Big Bang

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Bits of One Universe's First Stars Spotted

Remains of early star a 'Holy Grail' of astronomy

(Newser) - Astronomers believe they have spotted the remains of one of the universe's very first stars—a "missing link" between the Big Bang and today's universe. The gas cloud left behind when the star exploded more than 13 billion years ago was illuminated by light emitted from a quasar, the...

Collider Scientists Launch 'Mini Big Bang'

Experiment generates highest temperatures ever achieved

(Newser) - Scientists have used the Large Hadron Collider to smash together lead ions and create a "mini Big Bang" for the first time. The ions collided at close to the speed of light, creating temperatures a million times hotter than the heart of the sun. The "soup" of subatomic...

Hawking: Universe Didn't Need God to Begin

'Laws of physics are all that's necessary for creation'

(Newser) - The universe didn't need God to begin; it was quite capable of launching its existence on its own, thank you very much, says reknowned physicist Stephen Hawking. The universe began with the Big Bang, which simply followed the inevitable law of physics, the scientist writes. “Because there is a...

Space Telescope Captures Big Bang Radiation

Planck beams back microwave map of entire sky

(Newser) - The European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope has beamed back its first, much-anticipated image: a map of the entire sky, composed of microwave light. That bright line in the center of the image is our own Milky Way galaxy, and the lights surrounding it represent not stars but the...

Large Hadron Collider Gets Closer to Mini-Big Bang

Proton collision shatters record as scientists cheer

(Newser) - The world's largest atom smasher conducted its first experiments at conditions nearing those after the Big Bang today, breaking its own record for high-energy collisions with proton beams crashing into each other at three times more force than ever before. In a milestone for the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider's...

Hadron Collider Restarts Briefly

After 14 months of repairs, proton beams circulate

(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider roared to life today for the first time since September 2008. "The first tests of injecting subatomic particles" took just a fraction of a second, a CERN rep said, but the circulation of the proton beams confirmed that the repairs instituted 9 days after the...

Farthest-Ever Star Blast From Ancient Cosmos

Gamma ray burst took 13 billion years to reach Earth

(Newser) - Astronomers have detected a cosmic object more distant than any ever seen: a gamma ray burst about 13 billion light-years from Earth. The massive, luminous burst occurred about 600 million years after the Big Bang—that is, when the universe was 4% of its current age—and only lasted for...

'Big Wave' Theory Challenges 'Dark Energy'

(Newser) - The 'Big Wave,' a new explanation for the universe's mysterious accelerating expansion, is sending ripples through the world of astronomy. According to the theory, the Big Bang set off a wave, or waves, that rippled outward through space-time, making distant galaxies appear to expand away from us. Mathematicians came...

Hadron Collider Hits New Snags
 Hadron Collider Hits New Snags 
Jul 21, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

Hadron Collider Hits New Snags

CERN may run experiments through the winter to make up lost time

(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider has hit more delays, ZDNet reports, with experiments using the machine unlikely to restart until at least mid-November due to the discovery of two vacuum leaks. The agency overseeing the 17-mile atom-smasher buried under the French-Swiss border may take the unorthodox step of running its “...

Space Blob Stumps Scientists
 Space Blob Stumps Scientists
Apr 23, 2009 7:53 AM CDT

Space Blob Stumps Scientists

Cosmic blob from the dawn of time confounds theories on early universe

(Newser) - A gigantic blob at the edge of the universe is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on how galaxies form, reports the BBC. The radiation-emitting object 12.9 billion light years away is one of the most distant—and consequently oldest—things ever seen by astronomers, and is much bigger...

Massive Gamma Blast Spotted
 Massive Gamma Blast Spotted 
Feb 20, 2009 1:15 PM CST

Massive Gamma Blast Spotted

Explosion had force of 9,000 supernovas

(Newser) - The strongest-ever gamma ray blast—a burst more powerful than 9,000 exploding stars—has been detected 12.2 billion light years away in deep space, reports the Telegraph. The blast took place in September in the constellation Carina, and produced energy up to 5 billion times that of light....

Glitch Stalls Atom Smasher
 Glitch Stalls Atom Smasher 
Sep 19, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

Glitch Stalls Atom Smasher

(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider, the $5-billion, 17-mile experiment seeking answers to the universe’s deepest mysteries, hit a snag within hours of its Sept. 10 launch, but its overseer did not report the malfunction for a week, the Daily Telegraph reports. A 30-ton transformer in the cooling system broke, causing...

Supercollider 'Beautiful' So Far, Scientists Say

Data already streaming forth from effort to find answers to Big Bang questions

(Newser) - Scientists working with the massive atom-smasher buried under the French-Swiss border have already “seen some beautiful tracks coming off” the beams of protons circling the 17-mile loop, Bloomberg reports. “Things can go wrong at any time, but luckily this morning everything went smoothly,” one scientist told National ...

Is Time Running Out on Time?
Is Time Running Out on Time?
Jan 1, 2008 5:39 PM CST

Is Time Running Out on Time?

Scientists speculate that the universe is winding down and could one day stop

(Newser) - Astronomers have been scratching their heads for years trying to figure out why exploding stars at the very edge of the universe seem to be moving faster than ones in the middle. Some theories say the acceleration is due to mysterious "dark energy,"but a new one posits...

King of Supernovas Sheds Light on Early Stars

(Newser) - Researchers are reporting the biggest stellar explosion ever recorded—a discovery which could shed light on how the universe was shaped. The star, 150 times more massive than the sun, went out with a bang 100 times more powerful than typical supernovas. Astronomers think the first stars after the Big...

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