The universe is big – really big.* Galaxies, for instance, are often large enough to hold a trillion stars. But how did these heavenly heavyweights come to be? Hear how still-mysterious dark matter is implicated in the birth of galaxies.
Also, gamma ray bursts – explosions more energetic than anything since the Big Bang – take place somewhere in the visible universe every day. What are they, and could they obliterate life on Earth?
And, the biggest cosmic mystery de jour: dark energy. Why new, super-size telescopes may finally reveal just what it is.
We’re living large on “Big, Really Big.”
*appreciative nod to Douglas Adams
Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1: Geroge Djorgovsky on black holes.
Part 2: Sandra Faber on a career in cosmology.
Part 3: Daniel Perley on Gamma Ray Bursts.
Part 4: Ed Stone on telescopes.
Part 5: Richard Panek on dark energy and dark matter.