A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos
Physicists finally know where at least some of these high-energy particles come from, which helps make the neutrinos useful for exploring fundamental physics......»»
Cold Coulomb crystals, cosmic clues: Unraveling the mysteries of space chemistry
While it may not look like it, the interstellar space between stars is far from empty. Atoms, ions, molecules, and more reside in this ethereal environment known as the Interstellar Medium (ISM). The ISM has fascinated scientists for decades, as at l.....»»
New book gives insider"s view of cosmic search for life
Whether life exists anywhere besides Earth is a burning question that, at long last, may soon be answered......»»
Why figuring out how potassium is destroyed in stars is important to understanding the universe
If you want to know where elements come from, look to the stars. Almost every element heavier than helium is formed through nuclear reactions in stars. But which stellar processes are responsible for these elements? Can we find patterns in how much o.....»»
Study uses thermodynamics to describe expansion of the universe
The idea that the universe is expanding dates from almost a century ago. It was first put forward by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaître (1894–1966) in 1927 and confirmed observationally by American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) two years l.....»»
Saturday Citations: Listening to bird dreams, securing qubits, imagining impossible billiards
It's Saturday, which means that in a universe where the arrow of time moves backward, people have to go to work tomorrow. In such a hypothetical universe, Garfield hates Fridays—tough to imagine. This week, we looked at several hundred breaking sci.....»»
Physicists solve puzzle about ancient galaxy found by Webb telescope
Last September, the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, discovered JWST-ER1g, a massive ancient galaxy that formed when the universe was just a quarter of its current age. Surprisingly, an Einstein ring is associated with this galaxy. That's because.....»»
Fast radio bursts: Research introduces a novel approach to characterize their behavior
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) represent the most intense radio explosions in the universe. Since the first discovery in 2007, FRBs have garnered significant attention, culminating in the 2023 Shaw Prize in Astronomy. With yet unknown origin, these extreme.....»»
ATLAS provides first measurement of the W-boson width at the LHC
The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 slotted in the final missing piece of the Standard Model puzzle. Yet, it left lingering questions. What lies beyond this framework? Where are the new phenomena that would solve the universe's remaining mysteri.....»»
The sun was born when a dense gas cloud collapsed 4.6 billion years ago
While the upcoming total solar eclipse is a special moment to reflect on our place in the universe, scientists have been studying the birth of the sun and the formation of our solar system for a long time......»»
The universe"s accelerated expansion might be slowing down
The universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate, but it may have slowed down recently compared to a few billion years ago, early results from the most precise measurement of its evolution yet suggested Thursday......»»
DESI first-year data delivers unprecedented measurements of expanding universe
Scientists have analyzed the first batch of data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument's quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of dark energy......»»
Is dark energy changing over time? A new survey suggests it could be
New results from a survey into dark energy show a look back 11 billion years into the past, with the largest ever 3D map of the universe......»»
Researchers say neutron stars are key to understanding elusive dark matter
Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter......»»
Dark energy might not be constant after all
First results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument offer hints of new physics. Enlarge / The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has made the largest 3D map of our universe to date. (credit: Claire Lamman/DESI c.....»»
Is the universe really a "dark forest" full of hostile aliens in hiding?
We have no good reason to believe that aliens have ever contacted Earth. Sure, there are conspiracy theories and some rather strange reports about harm to cattle, but nothing credible. Physicist Enrico Fermi found this odd. His formulation of the puz.....»»
Researchers use the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe
With 5,000 tiny robots in a mountaintop telescope, researchers can look 11 billion years into the past. The light from far-flung objects in space is just now reaching the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), enabling us to map our cosmos as i.....»»
Meteorites: Why study them? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has explored the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, and cosmochemistry, and how this myriad of intricately linked sci.....»»
A cosmic "speed camera" just revealed the staggering speed of neutron star jets in a world first
How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it turns out, is about one-third the speed of light, as our team has just revealed in a new study published in Nature......»»
Mapping the best route for a spacecraft traveling beyond the sun"s sphere of influence
The heliosphere—made of solar wind, solar transients, and the interplanetary magnetic field—acts as our solar system's personal shield, protecting the planets from galactic cosmic rays. These extremely energetic particles accelerated outwards fro.....»»
Astronomers only knew of a single binary Cepheid system—they just found nine more
Measuring the distance to far away objects in space can be tricky. We don't even know the precise distance to even our closest neighbors in the universe—the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. But, we're starting to get to the tools to measure it. O.....»»