2022 was an extraordinary year for space science— one that brought humanity closer to understanding the very nature of our universe.
that emerged less than 400 million years after the Big Bang are "really a new picture," Falcke says.While these tools and the data they provide are re-shaping scientists' view of the universe, a "full understanding still has to emerge," Falcke says.
For example, a huge constituent of the universe remains elusive. Dark matter is believed to be particles that make up 95% of mass in the universe. Its gravity influences how galaxies form and cluster around one another, and how stars rotate around them. "It's having a direct impact on everything," Pesce says.
The tools turned on in 2022 don't directly search for dark matter but if they can capture its indirect effects in new ways, they could guide scientists in their search.The Vera Rubin Observatory and other large telescopes on Earth are expected to reach more milestones on the way to full operations in the coming years.— the African continent's first — that will be part of the EHT network.
"Our Galileo moment is seeing inside of black holes; we're studying star formation in ways that we've never been able to see."