Cosmology

Cosmology

JWST deep field vs hubble
The "little red dots" were touted as being too massive, too early, for cosmology to explain. With new knowledge, everything adds up.
cosmic inflation
The Universe isn't just expansion, but the expansion itself is accelerating. So why can't we feel it in any measurable way?
A colorful, abstract scientific illustration with a central glowing sphere, circular patterns, and various lines and circles suggesting quantum connections or uncertainty data points, on a dark background with blue accents.
No matter how good our measurement devices get, certain quantum properties always possess an inherent uncertainty. Can we figure out why?
A circular illustration depicting the observable universe with various galaxies, stars, and cosmic structures emanating from a central point, symbolizing the solar system and hinting at how far away the Big Bang occurred.
If you think of the Big Bang as an explosion, we can trace it back to a single point-of-origin. But what if it happened everywhere at once?
Two individuals in hard hats and safety glasses working on complex machinery with numerous cables and metal components in an industrial setting.
DUNE is designed to detect the Universe's most antisocial particle: the neutrino.
every square degree
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?
cosmic inflation
Many contrarians dispute that cosmic inflation occurred. The evidence says otherwise.
pulse light quantum tunnel barrier
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
Raisin bread expanding Universe
The big question isn't whether the Universe is expanding at 67 or 73 km/s/Mpc. It's why different methods yield such different answers.
A vast expanse of outer space densely populated with numerous stars, including the typical star, and celestial objects of varying brightness against a dark background.
Most stars in the Universe are located in big, massive, Milky Way-like galaxies. But most galaxies aren't like ours at all.
Einstein
More than any other equation in physics, E = mc² is recognizable and profound. But what do we actually learn about reality from it?
For centuries, Newton's inverse square law of gravity worked beautifully, but no one knew why. Here's how Einstein finally explained it.
how many planets
From size to mass to density and more, each world in our Solar System is unique. When we compare them, the results are truly shocking.
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?
epsilon eridani comet storm
Straddling the bounds of science and religion, Newton wondered who set the planets in motion. Astrophysics reveals the answer.
Image of a galaxy cluster with a purple haze showing dark matter, surrounded by numerous distant stars and galaxies against the dark backdrop of space.
How do normal matter and dark matter separate by so much when galaxy clusters collide? Astronomers find the surprising, unexpected answer.
smbh growth evolution from direct collapse seed
Even in the very early Universe, there were heavy, supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. How did they get so big so fast?
A stopwatch appears normal on the left side while the right side is digitally warped, creating a distorted, wavy effect that makes you question, "Does time exist?
The passage of time is something we all experience, as it takes us from one moment to the next. But could it all just be an illusion?
JWST deep field vs hubble
From inside our Solar System, zodiacal light prevents us from seeing true darkness. From billions of miles away, New Horizons finally can.
For its 2-year science anniversary, JWST has revealed unprecedented details in "the Penguin and the Egg." Here are the surprises inside.
dark energy accelerated expansion
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see objects up to 46.1 billion light-years away. No, this doesn't violate relativity.
An illustration of a black hole surrounded by countless colorful stars in space, with several green lines indicating orbital paths around the black hole.
We know of stellar mass and supermassive black holes, but intermediate mass ones have long proved elusive. Until now.
Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing
The Bullet Cluster has, for nearly 20 years, been hailed as an empirical "proof" of dark matter. Can their detractors explain it away?
Voyager 1
On a cosmic scale, our existence seems insignificant and inconsequential. But from another perspective, humans are completely remarkable.
A bright star shining in a dark sky filled with numerous smaller stars. The larger star appears at the center with a noticeable twinkle effect.
The standard picture of our Universe is that it's dominated by dark matter and dark energy. But this alternative is also worth considering.
A black and white particle track image on the left and a colorful representation of a neutrino.
The properties of a ghostly particle called a neutrino are coming into focus.
A graphical representation illustrating the concept of the big bang and the subsequent expansion of the universe, depicted by a transition from a singular point of energy to a wide, grid-like spread of galaxies and celestial elements
On the largest of cosmic scales, the Universe is expanding. But it isn't all-or-nothing everywhere, as "collapse" is also part of the story.
Einstein with his class of students in 1896
There are many things that separate science from ideology, politics, philosophy, or religion. Follow these 10 commandments to get it right.
A series of sun positions during sunset over a landscape, with trees in the foreground and mountains in the background, creating a pattern of glowing points in the sky.
Sure, there's less daylight during winter than summer, as your hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun. But darkness goes deeper than that.
bounce ball
Our thermodynamic arrow of time explains why the entropy of any isolated system always increases. But it can't explain what we perceive.