Imagine if our universe wasn’t the only one out there—this is the concept of the multiverse. Scientists think there could be many universes, each with its own laws of physics. To find proof of these universes, they study the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is the afterglow of the Big Bang. The CMB is like a cosmic snapshot from 13.8 billion years ago. Scientists hope to spot “clues” in this ancient light that could suggest our universe collided with others in the past. Early Findings Source: CMB via National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ESA/Planck Collaboration In 2011, scientists…
Author: John Beale
Recent research has sparked excitement in the scientific community with claims that at least seven stars in the Milky Way might be encircled by advanced alien technology known as Dyson spheres. Although these claims are not definitive proof of extraterrestrial civilizations, they present a tantalizing possibility that has captured the imaginations of astronomers and enthusiasts alike. Dyson spheres, as initially theorized by physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960, are hypothetical structures that could be built by technologically advanced civilizations. They would encompass a star or black hole to harness its energy output. The concept ranges from a complete spherical shell to…
Dark matter is a huge mystery, making up about 27% of the universe, but we can’t see it. Scientists are now looking at pulsars—fast-spinning neutron stars—to help us find this elusive stuff. Pulsars act like cosmic clocks, and by studying them, researchers might finally get a glimpse of dark matter, which could change everything we know about space. What are Pulsars? NASA/JPL-Caltech Pulsars are neutron stars with strong magnetic fields that spin extremely fast and shoot out beams of radiation. As they rotate, these beams flash past Earth in regular pulses of light. These stars are the remnants of massive…
The Moon, with a radius of about 1,080 miles (1,740 kilometers), is less than a third of Earth’s width. If Earth were the size of a nickel, the Moon would be about as big as a coffee bean. Despite its small size, the Moon’s gradual drift away from Earth is causing significant changes. On average, the Moon is 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth. This distance is vast enough to fit 30 Earth-sized planets between them. However, this gap is slowly widening. The Discovery Source: UW–Madison campus. David Tenenbaum Recent laser ranging measurements indicate that the Moon is moving…
For nearly 370,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe was shrouded in a dense fog of primordial gas, known as the Dark Ages. This era was marked by a lack of stars and an opaque cosmic haze. As the universe expanded and cooled, protons and electrons combined to form neutral hydrogen atoms. This process allowed thermal radiation from the Big Bang to travel freely, a remnant of which we now observe as the cosmic microwave background The Dawn of Light: Epoch of Reionization Source: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Gov. Agency The Epoch of Reionization began…