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There are a wide variety of theoretical studies that call our Standard Model of cosmology into question. Here’s what they really mean.

The closest known star that will soon undergo a core-collapse supernova is Betelgeuse, just 640 light-years away. Here’s what we’ll observe.

When the hot Big Bang first occurred, the Universe reached a maximum temperature never recreated since. What was it like back then?

Our Universe requires dark matter in order to make sense of things, astrophysically. Could massive photons do the trick?

An enormous amount of antimatter is coming from our galactic center. But the culprit probably isn’t dark matter, but merely neutron stars.

When it comes to predicting the energy of empty space, the two leading theories disagree by a factor of 100 googol quintillion.

Dark matter’s hallmark is that it gravitates, but shows no sign of interacting under any other force. Does that mean we’ll never detect it?

In the earliest stages of the hot Big Bang, equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have existed. Why aren’t they equal today?

Traveling back in time is a staple of science fiction movies. But according to Einstein, it’s a physical possibility that’s truly allowed.

Because of dark energy, distant objects speed away from us faster and faster as time goes on. How long before every galaxy is out of reach?

The electromagnetic force can be attractive, repulsive, or “bendy,” but is always mediated by the photon. How does one particle do it all?

Across all wavelengths of light, the Sun is brighter than the Moon. Until we went to the highest energies and saw a gamma-ray surprise.

In the expanding Universe, different ways of measuring its rate give incompatible answers. Nobel Laureate Adam Riess explains what it means.

Nuclear fusion has long been seen as the future of energy. As the NIF now passes the breakeven point, how close are we to our ultimate goal?

The second law of thermodynamics is an inviolable law of reality. Here’s what everyone should know about closed, open, and isolated systems.

There are some 26 fundamental constants in nature, and their values enable our Universe to exist as it does. But where do they come from?

In the early stages of the hot Big Bang, matter and antimatter were (almost) balanced. After a brief while, matter won out. Here’s how.

It’s 2024, and we still only know of the fundamental particles of the Standard Model: nothing more. But these 8 unanswered questions remain.

First discovered in the mid-1960s, no cosmic signal has taught us more about the Universe, or spurred more controversy, than the CMB.

50 years ago, Stephen Hawking showed that black holes emit radiation and eventually decay away. That fate may now apply to everything.

The zero-point energy of empty space is not zero. Even with all the physics we know, we have no idea how to calculate what it ought to be.

Measurements of the acceleration of the universe don’t agree, stumping physicists working to understand the cosmic past and future. A new proposal seeks to better align these estimates — and is likely testable.

Back during the hot Big Bang, it wasn’t just charged particles and photons that were created, but also neutrinos. Where are they now?

On larger and larger scales, many of the same structures we see at small ones repeat themselves. Do we live in a fractal Universe?

Philosopher and author Christopher DiCarlo outlines the key areas where AI continues to reshape the labor landscape.

Here in our Universe, stars shine brightly, providing light and heat to planets, moons, and more. But some objects get even hotter, by far.

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

The first elements in the Universe formed just minutes after the Big Bang, but it took hundreds of thousands of years before atoms formed.

The National Ignition Facility just repeated, and improved upon, their earlier demonstration of nuclear fusion. Now, the true race begins.

If the Universe is expanding, and the expansion is accelerating, what does that tell us about the cause of the expanding Universe?