Universe

The history of the universe is outlined in this infographic. Credit: NASADark energy’s role in propelling the universe’s accelerated expansion presents a pivotal challenge in astrophysics, driving ongoing research and space missions dedicated to uncovering the nature of this mysterious force.Some 13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a rapid expansion we call the Big Bang. After this initial expansion, which lasted a fraction of a second, gravity started to slow the universe down. But the cosmos wouldn’t stay…

Pondering the scale of the cosmos can feel as if you’re peering over the edge of the brink; it can be daunting enough to make you want to flee to the comforts of working, commuting, and other quotidian endeavors. But in Waves in an Impossible Sea: How Everyday Life Emerges From the Cosmic Ocean, theoretical physicist and science communicator Matt Strassler doesn’t flinch in the face of the universe.What Should Fans Take Away from Imaginary?Published this week, Strassler’s book expands on the ideas he’s explored for years…

When a galaxy runs out of gas and dust, the process of star birth stops. That takes billions of years.But, there's a galaxy out there that was already dead when the Universe was only 700 million years old. What happened to it?That's what an international team of astronomers wants to know."The first few hundred million years of the Universe was a very active phase, with lots of gas clouds collapsing to form new stars," said Tobias Looser from the Kavli Institute for Cosmology at the University of Cambridge."Galaxies need…

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is currently the toast of Tinseltown, a big-budget sci-fi adventure directed by a Hollywood A-lister and critical darling that has taken the box office by storm and left fans wanting more and more and more. It made more than $180m worldwide in its first weekend alone and inevitably, sequels beckon. Why shouldn’t they, given that Frank Herbert wrote five sequels to his original 1965 tome and Villeneuve has spent the best part of five and a half hours just covering that first…

Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the entertainment giant will leverage its $1.5 billion deal with Epic Games to build a “Disney universe” akin to a metaverse where consumers can engage with Disney IP, including from Marvel, Pixar and “Star Wars.” Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Iger said the company did the deal last month because it was underrepresented in video games and that he was stunned to learn that Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids were spending…

Titanfall developer Respawn is working on a new game in the Titanfall universe, but it's not Titanfall 3, according to a new report.Jeff Grubb of GameSpot sister site Giant Bomb said Titanfall game director Steve Fukuda is leading a team working on a new game in that universe. "But everyone I talk to keeps saying, well it's not, don't get in your mind that it's Titanfall 3, like a game with online multiplayer and a single-player campaign," Grubb said, as reported by VGC.Grubb went on to say that this…

NASA’s UltraViolet EXplorer (UVEX), set for a 2030 launch, aims to enhance our understanding of the universe by conducting a sensitive all-sky survey in ultraviolet light. Credit: SciTechDaily.comNASA’s UVEX mission, launching in 2030, will conduct a groundbreaking ultraviolet light survey of the entire sky, offering new insights into galaxy evolution, stellar explosions, and cosmic events, enriching our multi-wavelength understanding of the universe.As NASA explores the unknown in air and space, a new mission to survey…

Welcome to the Beatles Cinematic Universe. Continuing the current wave of music biopics — which just saw its most recent box-office triumph with Bob Marley: One Love —  director Sam Mendes (Skyfall) has signed on to helm not one, but four separate Beatles biopics, all due in 2027. The movies, set to begin production next year, will each focus a single Beatle’s perspective, so John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and even Ringo Starr each get a turn in the spotlight. Trending…

Hideo Kojima is well known for making games with grand political statement hidden not so subtely within their dialogue and cinematics. As of today, players can also enjoy one of these long, drawn-out narrative stealth games within the comfortable confines of Minecraft textures and flavor text. Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater is, in my opinion, the greatest game in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It added a manual camouflage system and on the fly medical treatments consisting of bugs, twigs, and whatever else is lying…

With apologies to Joe Locke’s Wiccan in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and maybe even Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth as well, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is arguably the most significant superhero joining the MCU in 2024. Sorry, Wade Wilson, but Logan just has an even bigger impact on the Marvel universe than you. It’s not for nothing that Jackman basically carried Fox’s entire X-Men saga on his back for almost 20 years, with only Reynolds’ DP coming close to him. So naturally the union of these two icons in Deadpool &…