High roads, low roads - MacBourne takes them all

The recent discovery of two lookalike galaxies has led physicists one step closer to finding the ultimate theory of everything, says Marcus Chown

IN THE LATE Sixties, America launched the Vela satellites, designed to monitor the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by detecting gamma rays given off during nuclear blasts. The Americans could already monitor nuclear tests in the atmosphere and below ground, and now they were able to see if the Soviets were conducting clandestine nuclear tests in space. In 1967, a Vela satellite detected a blast of gamma radiation, and the American military immediately panicked.

Either we on Earth are a freak accident, or the Universe is teeming with life. How close are we to finding out?

Music Of The Pipes Reid Hall

For thousands of years solar eclipses have inspired humanity with a mixture of wonder, awe and dread. During the 11th minute past the 11th hour of the 11th day of August, it will be the turn of hundreds of thousands of Britons to experience one of the greatest wonders of the natural world when a total eclipse of the Sun occurs over Cornwall.

Cosmologists believe they may have found a true reflection of the way the Universe really works.

The Universe is expanding, and the older it gets, the faster the rate of growth. But will it stop, or will the Universe eventually escape its own gravity? Dark matter is throwing light on the subject.

THE UNIVERSE is 12 billion years old - about 1 billion years younger than previously thought. Scientists are hailing the latest calculation as one of the most important breakthroughs in cosmology for 70 years, when astronomers first realised stars and galaxies were flying apart in an expanding universe.

CHRYSALIS, the media group run by Chris Wright, is expected to bid for the London digital radio licence this week ahead of the launch of digital radio in October.

CANNOCK AND Slough, who won their leagues convincingly, yesterday won the Premiership play-offs to take their places in next season's European club championships.

ON MAY evenings, the large, ancient constellation of Virgo takes centre stage in the southern sky. Shaped like a "Y", it bears little resemblance to a maiden bearing an ear of corn - but within Virgo's mundane outline is a treasure trove of delights. With binoculars, sweep the "bowl" of the Y, and if your skies are clear and dark you should pick out a number of fuzzy patches. These are just a handful of the thousands of galaxies, many much bigger than our own Milky Way, making up the giant Virgo Cluster.

Liz Jensen says that weird fiction should stay within a human orbit; The Astrological Diary of God by Bo Fowler Jonathan Cape, pounds 10, 296pp

PROBABILITY 1: WHY THERE MUST BE INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE BYAMIR ACZEL, LITTLE, BROWN, pounds 17.50