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.
Something isn’t right about the Universe without something extra. So why can’t scientists agree on what that “extra” thing is? “All we know so far is what doesn’t work.” –Richard Feynman […]
As if the north pole of Saturn weren’t weird enough already. “Cassini is different — it’s a mission of enormous scope and is being conducted in grand style. It is much more sophisticated […]
The press says yes. But what does the science say? “This isn’t my life anymore, Mulder. I’m done chasing monsters in the dark.” –Dana Scully, X-files Without a doubt, one […]
They’re the darkest, most massive things in the Universe. How come they have nothing to do with each other? “All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued […]
Could the Nobel Prize of 2011 have been awarded without cause? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I will not realise my […]
And succeeds! “Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.” –J. K. Galbraith One […]
Sorry to all you ‘Flash’ fans out there; it’s not reality yet. This article was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity and high energy […]
From a “watery past” to water today! “If you look at the field of robotics today, you can say robots have been in the deepest oceans, they’ve been to Mars, you […]
From “Under The Sea” to “Part of your world” Happy Halloween!
And if it were, is there any way we could detect that this were the case? “Do I believe, for example, that by using magic I could fly? No. How would […]
SETI is searching for the same signals humans were producing in the 1960s. Why wouldn’t aliens do better? “I know perfectly well that at this moment the whole universe is listening […]
And could every black hole our Universe creates give rise to a baby Universe itself? “Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope,tied between beast and overman — a rope […]
From “billions and billions” to more than two trillion, we still need dark matter as much as ever! “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be […]
October had one, November will have one and December will have one, too. What’s the science of Supermoons? “The supermoon is a 16-inch pizza compared with a 15-inch pizza. It’s […]
From a “faint smudge” to the most intricate objects in our galaxy, we’ve come an incredibly long way. “From our home on the Earth, we look out into the distances … to […]
It used to be billions and billions, but now it’s in the trillions! “There are in fact 100 billion galaxies, each of which contain something like a 100 billion stars. […]
Might Armageddon come not from an asteroid or a comet, but by something completely unseen altogether? “Honestly, if you’re given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don’t say ‘what […]
How many galaxies are there in the observable Universe? For the first time, we don’t just have a ‘lower limit’ — we have an answer. “Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that […]
Scientists still don’t know, but the answer could hold the key to the expanding, accelerating Universe. “Scratch a cynic and you’ll find a disappointed idealist.” –Jon F. Merz When you […]
The past is gone, the future not yet here, only the present is now. But why does it always flow the way it does for us? “Thus is our treaty written; […]
Einstein’s first great revolution happened way back in 1905. It still puzzles many amateurs and professionals alike even today. “Each ray of light moves in the coordinate system ‘at rest’ with […]
The ‘compact galaxy groups’ of the Universe won’t be around for long! “They most likely form as subsystems within looser associations and evolve by gravitational processes. Strong galaxy interactions result and […]
If we can’t even witness the birth of our Solar System and planet, how can we claim to see the birth of the Universe? “There have to be moments when […]
Before the Big Bang… after the Big Freeze… will everything look the same? “What is wild cannot be bought or sold, borrowed or copied. It is. Unmistakeable, unforgettable, unshamable, elemental as […]
Not faster than 299,792,458 m/s, but faster than light moves through anything other than vacuum! “You are both fools. You cannot see thoughts, or angels. One is an abstract, the other […]
We might have been spared the worst of Hurricane Matthew, but the underlying science is informative at any time! “She didn’t even know what she’d do when she got back to […]
If you were betting on LIGO, you bet wrong. Just like everybody else. “‘Topology is destiny,’ he said, and put the drawers on. One leg at a time.” –Neal Stephenson One […]
The dark horsehead nebula isn’t dark at all, but only if you look at the invisible forms of light. “If you are fearful, a horse will back off. If you are […]
If the waste we have is so hazardous, and we have the capability, why don’t we hurl it all into the Sun? “There will be peace when the people of the […]
We see them change in wavelength, energy and in their electric and magnetic fields over time. So how do they experience it? “Everyone has his dream; I would like to […]