A Possible Crisis in the Cosmos Could Lead to a New Understanding of the Universe

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November 02, 2023

Another week, another crisis in cosmology. I jest, of course: scientists certainly don't know everything about the universe, but their estimates for what exactly they don't know—the so-called "known unknowns"—are already quite good, and getting better all the time, sometimes with surprising results. Our top story presents just such an example: Cosmologists have calculated extraordinarily high-precision estimates for just how fast the universe's biggest structures such as galaxies and galaxy clusters should coalesce from primordial chaos, based on well-vetted models of the density and behavior of dark matter and dark energy. But a fresh appraisal tracking this large-scale clustering across cosmic time suggests it's unfolding slower than expected. This could be due to dark energy's strength somehow changing over time, or may even point to the influence of a brand-new, as-yet-unknown fundamental force. (Then again, the apparent suppression of cosmic structure could be due to all-too-human flaws in analysis or gaps in data collection.) Elsewhere this week, we have stories about a rendezvous with a "dinky" asteroid, shards of a protoplanet deep within Earth, a dusty demise for the dinosaurs, spooky speculation about lunar lycanthropy, and more. Enjoy!

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics @LeeBillings

Astronomy A Possible Crisis in the Cosmos Could Lead to a New Understanding of the Universe Several unexplained measurements are threatening to upend scientists' understanding of the universe's origin and fate By Michael D. Lemonick

Planetary Science Strange Blobs near Earth's Core May Be Relics of Moon-Forming Collision An impact with a protoplanet called Theia 4.5 billion years ago seems to have left remnants deep inside Earth By Anil Oza,Nature magazine

Planetary Science What Happens to a Werewolf on the Moon? As space agencies turn their gaze to the moon, we need to consider what werewolves might mean for lunar exploration—and vice versa By Phil Plait

Planetary Science NASA's Lucy Asteroid Mission Zips Past a 'Dinky' Space Rock NASA's Lucy mission is starting its science studies way ahead of schedule By Meghan Bartels

Space Exploration Here's How to Bring Mars Down to Earth: Let NASA Do What NASA Does Best Increasing NASA's budget would ease pressure and allow it to dream even bigger By Phil Plait

Planetary Science Mars Has a Surprise Layer of Molten Rock Inside Fresh investigations find that the Red Planet's liquid-metal core is smaller than scientists thought By Alexandra Witze,Nature magazine

Quantum Physics New Results Reveal How to Build a Nuclear Clock Nuclear clocks could shatter timekeeping records. Now physicists are learning how to build one By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

Astrophysics 'Heartbreak' Stars Cause Enormous, Tumultuous Waves in Their Partners Two orbiting stars are causing unsustainably large tides as they draw closer together By Allison Gasparini

Arts Poems: 'Fractal' and 'In Practice' Science in meter and verse By Rae Armantrout

Planetary Science Space Junk Is Polluting Earth's Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth's fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown By Leonard David,Lee Billings

Planetary Science Did Dusty Skies Doom the Dinosaurs? Fine particles kicked up by the Chicxulub asteroid impact could have blocked out the Sun for years, resulting in global cooling and disastrous consequences for ecosystems By Katharine Sanderson,Nature magazine

Aerospace What It Takes to Grow Crystals in Space Researcher Debbie G. Senesky builds materials that can work on Venus By Debbie G. Senesky

Arts Why Settling Mars Is a Terrible Idea The downsides of spacefaring, infiltrating Florida's gator poachers, and more books out this month By Amy Brady

Mathematics Could Math Design the Perfect Electoral System? Graphics reveal the intricate math behind ranked choice voting and how to design the best electoral system, sometimes with bizarre outcomes By Jack Murtagh

QUOTE OF THE DAY "If they're real, the implications are very profound because you would probably have to modify the theory of gravity on cosmological scales in order to explain it." David Weinberg, an astronomer at the Ohio State University, on a report of anomalous variations in the large-scale clumping of galaxies and other cosmic structures

FROM THE ARCHIVE How Heavy is the Universe? Conflicting Answers Hint at New Physics The discrepancy could be a statistical fluke—or a sign that physicists will need to revise the standard model of cosmology By Anil Ananthaswamy | May 2020

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