December 14, 1999

Astronomers, using technique akin to overlaying thousands of faint X-ray images to create one sharp picture, discover that typical galaxies may be twice as large and contain twice as much mass as suggested by previous measurements; new observations, which have emerged from five-year census of heavens called Sloan Digital Sky Survey, indicate that average galaxy extends invisibly for well over million light-years into space and weighs equivalent of at least five trillion Suns; photos of spiral galaxy, and of 100-inch telescope of Sloan Digital Sky Survey, at Apache Point in New Mexico (L)

Former New York City police officer Justin Volpe is sentenced to 30 years in prison for brutalizing Abner Louima in Brooklyn station house; Judge Eugene Nickerson denounces 'heinous' crime, but decides against maximum life in prison, in part because Volpe will probably have to be segregated from other prisoners, which could be considered additional punishment; also directs Volpe to pay Louima $25 a month toward fine for civil rights violation; Volpe pleads for mercy, apologizes to victim and reiterates that officer in bathroom with him during torture was Thomas Wiese, not Charles Schwarz, who was convicted of aiding in assault; Volpe could be freed in 25 years; Louima recounts injuries and psychological pain; Al Sharpton and other supporters outside courtroom call sentence too lenient; photo (M)

Glenn Collins article compares tacos at six Mexican restaurants in New York City; photo (M)

New analysis of renowned 'Venus' figurines carved from 27,000 to 20,000 years ago suggests that women of so-called upper Paleolithic era were far more accomplished, economically powerful and sartorially gifted than previously believed; researchers say subtle but intricate details on number of figurines offer most compelling evidence yet that Paleolithic women had already mastered a revolutionary skill long thought to have arisen much later in human history: ability to weave plant fibers into cloth, rope, nets and baskets; photos (L)

A former United States weapons scientist pleaded not guilty today to the illegal computer downloading of a vast trove of nuclear arms data, but a federal magistrate ordered him jailed pending trial, declaring that the acts he is accused of represent ''a clear and present danger to the security of the United States.''