The Crab Nebula goes back to 1054, opening a window into our cosmic past. On July 4, 1054, Chinese astronomers recorded a “guest star” in the Taurus constellation. A ‘guest star’ […]
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Enough mass in one location will always create a black hole. But not all masses are possible. If you take enough mass and compress it into a small enough volume […]
NASA’s New Horizons is the most distant technologically advanced observatory ever. And that makes all the difference. When you look at an object that’s very distant from you, how well […]
And what might we learn as we collect new, never-before-seen data? If you took one of history’s top scientists from 100 years ago and dropped them into today’s world, what […]
Truth is, dinosaurs aren’t as distinct as you may think, but to find out why, we first have to consider how we got the term “dinosaur.”
A college degree is still a well-trodden path to relative financial success. Even so, a college degree is no longer a guarantee of a secure job, or of any job at all.
These ten characters have all had a huge influence on psychology. Their stories continue to intrigue those interested in personality and identity, nature and nurture, and the links between mind and body.
There’s no such thing as a theory that’s too beautiful to be wrong, if it doesn’t agree with experiment. The history of physics is filled with great ideas that you’ve […]
Distances in the expanding Universe don’t work like you’d expect. Unless, that is, you learn to think like a cosmologist. There are a few fundamental facts about the Universe — its origin, […]
What it means that 2016 is the hottest year on record. “There are now dozens of hockey sticks and the all come to the same basic conclusion. The recent warming does […]
If you “know” the answer before you ever begin, you might as well not even try. “I have difficulty to believe it, because nothing in Italy arrives ahead of time.” –Sergio […]
A live-blog event happened a week ago, but you can catch the entire thing anew here, right now! “We have never observed infinity in nature. Whenever you have infinities in […]
Perhaps the limits of what we can observe aren’t just artificial; perhaps there are no limits to what’s out there at all. “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, […]
And what are our prospects for observing its event horizon? “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the […]
When our imaginations run wild, it’s important to remember that’s our fault, not the data’s. “Otherwise we are trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t exist with a system which doesn’t […]
If the waste we have is so hazardous, and we have the capability, why don’t we hurl it all into the Sun? “There will be peace when the people of the […]
46 billion light years in all directions in just 13.8 billion years? Here’s how it’s done! “They say the universe is expanding. That should help with the traffic.” –Steven Wright There are […]
The tiniest hints are enough to spark big dreams. “I’m a fan of supersymmetry, largely because it seems to be the only route by which gravity can be brought into the […]
“The Greatest” defeated all opponents when the heavyweight division was its richest. Has any physicist done the same? “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did […]
It might not be an actual supernova remnant, but thanks to 3D printing, it’s the next best thing! This article was written by Kim Kowal Arcand. Kim is the Visualization Lead […]
And could what we see over there spell disaster for Earth? “An asteroid or a supervolcano could certainly destroy us, but we also face risks the dinosaurs never saw: An engineered […]
Dark matter makes up the vast majority of mass in the Universe, and most of it is unknown. But not all of it. “A cosmic mystery of immense proportions, once […]
The simple sights of sunrises and sunsets, spectacularly but seldom seem. “Lost — yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, […]
An interesting point in case are the twin maps of Africa shown here, one of the spread of Islam, the other the spread of AIDS. Beware of the map that is too straightforward and simple.
Our observable Universe is finite, and so is the amount of information in it. Here’s what we may never know. “Despite its name, the big bang theory is not really […]
Is everything astonishingly simple, though? Or is this a grandiose claim that falls flat when confronted with the evidence? “My main interest is the problem of the singularity. If we […]
How one of the first tests of special relativity might lead to the greatest particle accelerator of all-time. “One feels that the past stays the way you left it, whereas […]
After the CMB, before the first stars, there was nothing to see. Or was there? “[I]f there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we […]
The most powerful telescope in history will never see the farthest galaxy. “No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded […]
These cosmic monsters make the LHC look like child’s play, and yet even they have their limits. “Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson You […]