Search
Big Bang Theory
Black holes shouldn’t be this big, much less this big so many billions of years ago. Yet here we are. “Ultramassive black holes — that is, black holes with masses exceeding 10 billion […]
From a Universe that went no bigger than our Milky Way to the trillions of galaxies in our expanding Universe, our knowledge increased one step at a time. “Gamow was fantastic […]
Why does the Universe have the properties it has? There may be no natural reason at all. “When you listen to a lecture, you should not have any idea of yourself. […]
‘Let there be light’ isn’t just biblical. It’s science. “By its very nature science knows no boundaries. Walling off any group, for any reason, from full participation damages the entire enterprise […]
How the Universe’s expansion rate continues to baffle us. “In expanding the field of knowledge we but increase the horizon of ignorance.” –Henry Miller It’s the most fundamental law of special […]
Now we know, on every scale. “There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without […]
Never heard of SKA, the square kilometer array? Once it starts taking data, you’ll never forget it. “Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for […]
There’s a point beyond which we cannot go, there are things beyond that we cannot know. But here’s what we expect. “The Edge… there is no honest way to explain it […]
One of inflation’s co-founders lashes out against the community. But is there a scientific leg to stand on? “…an understanding of the infinite tree of universes seems to be needed in […]
The 20th century held some incredible advances across all the science. But astrophysics’ best days are yet to come. “When we have found how the nucleus of atoms is built up […]
Was it really a low-entropy state? And what does that mean for the second law of thermodynamics? “Entropy shakes its angry fist at you for being clever enough to organize […]
We claim it’s the leftover glow from the Big Bang, but where is this light actually coming from? “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we […]
If the Big Bang happened and everything is moving away from us, where’s the center? “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out […]
Only a few galaxies exhibit this green glow in the nearby Universe. At early times, it’s practically all of the brightest ones. “The discovery that young galaxies are so unexpectedly […]
How a little knowledge can bring about some huge misconceptions… and how to fix it. “Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover […]
In the depths of intergalactic space, the Big Bang’s leftover glow is just 2.73 K. But this spot in our own galaxy is even colder. “If you want your boomerang to […]
Perhaps the limits of what we can observe aren’t just artificial; perhaps there are no limits to what’s out there at all. “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, […]
It used to be billions and billions, but now it’s in the trillions! “There are in fact 100 billion galaxies, each of which contain something like a 100 billion stars. […]
If we can’t even witness the birth of our Solar System and planet, how can we claim to see the birth of the Universe? “There have to be moments when […]
Looking into the great, dark unknown was a mystery for thousands of years. No longer! “Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you can’t construct a […]
Or can moving at relativistic speeds through a general relativistic Universe change everything? “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard, there’s nothing you can […]
There’s a big gap between Helium and Carbon. Come find out why! “And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium,And chlorine, cobalt, carbon, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium.These are the […]
Galaxy-sized? Human-sized? Atom-sized? Even smaller? How tiny can a bit of space be and still expand? “We now have the best picture of how galaxies like our own formed their stars.” […]
Could the Universe loop around on itself, and might you come back out the other side? “For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned […]
46 billion light years in all directions in just 13.8 billion years? Here’s how it’s done! “They say the universe is expanding. That should help with the traffic.” –Steven Wright There are […]
While there are presently more than ~10²³ stars in the Universe shining today, each one of them is fated to live only for a finite amount of time. While more […]