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What is a white hole? — Darwin, 11, British Columbia, Canada and Rubal, 9, Australia

March 12, 2026 melissamayer

Dear Darwin and Rubal,

Before I read your question, I had never heard of a white hole.

So, I scampered over to my friend Vivienne Baldassare to find out more. She’s an astrophysicist at Washington State University.

She told me that, so far, white holes are just an idea. It’s what happens if you take math about black holes and work it backwards.

“White holes are really the mathematical inverse of a black hole,” Baldassare said. “But we have no reason to think they exist right now.”

A black hole is an area in space that has gobs of gravity.

We’re familiar … » More …

Where does the universe end? - Oriah, 8, Pullman

February 21, 2020 jaime.chambers

Dear Oriah,

When you look up at the night sky, it can feel like the universe is a big blanket of stars above you. But unlike a blanket, the universe doesn’t have corners and edges. Far beyond what humans can see, the universe keeps going. As far as humans know, it never stops.

When I saw your question, I went straight to my friend Michael Allen to learn more. He is a Senior Instructor of Physics and Astronomy at Washington State University.

The universe is bigger than the biggest thing you’ve ever seen. It’s bigger than the biggest thing this cat can imagine. It’s so big that even your question has more than one very big answer.