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.
5 consensus ideas in astronomy that might soon be overturned
From black holes to dark energy to chances for life in the Universe, our cosmic journey to understand it all is just getting started.
Ask Ethan: Has the JWST disproven the Big Bang?
No. No no no. Just... no. The JWST has truly blown our scientific minds, but it's a pure crackpot idea that the Big Bang is now disproven.
Can science ever discover the absolute truth about reality?
Is science absolute? Its truths and discoveries guide us toward the nature of reality, but we must always remain open-minded to revisions.
The Big Bang no longer means what it used to
As we gain new knowledge, our scientific picture of how the Universe works must evolve. This is a feature of the Big Bang, not a bug.
Without Einstein, we might have missed General Relativity
Einstein's "happiest thought" led to General Relativity's formulation. Would a different profound insight have led us forever astray?
This logarithmic view of the Universe will blow your mind
As we look to larger cosmic scales, we get a broader view of the expansive cosmic forest, eventually revealing the grandest views of all.
Starts With A Bang Podcast #84 – Cosmological Mysteries
Our model of the Universe, dominated by dark matter and dark energy, explains almost everything we see. Almost. Here's what remains.
Ask Ethan: What would magnetic monopoles mean for our Universe?
Magnetic monopoles began as a mere theoretical curiosity. They might hold the key to understanding so much more.
We exist. What can that fact teach us about the Universe?
The anthropic principle has fascinating scientific uses, where the simple fact of our existence holds deep physical lessons. Don't abuse it!
To understand chaos theory, play a game of Plinko
The game of Plinko perfectly illustrates chaos theory. Even with indistinguishable initial conditions, the outcome is always uncertain.
Most planets in the Universe are orphans without parent stars
Known as orphaned planets, rogue planets, or planets without parent stars, these "outliers" might be the most common planet of all.
How hot are the hottest stars in the Universe?
At their cores, stars can reach many millions or even billions of degrees. But even that doesn't touch the hottest of all.
Ask Ethan: Why can’t dark matter be made of light?
There's an extra source of massive "stuff" in our Universe beyond what gravitation and normal matter can explain. Could light be the answer?
How to prove the Big Bang with an old TV set
If you have an old TV set with the "rabbit ear" antennae, and you set it to channel 03, that snowy static can reveal the Big Bang itself.
We were wrong: all stars don’t have planets, after all
Unless you have a critical mass of heavy elements when your star first forms, planets, including rocky ones, are practically impossible.
Yes, the Universe really is 100% reductionist in nature
The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.
Are Martians really Earthlings?
There's an extremely good chance that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. But is it native to Mars, or did it originate from Earth?
Ask Ethan: Does light really live forever?
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
5 truths about dark matter that no scientist can deny
Dark matter has never been directly detected, but the astronomical evidence for its existence is overwhelming. Here's what to know.
Could we use the Sun’s gravity to find alien life?
With a telescope at just the right distance from the Sun, we could use its gravity to enhance and magnify a potentially inhabited planet.
Why gravitational waves are the future of astronomy
We only detected our very first gravitational wave in 2015. Over the next two decades, we'll have thousands more.
The unexpected science you missed from James Webb’s first images
We knew we'd find galaxies unlike any seen before in its first deep-field image. But the other images hold secrets even more profound.
Ask Ethan: Why bother exploring the Universe at all?
There are so many problems, all across planet Earth, that harm and threaten humanity. Why invest in researching the Universe?
Will time run backward if the Universe collapses?
Ever since the start of the hot Big Bang, time ticks forward as the Universe expands. But could time ever run backward, instead?
XENON’s experimental triumph: No dark matter, but the best “null result” in history
Searching for dark matter, the XENON collaboration found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Here's why that's an extraordinary feat.
Ask Ethan: How cold does it get in space?
Even though the leftover glow from the Big Bang creates a bath of radiation at only 2.725 K, some places in the Universe get even colder.
Time isn’t simply just another dimension
We live in a four-dimensional Universe, where matter and energy curve the fabric of spacetime. But time sure is different from space!
The only way to beat the speed of light
There's a speed limit to the Universe: the speed of light in a vacuum. Want to beat the speed of light? Try going through a medium!
Venus is the brightest, most extreme planet in the Solar System
Even at its faintest, Venus always outshines every other star and planet that's visible from Earth, and then some!
How MIRI, James Webb’s coolest instrument, sees the Universe
Take a peek at the pre-release images used to calibrate and commission JWST's coldest instrument, now ready for full science operations.