Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe

by Harry Cliff

Experimental physicist at CERN and acclaimed science presenter Harry Cliff offers an eye-opening account of the inexplicable phenomena that science has only recently glimpsed, and that could transform our understanding of the fundamental nature of reality.

Something strange is going on in the cosmos. Scientists are uncovering a catalogue of weird phenomena that simply can’t be explained by our long-established theories of the universe. Particles with unbelievable energies are bursting from beneath the Antarctic ice. Unknown forces seem to be tugging on the basic building blocks of matter. Stars are flying away from us far faster than anyone can explain.

After decades of fruitless searching, could we finally be catching glimpses of a profound new view of our physical world? Or are we being fooled by cruel tricks of the data?

In Space Oddities, Harry Cliff, a physicist who does cutting-edge work on the Large Hadron Collider, provides a riveting look at the universe’s most confounding puzzles. In a journey that spans continents, from telescopes perched high above the Atacama Desert to the subterranean caverns of state-of-the-art particle colliders to balloons hovering over the frozen icesheets of the South Pole, he meets the men and women hunting for answers—who have staked their careers and reputations on the uncertain promise of new physics.

The result is a mind-expanding, of-the-moment look at the fields of physics and cosmology as they transform before us. With wonder, clarity, and a dose of humor, Cliff investigates the Are these anomalies accidents of nature, or could they be pointing us toward vast, hidden worlds?

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Space, Astronomy, Audiobook, Popular Science

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2024

About the author

I'm a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge working on the LHCb experiment, a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN near Geneva. I'm a member of an international team of around 1400 physicists, engineers and computer scientists who are using LHCb to study the basic building blocks of our universe, in search of answers to some of the biggest questions in modern physics.

​

I also spend a big chunk of my time sharing my love of physics with the public. I've just finished my second popular science book, Space Oddities, which will be published in late March 2024. My first book, How To Make An Apple Pie From Scratch, which was published in August 2021. From 2012 to 2018 I held a joint post between Cambridge and the Science Museum in London, where I curated two major exhibitions: Collider (2013) and The Sun (2018). I particularly enjoy talking about science in person and have given a large number of public talks, including at TED and the Royal Institution, alongside appearances on television, radio and podcasts.

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may be time to accept that particle physics may be just a bit over my head. By the time we get to “strange quarks” and “beauty quarks” I may be justified in thinking that those physicists are just messing with me.

“The first anomaly to emerge related to a specific type of decay where a beauty quark transforms into a strange quark (that’s its formal designation, not just a statement of opinion) along with two muons, those heavy cousins of the electron.”

Magnetic muons, missing antisocial neutrinos, muon neutrinos, pions, kaons, leptons, strong and weak forces, the standard model, beauty quarks, strange quarks — the list goes on and on and I’m starting to wonder if physics parties may just involve a bunch of quite *interesting* substances.

“Now, there is nothing that gets particle physicists more hot and bothered than a bump in a graph.”

The alphabet soup of tiny particles aside, I was fascinated by candid accounts of attempted physics breakthroughs (wouldn’t it be fun to find something new in physics and upend our understanding of reality?) that got thwarted by experiments agreeing with existing theories and not the new shiny ones, and the thresholds needed to show that the findings are actually significant and not just wishful thinking and chance (five sigmas!), and how sometimes experiment disagreeing with the theory may be due to flaws in the experiment and not the theory itself.

“The stakes are high, both for our understanding of nature and for the future of neutrino physics as a whole. Whatever happens, it’s clear that nature’s most elusive ingredients will continue to beguile, confuse, and fascinate for years to come. And if we keep searching, experimenting, and theorizing, there’s a chance that one day, perhaps not too far from now, they will give us our first opening into the dark universe, setting us off on a thrilling new journey of discovery.”

Harry Cliff presents the confusing (at least to me) subject very enthusiastically, to say the least, and patiently explains what must be elementary to him but a dense thicket of stuff to me — and it indeed starts making sense (well, for five minutes until my brain purges itself in favor of something easier), and that’s a skill. He’s frank about things that got people (including him) overexcited but did not win against the established theory, and the explanation of how scientific breakthroughs do NOT happen to me was just as interesting as if they had.

“[…] Whenever you are working at the limits of knowledge, you run the risk of making mistakes, but errors can be the greatest training of all. When I was an undergraduate, one of my tutors, a white-bearded wire of a man named Bob Butcher, had a simple phrase stuck above his desk that has stayed with me: “I’ve learned so much from my mistakes, I think I’ll make another.”

