WHAT’S August-September 2020

Volume 3 • No. 4

INSIDE
OPINION
32. Did Galileo
Truly Say,
“And Yet It Moves”?
GETTY IMAGES

A Modern
Detective Story
An astrophysicist traces
NEWS genealogy and art history
NRAO, AUI AND S. DAGNELLO NSF

4. Planet Nine to discover the origin

Could Be a Mirage of the famous motto
Mysterious patterns in 36. The Quantum App
orbits of small bodies Store Is Coming

ESO/ L. CALÇADA
in the outer solar system Quantum computing
could arise from the is still the province of
gravity of a massive specialized program­
disk of icy debris rather mers—but that is likely
than an undiscovered 10. Direct Proof 14. A Hydrogen FEATURES to change very quickly
giant world of Dark Matter Iceberg from a Failed 19. Neutrinos Reveal Final Secret 38. The World
7. Pi in the Sky: May Lurk Star Might Have of Sun’s Nuclear Fusion Doesn’t Need
General Relativity at Low-Energy Passed through The detection of particles produced in the sun’s a New Gigantic
Passes the Frontiers Our Solar System core supports long-held theory about how our star Particle Collider
Ratio’s Test Mysterious effects The interstellar visitor is powered It would cost many
Using gravitational in a new generation ‘Oumuamua, discovered 22. How Heavy Is the Universe? Conflicting billions of dollars, the
waves to approximate pi, of dark matter in 2017, may represent Answers Hint at New Physics potential rewards are
physicists see detectors could herald an entirely new type The discrepancy could be a statistical fluke— unclear—and the money
no problem with a revolutionary discovery of astrophysical object, or a sign that physicists will need to revise the could be better spent
Einstein’s theory 12. Astronomers two astronomers say standard model of cosmology researching threats such
8. Astronomers May Get Earliest Ever 17. The First 25. “Magnetic Star” Radio Waves Could as climate change and
Have Found the Glimpse of Ancient Footprints on Mars Solve the Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts emerging viruses
Closest Black Hole Giant Galaxy Could Belong to The surprise detection of a radio burst from 41. Missing Memories
to Earth The disk of gas and This Geologist a neutron star in our galaxy might reveal the origin of the Universe
At just 1,000 light-years stars resembles our NASA astronaut Jessica of a bigger cosmological phenomenon With observatories shut
away, an object in a own Milky Way but Watkins is at the forefront 28. Physicists Criticize Stephen Wolfram’s down because of the
nearby star system could somehow formed when of a new crop of space “Theory of Everything” pandemic, the photons
be our nearest known the universe was only explorers destined for The iconoclastic researcher and entrepreneur that reveal the secrets
black hole—but not about 10 percent the moon and maybe wants more attention for his big ideas. But so far of the cosmos can’t be
everyone is convinced of its current age one day Mars researchers are less than receptive recorded or decoded