Could a multiverse be hospitable to life?
A Multiverse—where our Universe is only one of many—might not be as inhospitable to life as previously thought, according to new research.
May 14, 2018
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Tiny distortions in universe's oldest light reveal clearer picture of strands in cosmic web
Scientists have decoded faint distortions in the patterns of the universe's earliest light to map huge tubelike structures invisible to our eyes – known as filaments – that serve as superhighways for delivering matter ...
Astronomers find 72 bright and fast explosions
Gone in a (cosmological) flash: a team of astronomers found 72 very bright, but quick events in a recent survey and are still struggling to explain their origin. Miika Pursiainen of the University of Southampton will present ...
Beyond the WIMP: Unique crystals could expand the search for dark matter
A new particle detector design proposed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) could greatly broaden the search for dark matter—which makes up 85 percent of the total mass ...
Can strongly lensed type Ia supernovae resolve one of cosmology's biggest controversies?
In 1929 Edwin Hubble surprised many people – including Albert Einstein – when he showed that the universe is expanding. Another bombshell came in 1998 when two teams of astronomers proved that cosmic expansion is actually ...
Six decades of cosmology
"Cosmologists are often wrong but never in doubt," Russian physicist Lev Landau once said. In the early days, astronomers began by observing and modelling stars in different stages of evolution and comparing their findings ...
Astronomers reveal secrets of most distant supernova ever detected
An international team of astronomers, including Professor Bob Nichol from the University of Portsmouth, has confirmed the discovery of the most distant supernova ever detected – a huge cosmic explosion that took place 10.5 ...
New chapter begins for kitt peak telescope
When the Mayall first opened its eye to the sky 45 years ago, it was one of the largest optical telescopes in existence. Designed to be versatile, its mission was to assist astronomers in addressing the wide diversity of ...
Solving the dark energy mystery: A new assignment for a 45-year-old telescope
Forty-five years ago this month, a telescope tucked inside a 14-story, 500-ton dome atop a mile-high peak in Arizona took in the night sky for the first time and recorded its observations in glass photographic plates.
Dark Energy Survey publicly releases first three years of data
At a special session held during the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., scientists on the Dark Energy Survey (DES) announced today the public release of their first three years of data. This first ...
