The universe is expanding faster than physicists would expect. To figure out what processes underlie this fast expansion rate, some researchers are first trying to rule out what processes can’t.
Controlled experiments are impossible in astronomy, as are direct measurements of physical properties of objects outside our solar system. So how do astronomers know so much about them?
The gravitational field can affect space and time: the stronger gravity is, the slower time moves. This prediction of General Relativity can be used to reveal hidden forces acting on dark matter.
Measuring the ages of planets and stars is tricky. An observational astrophysicist describes the subtle clues that provide good estimates for how old different space objects are.
Massive flashes of energy known as ‘fast radio bursts’ have puzzled astronomers for years – and a new search for links to gravitational waves has so far found no connection.
To detect dark matter, you need to build an ultra-sensitive detector and put it somewhere ultra-quiet. For one physics collaboration, that place is almost a mile under Lead, S.D.
Bright, flickering galaxies called quasars were thought to pose a problem for our understanding of the cosmos – but new research shows Einstein was right yet again.
The planet Halla looks like it should have been devoured by its host star, a red giant called Baekdu – but a secret in the star’s past may hold the answer to the planet’s present.
One of the few examples of a fast radio burst and the slow-moving, star forming gas in its origin galaxy has been linked together – thanks to observations from a CSIRO telescope.
Stars begin to expand when they run out of fuel and can become thousands of times larger, consuming any planets in the way. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed one such event.
Beyond just looking at black holes, the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope collaboration is the first to bring together perspectives from across the sciences and humanities.