The Physics of the Cosmos (PhysCOS) Program is one of three focused programs contained within NASA's Astrophysics Division (APD), together with Cosmic Origins (COR) and the Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP). PhysCOS lies at the intersection of physics and astronomy. Its purpose is to explore some of the most fundamental questions regarding the physical forces and laws of the universe: the validity of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and the nature of spacetime, the behavior of matter and energy in extreme environments, the cosmological parameters governing inflation and the evolution of the universe, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
Located at the Goddard Space Flight Center, the PhysCOS Program Office supports, tracks, and studies a suite of science missions and enabling technologies that focus on specific aspects of these topics. PhysCOS activities include:
A team of astronomers have studied 16 supermassive black holes that are firing powerful beams into space, to track where these beams, or jets, are pointing now and where they were aimed in the past. Scientists think that beams from black holes and the cavities they carve out play an important role in how many stars form in their galaxies. Read more »