Articles on cosmology, astronomy and space exploration

Why the BICEP2 results are important to physicists, part 1

Has the hunt for primordial B-modes in the far corners of our universe finally given us a proper reason to celebrate?

Why the BICEP2 results are important to physicists, part 2

How physicists use BICEP2, a telescope in the remote South Pole, to study polarisation of CMBR; and how some believe it should be verified first.

How to fight asteroids

An asteroid has hit the Earth before and may hit it again with devastating consequences: figuring out how we can fight one is a very real problem physicists are trying to solve

LIGO detects gravitational waves

LIGO made the first direct detection of gravitational waves, but what is LIGO, what are gravitational waves and why does this matter?