Astronomers have long argued that dark matter is the invisible scaffolding that holds galaxies together. Without its immense gravitational pull, the galaxies’ rotating necks would force them to fly sideways. But now, scientists have found a series of galaxies that do not seem to have their dark matter completely. The latest in this string, known … Read more
The latest update to LIGO’s catalog has doubled the number of confirmed gravitational waves – waves in spacetime caused by catastrophic events. And now, astronomers come to the dire decision of selecting an updated dataset. In a Nature paper published today, researchers have confirmed the first evidence of two unstable supernovae, doing so with gravitational … Read more
Modern cosmology is built on three theoretical pillars: special relativity, Newtonian gravity, and quantum mechanics. Each is supported by considerable experimental evidence, but each describes the physical world in a way that contradicts the other two. Quantum theory describes a small. Objects that are driven by electromagnetic forces, both strong and weak. The dim world … Read more
Astronomers are discovering things that were once hidden inside some of the largest objects in the universe, known as galaxies. Using the powerful MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, researchers have mapped the extinction, the scattering of radio emissions, a signal that reveals the energetic processes that occur in the large spaces between galaxies when … Read more
A hundred years ago, Albert Einstein predicted that massive objects in orbit would send small spirals into space themselves and gradually line up together. Astronomers are now watching that process happen, step by step, in dying stars about 4,000 light-years from Earth. Their slow collision is not just cosmic drama. It gives scientists the clearest … Read more