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There’s no wrong way to be a galaxy, but this one sure does challenge our expectations. “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life […]
Nikola Tesla was a rare genius who never received the recognition he deserved while alive. (He was overshadowed by his former boss and rival Thomas Edison). Tesla gave us neon […]
Do changes in a gravitational field propagate instantaneously, at the speed of light, or at a different speed altogether? “The only problem with the speed of light, is it gets […]
Here’s what it would look like if we started dreaming again. “There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program — your tax-dollar will go further.” –Wernher von Braun […]
Why was it that when Galileo viewed Venus and Jupiter with the naked eye, Venus, the brighter planet, appeared larger, but when viewed through a telescope, Jupiter appeared larger?
Editor’s Note: This article was provided by our partner, RealClearScience. The original is here. Code-makers and code-breakers are locked in an eternal conflict. Thus far, they’ve matched each other pretty much […]
How the closest supernova in a generation — soon to be visible to skywatchers almost everywhere — is about to help us better understand the entire Universe. “I saw a star explode and send […]
When things don’t add up, it’s a great sign that something amazing is right around the corner. Every Thursday, we take an older post from the Starts With A Bang archives […]
Thinking, like seeing, has built-in blind spots. An old parable and Husserl’s matchbox can illuminate these geometric, biological, and cognitive limits. We can’t evade their unseen dangers unaided. In the […]
Pleiades, the brightest and well-known star cluster in earth’s sky, is slowly destroying part of a passing cloud of gas and dust, according to NASA. That and the “spidery” imagery […]
Comedian Stephen Colbert called Jeff Koons “The world’s most expensive birthday clown” when the artist famous for his giant balloon animalsappeared on his show in 2012. A year later, one […]
One of the only members of the Virgo Cluster… that isn’t located in Virgo! “[L]ife is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the […]
The incredible story of the record-breaking red planet’s rover. “In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.”–John Archibald Wheeler Sometimes, things get difficult. Sometimes, there are challenges […]
The brightest “planetary nebula” is actually a Sun-like star in its final death throes! “When he shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars,And he will make the face […]
The far side looks *nothing* like the side that faces us. After 55 years, we may finally know why. “When you’re finally up at the moon looking back on earth, all […]
Every new cultural institution hopes for “The Bilbao Effect”—the economic boom the faltering, former industrial city of Bilbao, Spain, enjoyed after the 1997 rise of architect Frank Gehry’s game-changing design […]
And if not, how do you reason with those who believe they are? “Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that […]
The highlights of the greatest Winter Constellation of them all. “I discerned huge Orion, driving wild beasts together over the field of asphodel, the very ones that he once had killed […]
100 years ago, we thought the Milky Way was the full extent of the Universe, containing everything. Now, we know we’re just one of many. But how many? “The human mind […]
How was Earth’s most well-known precious metal made? “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul;wisdom is better than silver or gold.” –Bob Marley Throughout all of recorded human history, there’s […]
The handle of the Big Dipper leads you to Arcturus, the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere. But there’s a deep-sky wonder hiding in plain sight, if you know where […]
The future of humanity depends on it. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach […]
If population growth was slower, then fewer people would have come up with all the great ideas that enhance your life today, whether it’s antibiotics or the electric light or […]
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A forgotten almost-hero of the 19th century still has something to teach about science… and style. “There is nothing more contemptible than a bald man who pretends to have hair.” –Martial […]
A galaxy very different from our own may hold the key to seeing what our far future looks like. “We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum […]
“Red and dead” might describe the stars in most ellipticals, but this nearby galaxy tells a different story. “The line that describes the beautiful is elliptical. It has simplicity and […]
A team of researchers has measured the current size of “baryon acoustic oscillations” (BAOs) from the early universe in order to determine the distances to galaxies more than 6 billion light-years away to within 1 percent accuracy.
How the most powerful telescope ever built will owe its successes and discoveries to scientists who’ll never get the glory. “The soul without imagination is what an observatory would be without […]
Where else can you eat lunch with Pussy Riot, sit next to Senator Gillibrand as she discusses her upcoming book with her publisher as Huma Abedin rushes by to grab […]