observable universe

An artistic image of what happens when a monstrous black hole collides with — and gulps down — a neutron star the size of a large city.

Science

When A City-Size Star Becomes A Black Hole's Lunch, The Universe Roils

4:50pm June 29, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

It's a smackdown of one space monster by another: Scientists have made unprecedented observations of two black holes gobbling two neutron stars — among the weirdest space collisions ever detected.

This view of a stellar nursery taken by the Very Large Telescope on May 23, 2013, also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula.

Science

The Answer To Life, The Universe — And Everything? It's 63

8:57am November 12, 2017

by Caleb Scharf

Over time, the expansion of the cosmos and the passage of light has unlocked 63 orders of magnitude to us, each one a new opportunity for novelty and complexity, says guest blogger Caleb Scharf.