cosmos

The most distant galaxy ever discovered, GN-z11, is shown within a Hubble Space Telescope deep sky survey and highlighted in the inset. This galaxy existed only 400 million years after the Big Bang.

Science

This new space telescope should show us what the universe looked like as a baby

2:22pm December 17, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The upcoming launch of NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope should let astronomers see what some of the universe's first stars and galaxies looked like soon after the Big Bang.

Queue Listen Now

This view of a stellar nursery taken by the Very Large Telescope on May 23, 2013, also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula.

Science

The Answer To Life, The Universe — And Everything? It's 63

8:57am November 12, 2017

by Caleb Scharf

Over time, the expansion of the cosmos and the passage of light has unlocked 63 orders of magnitude to us, each one a new opportunity for novelty and complexity, says guest blogger Caleb Scharf.

Planet: bottom of a glass containing half-and-half, water and food coloring. Moons: bottom of a glass containing coconut milk, water and food coloring. Stars: salt, cinnamon, baking powder and Tums.

Science
Arts

Behold! The Cosmos Created From The Contents Of A Kitchen

12:13pm March 13, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

From spices, flour, milk, water and food coloring, a photographer creates startlingly realistic-looking images of space. These photos are convincing enough to impress an astrophysicist.