Dennis Overbye

Dennis Overbye is an award-winning science journalist who has been covering physics and astronomy for almost 50 years. He has a physics degree from M.I.T., spent four years as a writer and editor at Sky and Telescope magazine, and has written two books: “Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, the Scientific Search for the Secret of the Universe” (Little, Brown, 1999) and “Einstein in Love, a Scientific Romance” (Viking-Penguin, 2000). Overbye has been with The New York Times for 25 years and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is committed to upholding the standards of integrity in the Ethical Journalism Handbook.

Biography:  https://www.nytimes.com/by/dennis-overbye

65%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermines the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
Analysis.OverallConflictOfInterestScore * 0.3F + Analysis.OverallBiasScore * 0.3F + Analysis.DeceptivenessScore * 0.3F + Analysis.ReadabilityScore * 0.1F

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

The Daily's Verdict

This author has a mixed reputation for journalistic standards. It is advisable to fact-check, scrutinize for bias, and check for conflicts of interest before relying on the author's reporting.

Bias

86%

Examples:

  • The author frequently uses sensationalist language to describe scientific discoveries.
  • The author often quotes sources without disclosing them or linking to peer-reviewed studies which have not been retracted.

Conflicts of Interest

53%

Examples:

  • The author mentions that many astronomers had hoped that the National Science Foundation would find a way to invest in both telescope projects, implying a potential conflict of interest.

Contradictions

86%

Examples:

  • In one article, the author contradicts themselves by stating that dark energy may be more changeable, growing stronger or weaker over time, reversing or even fading away, while also mentioning that if the new data suggests this conclusion has only a one-in-400 chance of being correct.

Deceptions

51%

Examples:

  • The author presents an image of M87's supermassive black hole as if it were visible when in fact, according to Einstein's theory of general relativity, a true black hole would be completely invisible and could only be detected by its gravitational effects on nearby matter.
  • The author uses misleading language and analogies to describe black holes and their properties.

Recent Articles

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Reveals Ghostly Time-lapse of Ancient Supernova Explosions: The Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Reveals Ghostly Time-lapse of Ancient Supernova Explosions: The Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A

Broke On: Friday, 12 July 2024 NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals time-lapse footage of the Crab nebula and Cassiopeia A supernova remnants, marking its 25th anniversary in space. The observatory, a crucial tool for cosmology research, showcases centuries-old explosions and continues to uncover universe mysteries despite budget cuts.
Newly Discovered 'Little Red Dots': Challenging Our Understanding of Early Galaxy Formation and Black Hole Evolution with the James Webb Space Telescope

Newly Discovered 'Little Red Dots': Challenging Our Understanding of Early Galaxy Formation and Black Hole Evolution with the James Webb Space Telescope

Broke On: Saturday, 22 June 2024 The James Webb Space Telescope reveals intriguing 'little red dots' in the early universe, challenging our understanding of cosmic evolution. These small, reddish galaxies experienced intense star formation around 600 million years after the Big Bang but exhibit no detectable x-ray emission despite containing supermassive black holes.
New Discovery of Five Young Star Clusters in Infant Galaxy Reveals Insights into Star Formation during the Epoch of Reionization

New Discovery of Five Young Star Clusters in Infant Galaxy Reveals Insights into Star Formation during the Epoch of Reionization

Broke On: Saturday, 22 June 2024 Astronomers discovered five young star clusters in the Cosmic Gems arc, a strongly-lensed galaxy from the reionization era. These clusters, exhibiting minimal dust attenuation and low metallicity, offer insights into star formation during this epoch. Gravitational lensing revealed details of infant galaxies and their globular cluster formation.
Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Peter Higgs Dies at 94

Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Peter Higgs Dies at 94

Broke On: Wednesday, 10 April 2024 Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, known for proposing the existence of the 'God particle', has died at age 94. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for his work on understanding how particles acquire mass through an invisible field that fills all space.
Dark Energy: A Mystery Solved? New Data Suggests It May Not Be a Substance After All

Dark Energy: A Mystery Solved? New Data Suggests It May Not Be a Substance After All

Broke On: Friday, 05 April 2024 New data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) suggests that dark energy, which makes up 70% of the universe's contents and is thought to maintain a constant density over time, may not even be a substance but could instead be an intrinsic property of space itself or even a force. The DESI has produced the largest 3D map of the universe to date and confirmed that it is expanding faster than previously thought, with hints suggesting that dark energy's strength may change over time.
NSF Approves Funding for Only One Giant Telescope, Leaving Astronomers Disappointed

NSF Approves Funding for Only One Giant Telescope, Leaving Astronomers Disappointed

Broke On: Friday, 08 March 2024 The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has approved funding for only one of the two proposed giant telescopes, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), capping the budget at $1.6 billion and giving until May to choose between them. This decision is a blow to astronomers who had hoped for both projects to be funded but was made in light of federal spending limits and other priorities.
Discovery of a Supermassive Black Hole That Grew by the Equivalent of a Star Every Day

Discovery of a Supermassive Black Hole That Grew by the Equivalent of a Star Every Day

Broke On: Monday, 19 February 2024 A newly discovered quasar hosts a supermassive black hole that grew in mass by the equivalent of a star per day, making it one of the most massive ever found at 17 billion times as massive as the sun.
New Images of M87* Black Hole Reveal Shift in Brightness Peak and Confirm General Relativity Predictions

New Images of M87* Black Hole Reveal Shift in Brightness Peak and Confirm General Relativity Predictions

Broke On: Wednesday, 31 January 2024 A new study published on January 24th presents new images of the central black hole in Messier 87 galaxy, M87*, from data collected by several instruments within the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration. The shadow of M87* is visible and shows a shift in brightness peak around it compared to previous year's images.