The Breaking Point

The Woman Who Counted Stars and Broke the Universe

Episode Summary

In 1965, a young astronomer named Vera Rubin pointed her telescope at the Andromeda galaxy expecting to confirm what everyone already knew — and instead discovered that roughly 85% of the universe is missing. It took decades for the scientific establishment to believe her, longer still to admit they have no idea what dark matter actually is. This is the story of an observation so correct it became a crisis.