Learning path · Advanced
Exploring the Cosmos
Beyond the solar system: nebulae, galaxies, black holes, dark matter and the hunt for other worlds, and how spacecraft and telescopes let us see them.
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- 1
Space & the Universe
Space Exploration
In under seventy years, humans went from the first satellite to walking on the Moon, living in orbit and sending robots past Pluto. Here is how we reach space and what we have learned.
3 min read 4-question quiz
- 2
Space & the Universe
Nebulae
The glowing clouds of gas and dust between the stars are both nurseries and graveyards. Here is what they are made of and why they shine in such colours.
3 min read 4-question quiz
- 3
Space & the Universe
The Life of a Star
Stars are born in cold clouds, burn for millions or billions of years, and die as white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes. Their ashes made the Earth.
3 min read 4-question quiz
- 4
Space & the Universe
Black Holes
A black hole is a place where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. They are real, they are common, and in 2019 we finally photographed one.
3 min read 4-question quiz
- 5
Space & the Universe
Galaxies and the Milky Way
Our Sun is one of several hundred billion stars in a spiral galaxy, which is itself one of trillions. Here is the shape of our cosmic home and the neighbourhood around it.
4 min read 4-question quiz
- 6
Space & the Universe
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Everything we can see makes up only about 5 percent of the universe. The rest is two invisible things we have named but do not understand.
3 min read 4-question quiz
- 7
Space & the Universe
Exoplanets: Worlds Around Other Stars
Thirty years ago we knew of no planets beyond our solar system. Now we have found thousands, including some that may have oceans.
3 min read 4-question quiz
