by Katie Mack
cosmic microwave background for study of, 27, 29–31
cosmic timeline for, 42 (fig.)
cosmological principle in, 17–18
cosmology’s insight into the workings of the universe, 8
cyclic. See cyclic universes
dark energy and equation of state parameter for, 109
disagreements over age calculations for, 71–72
expansion of. See cosmic expansion
flat, 75, 76 (fig.)
imbalance between matter and antimatter in, 162
large-scale curvature of, 75, 76 (fig.)
light-year unit for observation of events and distance in, 16–17
new scientific findings and new perspectives on, 7–8
“now” concept when viewing events in, 18–19
open, 75, 76 (fig.)
possibilities of planets with other beings in, 50
possible types of, based on shape, 75, 76 (fig.)
redshift measurements for earlier epochs of, 59
result of ongoing expansion of, 53–54
seeking meaning of end of, 2–5
singularity at beginning of, 32–35, 40n, 66
supernovae explosions as mile-markers for measuring, 73–74, 75, 79, 81, 84, 118–19
vacuum bubble, 154
vacuum decay, 129, 141–54, 207 black holes and, 150–53
bubble of true vacuum in, 144–45, 146 (fig.)
false vacuum and, 143–44
high-energy event and, 147–48
particle colliders and possibility of, 133
potential and, 141–42
potential barrier and, 147
quantum tunneling and, 148–50
Standard Model of particle physics and, 155
theoretical possibilities of occurrence of 146–47
timing of, 145–46, 153–54
vacuum state, 140, 142, 143 (fig.), 145
Venus, red giant phase of the Sun and destruction of, 1, 121
Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO), 186–87, 188, 189
Virgo cluster, and Big Rip, 113
virtual particles, 80, 94–95
Vonnegut, Kurt, 131n
VRO. See Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Wagner, Walter, 129
Wharton, Ken, 166
White, Lori Ann, 166
white dwarf stars Chandrasekhar Limit and, 124
distance measurement using, 124–26
electron degeneracy pressure and collapse of, 122–23
growth and explosion of, 73. See also Type Ia supernovae
Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), 187
Wilkinson, David, 23, 27
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite, 179
Wilson, Robert, 23–24, 27
Withers, Benjamin, 150
Zwicky, Fritz, 67
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Diagrams by Nick James
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