People & Blogs

Everything you can observe — stars, planets, galaxies — is only a fraction of what exists #TEDTalks

Published

4 months ago

March 16, 2026

The universe that we know, with its luminous stars and orbiting planets, is largely made up of elements we can’t actually see — like dark energy and dark matter — and therefore don’t fully understand. Theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes us inside the search for this cosmos-shaping invisible matter and explains how, with the help of a new generation of telescopes, we could be closer to demystifying it than ever before. “The universe is more queer and fantastical than it looks to the naked eye,” she says. (If you want to hear more from Prescod-Weinstein, check out her episode on “The TED Interview” podcast.)

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10 Comments

@vesawuoristo4162

March 16, 2026 at 12:13 pm

That’s not really a fact.

Reply
- @jonnanderson6489
  
  March 16, 2026 at 1:49 pm
  
  Theory in search of evidence, kinda like string theory.
  
  Reply
- @MikeOBrien1945
  
  March 16, 2026 at 4:42 pm
  
  Can you disprove it?
  
  Reply
- @j1r2000
  
  March 16, 2026 at 4:48 pm
  
  @jonnanderson6489 small correction a theory is not “in search of evidence” a theory fits the evidence we have gathered so far. a hypothesis requires people to go out in search of evidence.
  
  and yes the semantics do actually matter as it leads to confusion around research if we not precise with our semantics
  
  Reply
- @damwizzthegreat
  
  March 16, 2026 at 7:42 pm
  
  @MikeOBrien1945not all that cant be proven is wrong not all that can be proven is correct
  
  Reply
- @MikeOBrien1945
  
  March 16, 2026 at 8:21 pm
  
  @damwizzthegreat That’s not disproving anything. Just a poignant saying. I’m sticking with the scientist…
  
  Reply
@leagarner3675

March 16, 2026 at 8:05 pm

We live in a dark matter halo?

Reply
@davidcasey5976

March 16, 2026 at 9:20 pm

Her nose matters

Reply
@JohnDoe-fy5kd

March 17, 2026 at 8:26 pm

She can smell 👃🏻 the invisible stuff

Reply
@JohnDoe-fy5kd

March 17, 2026 at 8:27 pm

The nose knows

Reply

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