Demanding appropriate levels of skepticism and scrutiny isn’t cruelty, but rather demonstrates scientific integrity and intellectual honesty. Every few months, a novel headline will fly across the world, claiming to […]
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The Big Bang is our accepted origin of the Universe. But is there another possibility? Since the mid-1960s and the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background, the Big Bang has […]
It might seem puzzling, in a Universe bound by the speed of light, that this could be true. Here’s the science behind it. If you look out into the distant Universe, […]
Or if it were perfectly smooth, instead, could we have still had stars and galaxies by today? “First, you should check out my house. It’s, like, kinda lame, but way […]
What happened when things were hot enough to spontaneously create matter and antimatter? “It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations […]
The Universe looks bizarre: a plethora of galaxies, many clusters, but very little bigger than that. What made it so? “We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, […]
As dark energy takes over and distant galaxies accelerate, what are we losing, and what does that mean? “What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they […]
After more than two years, we’ve visited all 110 objects. Have a look back at each one! “If you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you will learn. […]
It’s the faintest and hardest object to see in the entire catalogue, but the rewards — and knowledge you gain — are priceless! “If there is nothing new under the sun, at least the […]
The last object in the entire Messier Catalogue is faint, elusive, and the most common type of galaxy in the Universe! Image credit: Adam Block / NOAO / AURA / […]
With the iconic pillars and fairy inside, this star-forming region in our galactic plane just might be the most spectacular of them all. Image credit: ESO, via http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0926a/. “The most […]
It took Messier himself more than a decade to observe it, but the reward is a glimpse into the ancient Universe! Image credit: Daniel Verschatse, via http://www.astrosurf.com/antilhue/m55.htm. “The only thing […]
Perhaps the most spectacular example of rebirth in our galaxy, this cavernous nebula is giving rise to the next generation of stars! Image credit: ESO, via http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0925a/. “For in the […]
At the bottom of the teapot in Sagittarius, the ancient giants burn for your pleasure. Image credit: REU program / NOAO / AURA / NSF. “I told my father that […]
The farther north you are, the harder this wonder is to see. But oh, the rewarding sights for those who find it! Image credit: Emi; Ivamov, via http://www.emilivanov.com/CCD%20Images/M06_LRGB.htm. “Happiness is […]
The Virgo Cluster of galaxies is the richest nearby treasure trove of ellipticals; this is the final one Messier ever found. “We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, […]
The brightest “planetary nebula” is actually a Sun-like star in its final death throes! “When he shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars,And he will make the face […]
But with its gaps and unusual structure, we’re lucky it did. “But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and […]
In the heart of our nearest big galaxy cluster, a massive spiral fights for its life. “Ali always said I would be nothing without him. But what would he have been […]
Although we’re all under the same skies, those at Mexican latitudes will especially enjoy this one tonight! “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on […]
A surprising globular cluster found directly opposite to the galactic center! “A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain […]
A uniquely-darkened spiral galaxy is one of the most unusual sights in the night sky. But what gives it its one-of-a-kind appearance? “Some day I hope to meet you. When […]
The greatest Messier object of them all, a treat all winter long. “What caused me to undertake the catalog was the nebula I discovered above the southern horn of Taurus on […]
Last week, I introduced a series about a Colorado ballot initiative that would amend the state’s constitution to define a person under the law as “a human being from the […]