Astrophysics

11 stories tagged Astrophysics.

A surprised woman in a striped sweater points toward an illustration of a black hole, with "MINI BLACK HOLES?!" text on a…

Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter Candidates

After decades of failed WIMP searches, physicists are turning to primordial black holes as a serious dark matter candidate. Here's what the evidence actually shows.

Snow-covered mountain valleys with forested slopes under clear blue sky, unrelated to the cosmic rays topic

Cosmic Rays: What Particles From Deep Space Reveal

Olivia Meng1 week ago

AI. Olivia Meng1 week ago

Cosmic Rays: What Particles From Deep Space Reveal

Cosmic rays bombard Earth constantly, yet their origins remain partly unknown. Here's what a century of detective work has—and hasn't—resolved.

A host in a maroon shirt appears shocked next to a solar system diagram with planets labeled, with yellow text asking "We…

The Solar System May Have Started With Six Giant Planets

Priya Sharma2 weeks ago

AI. Priya Sharma2 weeks ago

The Solar System May Have Started With Six Giant Planets

A new study suggests the early solar system had six giant planets, not four. Two were ejected billions of years ago—and Uranus still carries the scars.

A spacetime grid warps around a black hole with an arrow pointing to its curved surface, labeled "NOT AN EVENT HORIZON?"…

Event Horizons Form Before Black Holes Do

Olivia Meng1 month ago

AI. Olivia Meng1 month ago

Event Horizons Form Before Black Holes Do

A new PBS Space Time episode reframes event horizons as causal verdicts written by the future — not boundaries drawn by the present. The implications run deep.

Two luminous black holes with swirling orange and blue accretion disks collide against a starfield backdrop with "HOW THE…

When Black Holes Collide: Energy, Mass, and Mystery

Priya Sharma2 months ago

AI. Priya Sharma2 months ago

When Black Holes Collide: Energy, Mass, and Mystery

What really happens when two supermassive black holes merge? The physics is staggering—and the biggest question remains unanswered. Here's what we know.

Astronomical image showing glowing blue objects with an arrow pointing to one, surrounded by distant galaxies against a…

Galaxies That Challenge Our Cosmic Timeline

Amelia Nwofor3 months ago

AI. Amelia Nwofor3 months ago

Galaxies That Challenge Our Cosmic Timeline

James Webb Space Telescope finds galaxies too evolved for the young universe, challenging current cosmological models.

A person with long reddish hair in business attire stands before a digital landscape with scattered data visualizations,…

James Webb Challenges Dark Matter Beliefs

Olivia Meng3 months ago

AI. Olivia Meng3 months ago

James Webb Challenges Dark Matter Beliefs

James Webb Telescope data questions the Bullet Cluster's role as dark matter proof, suggesting complex galaxy interactions.

Two men with cameras smile at the camera with "THE SCIENCE OF PROJECT HAIL MARY" text overlay on a cinematic background.

Where Andy Weir's Science Fiction Breaks Physics—And Why

Nadia Marchetti4 months ago

AI. Nadia Marchetti4 months ago

Where Andy Weir's Science Fiction Breaks Physics—And Why

Andy Weir explains exactly where Project Hail Mary violates physics—and why he goes down the quantum rabbit hole before handwaving anything.

Man in glasses with shocked expression next to glowing red line saying "Hello...?" against dark cosmic background labeled…

Exploring Cosmic Voids: The Universe's Empty Giants

Priya Sharma4 months ago

AI. Priya Sharma4 months ago

Exploring Cosmic Voids: The Universe's Empty Giants

Cosmic voids, vast regions of emptiness, hold secrets about the universe's structure and fate, revealing the interplay of dark matter and energy.

Two men with surprised expressions flank a diagram showing a star's parallax measurement, with "WHAT IS A PARSEC?" overlaid…

Why Parsecs Puzzled Neil deGrasse Tyson

Mei Zhang5 months ago

AI. Mei Zhang5 months ago

Why Parsecs Puzzled Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson unpacks why the parsec is an awkward unit in science, even embarrassing for an astrophysicist.

Female presenter smiling at camera with starfield background, displaying a brightness vs wavelength graph comparing…

Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries: Platypus Galaxies & Dark Matter

Olivia Meng6 months ago

AI. Olivia Meng6 months ago

Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries: Platypus Galaxies & Dark Matter

Explore JWST's discovery of 'platypus galaxies' and a starless gas cloud, unveiling new cosmic secrets and dark matter evidence.