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Amazing Discoveries (21st century)

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  What are the greatest astronomy discoveries that occurred in your lifetime? There’s a vivid memory I have, of sitting around Patrick Moore’s dining room table and discussing the idea for what later became  BBC Sky at Night Magazine . One of the people present – who shall remain nameless – wondered if there would be enough material to fill its pages month after month. _________________________________________________________________ Gaia mapping the Milky Way! Astronomy has its roots in mapping the night sky, and the latest and greatest map has been provided by ESA’s  Gaia spacecraft . Gaia launched in 2013 and since then it has painstakingly recorded the position and movements of the nearest billion or so stars, allowing researchers to trace the  Milky Way ’s history like never before. _________________________________________________________________ The explosion of exoplanet exploration A slow-burning scientific revolution has been underway throughout the past fe...
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Big Mysteries of the Universe

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In the last decade, we’ve taken photos of a black holes, peered into the heart of atoms and looked back at the birth of the Universe. And yet, there are yawning gaps in our understanding of the Universe and the laws that govern it. These are the mysteries that will be troubling physicists and astronomers over the next decade and beyond. _________________________________________________________________ Why is there something rather than nothing? In the beginning, according to the standard picture of cosmology, was the ‘inflationary vacuum’. It had a super-high energy density and repulsive gravity, causing it to expand. The more of it there was, the greater the repulsion and the faster it expanded.  In common with all things ‘quantum’, this vacuum was unpredictable. At random locations, it decayed into ordinary, everyday vacuum. The tremendous energy of the inflationary vacuum had to go somewhere. And it went into creating matter and heating it to a blisteringly high-temperature – in...
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Exploring the Universe: A Journey Through Space

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Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered what’s out there? The universe is a huge, mysterious place that has amazed people for thousands of years. From galaxies far, far away to strange black holes and the possibility of alien life, there's so much to learn about space. Let’s take a look at some cool facts about the universe that will blow your mind! _________________________________________________________________ 01.- The Big Bang: How It All Started The universe started about 13.8 billion years ago with a massive explosion called the Big Bang . Before that, everything—space, time, and matter—was squeezed into one tiny point. Then, BOOM! Everything expanded super fast and the universe was born. Scientists have found leftover heat from the Big Bang, and it's still floating around space today. How cool is that? _________________________________________________________________ 02.- The Universe is Still Growing Not only is the universe huge, but it’s still expanding ! ...
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