Hierarchical cosmology is a research area in theoretical and observational cosmology that investigates structure formation and evolution in a universe where smaller systems form first and subsequently merge into progressively larger structures. It provides the conceptual and mathematical framework underlying ΛCDM-based models of hierarchical clustering, describing how initial density perturbations grow via gravitational instability into dark matter halos, galaxies, groups, and clusters. Research in hierarchical cosmology integrates N-body simulations, semi-analytic galaxy formation models, and multi-wavelength surveys to test predictions for the mass function, merger histories, large-scale structure, and environmental dependencies of galaxy and halo properties across cosmic time.
Researchers have obtained the deepest images ever taken of IC 1101, allowing them to identify the galaxy's outer edge for the first time. The observations confirm it as the largest known galaxy, spanning roughly 520 kiloparsecs, ...
Greek mythology has given a name to a great many objects in our solar system. But perhaps one of the least well understood are the Trojans, named after the people of Troy featured in "The Iliad." When astronomers refer to ...
Astronomy
Mar 18, 2026
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In 2020, astronomers detected WD 1856+534 b, a gas giant that orbits a star 81 light-years from Earth. This exoplanet, which is roughly six times the mass of Jupiter (making it a "super-Jupiter"), was the first transiting ...
Astronomy
Apr 30, 2025
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The Andromeda galaxy is surrounded by a constellation of dwarf galaxies that are arranged in a highly lopsided manner. Analysis of cosmological simulations published in Nature Astronomy reveal that this degree of asymmetry ...
Astronomy
Apr 11, 2025
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