I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of or will quite understand much about particle physics, but nevertheless this was quite interesting, even if I will forget it all shortly.

3.5 stars.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Also posted on my blog.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful and understandable discussion about the present state of cosmology and quantum physics. While it doesn't explain dark matter and dark energy it gives simple explanations for why they are believed to exist even if we don't understand what they are. Good reference for the lay reader.

I definitely think scientists should stick with truth and beauty, instead of top and bottom because along side up and down flavor quarks it is really f*cking confusing to use word pairs while not synonymous are often used interchangeably.

Recommended for interested readers.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and to Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House for providing a copy of this book for review.

First off, hats off to Harry Cliff for excellent use of chapter titles as enticements. My favorite is "The Fall of Planet Vulcan."

The focus of this book is not on expected scientific observations, but rather zeroes in on the unexpected, the "What the Heck is that?!?" moment, when an anomaly is noted. 

The prologue concerns CERN's Large Hadron Collider and the field of particle physics, and yes, it truy is exciting. 

Particle physicists and Astrophysicists can be thought of as the *micro* and the *macro* ways of viewing everything in existence. What both types of physicists have in common is that they are interested in the effects of what they find. If you discover a previously unidentified force, you immediately want to know its impact, and what particular influences on that force cause its behavior to be variable.

If you look back through time at the birth of the cosmos, you want to know if the Universe has been speeding up or slowing down in its expansion, and if there are different ways to measure this more precisely. In both cases, you want to know what it means for humanity, because even scientists can't help but be anthrocentric.

The very first thing my non-physicist brain wanted to know was why galaxies collide at all, in the context of the Hubble constant, and whether this was a tiny example of the Hubble Tension problem. As it turns out, the behavior of galaxies nearest each other is different than those far away from each other, which makes perfect sense, when you think of them as powerhouses of collected and dispersed energy. Of course, stars are incredibly far apart from each other within a galaxy (imagine what the night sky would look like if they were closer together!) Therefore, even when galaxies do subsume each other, there is relatively little actual colliding going on. But, if you can wait, about four to five billion years from now, give or take, the night sky viewed from Earth will look a lot different.

Of course, since most of the Universe is made up of matter that we can't see, we are forgiven for our nascent level of understanding about how it all works. 

This very readable explainer endeavors to make budding physicists of us all, and I am here for it, particularly the emphasis on found exceptions. Instead of trying to fit the data to a preconceived notion, we would do well to see where the evidence leads. Much like a good detective, a good scientist investigates by looking for the details that seem out of place. It's an approach that allows for more illuminating and more quickly reached breakthroughs than the scientific method currently provides on its own. In almost any discipline, if you hit a roadbloack, try changing your methodology. It might just surprise you in a Eureka! kind of way.

I highly recommend this book for all levels of scientific expertise, but most especially for those of us who need foundational principles explained.

[Francis Tapon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe" by Harry Cliff offers a fascinating and mind-expanding account of the inexplicable phenomena that science has only recently glimpsed. Cliff, an experimental physicist at CERN, takes the readers on a riveting journey across continents, meeting the men and women who are hunting for answers to the universe's most confounding puzzles.

What may frustrate some is that lack of answers to many of these oddities.
We've got a ways to go!

The book provides a of-the-moment look at the fields of physics and cosmology as they transform before us, investigating whether these anomalies are accidents of nature or could be pointing us toward vast, hidden worlds. With wonder, clarity, and a dose of humor, Cliff's narrative is both engaging and thought-provoking, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the mysteries of the universe.

Given the detailed and engaging exploration of unexplained phenomena in the universe, "Space Oddities" is a captivating and thought-provoking read that offers a fresh perspective on our understanding of the cosmos. The author's expertise and engaging narrative style make this book a valuable addition to the literature on physics and cosmology.

Whether you're a science enthusiast or simply curious about the mysteries of the universe, "Space Oddities" is sure to expand your mind and leave you with a sense of wonder about the unknown forces at play in the cosmos.

[Ashlee Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arresting insight into the head-scratching conundrums of the universe that have befuddled physicists and cosmologists for decades. Whether it's outlining the ghostly behavior of neutrinos and muons, highlighting the cryptic nature of dark matter and energy, or dissecting the experimental anomalies that arise as scientists attempt to close in on a unified theory of the universe, Harry Cliff gives readers bite-sized intel into the oddities that shape our physical reality. Big and small. It's fascinating!

I think what struck me most about this book is that there's still so much we don't know about what we think we already know about the universe. For instance, there might be evidence to suggest that the so-called "standard model" in physics is wrong. Or, if not wrong, then at least missing elements that have yet to be uncovered. Incredible, really!

