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.
Earlier claims from NASA’s Fermi GBM team indicated that they just might. Here’s the nail in that coffin! “If you’ve seen one gamma-ray burst, you’ve seen one gamma-ray burst!” –Common quote among […]
The detection of a second binary black hole merger officially begins the robust era of a new kind of astronomy. “It turned out that nature was very kind, and there […]
Light pollution may be taking away the night sky, but it’s only a short journey to dark conditions for all of us. “In order for the light to shine so brightly […]
A 200 word journey from the Big Bang to modern humans. “It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, […]
The four fundamental forces have ruled our Universe for over 50 years, now. Are we on the brink of discovering a new one? “The new claim now is [a] boson with […]
It depends where you look. The answer is relatively awesome! “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” –Mario Andretti One of Einstein’s most famous fundamental laws is that […]
Om nom nom nom nom… “That what wrong with the media today. All they have is questions, questions, questions. They never have cookies.” –Cookie Monster When most people think of black […]
It’s the most mysterious “stuff” our Universe has. So why are we so sure it’s real? “The Universe is made mostly of dark matter and dark energy, and we don’t know […]
The most distant world ever imaged by fly-by reveals a richer terrain than anyone ever expected. “The cosmic game changed forever in 1992. Before then, logic told us that there […]
Stephen Hawking said there’s a way out. Stephen Hawking lied. “Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.” –Stephen Hawking By definition, black […]
“The Greatest” defeated all opponents when the heavyweight division was its richest. Has any physicist done the same? “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did […]
And if it is, what does that mean for dark energy, and our Universe’s fate? “Until the 1990s, there were few reliable observations about movement at the scale of the […]
The gravitational waves were real. But earlier announcements that X-rays and gamma-rays were detected, too? Not so much. “What’s really exciting is what comes next. I think we’re opening a window […]
At its hottest, the closest world to the Sun reaches up to 800º Fahrenheit. But another has it beat. “There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable […]
Without the inherent quantum uncertainty to nature, the source of all our light and heat would never shine. “The bedrock nature of space and time and the unification of cosmos and […]
The Sun might not be responsible for the short-term warming we’re experiencing now, but in the end, it’s all that matters. “We have known since the 1800s that carbon dioxide traps […]
Occasionally, a star will blow off its outer layers in a sphere. The vast majority don’t, and ours probably won’t, either. “The self-same atoms which, chaotically dispersed, made the nebula, now, […]
Today, it’s the most obvious thing in the world. But how do you prove it to yourself? “A long time ago people believed that the world is flat and the […]
Einstein’s most famous equation didn’t have to be this way, but it is, all the same. “Science is global. Einstein’s equation, E=mc^2, has to reach everywhere. Science is a beautiful gift […]
It’s an old idea made new again, but it just might fall apart. “[The black hole] teaches us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal […]
Will Curiosity outlast Opportunity, the rover it was designed to supersede? Or will it fail, since it’s too big for its britches? “By refocusing our space program on Mars for […]
And the science of how we can find it. This article is written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity and high energy physics. She also […]
When you get enough mass together, Einstein’s theory of gravity causes space to act like a lens. Here are the results. “The first amazing fact about gravitation is that the ratio […]
If the Universe is infinite and full of stars and galaxies, why can’t we see something everywhere we look? “When you get just a complete sense of blackness or void ahead […]
It took hundreds of years for Einstein to dethrone him, and even then, he was off by less than 1% of a spectacular prediction.
In 1998, cosmologists got the surprise of a lifetime. Here’s how our Universe would’ve looked without cosmic acceleration. “We’ve known for a long time that the universe is expanding. But […]
The tiniest hints are enough to spark big dreams. “I’m a fan of supersymmetry, largely because it seems to be the only route by which gravity can be brought into the […]
It might not be an actual supernova remnant, but thanks to 3D printing, it’s the next best thing! This article was written by Kim Kowal Arcand. Kim is the Visualization Lead […]
It’s bigger than anything on Earth. Hell, it’s bigger than Earth! “More days to come / new places to goI’ve got to leave / it’s time for a showHere I am […]
The answer is larger than you might think, and applies in some shocking ways! “The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way […]