Cosmology

In a year filled with sweet new observations in astronomy and tantalizing breakthroughs in condensed matter physics, the brand-new space telescope takes the cake.

By using fluids to model inaccessible realms of the cosmos, Silke Weinfurtner is “looking for a deeper truth beyond one system.” But what can such experiments teach us?

Two new studies suggest that certain tetrahedral arrangements of galaxies outnumber their mirror images, potentially reflecting details of the universe’s birth. But confirmation is needed.

Two physicists have calculated that the universe has a higher entropy — and is therefore more likely — than alternative possible universes.

The past and the future are tightly linked in conventional quantum mechanics. Perhaps too tightly. A tweak to the theory could let quantum possibilities increase as space expands.

The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of the vacuum.

The noted mathematician and author Steven Strogatz explains how the conversations with experts in his new Quanta Magazine podcast address his lifelong fascination with timeless mysteries.

Physicists are reexamining a longstanding assumption: that big stuff consists of smaller stuff.

When astronomers tried to confirm a signal from the birth of the first stars after the Big Bang, they saw nothing.