Everything we see today, our precious atoms and molecules, got here by traveling on swaths of dark matter. From the oscillations of the hot plasma of the primordial universe, to the formation and dynamics of modern galaxies, dark matter plays a necessary role. The very construct in which we sit is defined by its abundance. Our universe’s evolution is controlled tightly by a cosmic tug-of-war between dark matter and dark energy. Continue reading “C2ST Speakeasy: “Dark Matter — The Dark Path to our Being” with Dr. Ritoban Basu Thakur”

There’s a treasure at the edge of the Solar System. It’s a data recorder, aboard the New Horizons spacecraft, slowly sending to Earth several gigabytes acquired during last summer’s flyby of Pluto.  That information is still coming down.  At the mission’s home base in Maryland, William S. Higgins witnessed the excitement during the encounter.  Now he reviews results, downlinked in recent months, that are illuminating the mysteries of Pluto, its five moons, and its neighborhood. Continue reading “C2ST Speakeasy: “Playback from Pluto: Recent News from NASA’s New Horizon Spacecraft” with William S. Higgins”