Early cosmic inflation solves many problems in cosmology, but it also raises some problems of its own.
Beyond The Universe
The Universe is big. Really big. Just how far it goes is an interesting question.
Are Cosmologists Fooling Themselves?
When you get a result you expect, you’re less likely to examine that result closely. This confirmation bias happens to the best of us, so how do we know that our scientific results are valid? How do we know we aren’t just fooling ourselves?
The Strange Physics Of Cyclic Cosmology
What if our universe arose from an earlier universe? This is the idea behind Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC).
Cosmic Expansion and Tired Light
If light from a distant galaxy is redshifted, and the energy of a photon depends upon its wavelength, doesn’t that mean the photon is spontaneously losing energy? What about conservation of energy?
Another Brick in the Wall
When we look out into the universe, we can see a cosmic background of microwaves in all directions. It’s the thermal remnant of the big bang, but it also serves as a wall beyond which we cannot see. Until now.
Cosmic Ring is Interesting, But Not Impossible
A ring of nine gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been observed in the southern hemisphere. The ring is more than 5 billion light years across, which is larger than we’d expect for a cosmic structure. But it’s important not to read too much into this discovery.
Are We Living In A Black Hole?
Here’s an idea, what if the universe and everything we see around us is actually inside a black hole?
Rumors of Our Demise
Part of what makes astronomy so powerful is that it forces us to look beyond our personal cosmos.