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.
You know how bright the full Moon is. Well, from the Moon, how would the ‘full Earth’ compare? “I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted […]
We claim it’s the leftover glow from the Big Bang, but where is this light actually coming from? “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we […]
If you heard about time crystals, be aware that they do exist. But learn what they mean. “Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time […]
For those who still don’t believe in global warming, the science has had it right for half a century now. “Greenhouse gases are the second most important factor for climate, after […]
When a quantum interaction happens, one interpretation leads to an infinite number of parallel Universes. Here’s how that could be true. “As an analogy one can imagine an intelligent amoeba with […]
When galaxy clusters merge together, they form the largest objects the Universe will ever create. “On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in […]
Space is getting bigger, but atoms, humans, Earth and our Milky Way stay the same size. How is this possible? “The Universe is expanding the way your mind is expanding. […]
Your theory predicts something novel? How nice. But no one will pay you any mind unless you test it. “He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards […]
Have you heard that life is unlikely around low-mass, red dwarf stars? It might be time to rethink that flawed conclusion. “Laws of nature mixed with evolutionary/historical contingencies allow for […]
There’s a lot to learn about other worlds, but you can’t learn it all without looking up. “One should not need a teleportation device to decide whether a newly discovered object […]
20 years before Sally Ride, Valentina Tereshkova set the bar. She’s still amazing after more than 50 years. “A bird cannot fly with one wing only. Human space flight cannot develop […]
With James Webb and WFIRST launching soon, the Universe can expect a revolution. But what will it look like? “For the first time we can learn about individual stars from near […]
The red planet once wasn’t so different from Earth. Here’s what happened. “Mars’ atmosphere is so thin, you do not need a lot of streamlining. By the time the ship […]
We take for granted how much the Moon does for Earth, but not all of the changes would be bad. “If we get rid of the moon, women, those menstrual cycles […]
A live-blog event of an incredible public lecture by a scientist on the inside of James Webb’s team. “The [James Webb] telescope is basically designed to answer the big questions in […]
The latest challenger to dark matter’s throne may not be so difficult to knock off, after all. This post was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in […]
In 1987, the nearest supernova seen in nearly four centuries lit up Earth’s skies. Here’s what it looks like today. “When a star goes supernova, the explosion emits enough light to […]
If black holes lose information in an event horizon, then do we have a paradox with our cosmic horizon? “The history of astronomy is a history of receding horizons.” –Edwin Hubble […]
You may have heard of Laniakea, but don’t count on it being real. “It’s the gravity that shapes the large scale structure of the universe, even though it is the weakest […]
And England almost burned themselves down as a result. “When Benjamin Franklin inveted the lightning rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it […]
But are any of these potentially Earth-like worlds actually inhabited? Here are the prospects. “It isn’t only the beauty of the night sky that thrills me. It’s the sense I […]
Phobos and Deimos may have had another, inner, much larger companion! “The larger inner moons fall back to Mars after about 5 million years due to the tidal pull of […]
If you don’t have pristine, dark skies, you might never connect to the Universe. But there’s hope. “Before we devised artificial lights and atmospheric pollution and modern forms of nocturnal entertainment […]
An incredible story, the current controversy, and the hope for the future. Our Universe was born pristine, with no stars, galaxies, molecules or even stable atoms, some 13.8 billion years […]
If Scotty beams you up for a trip around the Sun, here’s how to handle it. “I really didn’t have to work, shall we say, with Star Trek. It was a […]
Hydrogen is #1, Helium is #2. Who’s number 3? Hint: it’s not #3 in the periodic table! “It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign […]
Earth is pretty much the limit of how large you can get and still be rocky. Anything much larger, and you’re a gas giant. “How vast those Orbs must be, and […]
The physics of why popping off a few rounds in celebration can quickly turn deadly. “I’ve heard it said that God made all men, but Samuel Colt made all men equal. […]
The Earth is round, Kyrie Irving. But not every world needs to be. “‘I’ll follow him to the ends of the earth,’ she sobbed. Yes, darling. But the earth doesn’t have […]
How gravitational magnification allows us to see what we’ve never seen before. “The problem is, you’re trying to find these really faint things, but you’re looking behind these really bright things. […]