Universe Expansion

Universe Expansion

JWST first science
On July 12, 2022, NASA will release the first science images taken with the James Webb Space Telescope. Here's what to hope for.
jwst
The James Webb Space Telescope is about to begin science operations. Here's what astronomers are excited about.
Where did the “seed” magnetic field come from in the first place?
infinity
And if it does, could we ever measure it?
Uranus
We've only seen Uranus up close once: from Voyager 2, back in 1986. The next time we do it, its features will look entirely different.
standard model color
The Standard Model of elementary particles has three nearly identical copies of particles: generations. And nobody knows why.
jwst change science
On July 12, 2022, JWST will release its first science images. Here are 5 ways the telescope's findings could change science forever.
multiverse
There is nothing more important to science than its ability to prove ideas wrong.
parallel universe
Humans who've lived through the same events often remember them differently. Could quantum physics be responsible?
The observable Universe is 92 billion light-years in diameter. These pictures put just how large that is in perspective.
how common is life
Some astrobiologists believe life is rare, while others believe it is common in the Universe. How can we find out which view is correct?
galaxy cluster colors
Over time, the Universe becomes less dominated by dark matter and more dominated by dark energy. Is one transforming into the other?
"The pulsar sort of consumes the thing that recycled it, just as the spider eats its mate.”
big crunch
13.8 billion years ago, the hot Big Bang gave rise to the Universe we know. Here's why the reverse, a Big Crunch, isn't how it will end.
black hole spacetime
Everything is made of matter, not antimatter, including black holes. If antimatter black holes existed, what would they do?
advanced civilization
Do the laws of physics place a hard limit on how far technology can advance, or can we re-write those laws?
runaway black hole
At four million solar masses, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole is quite small for a galaxy its size. Did we lose the original?
Time isn't the same for everyone, even on Earth. Flying around the world gave Einstein the ultimate test. No one is immune from relativity.
supermassive black hole
Astronomers in 2017 caught an image of a supermassive black hole in a galaxy far, far away. Doing it in our own galaxy is a huge milestone.
After years of analysis, the Event Horizon Telescope team has finally revealed what the Milky Way's central black hole looks like.
round
In Sun-like stars, hydrogen gets fused into helium. In the Big Bang, hydrogen fusion also makes helium. But they aren't close to the same.
standard model structure
The Standard Model may or may not be in trouble, but particle physics definitely needs saving. Here's what the new LHC can do.
planetary nebula
Everything that gets heated up has to, somehow, radiate that energy away. Here's what we see when that happens in the Universe.
local bubble
For a thousand light-years in all directions, there's a "bubble" that the Sun sits at the center of. Here's the story behind it.
gravity time
Extremely precise atomic clocks are not just of theoretical interest; they could help detect impending volcanic eruptions or melting glaciers.
humans universe
All life forms, anywhere in our Universe, are chemically connected yet completely unique.
James Webb Hubble
Look out at a distant object, and you're not seeing it as it is today. It's size, brightness, and actual distance are all different.
If there are human-sized creatures walking around on other planets, would we be able to view them directly?
singularity
Singularities frustrate our understanding. But behind every singularity in physics hides a secret door to a new understanding of the world.