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Cosmology
The Universe is 13.8 billion years old, going back to the hot Big Bang. But was that truly the beginning, and is that truly its age?
The "first cause" problem may forever remain unsolved, as it doesn’t fit with the way we do science.
From before the Big Bang to Voyager 1, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a whiz-bang tour of the Universe's evolution.
Some physicists are besot with the multiverse, but if we can't detect these other universes, how seriously should we take them?
In the infant Universe, particle physics reigned supreme.
A deep dive into the chaotic journey of star formation.
A great many cosmic puzzles still remain unsolved. By embracing a broad and varied approach, particle physics heads toward a bright future.
Even if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still use the solar eclipse to measure how long it takes the Moon to orbit Earth.
There are a wide variety of theoretical studies that call our Standard Model of cosmology into question. Here's what they really mean.
Physicists just can't leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.
You can only create or destroy matter by creating or destroying equal amounts of antimatter. So how did we become a matter-rich Universe?
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?
Given enough time, all galaxies will expel their star-forming material and wind up dead. Is this the earliest one, or is it just asleep?
Here's the case for why science can't keep ignoring human experience.
Ground-based facilities enable the greatest scientific production in all of astronomy. The NSF needs to be ambitious, and it's now or never.
To Fred Hoyle, the Big Bang was nothing more than a creationist myth. 75 years later, it's cemented as the beginning of our Universe.
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Is information intrinsic in our universe? NASA’s Michelle Thaller explains.
JWST has puzzled astronomers by revealing large, bright, massive early galaxies. But the littlest ones pack the greatest cosmic punch.
The second law of thermodynamics tells us that entropy always increases. But that doesn't mean it was zero at the start of the Big Bang.
Almost every large structure in the Universe displays a 5:1 dark matter-to-normal matter ratio. Here's how some galaxies defy that rule.
In the early stages of our Solar System, there were three life-friendly planets: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Only Earth thrived. Here's why.
The $21.5-billion project could involve tunneling hundreds of feet under Lake Geneva.
In 1924, Edwin Hubble found proof that the Milky Way isn't the only galaxy in the Universe.
The Universe didn't begin with a bang, but with an inflationary "whoosh" that came before. Here are the biggest questions that still remain.
As planets with too many volatiles and too little mass orbit their parent stars, their atmospheres photoevaporate, spelling doom for some.
The DUNE project will beam tiny neutrinos across vast distances. But the first step involved moving a heavier material: 1 million tons of rock.
Without wormholes, warp drive, or some type of new matter, energy, or physics, everyone is limited by the speed of light. Or are they?
Early on, only matter and radiation were important for the expanding Universe. After a few billion years, dark energy changed everything.
Stars are born, live, and die within the spiral arms of galaxies like the Milky Way. These 19 JWST spirals deliver unprecedented riches.
If our Milky Way were located in the Virgo cluster instead of the Local Group, chances are we'd already be a "red and dead" galaxy.