The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

Is the Observable Universe a Massive Computer Simulation? - A Galaxy Classic

Philosophy is a vital study for the human race - from the ancient Greeks to the modern day, some of the finest thinkers have examined the human condition and produced valuable insights and conclusions on what it means "to be."  Unfortunately much of the other work in the field is dubious, including a recent paper which argues that we're all living in a vast computer simulation.  Yes, it WAS written after the first Matrix film but before the sequels.  Funny that.

The Dark Attractor: What's Pulling the Milky Way Towards It at 14-Million MPH?

Astronomers have known for years that something unknown apears to be pulling our Milky Way and tens of thousands of other galaxies toward itself at a breakneck 22 million kilometers (14 million miles) per hour. But they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, or where it is.

Was an Earlier Universe Destroyed by Dark Matter? A Galaxy Classic (VIDEO)

Did dark matter destroy the universe?  You might be looking around at the way things "exist" and thinking "No", but we're talking about ancient history.  Three hundred million years after the start of the universe, things had finally cooled down enough to form hydrogen atoms out of all the protons and electrons that were zipping around - only to have them all ripped up again around the one billion year mark.  Why?

What's Left in the Cosmic Fuel Tank? Hundred Thousand Million Billion Trillion Quadrillion Quintillion Sextillion Septillion J/K

Everyone knows that everything ends, with the possible exception of Madonna's career, but only scientists can take omniversal extinction and put it into equation.  Some scientists have summed up everything that ever was, is, or will be, and put a number on how much can be done before "Heat Death" stops being an awesome name for a band and starts an eternal reality.

Is the Universe a Vast Computer Simulation? - A Galaxy Classic

Philosophy is a vital study for the human race - from the ancient Greeks to the modern day, some of the finest thinkers have examined the human condition and produced valuable insights and conclusions on what it means "to be."  Unfortunately much of the other work in the field is dubious, including a recent paper which argues that we're all living in a vast computer simulation.  Yes, it WAS written after the first Matrix film but before the sequels.  Funny that.

Was Universe 1.0 Destroyed by Dark Matter?

Did dark matter destroy the universe?  You might be looking around at the way things "exist" and thinking "No", but we're talking about ancient history.  Three hundred million years after the start of the universe, things had finally cooled down enough to form hydrogen atoms out of all the protons and electrons that were zipping around - only to have them all ripped up again around the one billion year mark.  Why?

"The Great Filter": Science Fact or Fiction? -A Galaxy Classic

The Great Filter is the idea that there is some single, almost insurmountably improbable barrier on the path to the stars that explains why we've never seen any sign of alien life.  It combines aspects of astronomy, biology and history to arrive at one inescapable conclusion: university professors dream of book deals.

Robin Hanson of George Mason University posits a "Great Filter" that prevents the rise of intelligent, self-aware, technologically advanced, space-colonizing civilizations. The "filter" would be one or more improbable steps along the path that starts with the creation of a planet and ends with a race capable of colonizing the galaxy.

Will Einstein's Laws Apply Beyond Our Universe? A World-Leading Expert Says "No"

Chris Knight, the finest fictional physicist of our time, once said "All science.  No Philosophy.  Wrong."  It's true that an understanding of existence outside of equations is vital for scientists, both in terms of enjoying life and avoiding things like Agent Orange, but beware careless combination of the two.  A science/philosophy mixture can lead to metaphysical claims that the laws of physics are nothing but local zoning ordinances, as demonstrated by Lee Smolin.

Smolin is author of "the fecund universes theory" of cosmology which suggests that the rules of biology apply on the grandest scales, and is often referred to as "cosmological natural selection". Smolin summarized the idea in his book, The Life of the Cosmos.

It's a 'Flat' World, & Now a Flat Universe? -New Research Says "Yes"

The awesome WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) has been scanning the universe to see if space itself is curved, and various other cosmological queries that make Star Trek sound like My First Chewable ABC Book.  A new study aims to cast doubt over the conclusions, and while may only highlight indicate its own shortcomings one thing is for sure - scientists get to argue over far cooler stuff than anyone else.

Did Light Travel Faster in the Early Universe? A New Theory Says, "Yes" -A Galaxy Classic

A brilliant young physicist João Magueijo  asks the heretical question: What if the speed of light—now accepted as one of the unchanging foundations of modern physics—were not constant?

Magueijo, a 40-year old native of Portugal, puts forth the heretical idea that in the very early days of the universe light traveled faster—an idea that if proven could dethrone Einstein and forever change our understanding of the universe. He is a pioneer of the varying speed of light (VSL) theory of cosmology -an alternative to the more mainstream theory of cosmic inflation- which proposes that the speed of light in the early universe was of 60 orders of magnitude faster than its present value.