Definitely worth a read for all of you existential thinkers out there!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC in exchange for my review!

BOOK BLOG

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, intriguing overview of how scientists research the universe, but especially the extremely hard to detect particles that should be all around us. Instead of focusing only on the major discoveries, we spent a lot of time looking at the dead ends and mistakes in the research, which is just as interesting.

[Peter Tillman]

WSJ review: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"For a few decades we’ve known that ordinary matter makes up only about 5% of the universe. The rest is made up of other entities, known as dark energy and dark matter, which are pushing and pulling on space-time. “When you hear the word ‘dark’ being used by physicists,” notes Mr. Cliff, “you should get very suspicious because it generally means we don’t know what we’re talking about.”

Indeed. Some hints (here and elsewhere) of resolving this conundrum. Stay tuned!

[Márcio · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting reading, but I felt the book subtitle was somehow misleading, as it was more about particle physics with some implications to what we understand about the universe. Even though I am quite bad at Physics and Maths, with time I could learn things concerning these themes that allow me to read books about the universe, even the quantum world, with much easiness (but please, don't bring me calculations and formulas, ok?).

All in all, it was interesting to learn about Wendy Freedman's research and experiments on the measurements of the universe's expansion, besides that of Adam Riess.

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ☆

This book was just a tiny bit set up to fail with me being the one reading it. I have had the basics of particle physics explained to me, like, 20 times at this point, and I just keep getting hung up on the way that physics as a field is way too comfortable with accepting increasingly bizarre things because the Math Says So and it’s the Way Things Are. Past a certain point, there’s only so much “what if there’s ANOTHER kind of neutrino?” I can take before I have to roll my eyes.

So I keep searching for the book that’s going to make it all click for me, and I fear that I am destined to fail on that front. But putting my Sisyphean ambitions aside, Harry Cliff’s book is probably not all that well suited for someone who actually is okay with throwing their hands up and accepting the truth and beauty quarks at face value.

Cliff claims to be doing one thing (giving an overview of some of the most pressing anomalies in particle and cosmological physics of the twenty-first century) while doing something entirely different and deeply related to his own work (describing the LHCb experiment without ever actually defining any of its contributing pieces and theories).

And while that work is very mysterious and important, I’m sure, Space Oddities was also published at a time when no one in the field can agree upon anything or draw any particularly strong conclusions. It’s not Cliff’s fault, but it’s a bit of a letdown when the big message at the end of the book is just, “maybe one day we’ll figure all of this out,” especially when the author is lacking the imagination to say anything that pushes the boundaries, even just a little.

[Reid Eberwein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who are staunch believers often point to the ever-changing landscape of scientific theory and defiantly ask, How can you trust science when it reinvents its position every few decades? But the beauty of the scientific community lies precisely in its willingness to adapt. Despite the incredible progress made over the past few centuries, from breaking matter into its most fundamental forms to unraveling the history of the cosmos, science moves forward by accepting that we are still, in many ways, groping forward in the dark.

The ability to embrace uncertainty and reevaluate one’s position, while accepting error, is what differentially separates the doctrines of science and religion for me.

Both are subject to scrutiny, yet one often claims infallibility.

Once again, I’ve found a book that puts into perspective the enormity of what exists and the ever expanding frontier of knowledge.

Anomalies are integral to discovery. It’s in the study of the abnormal that we begin to question what we think we know. While many of the anomalies discussed in the book are steeped in concepts far above my head, I loved learning how statistical flukes must reach a 5 sigma deviation before being considered evidence of a true discovery, and how crucial that benchmark is to the integrity of science.

[Jemima Pett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space Oddities is modern science at work. It's mostly to do with particle physics, but whilst that highly theoretical realm always leaves me feeling 'does it matter?' the link between our understanding of the universe and why the only current solution to the missing mass is 'dark matter' are things I find baffling.

No longer.

Harry Cliff discusses the most complex science debates in physics to give us lesser mortals a good chance of understanding it. Even if I could only cope with one chapter at a time, due to brain fatigue. He also writes in a way that turns the search for the elusive anomalies into a thriller - and a highly suspenseful enjoyable one (with nobody under sentence of death or a more gory fate). It would have been good to have the diagram of the Standard Theory earlier, though

I did find myself wondering several times: but why does it matter? Why are we prepared to spend billions of dollars on extremely expensive kit that uses enormous amounts of substances extracted from the ground at huge environmental cost, then send billions of volts through them for years at a time to see what happens? The answer is partly that a huge number of academics are involved, and most governments like to support academics who might add prestige to their faltering political careers. What does it do to help you and me?

