'Unbelievable' Spinning Particles Probe Nature's Most Mysterious Force

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February 02, 2023

Hello Readers, I'm filling in for Lee Billings today. This week, we cover a monumental discovery in subatomic physics: Measurements of how the so called strong force field fluctuates over short distances. The strong force is a rarely seen foundational influence on subatomic particles (holding together protons and neutrons) which is difficult to observe in action, and harder to predict mathematically. Read more about the implications of this finding below! Elsewhere, astronomers are watching remnants of an exploded supernova, and it's like nothing they've seen before. Enjoy!

Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

Particle Physics 'Unbelievable' Spinning Particles Probe Nature's Most Mysterious Force The strong force holds our atoms together. Scientists may have observed its small-scale fluctuations for the first time By Allison Parshall

Astrophysics Weird Supernova Remnant Blows Scientists' Minds Fireworks display from rare dying star is unlike anything astronomers have seen By Shannon Hall,Nature magazine

Extraterrestrial Life Will an AI Be the First to Discover Alien Life? SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, is deploying machine-learning algorithms that filter out Earthly interference and spot signals humans might miss By Alexandra Witze,Nature magazine

Astronomy Light Pollution Is Dimming Our View of the Sky, and It's Getting Worse Citizen scientists and researchers found that we are losing our view of the sky at an astonishing rate of almost 10 percent each year By Phil Plait

Astronomy Satellite Constellations Are an Existential Threat for Astronomy Growing swarms of spacecraft in orbit are outshining the stars, and scientists fear no one will do anything to stop it By Rebecca Boyle

Astrophysics Should You Really Worry about Solar Flares? The sun is unleashing powerful outbursts that could strike Earth, but these events are far more common—and much less worrisome—than some hyped headlines suggest By Ed Browne

Space Exploration What Time Is It on the Moon? Satellite navigation systems for lunar settlements will require local atomic clocks. Scientists are working out what time they will keep By Elizabeth Gibney,Nature magazine

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