Ask Ethan: What super-galactic structures are we a part of?

Our address is planet Earth, orbiting the Sun, within the Solar System, embedded in the Milky Way, and part of the Local Group.

But where are we, truly, on even larger cosmic scales?
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/super-galactic-structures/

Einstein’s E = mc² is only half of the full equation

Pretty much everyone knows Einstein's most famous equation: E = mc².

But that's only half of the full equation for energy in the Universe.

What comes out of that is so much richer.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/einsteins-e-mc-squared-half-equation/

One stringy thought causes inflationary cosmologists to lose sleep

Most cosmologists who study our cosmic origins don't give string theory a second thought.

But some nagging clues all point in the same stringy direction.

Could string theory be right?
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/string-inflationary-cosmology/

Yes, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is older than the Solar System

When we first spotted 3I/ATLAS, its trajectory told us it might be older than the Solar System.

Today, three even stronger lines of evidence point to its ancient age.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/3i-atlas-older-solar-system/

Famous globular cluster Terzan 5: an imposter after all

One of the largest, most famous globular clusters in our Milky Way is Terzan 5.

Only, it might not be a true globular cluster after all.

In fact, many of them might be imposters.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/globular-cluster-terzan-5-imposter/

Ask Ethan: How do space telescopes stay focused?

Focusing a space telescope takes a lot more than just making a perfectly-shaped mirror and launching it.

Keeping it focused, especially with moving parts, takes a whole lot more

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/how-space-telescopes-focus/

The entire quantum Universe exists inside a single atom

If you looked deep enough inside even one single atom, you'd find the entire story of the Universe, including all the forces and particles, encoded inside of it

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/entire-quantum-universe-inside-single-atom/

Rarest elements reveal planets eaten by white dwarfs

The lightest and rarest of the heavy elements, beryllium and boron, have now been found on a white dwarf.

Is it evidence of a recently devoured planet, or perhaps something better?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/elements-planets-white-dwarfs/

The most overlooked fact about JWST's Little Red Dots

We've identified a lot of factors that help explain JWST's mysterious Little Red Dots, but big questions still remain.

Could a suppression of low-mass stars be the next big clue?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/overlooked-fact-jwst-little-red-dots/