Johns Hopkins University (JHU) continues to pad its space community résumé with their interactive map, “The map of the observable Universe”, that takes viewers on a 13.7-billion-year-old tour of the cosmos from the present to the moments after the Big Bang. While JHU is responsible for creating the site, additional contributions were made by NASA, the European Space Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Sloan Foundation.
The vacuum of space isn’t really a vacuum. A vacuum is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a space absolutely devoid of matter.” However, even empty space has some matter in it. This matter, in the form of dust and gas, tends to collect into what are called molecular clouds. Without anything interfering with them they continue to float as a cloud.
X-ray radiographs of the foam ball: (a) without the influence of a blast wave, for reference; (b) at t = 500 ns after the beginning of the main laser pulse. Credit: Bruno Albertazzi et al.
A simulation of convection within a star. Credit: E.H. Anders et al
How heat is transferred within a star. Credit: Wikipedia