A new study shows that light dark matter is 1000 times less likely to bump into regular matter than previous analyses allowed.

From Inside HPC, July 3, 2019: Particle physics researchers are using custom integrated circuits called FPGAs in combination with other computing resources to process massive quantities of data at extremely fast rates to find clues to the origins of the universe. This requires filtering sensor data in real time to identify novel particle substructures that could contain evidence of the existence of dark matter and other physical phenomena. A growing team of physicists and engineers from Fermilab, CERN and other institutions, co-led by Fermilab scientist Nhan Tran, wanted to have a flexible way to optimize custom-event filters in the CMS detector they are working on at CERN.

Few numbers have gotten under astronomers’ skin like the Hubble constant. In fact, experts have debated the value of this single parameter for 90 years, and if astronomers can measure its value with great precision, they’ll be one step closer to solving some of the other grand astronomical mysteries of our age. There’s just one problem: The measurements they’ve taken don’t agree. The discrepancy makes scientists question whether something is amiss in our understanding of the universe.

It took three sky surveys to prepare for a new project that will create the largest 3-D map of the universe’s galaxies and glean new insights about the universe’s accelerating expansion. This Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project will explore this expansion, driven by a mysterious property known as dark energy, in great detail. The surveys, which wrapped up in March, have amassed images of more than 1 billion galaxies and are essential in selecting celestial objects to target with DESI, now under construction in Arizona.

A lot of people say they would like to travel to Mars, but Zoe Townsend doesn’t just talk the talk. As a mechanical engineer at CERN, she knows the importance of putting ideas to the test. To see if she could actually handle the unique challenges posed by living and doing science on another planet, Townsend spent 12 days on a simulated Mars mission in the deserts of Utah.