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.
A correlation between normal matter and the observed rotation suggests that maybe dark matter isn’t a certainty, after all. “Nothing in the standard cosmological model predicts this, and it is almost […]
The same way a forgotten woman astronomer — Annie Jump Cannon — first did over 100 years ago! “Teaching man his relatively small sphere in the creation, it also encourages him by its lessons of […]
Want to ‘make America great again’? Not without science, you won’t. “Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson hated each other so much. But that hate that they had for each other did […]
As great as Hubble is, it can only see a narrow range of light, which means it can only see a sliver of the Universe. Want more? “We conducted the first […]
In 1994, Miguel Alcubierre showed how warp drive could be made real within General Relativity. What does that imply? “Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new […]
There are strict scientific standards a new ‘claimed discovery’ needs to meet. Has cold fusion gotten there? “Between cold fusion and respectable science there is virtually no communication at all. …because the […]
And can we even agree on the definition of ‘nothingness’? “Alone, I often fall down into nothingness. I must push my foot stealthily lest I should fall off the edge […]
The darkness we see from Earth can never be 100% dark. “All I want is blackness. Blackness and silence.” –Sylvia Plath If you take a look at the night sky […]
Looking into the great, dark unknown was a mystery for thousands of years. No longer! “Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you can’t construct a […]
https://players.brightcove.net/2097119709001/4kXWOFbfYx_default/index.html?videoId=5131037086001 It’s the 10th anniversary of dark matter’s most compelling proof. “It may be that ultimately the search for dark matter will turn out to be the most expensive and […]
For thousands upon thousands of years, we didn’t know whether the other stars in the Universe were even like our Sun, much less whether they had planets around them like […]
What’s the difference between “point-like” and what we can actually state? “When we think about the present, we veer wildly between the belief in chance and the evidence in favour of […]
Rather than life arising on Earth, did it already exist in space prior to our planet’s formation? “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it […]
Dark energy tells us what the Universe is doing right now, and it’s disconcerting. But its fate has some incredible possibilities. “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth […]
Comet-like tail, X-rays and more discovered at Solar System’s edge. “Maybe some people don’t feel scared when they think about comets and supernovas. Maybe they think it is wonderful.” –Lydia Netzer […]
GAIA Satellite To Find Out If We’re Wrong About Dark Energy And The Expanding Universe “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that […]
A “double burst” of star formation in a globular cluster may explain our galaxy’s mysterious center. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” –J.K. Rowling […]
Is stellar ejection a real thing, and if so, can planets come along for the ride? “Mapping out the elements in a star is like reading its DNA. We’re using those […]
Without colliding with anything since the Universe was 1 second old, these neutrinos still pack a punch! “When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades […]
How our dream of exploring the stars might actually someday come true. “We are what we are, and we’re doing the best we can. It is not for you to […]
Even if it looked for an infinite amount of time, they’d always be invisible. “Now the world has gone to bed, Darkness won’t engulf my head, I can see by […]
Because “Earth-like” doesn’t necessarily mean “like our Earth.” “I have lost tolerance for things without meaning. There is no time for them. Does that make sense?” –Sara Seager At the end […]
And what are our prospects for observing its event horizon? “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the […]
And will it get too cold or too hot for our habitability? “What, I sometimes wonder, would it be like if I lived in a country where winter is a […]
But that doesn’t mean it actually works as advertised. “All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American […]
The strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational forces probably aren’t all there is. Did we just find evidence for a fifth? “A careful analysis of the process of observation in atomic physics […]
When our imaginations run wild, it’s important to remember that’s our fault, not the data’s. “Otherwise we are trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t exist with a system which doesn’t […]
It’s the most distant galaxy cluster ever discovered, and it’s exactly in line with our predictions! “These galaxies are among the most massive galaxies in the universe and are believed […]
Astrophysicists have been looking for worlds like Proxima b since the 19th century. At last, they’re found! This article is contributed by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in […]
How we know some galaxies have more than others. “Motions of the stars tell you how much matter there is. They don’t care what form the matter is, they just tell […]