deep space

There are two universes—the one we see, and the one we never will. The visible universe, just a sliver of the cosmos, ends where light can no longer reach us. Beyond that lies a possibly infinite realm—endless galaxies, stars, and mysteries forever out of reach. A groundbreaking study of 900,000 galaxies hints at this staggering vastness, suggesting that what we observe is zero percent of everything. An infinite universe could mean whole regions governed by unknown laws of physics. And if our view is that limited, can we trust the conclusions we’ve drawn? While science gives us solid facts, like the rotation of Mars, infinity challenges our grasp of the cosmos—and maybe that’s why it rarely makes the headlines.

On Sunday night, June 1, enjoy an easy and beautiful sky show: a crescent Moon pairs with two bright stars—one blue-white, one orange. The star just below the Moon is Regulus, the brilliant heart of Leo the Lion, once known as “Qalb” and later named by Copernicus. To the Moon’s right, the orange glow of Mars adds a planetary touch, though it’s dimmer now, sitting on the far side of its orbit. Look west anytime between nightfall and midnight for this celestial trio—no telescope needed.

Jupiter passed behind the Sun a week ago, so it’s still lost in the solar glare. By next month, early risers will start seeing brilliant Jupiter in the east before dawn, as a morning star. But when we think of that giant planet, people who care about astronomy think of its strange moon Europa, which is probably the likeliest place for life in the known universe.

In 1928 antimatter was discovered by Paul Dirac and was confirmed real seven years later. We find ourselves in a matter dominated universe. Tune in to hear why the tranquility of space, in reality, is not so tranquil, and about positrons.

Saturn’s Moon Titan is visible through binoculars each evening this week. It's where abundant water exists but only in the form of ice, and where pools of fluid methane add a surrealistic touch.

It's widely misunderstood where in the heavens the sun sits at the time of the solstice. Traditionally it was the zodiacal sign of Cancer, hence "Tropic of Cancer" as the earthly place where you’d see the midday sun standing straight overhead. But despite the lingering name, the solstitial sun drifted out of Cancer and into Gemini two thousand years ago. This week: a special solstice.

Acclaimed journalist David Brown's new book "The Mission" tells how one of America's boldest and potentially most revolutionary space missions came to…