universe | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/universe/RSS feed for universeenSun, 30 Aug 2026 11:26:00 +0000NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches to Find Exoplanets and Unravel Mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launches-to-find-exoplanets-and-unravel-mysteries-of-dark-matter-and-dark-energy-180989268/The new observatory will complete three surveys of the universe in five years, although it's designed to function at least twice as long. Its data could change scientists' basic understanding of the cosmosSun, 30 Aug 2026 11:26:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launches-to-find-exoplanets-and-unravel-mysteries-of-dark-matter-and-dark-energy-180989268/Earth's Organisms Developed Via Evolution. Some Theorists Wonder: What if the Entire Cosmos Did, Too?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earths-organisms-developed-via-evolution-some-theorists-wonder-what-if-the-entire-cosmos-did-too-180989338/The idea that universes evolve like organisms sat on the fringes of theoretical physics for decades. Then, a Substack post and a 2022 find by the James Webb Space Telescope boosted the conceptTue, 18 Aug 2026 16:00:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earths-organisms-developed-via-evolution-some-theorists-wonder-what-if-the-entire-cosmos-did-too-180989338/In a First, Astronomers May Have Spotted a Galaxy in the Early Universe With Three Behemoth Black Holeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-may-have-spotted-a-galaxy-in-the-early-universe-with-three-behemoth-black-holes-180989344/The galaxy’s light took about 12.5 billion years to reach the James Webb Space Telescope, meaning the instrument saw the black holes a little more than one billion years after the Big Bang. Two of the black holes seemed on track to merge, illustrating how the objects growMon, 17 Aug 2026 19:13:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-may-have-spotted-a-galaxy-in-the-early-universe-with-three-behemoth-black-holes-180989344/Astronomers Peered at the Early Universe and May Have Discovered a New Kind of Celestial Object: Black Hole Starshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-peered-at-the-early-universe-and-may-have-discovered-a-new-kind-of-celestial-object-black-hole-stars-180989334/Since the James Webb Space Telescope started collecting data in 2022, it has found puzzling objects dubbed little red dots. A new study suggests they might be giant black holes with some characteristics of starsFri, 14 Aug 2026 15:47:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-peered-at-the-early-universe-and-may-have-discovered-a-new-kind-of-celestial-object-black-hole-stars-180989334/