Should “universe” be singular or plural? Maybe there is a multiverse and our universe is just one of its constituent parts. That subject is at the bleeding edge of cosmological physics and can’t be answered right now — may never be — but some prominent cosmologists think it might be true.
It is natural for us to wonder about what the stuff around us is. In fact, we should wonder about it. Continue reading
The beautiful banner photo on every page is from NASA. Here it is in all its glory.
Andromeda galaxy, NASA
It is the M31 galaxy, better known as Andromeda. NASA calls it “the galaxy next door”, as it is the Milky Way’s largest galactic neighbor, about 2.5 million light years away. It was taken not by the Hubble Space Telescope, but by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, an orbiting ultraviolet space telescope. Sadly, funding for the telescope, which should nevertheless remain in orbit for another 65 years, was cut off, as NASA considered other projects to be more important. In other words, for lack of money. It is hoped that CalTech will be able to find funds to continue using the telescope.1See Wikipedia.
