Exploration

Scientists Make Best-Yet Map of Solar System's Interstellar Boundaries

Researchers have gained a new view of the journey ahead for the twin Voyager spacecraft and other probes bound on one-way trips into interstellar space

By Theo Nicitopoulos

Mathematics

Pioneering Advanced Math from Behind Bars

Math research gives meaning to years spent in prison

By Amory Tillinghast-Raby

Natural Disasters

Tonga Eruption Triggered Massive 'Equatorial Plasma Bubble'

Scientists are using satellite observations of a massive volcanic eruption’s impact to better understand Earth’s atmosphere

By Meghan Bartels

Planetary Science

We Live in the Rarest Type of Planetary System

New work suggests four distinct star system types—and finds our own in the rarest category

By Lee Billings

Astronomy

Scientists Solve Star Spin Mystery

Magnetic fields help to explain why some stars are spinning more slowly than astronomers thought they should

By Clara Moskowitz,Lucy Reading-Ikkanda

Planetary Science

Newfound 'Quasi-Moon' Has Been Earth's Fellow Traveler for Thousands of Years

Astronomers recently identified asteroid 2023 FW13 as a quasi-moon, a space rock orbiting the sun nearly in tandem with Earth

By Kiley Price,LiveScience

Black Holes

Listen to the Astonishing 'Chirp' of Two Black Holes Merging

Some of the most violent cosmic collisions occur silently in the vacuum of space, but with the right instrumental ears, we can still hear it happen. Here's how.

By Dan Garisto,Jason Drakeford,Lee Billings,Jeffery DelViscio

Extraterrestrial Life

Most Aliens May Be Artificial Intelligence, Not Life as We Know It

Human intelligence may be just a brief phase before machines take over. That may answer where the aliens are hiding

By Martin Rees,Mario Livio

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"If a neutrino does turn out to be its own antiparticle, it could allow us to understand why the universe is made of mostly matter and not antimatter."

James Riordan, science writer and co-author of the new book, Ghost Particle: In Search of the Elusive and Mysterious Neutrino

FROM THE ARCHIVE