Cosmology on ZME Science

Where is the center of the universe (or is there even one)?

The universe does not have a center point. How is this possible?

What is the Cosmic Microwave Background: The Cosmic Fossil that Fills the Universe

The amazing story of how the Cosmic Microwave Background was discovered completely by accident by American scientists.

A hundred years ago, a physicist tried to convince the world the universe is expanding -- through math alone

He thought Einstein was wrong in one regard -- and he was right.

Annie Jump Cannon: the legend behind stellar classification

A word on the Life and career of one of the first dames of modern astronomy

What does the universe sound like? The eerie world of cosmic sonification

The sonification of astronomical data provides a new way to experience the cosmos.

The first indirect detection of gravitational waves: the road to LIGO

Gravitational waves were detected by laser interferometers, but in 1982, indirect evidence was also popping up.

What Is Dark Energy?

Dark energy accounts for as much as 72% of the Universe's matter and energy content and drives the accelerating expansion of the Universe. Yet this cosmic element is a lingering mystery.

What is the Standard Model of Particle Physics?

The Standard Model is our best description of the subatomic world. Join ZME for a stroll through the particle zoo.

What is dark matter? A deep dive

84.4% of the matter in the universe is something that we don’t really understand yet.

Singularity Minded: The Black Hole Science that Won a Nobel Prize

Sir Roger Penrose has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics for his work revolutionising our theories regarding black holes and reshaping general relativity.

A Journey through Multiverses, Hidden Dimensions, and Many Worlds

The alternate world, universe, or dimension is a long-standing element of pop-culture. But these concepts, often conflated, have their roots in physics. But which of them are most likely to play host to that most thrilling of tropes — the evil doppelganger?

The Cosmological Constant: How Einstein's 'greatest blunder' became an expanding problem

The Universe is expanding, of that much cosmologists are sure. But the question of what rate at which that expansion is accelerating, and the value that describes it--the cosmological constant-- now that’s a real headache.

Is the universe truly infinite?

Whether or not the universe is infinite is still highly debated.

How big is the universe?

Scientists don't really know if the universe is finite or infinite, but here is the best of our knowledge

How planetary rings form and what they're made of

Learn more about how they formed billions of year ago.

Fantastic pictures of the Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula used to be a star much like our Sun, but it is now in a different stage – ejecting most of its material. It’s estimated that our Sun will also become a nebula in about 5 billion years. It lies 650 light-years away, in the constellation of Aquarius. Also known by the catalog […]

The most distant object in the universe found so far

ESO’s Very Large Telescope has shown something that scientists concluded is the signature of the explosion of the object furthest away from Earth we have found so far, a redshift of 8.2; it’s estimated that the explosion took place more than 13 billion years ago (!!), just 600 million years after the Big Bang. They […]