Govert Schilling

Govert Schilling is an astronomy author and a science journalist. The asteroid 10986 Govert is named after him.

Recent articles by Govert Schilling

Biggest questions yet to be answered by science. Credit: Mikroman6 / Getty

The biggest questions about the Universe yet to be answered by science

What was there before the Big Bang? Credit: Mark Garlick/ Science Photo Library / Getty

What was there before the Big Bang?

A section of Planck’s snapshot of the primordial radiation that still pervades the cosmos today. Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

How astronomers can observe the afterglow of the Big Bang

A James Webb Space Telescope image of Uranus, captured on 6 February 2023. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

James Webb Space Telescope See the latest images

A small portion of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is pictured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Nota, G. De Marchi

If the Universe is infinite, has it always been infinite?

An illustration conceptualising the edge of the observable Universe. Credit: Mark Garlic / Science Photo Library / Getty Images

Does the Universe have an edge?

An illustration conceptualising the edge of the observable Universe. Credit: Mark Garlic / Science Photo Library / Getty Images

How can the size of Universe be bigger than its age?

Redshift, the change that light undergoes on its journey from distant galaxies, is a key tool for measuring the Universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington), R. Foley (University of California - Santa Cruz); Image processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America)

Why galaxies look redder the further away they are

Illustration of the expansion of the Universe

Does the Universe expand faster than light?

Artist's impression of NASA’s DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) LICIACube. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

NASA’s DART: The mission to crash into an asteroid

We can only see dark matter from its effect on stars and galaxies. Here, astronomers used the images of galaxies distorted by gravitational lensing to map out the dark matter, shown in blue. Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University)

7 scientists who pioneered our understanding of dark matter

mysteries universe cosmic question mark

9 of the biggest mysteries in the Universe

An artist's impression of the underground Einstein Telescope, which will detected gravitational waves. Credit: NIKHEF

How the Einstein Telescope will study gravitational waves

Harlow Shapely and Heber Curtis. Credit: Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library / iStock / Getty Images / Bettmann Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh

Astronomy History The Great Debate

What makes a planet habitable? Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Kornmesser

What makes a planet habitable?