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Researchers on the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, led in part by Brown University scientists, detected a single particle interaction consistent with a WIMP dark matter candidate of at least 200 GeV/c2 mass. The signal reached only 2.6-sigma statistical significance, far below the 5-sigma threshold needed to claim discovery, but stood out because background noise in that region is unusually low.
Scientists at the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, which uses 10 tonnes of liquid xenon buried in South Dakota's Sanford Underground Research Facility, recorded one unusual flash consistent with a WIMP particle striking a xenon nucleus. The result, described in a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, is far from confirmed but has generated excitement because it could represent the long-sought direct detection of dark matter.
NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on 30 August aboard a SpaceX rocket, sending it roughly 1.5 million kilometres from Earth to begin observing the Universe. The telescope's 2.4-metre mirror, originally built for surveillance purposes and handed to NASA in 2012, was re-engineered for astronomy and paired with a 300-megapixel infrared camera capable of imaging patches of sky about 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope can capture in one shot.
Researchers on the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment at South Dakota's Sanford Underground Research Facility reported a lone high-energy event in their 10-tonne liquid xenon detector, recorded sometime in 2023 or 2024, that matches the expected signature of a dark matter particle striking an atomic nucleus. The team announced the finding at a physics conference in Japan and posted details in a preprint, while cautioning that a single event is not proof.
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, beginning its mission to investigate dark matter and dark energy. Shortly after launch, the telescope successfully deployed its solar panels and sun shade, with remaining instruments set to activate in coming weeks. First images are expected in early 2027, with the observatory eventually beaming back 1.4 terabytes of data daily.
NASA successfully launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will spend three months traveling roughly one million miles to reach its observation post at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point. Once there, it will scan the cosmos with a field of view 100 times wider than Hubble's and a speed 1,000 times faster, using a 300-megapixel infrared camera and a coronagraph that blocks starlight to reveal orbiting planets.
NASA sent the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into orbit on Sunday, equipping it with a 2.4-meter mirror matching Hubble's but pairing it with a 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument. That camera can capture images at least 100 times larger than Hubble's per shot and scan the sky roughly 1,000 times faster, letting it map billions of stars and galaxies and search for around 100,000 exoplanets.
Apple TV's sci-fi drama Dark Matter returns for a second season that pushes its multiverse concept even further, following physicist Jason Dessen's fractured family across parallel timelines. The new season builds on season one's cliffhanger, in which Jason, his wife Daniela, and son Charlie fled into the interdimensional box seeking a peaceful new world after an army of Jason variants converged on Chicago.
Apple TV has released the premiere episode of Dark Matter's second season, more than two years after the sci-fi thriller's first run ended. The 10-episode season continues the story of physicist Jason Dessen and his family, based on Blake Crouch's novel, with Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly and Alice Braga returning to their roles.
Author Blake Crouch, creator of Apple TV's sci-fi series 'Dark Matter,' has offered a preview of the show's upcoming second season as it prepares to return this week. The series, starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, continues its multiverse-spanning storyline exploring alternate realities and the choices that shape them.
NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as early as August 30 from Kennedy Space Center. The observatory matches Hubble's resolution but offers a field of view about 100 times larger, enabling it to map vast regions of sky to study dark matter and dark energy over a five-year primary mission. Scientists also expect it to detect as many as 200,000 new exoplanets, far surpassing the roughly 6,300 confirmed so far.