Cosmology

Cosmology

A deep-space image captured by the JWST showcases numerous galaxies of various shapes, sizes, and colors scattered across a dark background, potentially setting a new cosmic distance record.
Despite many ultra-distant galaxy candidates found with JWST, we still haven't seen anything from the Universe's first 250 million years.
entanglement across space
It's possible to remove all forms of matter, radiation, and curvature from space. When you do, dark energy still remains. Is this mandatory?
A vivid depiction of a cosmic event showing a jet of orange and red energy extending from a bright source in the vastness of space, surrounded by stars and interstellar matter.
With the discovery of Porphyrion, we've now seen black hole jets spanning 24 million light-years: the scale of the cosmic web.
Rows of identical Earth-like planets stretch out into the vast copy multiverse, with a dark starry background visible between them.
Within our observable Universe, there's only one Earth and one "you." But in a vast multiverse, so much more becomes possible.
A technician in a cleanroom suit works by a large cylindrical piece of equipment in a high-tech laboratory setting with industrial tools and machinery.
A recent experiment challenges the leading dark matter theory and hints at new directions for uncovering one of the Universe's biggest mysteries.
atom illustration
Most fundamental constants could be a little larger or smaller, and our Universe would still be similar. But not the mass of the electron.
Two breathtaking pictures of a galaxy and a star taken by the Hubble telescope, highlighting the beauty and cosmic magnitude that fuels the Hubble tension.
In the expanding Universe, different ways of measuring its rate give incompatible answers. Nobel Laureate Adam Riess explains what it means.
White text on a black background reads "The Impact of Nothing.
3mins
From nothing to everything: How zero changed our understanding of the universe, forever.
The image shows a bright spot labeled "JADES-GS-z13-1-LA," seemingly an impossible light captured by the JWST, surrounded by measurement markers, including a scale bar for 1 kpc and 0.28 arcsec. Filters and colors are listed at the bottom.
The Lyman-α emission line has never been seen earlier than 550 million years after the Big Bang. So why does JADES-GS-z13-1-LA have one?
uap ufo UAPs UFOs
Although a great many unidentified sights have been seen in the skies, none have conclusively demonstrated the presence of aliens. So far.
A graph depicting projectile motion with displacement on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The projectile's trajectory forms a perfect parabola, with initial velocity u and angle θ clearly indicated.
Taught in every introductory physics class for centuries, the parabola is only an imperfect approximation for the true path of a projectile.
A person is giving a presentation at a podium with a large abstract, colorful light pattern displayed on a screen behind them.
Inflation, dark matter, and string theory are all proposed extensions to the prior consensus picture. But what does the evidence say?
A satellite orbits Earth against a backdrop of space. Below, the Earth's curvature and cloud formations are visible, making our planet seem even bigger.
The observation that everything we know is made out of matter and not antimatter is one of nature's greatest puzzles. Will we ever solve it?
zero gravity flight stephen hawking
The mass that gravitates and the mass that resists motion are, somehow, the same mass. But even Einstein didn't know why this is so.
Interior of a particle physics laboratory showing a complex particle accelerator setup with multiple cables, detectors, and machinery designed to study glueball particles.
Scientific surprises, driven by experiment, are often how science advances. But more often than not, they’re just bad science.
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.
Three circles of increasing size, each containing images of distant stars and galaxies, set against a solid blue background.
3mins
What drives the universe's expansion? Chemist Lee Cronin explains the theories linking time, space, and selection, providing a fresh perspective on this cosmic mystery.
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?