And then, you could say much the same about football (any version). Why does it matter? It's the goal, the prize at the end...

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The majority of this book is not directly about space, but about particle physics. Most of the stuff directly about space is near the end. Much of the material is about recent experiments, meaning 2020 and later, some of which reveal new information and others of which don't. I enjoyed it.

[Sarah Weyand Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.75 stars) This book was way too smart for me but I found it interesting to the extent I could! Easy to zone out during some of the denser parts but space and physics are crazy, man.

[Will Cobbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not one to audiobook

[Casey ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting, if not a bit above my head. I didn’t realize how little I knew about physics until now, and honestly I feel like a dumbbell for it. I now feel infinitely smarter too, though certainly also more confused, but that seems to be the crux of the book. Apparently, everyone in the field of physics and cosmology desperately wants to break the standard models, looking towards anomalies in experimental data to identify possible new forces that can be inferred from misbehaving particles. Having just read Fossil Men, where evolutionary anthropologists were fighting bare knuckle to keep the status quo, I find this fascinating.

I’ve also learned a bit about myself as a reader - in the realm of nonfiction, I really like reading about the interpersonal and academic conflict within a given field, which cause major shifts in understanding. Essentially, I like reading about how science creates conflict. I’m going to keep searching for this new niche sub genre I’ve found. Hopefully there’s more like this out there.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon finishing "Space Oddities" by Harry Cliff, I was not 100% certain how I felt about the work. It was remarkably well-written, especially given the subject matter of particle physics and quantum theories. The author made BIG concepts smaller and more easily understood. Yet it was also a very personal account, to a degree, about the power of mistakes and the oftentimes challenging steps when recovering from them.

It was almost amusing to read about the professional embarrassment expressed by these world-class scientists, apologizing for an error so small, so minute I could scarcely understand it. But it did make me realize that, in many fields, close to perfect is sometimes not enough. After reading this book, I've certainly got a lot more respect for the truly mind-boggling complexity of what these researchers do on a daily basis.

And I totally want to visit Fermilab again!

[Mitchell Chiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this as an amateur astronomer! Was a little heady at times and the focus was largely on particle physics. I get they're tied to the bigger picture, but at times I forgot I was reading about space.

[Andrew Shryock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on how various observed anomalies have either led to the discovery of new physics or been proven wrong both historical more recent. This book talks a lot about particle physics, which the author does a good job explaining in simple terms, but much of it still went over my head. The chapters on cosmology were much more engaging to me.

[Jonathan Brat · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fondness for Harry Cliff is growing at an unsustainable rate. It may even rival that of Abigail Wauhop’s for Harry Styles.

[Jojo Rubin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup yup yup rediscovering childhood joy

[Bjorn Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful account of what is at the edge of modern physics. Doesn't shy away from technical details either!

[Adelya · Rating 5 out of 5]

is it too late to pack it all in and pursue a career in particle physics instead?

(a rare 5* for a piece of non fiction for explaining impossible concepts so digestibly)

*audiobook*

[Chip Fallaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Harry Cliff, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to request this book due to my love of all things space, science, and nature. I found this book to be an interesting combination of science/particle physics and space/astrophysics. And while both are topics of particular interest to me, I was surprised to find that most of this book talked about particle physics, and the nuanced, and seemingly chaotic relationship that has resulted in so many unknowns about the universe and our existence. It also provides a unique insight into the history of particle physics, and how so much of our understanding and knowledge has been developed in recent years. It also provides interesting context about how little of the universe has been discovered, and how much of it is unknown.

The topics discussed within the book are complex, even when summarized in layman’s terms. However, Harry Cliff does a good job of providing appropriate context, weaving in personal stories, and using appropriate language to make these difficult topics easier to understand. Kudos, Harry!

I do think that the book summary should be updated to better communicate the complex topics of particle physics that consume more than 50+% of the book.

Overall, I provided this book with 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. I would recommend this book to a friend, although with caution that the topics are difficult, and it should be read only if you have a passion for particle physics and/or astrophysics.

[Alex]

Space Oddities takes readers on a journey through the mysteries of modern physics, from the smallest subatomic particles to the vast expanse of stars and space. Harry Cliff – an experimental particle physicist at Cambridge University – unravels some of the most perplexing anomalies challenging the Standard Model (SM), with behind-the-scenes scoops from eight different experiments. The most intriguing stories concern lepton universality and the magnetic moment of the muon.

