Cosmology
The Most Shocking Discovery in Astrophysics Is 25 Years Old
A quarter of a century after detecting dark energy, scientists are still trying to figure out what it is
Cosmology702 articles archived since 1845
Astronomy
A Possible Crisis in the Cosmos Could Lead to a New Understanding of the Universe
Several unexplained measurements are threatening to upend scientists’ understanding of the universe’s origin and fate
Cosmology
Why Is the Sky Dark Even Though the Universe Is Full of Stars?
The darkness of the night sky offers a profound insight on the nature of the cosmos
Cosmology
Many-Mirrored Galaxies Deepen Dark Matter Mystery
A surprisingly complex galaxy cluster suggests that in the search for dark matter, nothing is as simple as it seems
Cosmology
Ho’oleilana, a Billion-Light-Year-Wide Bubble of Galaxies, Astounds Astronomers
This enormous structure could help explain processes close to the dawn of time—or it could be a random cosmic fluke
Quantum Physics
Bizarre Quantum Theory Explains Why Your Coffee Takes So Long to Drip through a Narrow Filter
Physicist John Cardy and his colleague just won the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. We spoke with Cardy about conformal field theory, 2D black holes and coffee filters
Astronomy
Will the Universe Ever Stop Expanding?
Scientists debate what the future of the cosmos looks like and whether space will ever stop getting bigger and bigger
Cosmology
Time Flowed Five Times Slower Shortly after the Big Bang
Voracious black holes feeding on matter in the early universe display the curious spacetime phenomenon known as time dilation
Quantum Physics
The Universe Began with a Bang, Not a Bounce, New Studies Find
New research pokes holes in the idea that the cosmos expanded and then contracted before beginning again
Cosmology
Mirror-Image Supernova Yields Surprising Estimate of Cosmic Growth
A new way to gauge the universe’s expansion rate has delivered a confusing result that may conflict with previous related measurements
Astronomy
Satellite Constellations Are an Existential Threat for Astronomy
Growing swarms of spacecraft in orbit are outshining the stars, and scientists fear no one will do anything to stop it
Cosmology
How Star Collisions Forge the Universe’s Heaviest Elements
Scientists have new evidence about how cosmic cataclysms forge gold, platinum and other heavy members of the periodic table
Cosmology
Astronomers Grapple with JWST’s Discovery of Early Galaxies
Researchers are convinced the James Webb Space Telescope has glimpsed an unexpected population of galaxies in the early universe. Now they’re trying to decide what this means for our understanding of the cosmos...
Cosmology
JWST’s First Glimpses of Early Galaxies Could Break Cosmology
The James Webb Space Telescope’s first images of the distant universe shocked astronomers. Is the discovery of unimaginably distant galaxies a mirage or a revolution?
Astronomy
See the Oldest View of Our Known Universe, Just Revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope
Decades of work, $10 billion in spending and nearly 14 billion years of cosmic history have brought us to this moment: the first science from the largest and most powerful observatory ever built...
Cosmology
New Record-Breaking Simulation Sheds Light on ‘Cosmic Dawn’
THESAN—the largest, most detailed computer model of the universe’s first billion years yet made—is helping set expectations for observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope...
Cosmology
Canadian Telescope Delivers Deepest-Ever Radio View of Cosmic Web
Data from the CHIME radio observatory are a milestone in the quest to discover the hidden origins of universal structure
Dark Matter
Cosmic Simulation Shows How Dark-Matter-Deficient Galaxies Confront Goliath and Survive
A research team finds seven tiny dwarf galaxies stripped of their dark matter that nonetheless persisted despite the theft.
Cosmology
Astronomers Gear Up to Grapple with the High-Tension Cosmos
A debate over conflicting measurements of key cosmological properties is set to shape the next decade of astronomy and astrophysics
Cosmology
Astronomers Spot Most Distant Galaxy Yet, 13.5 Billion Light-Years from Earth
The surprisingly bright galaxy, called HD1, may contain some of the universe’s first stars, as well as a supermassive black hole