Is the Observable Universe a Massive Computer Simulation? - A Galaxy Classic

Philosophy is a vital study for the human race - from the ancient Greeks to the modern day, some of the finest thinkers have examined the human condition and produced valuable insights and conclusions on what it means "to be."  Unfortunately much of the other work in the field is dubious, including a recent paper which argues that we're all living in a vast computer simulation.  Yes, it WAS written after the first Matrix film but before the sequels.  Funny that.

The Dark Attractor: What's Pulling the Milky Way Towards It at 14-Million MPH?

Astronomers have known for years that something unknown apears to be pulling our Milky Way and tens of thousands of other galaxies toward itself at a breakneck 22 million kilometers (14 million miles) per hour. But they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, or where it is.

Was an Earlier Universe Destroyed by Dark Matter? A Galaxy Classic (VIDEO)

Did dark matter destroy the universe?  You might be looking around at the way things "exist" and thinking "No", but we're talking about ancient history.  Three hundred million years after the start of the universe, things had finally cooled down enough to form hydrogen atoms out of all the protons and electrons that were zipping around - only to have them all ripped up again around the one billion year mark.  Why?

What's Left in the Cosmic Fuel Tank? Hundred Thousand Million Billion Trillion Quadrillion Quintillion Sextillion Septillion J/K

Everyone knows that everything ends, with the possible exception of Madonna's career, but only scientists can take omniversal extinction and put it into equation.  Some scientists have summed up everything that ever was, is, or will be, and put a number on how much can be done before "Heat Death" stops being an awesome name for a band and starts an eternal reality.

Is the Universe a Vast Computer Simulation? - A Galaxy Classic

Philosophy is a vital study for the human race - from the ancient Greeks to the modern day, some of the finest thinkers have examined the human condition and produced valuable insights and conclusions on what it means "to be."  Unfortunately much of the other work in the field is dubious, including a recent paper which argues that we're all living in a vast computer simulation.  Yes, it WAS written after the first Matrix film but before the sequels.  Funny that.

Was Universe 1.0 Destroyed by Dark Matter?

Did dark matter destroy the universe?  You might be looking around at the way things "exist" and thinking "No", but we're talking about ancient history.  Three hundred million years after the start of the universe, things had finally cooled down enough to form hydrogen atoms out of all the protons and electrons that were zipping around - only to have them all ripped up again around the one billion year mark.  Why?

"The Great Filter": Science Fact or Fiction? -A Galaxy Classic

The Great Filter is the idea that there is some single, almost insurmountably improbable barrier on the path to the stars that explains why we've never seen any sign of alien life.  It combines aspects of astronomy, biology and history to arrive at one inescapable conclusion: university professors dream of book deals.

Robin Hanson of George Mason University posits a "Great Filter" that prevents the rise of intelligent, self-aware, technologically advanced, space-colonizing civilizations. The "filter" would be one or more improbable steps along the path that starts with the creation of a planet and ends with a race capable of colonizing the galaxy.

Will Einstein's Laws Apply Beyond Our Universe? A World-Leading Expert Says "No"

Chris Knight, the finest fictional physicist of our time, once said "All science.  No Philosophy.  Wrong."  It's true that an understanding of existence outside of equations is vital for scientists, both in terms of enjoying life and avoiding things like Agent Orange, but beware careless combination of the two.  A science/philosophy mixture can lead to metaphysical claims that the laws of physics are nothing but local zoning ordinances, as demonstrated by Lee Smolin.

Smolin is author of "the fecund universes theory" of cosmology which suggests that the rules of biology apply on the grandest scales, and is often referred to as "cosmological natural selection". Smolin summarized the idea in his book, The Life of the Cosmos.

It's a 'Flat' World, & Now a Flat Universe? -New Research Says "Yes"

The awesome WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) has been scanning the universe to see if space itself is curved, and various other cosmological queries that make Star Trek sound like My First Chewable ABC Book.  A new study aims to cast doubt over the conclusions, and while may only highlight indicate its own shortcomings one thing is for sure - scientists get to argue over far cooler stuff than anyone else.

Did Light Travel Faster in the Early Universe? A New Theory Says, "Yes" -A Galaxy Classic

A brilliant young physicist João Magueijo  asks the heretical question: What if the speed of light—now accepted as one of the unchanging foundations of modern physics—were not constant?

Magueijo, a 40-year old native of Portugal, puts forth the heretical idea that in the very early days of the universe light traveled faster—an idea that if proven could dethrone Einstein and forever change our understanding of the universe. He is a pioneer of the varying speed of light (VSL) theory of cosmology -an alternative to the more mainstream theory of cosmic inflation- which proposes that the speed of light in the early universe was of 60 orders of magnitude faster than its present value.