If you could see through the lens of a very powerful telescope, to an area of sky the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length, a new universe would be revealed to you. For in that tiny patch of seemingly empty sky, there are thousands of galaxies visible, albeit with many hours of light collection. Observing the most distant of these galaxies, at the edge of the universe, allows us to estimate the number of Galaxies present in the distant past, when the universe was very young. As our observations improve, and our ability to simulate the conditions of the...
Our entire universe, from the tiniest atoms, to the structure of our experiential world, to the most massive galaxy clusters and the cosmic web, is dependent on a set of single properties, where small changes to these fundamental numbers would lead to a state where none of it could exist. Understanding these fundamental numbers is the key to unlocking the deepest secrets of the universe and answering the biggest questions of our existence. One of these numbers is the tiny difference in the masses of the proton and neutron. If it varied even a little bit in either direction, we...
It’s difficult to determine the history of the Solar System. The planets have been in their current orbits for Billions of years, and any signs of prior activity or configuration has to come from leftover geologies of smaller, rocky worlds. It makes it especially difficult when the Billions of interloper asteroids and comets throughout history have to be accounted for, adding to the already complex task. But if there is one thing humanity has going for us it’s the ability to theorize, model, simulate, and test scenarios here on Earth. We can try new ideas and see if they match...
Astronomy is a science that is always associated with the sky, and rightly so. But since the beginning of modern science there have been discoveries made on Earth that teach us about the formation and evolution of the Universe. As telescopes become more powerful and allow us to look deeper into space, the technology to simulate outer-space conditions here on Earth has grown significantly. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a powerful tool called the Z machine generates quick high-energy pulses of electricity, which can be used to generate X-rays and Gamma rays to be used in experiments. Outside of astronomy, the...
You might think simulating the entire Universe is difficult, and it is, but not for the reasons you would think. The Physics is actually somewhat straightforward. We know the math behind star formation, Gravity, and fluid dynamics, and throwing in a few other effects is not too bad. The hard part is finding a computer powerful enough to do the calculations in a reasonable amount of time. Think about it. Imagine having a universe of 100 Billion ‘particles’ used for a simulation. Each particle has a starting point, and that it pretty easy to do. But then for every...
