There was a lot of hype and a lot of nonsense, but also some profoundly major advances. Here are the biggest ones you may have missed.
In a year where science stories seemed to be dominated by rocket launches, hype surrounding artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and how political meddling threatens the enterprise of science itself, it might seem like basic science is stagnating. But that’s not true at all; that’s an indictment of how little news coverage is actually given to advances in science, because it’s been advancing forward just as steadily as ever throughout the entire year. On theoretical, experimental, and observational fronts alike, scientists have taken a great many steps towards a better understanding of our shared reality all throughout 2024.
While it’s always a challenge to narrow down any year-end list of how things have progressed throughout the calendar year, this list of 16 stories from the worlds of physics and astronomy focuses on things we’ve learned or achieved that were either unknown, uncertain, or more poorly understood at the start of the year than at the end. Without further ado, here are the top 16 stories that shaped physics and astronomy throughout 2024, including some that not only may…
