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The Event Horizon Telescope—a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration—was designed to capture images of a black hole. On April 10, in coordinated news conferences across the globe, researchers revealed that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow. 

On Feb. 26, a team on Fermilab’s MINERvA neutrino experiment gathered around a computer screen to officially conclude its data acquisition. Even with the data collection over, the work marches on. MINERvA now turns its attention to analyzing the data it has collected over the past nine years of its run.

The optical lenses for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument have seen their first light. Fermilab contributed key components to DESI, including the corrector barrel and its support structures, along with vital software that ensures the instrument’s 5,000 robotic positioners are precisely aligned with their celestial targets.

It’s always great when every one of Fermilab’s nine particle accelerators are turned on and provide beam. With the lab again firing on all accelerator-cylinders, we thought it would be a good time to provide a rundown of each of the members of Fermilab’s accelerator complex. Get to know Fermilab’s suite of accelerators and storage rings.

A supernova's shockwave ejects the outer layers of the star in a catastrophic blast that can briefly shine more brightly than entire galaxies. Image: NASA

Particle detectors recorded neutrinos from supernova SN1987A hours before telescopes saw the first light. Thirty years later, scientists around the world are eager to detect neutrinos from another one. The international Fermilab-hosted Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will be looking for them. These neutrinos can tell us more about supernovae themselves and may hint at new physics that could upend the Standard Model of particle physics.

Respondents to Symmetry’s survey about what it’s like to earn a Ph.D. in particle physics or astrophysics offer their views of the experience. Nearly 2,000 people worldwide complete the scientific rite of passage each year. Yet for many people, the process remains mysterious.
The more than 300 responses to Symmetry’s survey described a challenging, multifaceted experience that goes far beyond job training, and even beyond the scientific goal of studying the fundamental nature of the universe.

The Muon g-2 experiment recently started its second run. Scientists use this particle storage, a 50-foot-diameter magnet, to look for hidden particles and forces. Photo: Reidar Hahn

Muon g-2 has begun its second run to search for hidden particles and forces. Muon g-2 collaborators have performed upgrades to improve the experiment’s precision and increase the amount of data it generates. As the experiment starts up again, scientists expect to make the world’s most precise measurement of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment, which could tell us whether additional, undiscovered particles exist in the universe.