Researchers led by a UBC Science astronomer have discovered the largest structures of dark matter ever recorded, measuring 270 million light-years. "The presence of a cosmic dark matter web that extends over such large distances has never been observed," says Ludovic Van Waerbeke, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
The international team led by Van Waerbeke measured the dark matter using a new gravitational lensing technique—the same tool Marie Curie fellow Catherine Heymans used to produce a high resolution map of dark matter earlier this year—another UBC first. Dark matter is an invisible web that makes up more than 80 per cent of the mass of the universe.
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One in four chance per year that rocket junk will enter busy airspace
February 5, 2025
There’s a 26 per cent annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a recent UBC study.While the chance of debris hitting an aircraft is very low, the research highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space rocket junk to… read more
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New research uncovers exotic electron crystal in graphene
January 27, 2025
Researchers from the University of British Columbia, the University of Washington, and Johns Hopkins University have identified a new class of quantum states in a custom-engineered graphene structure. Published today in Nature, the study reports the discovery of topological electronic crystals in… read more
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What exactly is a planet? Scientists propose improved definition
July 11, 2024
The proposal refines current definitions that require planets to be round bodies which orbit our sun and have ‘cleared’ their neighbourhoodsPlanetary scientists are proposing a new definition for what we can call a planet. If accepted, it would replace the current definition from 2006 that caused… read more
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