As our Heat Week coverage continues, today’s newsletter looks at how hot the world can actually get, scientifically speaking. You can also read and share the full story on Bloomberg.com., To determine the lower limit, astronomers have tried to “weigh” all the matter within the reach of modern instruments of observation — stars, galaxies, intergalactic gas clouds., Our galaxy weighs in at around 10^42 kilograms and the entire visible universe reaches something like 10^53. You can try to convert those figures to something a little more familiar, such, In a new study, astronomers made a precise measurement of the mass of a nearby "white dwarf," a star that has reached the end of its life cycle. But how, exactly, can that be done? How do, In this article, we will explore the various methods scientists use to determine the mass (weight) of a planet, including the use of orbital mechanics, gravitational redshifts, and stellar perturbations., .