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Space Telescopes
There’s so much that we’ve discovered, looking as deeply as possible into the void. But what are we missing? Start with the laws of physics, a Universe full of a specific […]
The first stars formed almost half a billion years before we could see their light. Here’s why. At the moment of the Big Bang, the Universe was full of matter and […]
And if we don’t prepare to catch it now, it’ll be too late. Since 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has been redefining how we view our Universe. From hundreds of miles […]
From the most beautiful to the most impactful, some of these are so powerful it’s breathtaking. “Truth in science, however, is never final, and what is accepted as a fact […]
Why not just put your detectors in place of a giant mirror? “Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.” –Yousuf […]
If you think we’ve seen all there is to see in the Universe, you’re about to have your imagination unlocked. “Hubble often takes images of distant gravitationally lensed galaxies to […]
The ELT, at 39 meters in diameter, will dwarf everything that’s ever come before. “There are so many people who are arguing or fighting over issues which don’t have much relevance. […]
Last week, Cassini plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere. Here are the top 6 things we learned from it while it was alive. “Being a scientist and staring immensity and eternity in the […]
The Omega Nebula, the Eagle Nebula and Sharpless 2–54 all line up in space. Here’s a never-before-seen view of them all together! “It shows you exactly how a star is […]
The oddest star known in the galaxy is dimming again, and this time it might give up some of its secrets! “As far as I can tell, every telescope that can […]
You might think that it should be all black, but then how would we see it? “It is conceptually interesting, if not astrophysically very important, to calculate the precise apparent shape […]
Its 18 large, segmented golden mirrors aren’t even the whole story. But how much gold is really in there? “Hey, if our eyes could access the infrared part of the light […]
If you think federal funding for science is expensive, wait until you see the cost of not funding it. “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as […]
What Hubble sees at its best is only a tease for what James Webb will deliver. “With the Hubble telescope and all the other things that are out there, I believe […]
With James Webb and WFIRST launching soon, the Universe can expect a revolution. But what will it look like? “For the first time we can learn about individual stars from near […]
We take for granted how much the Moon does for Earth, but not all of the changes would be bad. “If we get rid of the moon, women, those menstrual cycles […]
A live-blog event of an incredible public lecture by a scientist on the inside of James Webb’s team. “The [James Webb] telescope is basically designed to answer the big questions in […]
But are any of these potentially Earth-like worlds actually inhabited? Here are the prospects. “It isn’t only the beauty of the night sky that thrills me. It’s the sense I […]
We haven’t found the truly “first” ones yet, but we’re not just on our way; we’re almost there. “For the first time we can learn about individual stars from near the […]
The outer three can even be seen with a small, 1.5 meter telescope. This 2010 picture of three of the four known exoplanets orbiting HR 8799 represents the first time […]
How a telescope 100 times the size of Hubble is going to change everything. “For my confirmation, I didn’t get a watch and my first pair of long pants, like […]
How to turn a galaxy on, once and for all. “Speculating and predicting what lies beyond the boundary is fascinating. Finding out is even more fascinating.” –Wallace H. Tucker When two […]
Why it’s not “the next Hubble,” but “the first James Webb.” “…because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills; because that challenge is […]
The first ultra-deep, ultra-wide field view of the Universe heralded what the 2010s would bring. “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal […]