Alien first-contact stories are a classic of science fiction, and they’re all the more fascinating because they can feel like ...

The universe is simply huge, containing billions of stars, planets, and galaxies. When children get to know the enormity of space, a question that comes to mind is, if the universe is so big, why have ...

In last week’s The Universe column, I fielded a reader’s question about galaxy collisions in an expanding universe. The answer deals with vast distances, inscrutable forces and the ultimate fate of ...