Over time, this has led to our modern cosmos: full of atoms, stars, planets, galaxies, galaxy clusters, and a grand cosmic web. On some of those planets, life has arisen, with at least one instance…
We normally conceive of our Universe as having emerged from a preceding period of cosmic inflation, with our Big Bang occurring where one region of inflating space ceased inflating and transitioned to being dominated by matter and radiation. However, in other locations, inflation continues indefinitely, giving rise to other baby (or bubble) universes, potentially with very different properties and conditions from our own. (Credit: Kavli IMPU) Member-only story Ask Ethan: Does the multiverse explain our fundamental constants? There are some 26 fundamental constants in nature, and…