Science Dictionary
Do you know what a meteor is, or what scientists mean when they are talking about cryogenics? Our collection of science terms explains the meaning of some of the most common scientific ideas.
10 Scientific Words You're Probably Using Wrong
Can You Nominate Yourself for a Nobel Prize?
How Do You Win a Nobel Prize?
How Freemasons Work
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Stephen Hawking?
Stephen Hawking Right Again?
10 Cool Things About Carl Sagan
How do polymer crystals work and why do they absorb so much water?
Is a Karat the Same as a Carat?
4 Quantum Physics Misconceptions, Busted
Chaos Is Not Randomness: A Complex Systems Scientist Explains
Learn More
Physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking was a fierce spirit who symbolized the foibles and complexities inherent in human nature. Learn more about him by taking our quiz.
A new experiment supports the famous theoretical physicist's idea of radiation being emitted by black holes.
The world often seems chaotic and events appear to occur randomly, but what's the difference between chaos and randomness?
Advertisement
So much about galaxies remains a mystery. We know what they're made of and that we live in one (the Milky Way), but we're not sure how they form and evolve.
Space collisions are the universe's car wrecks. Only in outer space, it's stars, asteroids and even galaxies doing the smashing.
By John Fuller
Some scientists believe that space is infinite. But is it? If it isn't, what form does space take? Is it a dodecahedron or a triple torus?
While routinely scanning the stars, NASA scientists came across something they didn't expect to see: a vast area of space empty of stars, planets and matter.
Advertisement
You've heard of the big bang, of course, but do you have any idea as to what was happening during that massive flurry of activity billions of years ago?
By Robert Lamb
So much of our cosmological history starts with the much-discussed Big Bang, but what led up to that cataclysmic moment? And did time even exist back then?
Comets are remarkable pieces of our universe's past, and they tell us a great deal about how the universe was formed. Learn about the long but rewarding process of discovering and analyzing comets.
A black hole occurs when a massive star dies -- its enormous mass implodes and becomes so heavy that it bends space. So how do astronomers detect something that they can't see?
Advertisement
Whether you invented a revolutionary pair of skivvies or a way to turn cow manure into vanilla flavoring, we have an award for you. The Ig Nobels are proving that science isn't all seriousness and superstring theory.
By Robert Lamb
We take much for granted about our universe, like it's getting bigger. What if the universe stopped expanding and started collapsing inward with a giant crunch?
The man immortalized on the left was behind the three laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation. He was also competitive, temperamental and fascinated with alchemy. How well do you know Newton?
Hewish, Antony (1924-) is a British astronomer and astrophysicist, a scientist who studies the physical nature, origin, and development of the solar system, galaxies, and the universe.
Advertisement
Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia Helena (1900-1979) was a British-born astronomer who became an authority on variable stars (stars that change in brightness) and the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Eudoxus of Cnidus (NY duhs or kuh NY duhs) (400 B.C.?-350 B.C.?) was a Greek astronomer who made important contributions to the field of geometry.
Al-Tusi, Nasir al-Din (1201-1274) was one of the greatest scholars of his time and one of the most influential figures in Islamic intellectual history.
Aberration of Light is a phenomenon in which a star or other celestial body, as viewed from the earth, appears to be slightly displaced from its true position.
Advertisement
Andromeda Galaxy, a spiral galaxy that is larger than the Milky Way (the galaxy to which Earth belongs) but similar to it in structure, and the closest to ours.
Transit, in astronomy, is the passage of one celestial body across the disc (face) of a larger, more distant body, or across the observer's meridian.
Azimuth, the horizontal direction of an object, measured clockwise in degrees, minutes, and seconds of arc from true north or south along the theoretical horizon.
Bolometer, an instrument used to measure infrared, or heat, radiation. The bolometer is essentially a very sensitive thermometer.
Advertisement
Chronometer, a timepiece that is exceptionally accurate. Traditionally, the term refers to the marine chronometer, a rugged mechanical instrument used at sea to keep time for navigational purposes.
Cosmogony, the study of the origin and development of the universe as a whole and of the individual bodies that compose it.