Universe

Researchers have shown that abstract mathematical functions from the frontiers of theoretical physics have a real-world use in modeling gravitational waves

Astronomical amounts of energy could be extracted from black holes—to build a gigantic bomb, for example. Experts have now implemented this principle in the laboratory

Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes, and trying to define them is difficult

If dark energy is weakening, as suggested by recent results, then the cosmos is far stranger than most physicists had supposed

Amid harsh cuts, the Trump administration has proposed canceling the nearly ready-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

ORCs—odd radio circles—are one of the weirdest recent discoveries in the heavens above

After netting the world’s highest-paying science award, preeminent theoretical physicist Gerard ’t Hooft reflects on his legacy and the future of physics

The spins of some early galaxies could be a clue that the entire observable universe exists within a black hole—except, that is, for all the evidence to the contrary

A long-simmering disagreement over the universe’s present-day expansion rate shows no signs of resolution, leaving experts increasingly vexed

The final results from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope offer the sharpest, most sensitive view of the early cosmos that anyone has ever seen

In colorful photographs of galaxies, stars, planets, and more, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get

New simulations suggest that habitable worlds could have begun forming only 200 million years after the big bang