MAKING SENSE OF SPACE
In December's "Field Guide to the Entire Universe," Corey S. Powell says that we have no idea how to make sense of 70 sextillion stars, not to mention dark matter and dark energy. Science wants everything verified visually or mathematically. We now use fudge factors called dark energy and dark matter, amounting to 96 percent of the universe, to make our formulas work. It's time we put our calculation of the universe, along with intelligent design, into the humanities rather than science. I'll bet the answers to both will be at a dead heat when they eventually enter the science curriculum.
Duane LaMoreauxCommerce, Michigan
Dark matter may be an enigma, but it has earned its place in the science classroom. The existence of dark matter is inferred from several independent empirical observations, including the rotations of galaxies, the distribution of hot gas in galaxy clusters, the ...