Theoretical predictions have demonstrated an extremely precise value for the muon’s magnetic moment, experimentally verified to an astonishing 11 significant figures. Over the last few years, however, experimental measurements have suggested a slight discrepancy – the devil lying in the 12th digit. 2021 measurements at Fermilab disagreed with theory predictions at 4σ. Not enough to cause a “scientific earthquake”, as Cliff puts it, but enough to suggest that new physics might be at play.

Just as everything seemed to be edging towards a new discovery, Cliff introduces the “villains” of the piece. Groundbreaking lattice–QCD predictions from the Budapest–Marseille–Wuppertal collaboration were published on the same day as a new measurement from Fermilab. If correct, these would destroy the anomaly by contradicting the data-driven theory consensus. (“Yeah, bullshit,” said one experimentalist to Cliff when put to him that the timing wasn’t intended to steal the experiment’s thunder.) The situation is still unresolved, though many new theoretical predictions have been made and a new theoretical consensus is imminent (see “Do muons wobble faster than expected“). Regardless of the outcome, Cliff emphasises that this research will pave the way for future discoveries, and none of it should be taken for granted – even if the anomaly disappears.

“One of the challenging aspects of being part of a large international project is that your colleagues are both collaborators and competitors,” Cliff notes. “When it comes to analysing the data with the ultimate goal of making discoveries, each research group will fight to claim ownership of the most interesting topics.”
This spirit of spurring collaborator- competitors on to greater heights of precision is echoed throughout Cliff’s own experience of working in the LHCb collaboration, where he studies “lepton universality”. All three lepton flavours – electron, muon and tau – should interact almost identically, except for small differences due to their masses. However, over the past decade several experimental results suggested that this theory might not hold in B-meson decays, where muons seemed to be appearing less frequently than electrons. If confirmed, this would point to physics beyond the SM.

Having been involved himself in a complementary but less sensitive analy­sis of B-meson decay channels involving strange quarks, Cliff recalls the emotional rollercoaster experienced by some of the key protagonists: the “RK” team from Imperial College London. After a year of rigorous testing, RK unblinded a sanity check of their new computational toolkit: a reanalysis of the prior measurement that yielded a perfectly consistent R value of 0.72 with an uncertainty of about 0.08, upholding a 3σ discrepancy. Now was the time to put the data collected since then through the same pasta machine: if it agreed, the tension between the SM and their overall measurement would cross the 5σ threshold. After an anxious wait while the numbers were crunched, the team received the results for the new data: 0.93 with an uncertainty of 0.09.

“Dreams of a major discovery evaporated in an instant,” recalls Cliff. “Anyone who saw the RK team in the CERN cafeteria that day could read the result from their faces.” The lead on the RK team, Mitesh Patel, told Cliff that they felt “emotionally train wrecked”.

With both results combined, the ratio averaged out to 0.85 ± 0.06, just shy of 3σ away from unity. While the experimentalists were deflated, Cliff notes that for theorists this result may have been more exciting than the initial anomaly, as it was easier to explain using new particles or forces. “It was as if we were spying the footprints of a great, unknown beast as it crashed about in a dark jungle,” writes Cliff.

Space Oddities is a great defence of irrepressible experimentation. Even “failed” anomalies are far from useless: if they evaporate, the effort required to investigate them pushes the boundaries of experimental precision, enhances collaboration between scientists across the world, and refines theoretical frameworks. Through retellings and interviews, Cliff helps the public experience the excitement of near breakthroughs, the heartbreak of failed experiments, and the dynamic interactions between theoretical and experimental physicists. Thwarting myths that physicists are cold, calculating figures working in isolation, Cliff sheds light on a community driven by curiosity, ambition and (healthy) competition. His book is a story of hope that one day we might make the right mistake and escape the claustrophobic clutches of the SM.
“I’ve learned so much from my mistakes,” read a poster above Cliff’s undergraduate tutor’s desk. “I think I’ll make another.”

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review title: Anomalies, dark energy, and discoveries

For the second time in recent weeks I've found myself quoting the same song from the late great Jimmy Buffett to accent a book review:

The universe is runnin' away
I heard it on the news just the other day
There's this new stuff called dark energy
We can't measure and we can't see

While on the surface the two books could not be more different, The Sacred cosmos: Christian Faith and the Challenge of Naturalism and Space Oddities do touch different nerves on the same topic of the cosmos and man's place in it.

