In 1609 Galileo had discovered that looking farther into space than what he could see with the naked eye led to seeing more of the universe. Since the middle of the twentieth century, astronomers had discovered that looking farther along the electromagnetic spectrum than what they could see with an optical telescope led to seeing even more of the universe—including the echo of its origins. And now, if you were Vera Rubin, you could look up from your desk and gaze at the giant photograph of Andromeda that you’d hung on the ceiling, and you could ask, with greater sophistication than a
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