A: The short answer is gravity. This ‘force’, by virtue of the large masses of planets and stars, forces them into a spherical shape. Part of the answer is also geometry: a sphere is the most compact ...

One hypothesis about the shape of the universe is that the universe is in the space of Euclidean geometry and flat. In Euclidean geometry, it is assumed that straight lines extend everywhere, planes ...

Henry Segerman and Saul Schleimer paint beautiful shadows based on the maths of stereographic projection, a method originally used by cartographers to map the Earth Like a Halloween pumpkin, the ...

Our universe appears flat—but this observation still leaves plenty of options for its true shape. In fact, our cosmos could resemble a donut What shape is the universe? This question is far more ...