Buffett wrote the song in the 1990s when dark energy and its companion dark matter were indeed newly posited forces and particles proposed by physicists to explain anomalies in the scientific models for the universe, and according to author Harry Cliff they still remain unmeasured and unseen even though scientists believe they account for 95% of the material universe (p. 24). Cliff is writing this short science nonfiction for popular readers (like me) who wouldn't be able to comprehend or digest deep formulas and jargon. He includes simple explanations and metaphors, with the minimum number of formulas (and the occasional footnote with the next level of terminology for those who can understand it). One missing element is an index, which would be helpful to have as Cliff references the same experiments, scientists, terms, and technologies at different times throughout the book.

Anomalies are experimental results which don't match with the expected results based on the accepted theories in the fields of particle physics and cosmology that are covered here. But as Cliff explains with a simple non-technical table on p. 52, depending on the variation of the actual results from the theoretical, the difference can be suspicious, evidence, or a new DISCOVERY!--that is if the experiment is valid. As Cliff explains, the results may be a statistical fluke, a flaw in the design of the experiment, a calculation error--or a genuine discovery (p. 188). While most of the experiments he documents in this book covering some major ones from the last 20 years fall short of new discoveries, and scientists remain grounded in the numbers and the accepted theories and view proposed new discoveries with proper skepticism, "We desperately want new physics!" (p. 128) exclaims one scientist. One major takeaway from this book is the grueling work of data gathering, equipment setup and tuning, and number crunching across multiple project teams, geographies, and years that usually end up at best confirming what is expected or at worst failing based on a setup or calculation error.

Are theories like dark matter and dark energy "mere words to cover our fundamental ignorance."? (p. 27). Cliff quotes another physicist: "You delve into any specific question, and you realize there's so much we don't understand. On cosmological scales we're just a tiny speck." (p. 156). As Cliff makes clear, particle physics and cosmology has made huge advances over the last century in our understanding of how the world works, as demonstrated by theories that prove remarkably accurate in predicting the results and enabling applications of technology that interact with the real world in fields like space exploration. Based on this evidence our theories and calculations are extremely useful explanatory tools

But we still remain fundamentally ignorant, on our tiny speck of the cosmos in the vast universe as we reverse engineer plausible explanations of how this cosmos works, not an instruction manual or blueprint of how it is actually constructed. This is the different nerve touched by my review of The Sacred cosmos where the author reaches deeper into philosophy and the sacred for the grounding of our scientific knowledge on the bedrock of a creator God. Both the science and the sacred are deeply humbling and vital pursuits.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this delightfully readable book, Harry Cliff takes us into the anomalies that are starting to make areas of physics seems to be nearing a paradigm shift, just as occurred in the past with relativity and quantum theory.

We start with, we are introduced to some past anomalies linked to changes in viewpoint, such as the precession of Mercury (explained by general relativity, though originally blamed on an undiscovered planet near the Sun), and then move on to a few examples of apparent discoveries being wrong: the BICEP2 evidence for inflation (where the result was caused by dust, not the polarisation being studied), the disappearance of an interesting blip in LHC results, and an apparent mistake in the manipulation of numbers that resulted in alleged discovery of dark matter particles. These are used to explain how statistics plays a part, and the significance of sigmas.

We go on to explore a range of anomalies in particle physics and cosmology that may indicate either a breakdown in the standard model of particle physics or provide small moves towards understanding what's going in with big bang cosmology, dark matter or dark energy. Cliff brings these stories alive, often speaking to individuals involved - in fact, in one case (the ANITA neutrino experiment) he spends too much time on the context of both the individual and the nuts and bolts of making the experiment work, where we could do with a bit more of the science - but mostly this works very well.

All this is done in a highly conversational style. I loved the way, for instance, that experimentalist Cliff refers to theoretical physicists getting over-excited by a Large Hadron Collider result that was later eliminated by saying 'It was theoretical physicists, the overexcitable little dears, who were so desperate for signs of something new that they were prepared to jump on any bump, no matter how insubstantial.'

My only real concern about the book is that Cliff really should have read the recent title The Blind Spot, pointing out some shortcomings in the approach of many scientists, particularly physicists. As is too often the case with popular science, he sometimes states as fact theories that are not universally accepted because there is no direct evidence to support them. This is particular obvious in talking about inflation and dark matter particles (as opposed to other explanations of the dark matter phenomenon). This is particular ironic here, where in both cases apparent anomalies he covers prove to be false dawns.

