Ethan Siegel
A theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, host of popular podcast "Starts with a Bang!"
Ethan Siegel is a Ph.D. astrophysicist and author of "Starts with a Bang!" He is a science communicator, who professes physics and astronomy at various colleges. He has won numerous awards for science writing since 2008 for his blog, including the award for best science blog by the Institute of Physics. His two books "Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive" and "Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe" are available for purchase at Amazon. Follow him on Twitter @startswithabang.
The farther north you are, the harder this wonder is to see. But oh, the rewarding sights for those who find it! Image credit: Emi; Ivamov, via http://www.emilivanov.com/CCD%20Images/M06_LRGB.htm. “Happiness is […]
A sign that warns you about bumping your head… on the sign itself! Image credit: Matt Groening, the Simpsons, Season 1. “I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. […]
With all the matter-and-energy so close together and so dense at the moment of the Big Bang, why didn’t it recollapse? Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / University of Warwick. […]
There have been many supernovae in the Milky Way seen over the past 2,000 years, but nobody ever saw the most recent ones! Image credit: NASA/CXC/NCSU/K.Borkowski et al. “When I […]
Where all the structure in the cosmos came from, and we aren’t forming new ones anymore. Image credit: Andreas Berlind, via http://astro.phy.vanderbilt.edu/~berlinaa/work_research.html. “To be loyal to myself is to allow […]
Is there a limit to how small a length can be? Image credit: Sabine Hossenfelder. Good ideas start with a question. Great ideas start with a question that comes back […]
Nearly 250 years since its discovery, this dense, brilliant core was found to have our Milky Way’s first globular-based black hole! Image credit: Paulino Maldonado, via http://observatorioelojodeowi.blogspot.com/2011/05/subo-algunas-fotografias-de-espacio.html. “And then you […]
You’ve got to see what happens when this man realizes he’s talking to the living legend herself. Image credit: GayCalgary Magazine, via http://www.gaycalgary.com/Magazine.aspx?id=109&article=3182. “I’m just thankful that I’m still here. […]
We don’t know the nature of either dark matter or dark energy: 95% of our Universe. Does that mean the Big Bang is in doubt? Image credit: wiseGEEK, © 2003 — 2014 […]
Look up after sunset for the most reliable meteor shower of the year: the Perseids, and learn where they come from! Image credit: Michael Menefee (Fort Photo on flickr), via […]
Did you hear about the EmDrive, the “impossible space engine?” Here are the red flags you should have looked for! Image credit: © 2012 — Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. “You can’t […]
How a scientist you never heard of made String Theory possible. Image credit: Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, at http://aether.lbl.gov/bccp/dimensions.html. When he died on September 7, 2012, theoretical physicist Claud […]
This star cloud is the only one of its kind: the densest large concentration of stars in the entire sky! Image credit: Dan Bush of Missouri Skies, via http://www.pbase.com/image/115380497. “It […]
How one Polish cartoonist uses his medium and the power of satire to raise awareness of injustice in the world. Image credit: Useful by Pawel Kuczynski; http://www.pictorem.com/Useful. “Everybody wants peace. […]
From atoms to solar systems to galaxies, everything seems to have rotation and revolution. Where does that come from? Image credit: Fermilab / DOE / Dark Energy camera; Dark Energy […]
More science, more stories, and more spectacular scientists are coming to Starts With A Bang! Image credit: BBC, The Story of Science. “Men at some time are masters of their […]
The incredible story of a single simple atom, that just happens to be in your body right now! Image credit: Richard Crisp, via http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/incoming/horse_ap155edf_pl39k_lrgb_15hrs.jpg. “The atoms come into my brain, […]
If spinning-and-moving charges make magnetic fields, why does a giant neutral thing have one? Image credit: NASA, Chandra X-ray Observatory, SAO, DSS, via http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140725.html. “By allowing the positive ions to […]
The incredible story of the record-breaking red planet’s rover. “In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.”–John Archibald Wheeler Sometimes, things get difficult. Sometimes, there are challenges […]
It’s the last Virgo Cluster member in the entire Messier catalogue, but they saved the best for last! Image credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), via http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0608a/. “From a little spark […]
Piss off George Lucas and shoot your eye out with a real-life light saber! “General Kenobi. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you […]
And if not, how do you reason with those who believe they are? “Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that […]
And what they mean for humans here on Earth. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” –Alexander […]
If spiral galaxies have a preferred direction, it just might be. “Since the beginning of physics, symmetry considerations have provided us with an extremely powerful and useful tool in our […]
From asteroids to planets to stars and more, doubling what you’ve got can be disastrous! “Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like science has a double […]
The Virgo Cluster of galaxies is the richest nearby treasure trove of ellipticals; this is the final one Messier ever found. “We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, […]
Mike Denison’s artistic tribute to the small-screen legend is just delightful! “I’m not playing a role. I’m being myself, whatever the hell that is.” -Bea Arthur When it first came […]
The observer changes everything, but what does that mean? “You can observe a lot by just watching.” –Yogi Berra In our everyday lives, things happen the way they happen, and whether […]
As the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11 approaches, take time to remember the first human to reach the Moon. “Geologists have a saying: rocks remember.” –Neil Armstrong Looming up above us, […]
The DAMA experiment has seen an annual modulation in its signal for over a decade. But can it be explained without invoking dark matter? Today’s article comes courtesy of Sabine Hossenfelder. […]