https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/universe/RSS feed for universeenFri, 23 Oct 2026 18:59:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/for-the-first-time-scientists-trapped-an-elusive-antimatter-particle-and-contained-it-for-months-it-could-allow-them-to-test-an-enduring-physics-theory-180989738/The standard model of particle physics works really well, but it can't explain why the universe exists. Something is missing, and this trapped particle might hold a clue to the answerFri, 23 Oct 2026 18:59:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/for-the-first-time-scientists-trapped-an-elusive-antimatter-particle-and-contained-it-for-months-it-could-allow-them-to-test-an-enduring-physics-theory-180989738/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-detect-the-oldest-fast-radio-burst-spewed-from-an-ancient-galaxy-just-three-billion-years-after-the-big-bang-180989730/The universe formed 13.8 billion years ago, so this far-traveled burst of radio waves can help scientists learn more about the early cosmos. However, researchers still aren't sure what produces these strange flashesFri, 23 Oct 2026 17:17:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-detect-the-oldest-fast-radio-burst-spewed-from-an-ancient-galaxy-just-three-billion-years-after-the-big-bang-180989730/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launches-to-find-exoplanets-and-unravel-mysteries-of-dark-matter-and-dark-energy-180989268/The new observatory will complete three surveys of the universe in five years, although it's designed to function at least twice as long. Its data could change scientists' basic understanding of the cosmosSun, 30 Aug 2026 11:26:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launches-to-find-exoplanets-and-unravel-mysteries-of-dark-matter-and-dark-energy-180989268/