Our universe is a place of unbelievable size and filled with amazing, powerful objects. Among the strangest of all are black holes. These are not really “holes” at all, but huge amounts of matter crushed into a tiny space. Their gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape once it gets too … Read more
Our Solar System is a place we think we know well. We have eight planets, countless asteroids, and a clear boundary past Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. For decades, school books have shown us a neat, orderly picture of our cosmic neighborhood. However, in the deepest, darkest edges of this neighborhood, something is causing trouble. … Read more
Galaxies are vast cosmic cities, home to billions or even trillions of stars. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a busy place, constantly building new stars from huge clouds of gas and dust. These star-forming regions are like giant nurseries, creating the next generation of suns. For a long time, this process of birth … Read more
Black holes are some of the most famous and mysterious things in all of space. We hear about them in movies and books. They are often shown as scary space drains that suck everything up. But what are they really? They are not empty holes. They are places with so much gravity, or pull, that … Read more