There are also occasions (again a problem pointed out in The Blind Spot) where, despite Cliff making clear the limitations of theory, he appears to make the mistake of confusing scientific models with reality. So, for example, when introducing quantum field theory he says 'Funny as it may seem, it is these fields, not particles, that are the ultimate constituents of our universe'. Contrast this with Richard Feynman in his book QED 'I want to emphasize that light comes in this form – particles. It is very important to know that light behaves like particles, especially for those of you who have gone to school, where you were probably told about light behaving like waves. I’m telling you the way it does behave – like particles.' The reality is that quantum fields, particles and waves, as means of describing quantum entities, are all models. None of them is real or 'ultimate constituents': they are extremely useful mathematical metaphors. Note the way Feynman uses 'like particles' - a safer approach.

Nonetheless, this is an excellent book, because Cliff is bringing to the fore these anomalies that often get a brief mention and then are pushed under the carpet. This is both fascinating and exciting when we think about the new directions that science in general and physics in particular might take in the future. Recommended.

[Pete Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely glorious book, worth more than five stars, call this a five star * review if you like.

I have for a while been looking for a book which gives a view of the latest developments in particle physics and cosmology to those who aren’t themselves research physicists. This is probably a step more complex than most popular science books but it succeeds in giving those standing outside the laboratory an idea in principle of what is happening inside.

As well as giving some understanding of the fiendishly labyrinthine work going on, author Harry Cliff also gives insight into the lives of research scientists, both theoretical and experimental. A researcher living a spartan existence at an antarctic station, searching for exotic particles. Physicists in the US recycling existing equipment and transporting vast but delicate instruments across a continent to build new experiments. The exhilaration of contributing to a fundamental discovery, then finding it all fall apart as an error is found. Bravely, Cliff recounts this from personal experience.

The starting point for the book is that physics is in trouble. There is the standard cosmological model which seems to explain the workings of the universe, except it requires 95% of creation to be either dark matter or dark energy, which are still almost complete mysteries. At the other end of the scale, the standard model of particle physics seems to be highly robust, except, amongst other things it has no place for dark matter or energy.

Cliff starts his book with a set of aperitifs, vignettes of different scientists receiving results of years of experimentation. The banquet which follows brings to mind the saying that the world trains thousands of people each year with the aim of disproving science. Those people are called scientists. The book is all about anomalies, strange results or observations which seem to contradict the standard models. Are they the result of an experimental error, a statistical fluke, a theoretical miscalculation, or a genuine result which will blow apart one or both standard models, bringing a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of the universe?

Here is the kind of understanding I gleaned. Fundamental particles are viewed as ripples in a quantum field. A particle will be affected by the presence of different quantum fields. If we measure the properties of a particle, says its magnetism, and it differs from the theoretical view, then that may point to another unknown quantum field, outside the standard model, indicating the existence of unknown particles which in turn might just give a route into understanding dark matter. The first candidate for measurement would be the electron, but it would be too light, so work is underway to measure the magnetism of muons, which are like an electron only heavier. There seems to be an anomaly between theory and experiment, but it cannot yet be said to be anything like conclusive. Within this there is another mystery, what is the role of the muon, or the heavier sibling of both the electron and the muon, the tau particle? When it was first discovered, the reaction of one scientist was “who ordered that?” Looking at this from a high level, maybe not a helicopter, but a helium ballon floating over the southern ice sheets, physicists are measuring the magnetism of an unbelievably small particle and their results, might, just might, help to explain why galaxies don't tear themselves apart.

For anyone with an interest in science, in particular physics, this is an unbelievably exciting story, brilliantly and engagingly told.

I’ll end with two quotes which will stick with me, that the most exciting words in science are “That’s funny…” and a sign above a researchers desk saying “Ive learned so much frommy mistakes, I think I’ll make another”.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Doubleday for an advance copy of this look at our universe the questions that seem to be arising and what happen is everything we once thought was true became just theories or completely wrong.

There is a quote, "The more I know the less I understand" from the talented drummer, lyricist and singer Don Henley, which is close to another quote from noted Marilyn Monroe fancier Albert Einstein, "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know". Same meaning, different words. That is how many view science. One explanation is as good as another, as long as the answer is the same. Saves on learning new things. However science can't work like that, as without an understanding of why things happen, there can be no real growth. No furtherance of knowledge. The only problem is as Harry Cliff points out in his book Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe, the more we learn, the more confused scientists are finding themselves. Have scientists been on the wrong path or are there new truths awaiting us, maybe some sort of "...(I)t's full of stars" moments. Cliff looks at these conundrums, and offers new ways of thinking about a lot of things.

