Cosmology

Astronomy

Astronomers get glimpse of star 9 billion light-years away

A bright blue star sends its light from two-thirds of the way across the universe, thanks to a chance alignment with a galaxy cluster.

Astronomy

Satellite trio will hunt gravitational waves from space

The European Space Agency has green-lighted the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, expected to launch in 2034.

Cosmology

Milky Way’s loner status is upheld

Galaxy surveys show the Milky Way lives in a vast cosmic void, which could help ease tensions between ways of measuring how fast the universe is expanding.

Science & Society

Einstein’s latest anniversary marks the birth of modern cosmology

A century ago, Einstein gave birth to modern cosmology by using his general theory of relativity to describe the universe.

Astronomy

Distant galaxies lack dark matter, study suggests

Slower-than-expected velocities of stars in distant galaxies, if confirmed, could reshape astronomers’ ideas of galaxy formation and evolution.

Astronomy

Astronomers detect oldest known stardust in distant galaxy

The first stardust ever generated in the universe may have been spotted in a distant galaxy, seen as it was 600 million years after the Big Bang.

Astronomy

Faint, distant galaxies may have driven early universe makeover

Gravitational lensing has revealed extremely faint galaxies in the early universe, suggesting these tiny galaxies were responsible for cosmic reionization.

Cosmology

New data fuel debate on universe’s expansion rate

Quasar observations add to discrepancy in measurements of the universe’s expansion speed.

Astronomy

Spin may reveal black hole history

High rate of spin could indicate that black holes formed from previous mergers of black holes.

Astronomy

Star-starved galaxies fill the cosmos

Astronomers are detecting hundreds of galaxies that are almost devoid of stars. There are at least four theories on how they got that way.

Earth

‘A Most Improbable Journey’ offers scientific take on human history

Walter Alvarez’s “A Most Improbable Journey” gives readers a tour of “Big History,” linking human history to unpredictable cosmic, geologic and biological events.

Cosmology

‘Voyage of Time’ is Terrence Malick’s ode to life

With “Voyage of Time,” director Terrence Malick brings the history of the universe — and the evolution of life on Earth — to the big screen.