The most basic level of the study of matter and energy is called quantum physics. It tries to learn more about the characteristics and actions of nature’s fundamental building blocks. It also studies extremely microscopic objects to examine how matter behaves and what goes on inside of atoms. While many quantum studies … Read more
The fundamental background energy that permeates all of the space in the universe is known as vacuum energy. It is the zero-point energy that is related to the quantum vacuum and whose effects are believed to have an impact on the behavior of the universe on cosmological scales and have been empirically … Read more
Comets are celestial objects made of dust, ice, and other materials which orbit around the sun. However, they are different from planets because comets are just an object while planets are bodies that move around a particular star such as the sun and they are highly eccentric as well. Comets usually pass … Read more
Scientists have been trying to explore the universe and beyond for decades. With the advancement of technology came our ability to probe the fringes of the massive universe and discover many interesting components we may have never even heard of before. In the past three decades, we have found a wide variety … Read more
The universe is indeed home to a lot of mysteries that await to be uncovered. Only 5% of the universe is something we are aware of. An unknown world of new particles and forces lie within the remaining 95%, waiting to be discovered. The cosmos as we know it now has been … Read more
The “fourth state of matter,” following the well-known solid, liquid, and gas phases, is plasma. A plasma is a gas that has reached such a high temperature that some or all of its atoms have been divided into independent moving electrons and ions or both. Ions and/or electrons, which are charged particles, … Read more
In 2009, a team of Japanese researchers reported that a newly discovered primordial blob could be the most enormous object yet identified in the early universe. The gas cloud, which was discovered from a distance of 12.9 billion light-years, could indicate the early phases of galaxy formation when the universe was only … Read more
Dark matter is one of the Universe’s most mysterious and yet ubiquitous components. Humans, the Earth, the Sun, and everything that emits or absorbs light in space are all formed of ordinary matter, which includes protons, neutrons, and electrons. However, ordinary matter only accounts for one-sixth of the total mass in the … Read more
As early as 2003, astronomers have presented early evidence of “galactic cannibalism” or a cosmologic phenomenon where a larger galaxy eats one of its smaller neighbors which results in its growth. Recent observations point to the early instances of this merging and cannibalizing phenomenon in the Tucana II ultra-dwarf galaxy. This galactic … Read more
Ever heard of the fastest star in existence? Probably not. But they actually do exist. Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) have recently captured the interest of astronomers and enthusiasts alike for their varied applications and scientific findings. A hypervelocity star is a star that is ejected from the center of a galaxy at an … Read more