Revised March 2026 The Steady State theory is an elegant alternative to the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe . It was very popular among astronomers in the 1950s, but is now obsolete. What is the Steady State Theory? The Big Bang theory states that the Universe originated from an incredibly hot… Continue reading The Steady State Theory
This post, which is the latest in my series on cosmology, is about the ultimate fate of the Universe, a subject which has engaged scientists, philosophers and religious leaders for centuries. There are many possible endings to the Universe, but the outline I will present here, which is sometimes called "The Big Freeze", is the most commonly held… Continue reading Ultimate Fate of the Universe.
As described in my previous post (The Future of the Sun), in about 5 billion years time the Sun will swell up to at least 100 times its current diameter and this will make the surface of the Earth far too hot to sustain life. What Sunrise might look like when the Sun is a red… Continue reading The Future of humanity
The Sun, central to our Solar System, generates energy through nuclear fusion, combining hydrogen into helium. Over billions of years, it will evolve into a red giant, ultimately shedding outer layers to form a planetary nebula and becoming a white dwarf. Life on Earth will become uninhabitable well before these changes occur.
This post continues the subject of dark energy, which, as discussed in my previous post is a mysterious form of energy which makes up about 68 per cent of the mass of the Universe and is the reason why the Universe is expanding at an ever-faster speed. This post will discuss how the percentage of dark energy changes over time… Continue reading Dark Energy Over Time
Explaining Science 