View Post

Second Light

In Cosmology by Brian Koberlein3 Comments

The period between the end of the big bang and the appearance of the first stars is known as the cosmic dark ages. It lasted longer than we thought.

View Post

Three Peaks at the Big Bang

In Cosmology by Brian Koberlein5 Comments

One of the big points of evidence in support of the big bang is the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It is often described as the afterglow of the primordial fireball, but it is much more than that. As we make better observations of the CMB we not only gather evidence of the origin of the universe, we also get an indication of the specific nature of our universe. One of the ways we see this is through what’s known as the three peaks.

View Post

What a Rube

In Cosmology by Brian Koberlein8 Comments

Recently there was an article by Tim Reyes asking if the standard cosmological model is a Rube Goldberg machine. The idea is that so many ill-fitting ideas have been put together that it seems unreasonably complex. I’ve used a similar criticism against certain models through the phrase “tweak theories are weak theories.” Given the latest implications that the Higgs field may contradict inflation, and the BICEP2 results may not hold up, should we really think of standard cosmology more as a tweak theory than a robust model?

View Post

A Puff of Logic

In Cosmology by Brian Koberlein2 Comments

There’s been several science headlines recently stating that “Scientists Claim Universe Shouldn’t Exist.” Which I suppose means we should all just vanish in a puff of logic, or (derp) the scientists have said something stupid again. Needless to say, “scientists” have said no such thing, and what has been said is an interesting venture into cutting-edge theoretical physics.

View Post

Evidence That Demands a Verdict

In Science by Brian Koberlein12 Comments

There’s a popular picture that traverses the net now and then that states 97% of climate scientists believe that anthropogenic global warming is true. More specifically, that of peer reviewed climate research papers, of the ones that made a statement on the cause of global warming, 97% agreed that humanity was the cause. You can imagine the lively discussions it induced.