galaxy cluster
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Cosmology Demystified
That has got to be the single strangest post title I’ve ever written. Of all the whacky branches of science out there, cosmology almost takes the cake — second only, I think, to the downright trippy world of quantum mechanics.…
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Globular Clusters: The Untold Story
Meet Messier 13: my sentimental favorite globular cluster. For more than a decade now, one of my favorite things has been to set up my telescopes at astronomy outreach events and show people the night sky. I have two telescopes…
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Dark Matter: What We Know
I considered titling this post “Dark Matter Demystified” and including it in my “Cosmos Demystified” series…but honestly, there are some promises I can’t make! Dark matter is one of the most mysterious concepts in cosmology, second only to the even…
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The Proof in the Afterglow
In 1915, Einstein published his theory of general relativity. This theory predicts that, since gravity works by bending space-time, it also determines the shape of space — and the shape of the universe as a whole. In 1929, Edwin Hubble…
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Why do Galaxies Exist?
When we look out into the sky, we see a universe filled with galaxies. Galaxies are the second-largest “structure” we’ve covered in depth on this blog. The largest so far have been galaxy clusters, which are just what the name…
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A Full Story of Galactic Evolution
Over the course of the last few posts, we’ve explored different types of active galactic nuclei: Seyfert galaxies, double-lobed radio sources, and quasars. At the heart of each of these galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, feeding off an energy…
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Galaxies Demystified
From the smallest of irregular and dwarf galaxies, to the most spectacular of spirals, to the most massive of ellipticals, there’s no denying that galaxies are incredible objects. On this blog, we’ve covered a great deal of information about galaxies.…
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How Galaxies Evolve
Ever since astronomers realized that the mysterious, fuzzy objects known as “spiral nebulae” were, in fact, separate galaxies beyond our own, we’ve sought to understand the stories of galaxies. We’ve since discovered that most galaxies are found in galaxy clusters.…
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Exploring Galaxy Clusters
What if we were to travel beyond our own Milky Way Galaxy, and foray out into the galactic wilderness of deep space? What do you think we’d expect to find? Would we find galaxies spread out apart from one another,…
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Is Dark Matter Real?
Here we are, people — it’s finally time to talk about dark matter! I’ve teased this subject in my last few posts. We’ve discussed how the idea originated — with observations of the rotation of galaxies. We’ve touched on the…
