Scientists could get their first glimpse of the dawn of the universe from a telescope buried up to half a mile underground. This new device is designed to detect gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are an elusive phenomena created by some of the most violent events in the universe such as black holes, neutron stars and the Big Bang.
A collision (top left) induces a temperature modulation in the CMB temperature map (top right). The “blob” associated with the collision is identified by a large needlet response (bottom left), and the presence of an edge is determined by a large response from the edge detection algorithm (bottom right).
By looking far out into space and observing what’s going on there, scientists have been led to theorize that it all started with a Big Bang, immediately followed by a brief period of super-accelerated expansion called inflation. Perhaps this was the beginning of everything, but lately a few scientists have been wondering if something could have come before that, setting up the initial conditions for the birth of our universe.
End of the universe.
The universe and everything in it could end in less than 3.7 billion years from now, claims a new study.
Continue reading… “Will the Universe Come to an End in 3.7 Billion Years?”
A team of astrophysicists based in Australia and England has uncovered evidence that the laws of physics are different in different parts of the universe.
Continue reading… “Laws of Physics Vary Throughout the Universe, New Study Suggests”
Scientists have found evidence of a catastrophic event they believe was responsible for halting the birth of stars in a galaxy in the early Universe.
A supernova occurs when a massive star more than 50 times the mass of the Sun dies in a powerful bright explosion
Two dying stars at the edge of the universe and further away than any detected to date have been discovered using a new imaging technique.
Continue reading… “Space Imaging Breakthrough Captures Dying Stars On Edge Of Universe”
Astronomers have discovered new tidal debris stripped away from colliding galaxies. New debris images are of special interest since they show the full history of galaxy collisions and resultant starburst activities, which are important in ‘growing’ galaxies in the early Universe.
Continue reading… “New Tidal Debris Discovered From Colliding Galaxies”
1. Large Hadron Collider
Good news! The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – the massive particle accelerator straddling the Swiss-French border – didn’t destroy the world! The bad news: The contraption didn’t really work either. In September, the 17-mile collider was switched on for the first time, putting to rest the febrile webchatter that the machine would create an artificial black hole capable of swallowing the planet or at least a sizeable piece of Europe – a bad day no matter what. No lucid observer ever thought that would really happen, but what they did expect was that the LHC would operate as advertised, recreating conditions not seen since instants after the Big Bang and giving physicists a peek into those long-vanished moments. Things looked good at first, until a helium leak caused the collider to shut down after less than two weeks. Repairs are underway and the particles should begin spinning again sometime in June.
Continue reading… “Time’s Top 10 Scientific Discoveries”
Scientists are on the hunt for evidence of antimatter – matter’s arch nemesis – left over from the very early Universe. New results using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory suggest the search may have just become even more difficult.
Continue reading… “Searching For Primordial Antimatter”
The world’s most powerful particle accelerator, aimed at unlocking secrets of the universe, will be launched on September 10, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on Thursday.
Continue reading… “World’s Most Powerful Particle Accelerator Will Launch Sept 10”
The first object to brighten the dark, primordial universe after the Big Bang was the tiny seed of a star that rapidly grew into a behemoth 100 times more massive than the sun, scientists said on Thursday.
Continue reading… “Universe’s First Star Small, Grew Large”
One of the most interesting questions considered by astrophysicists deals with the start of our universe. Indeed, there is a great deal of speculation on the subject, with different theories about how the universe began, and what may have existed before the universe came into being.
Continue reading… “How Did The Universe Originate?”
