Overview

We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we're made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928-2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity's grip, Rubin helped convince the scientific community of the possibility of dark matter. In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin's life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science. Yeager describes Rubin's childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn't taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, and has since been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory--the first national observatory named after a woman.

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Ashley Jean Yeager is associate news editor at Science News. She has written for Quanta, Science News, Nature, Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, The Scientist, and other publications. Wendy Tremont King, a classically trained actor and accomplished puppeteer, got her start in audiobook narration as a volunteer for The Lighthouse for the Blind and has narrated over 100 audiobooks in a variety of genres. She has performed in live and recorded multi-cast audio theater productions with Pocket Universe, The One Act Players, Misfits Audio, and Shoestring Radio. Her resonant voice, wit, and generous sense of humor is described as having an authentic emotional quality. Wendy lives in Buffalo, New York, and can be found throwing stones at the Buffalo Curling Club.

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