This fun graphic illustrates the tension on Λ, Einstein’s cosmological constant, exerted by combining supernova data (right), baryon acoustic oscillations (left), and the cosmic microwave background (top). When all three data sets are combined, the idea of a cosmological constant...
This image of Earth at night highlights the power of how different features are visible as the planet rotates about its axis from afar. Even though night lighting would not be detectable with foreseeable technology were Earth an exoplanet, there...
This is an artist’s impression of JADES-GS-z14–0, which as of today is the most distant confirmed galaxy. Galaxies in the early Universe tend to be clumpy and irregular. Supernova explosions in this galaxy would have spread heavy elements forged inside...
There may never be another Einstein or another Newton, but we can all learn to utilize their equations under the right physical circumstances. We can become excellent at physics the same way they did: by solving problems quantitatively, and using...
This side-by-side view shows the same object, the Pillars of Creation, as captured by JWST in both mid-infrared light (at left) and in near-infrared light (at right). Note the different features revealed as far as stars, dust, gas, and other...
Planet Earth, as viewed by NASA’s Messenger spacecraft as it departed from our location, clearly shows the spheroidal nature of our planet. This is an observation that cannot be made from a single vantage point on our surface, but there...
This image shows six diff erent, unrelated planetary nebulae, all with similar, bipolar morphologies. These six objects, NGC 6302, NGC 6881, NGC 5189, M2–9, Hen 3–1475, and Hubble 5, are all destined to fade away after around 20,000 years. (Credit:...
This image shows the dusty galaxy NGC 4526, the galaxy that famously hosted a bright supernova back in 1994. It has a central dust disk in the middle of the galaxy, and the fact that it appears dusty on one...
However, while most of the dwarf galaxies we know of are found as satellites around larger, more massive galaxies, they aren’t good laboratories for helping us understand the Universe as it was long ago. Back during the first few billion...
The pair of interacting galaxies in the process of a merger, known as IC 1623, is imaged here by JWST. Data from a trio of JWST’s instruments, MIRI, NIRSpec, and NIRCam, were used in the construction of this image. This...
