Science Dictionary

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.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

When a star dies, it becomes a black hole. Once something passes through the it's gone for good, never to be seen or heard from again. If we lived next to a black hole, would it suck us in too?

By Marshall Brain

For decades, stargazing scientists have been facing their own darkness on the edge of town as they try to explain one of astronomy's greatest mysteries: dark matter. Have they been successful, or will the universe carry its secrets for a long time?

By William Harris & Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

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.

By Jacob Silverman

Scientists announced the discovery of the largest known planet in the universe. TrES-4 has a density similar to balsa wood, and some say this gas giant could float on water. Learn why this planet is so puzzling and how planet hunters make amazing discoveries like these.

By Jacob Silverman

The Freemasons is a secret organization that began in the 1700s and is still in existence today. Who are the Freemasons? And what do they do in their secret meetings?

By Stephanie Watson

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?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

How do scientists find details about the early days of our solar system? One way is to investigate comets. Find out how the Deep Impact spacecraft fired an impactor into Comet Tempel 1 to get some answers.

By Carolyn Snare

Every November, the Leonid meteor shower fills the sky with "shooting stars." This year, the shower is expected to peak twice. Learn how Leonid and other meteor showers work.

By Marshall Brain

Polymer crystals are amazing in that they can absorb many times their size. In fact, one pound of these crystal flakes can hold up to 50 gallons of water. Find out what these polymer crystals are and why they are able to absorb so much water.

Eros is 21 miles long and 8 miles thick -- a mini planet! Explore the mission that landed on this asteroid after orbiting it for a year!

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

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.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Have you ever really thought about the scale of the universe? A good starting point is the teaspoon.

If you took all of the matter in the universe and you pushed it all into one corner, how much space would it take up? I am trying to understand how much of the universe is 'empty.'

My fiancee gave me a 1 carat diamond in my engagement ring. What is a carat? And how does it relate to a karat, as in "18 karat gold"?

A light-year is a way of measuring distance, which doesn't make much sense because "light-year" contains the word "year," which is normally a unit of time. So, how does a light-year measure distance?

By Valerie Stimac

When satellites go off to places like Jupiter or Saturn (or even out of the solar system), they follow crazy orbits. They will often loop around a planet to get a "gravity assist" or "gravity boost." How does that work? I know the Galileo probe looped around Earth twice to get a boost, and the Pioneer and Voyager probes used Jupiter.