The book begins almost like a thriller but from real life. Different scenes from science, out in the field, in offices and on Zoom, with secret formulas, lots of lights under the ice and applause from other scientists in group chats. From there Cliff begins to look at some of the oddities that are appearing in science. The book moves to the thought that another planet was effecting the orbit of Mercury, an idea that was cleared up by Albert Einstein in the early part of the twentieth century. From there we jump to an important announcement, that turns out to have cooked the data to prove what the team wanted to prove. Cliff moves more into the present day, including stories about the people he has worked wth, and some of the odd things that are being observed, with many questions, and lots of hmm that's funny.

This is pretty heavy book in some spots, however Harry Cliff is a very good writer and while the material might be dense, Cliff explains everything well, and makes it well sometimes not easy but followable. I never felt lost, maybe a little behind sometimes, but Cliff brought me back. Cliff has a nice writing style, smart, and yet funny with plenty of anecdotes, and stories about the people involved, that helps in making some of the science relatable. There were a lot of oh that seems important, or oh if they are confused that should be something that people should really get onto. A very interesting read, one I was not expecting, but enjoyed quite a bit.

Recommended for science readers who find pop science books kind of dull. There is some dense thoughts here, but again Cliff is very good explaining this. Burgeoning science fiction writers will probably get a lot out of this, as the science is pretty cutting edge, and the there are a lot of ideas here that could make for interesting novels. This is the first book I have read by Cliff, but I plan to read some of Cliff's earlier books, as this had a lot of fascinating moments.

[H.J. Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top notch science writing. A charming, coherent, insightful overview of the cutting edge controversies in particle physics and cosmology, and a resounding endorsement of continued scientific exploration.

Even if you don’t habitually dive into physics, this book is a fascinating reveal of how science works, consisting of not only the author’s considerable expertise (he was a the lead scientist on a Cambridge team studying some of the data from the LHC) but also behind-the-scenes interviews with the prominent physicists exploring recent “anomalies”. Cliff is exceedingly good at explaining hard things. (There is nothing easy about explaining either the standard model of particle physics or the standard cosmological model, because even the experts don’t understand everything.) He’s also a deft narrator, wrapping the science in exactly the right amount of personal insights and humor.

The story starts with an anomalous finding by a detector (floating high above the Antarctic ice sheet) of particles that seemed to be coming from the ice sheet itself. From there, it explores all the weirdness surrounding neutrinos, the problem of the muon’s magnetism (it’s definitely a problem), the discrepancy between theoretical and experimental values (a common theme) of leptons created by quark decay in the Large Hadron Collider (except he explains it much clearer than that), and then onto the persistent tension in cosmology between the rate of the universe’s accelerating expansion as calculated from cosmic microwave background radiation versus as measured directly (the so-called “Hubbel tension”). And—although I can’t speak to the likelihood of this being true—he ties it all together quite neatly.

This is one of the best science writing books I’ve read in the past five years. Highly recommended for anyone who’s watched Cosmos, followed Neil deGrasse Tyson on social media, or just ever wondered “What exactly is the Large Hadron Collider/James Webb Space Telescope/“fill in expensive but completely bewildering piece of scientific equipment here”… good for?

Given the recent deep cuts to US government research funding, this is a timely reminder about why we need science and always will.

[Jennifer Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

“One slightly bonkers explanation proffered was that…”

So begins one of my favorite sentences in this book, which is filled with cutting edge (and therefore, sometimes bonkers) information about the current state of physics. I first heard Dr. Harry Cliff, a particle physicist who works at the Large Hadron Collider, on the BBC program In Our Time, explaining Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. His clear explanations of such a complex topic made this one of my favorite In Our Time episodes ever and prompted me to pick up his latest book.

Space Oddities looks at the most up-to-date mysteries in physics through the lens of data anomalies. Dr. Cliff covers both the unfathomably tiny (particle physics) and the unimaginably gigantic (astrophysics and cosmology). I was surprised at how these two fields are connected and how the mysteries and discoveries in one can affect the other. Dr. Cliff also provides the details you need to understand these fields with humor, clarity, and patience. There were moments where I feared he was about to lose me (charm, strange, and beauty quarks, for example), but some Googling of the standard model of particle physics kept me following along, even if I had to reread a page or two on occasion.

The best part of this book for me is that I have a much clearer understanding of the current work being done in physics, which has changed a lot since I was last in a physics or astronomy classroom. I am no longer under the delusion that electrons orbit a nucleus like a miniature planet whirling around a sun. I know that telescopes such as the Hubble and Webb aren’t just for taking cool space photos. I also feel vindicated in saying to my students that mistakes are how we learn, and uncertainty is where the good stuff is. Dr. Cliff has written an enjoyable, readable, understandable book on the field of physics and where it might be headed.