The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it.
Our mission: to answer, scientifically, the biggest questions of all.
- What is our Universe made of?
- How did it become the way it is today?
- Where did everything come from?
- What is the ultimate fate of the cosmos?
For countless generations, these were questions without resolutions. Now, for the first time in history, we have scientific answers. Starts With A Bang, written by Dr. Ethan Siegel, brings these stories — of what we know and how we know it — directly to you.
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Featured
Why power generated through nuclear fusion will be the future, but not the present, solution to humanity’s energy needs.
It’s a strange idea to consider: that a tiny building block of matter, the atomic nucleus, holds the greatest potential for energy release.
And yet, it’s true; while electron transitions in atoms or molecules typically release energy on the order of ~1 electron-Volt, nuclear transitions between different configurations release energies a million times as great, on the order of ~1 Mega-electron-Volt.
Popular
From before the Big Bang to the present day, the Universe goes through many eras. Dark energy heralds the final one.
A wild, compelling idea without a direct, practical test, the Multiverse is highly controversial. But its supporting pillars sure are stable.
The surface and atmosphere is colored by ferric oxides. Beneath a very thin layer, mere millimeters deep in places, it’s not red anymore.
The first supernova ever discovered through its X-rays has an enormously powerful engine at its core. It’s unlike anything ever seen.
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see 46.1 billion light-years away in all directions. Doesn’t that violate…something?
All Stories
If we came along too soon, would we ever have discovered dark energy? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I will not […]
It’s a wonderful potential technology for going interstellar. But in your lifetime? Don’t hold your breath. “Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We […]
By combining Hubble data with other views from great, space-based observatories, we’re shedding new light on the Universe. “The wonder is, not that the field of stars of so vast, […]
In February of 2016, less than six months after first becoming operational, LIGO (the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory) announced the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves. What are they? […]
Everything that’s inherently quantum in the Universe is both a wave and a particle. So, are gravitational waves? “You asked me how to get out of the finite dimensions when […]
It’s getting bigger over time, but is there anything it’s displacing, or expanding into? “Mathematicians deal with possible worlds, with an infinite number of logically consistent systems. Observers explore the […]
The stars, gas, nebulae and dust in our galactic plane make it impossible to see through. But there are other forms of light. “Vision is the art of seeing what is […]
It’s not in any form of light, and yet here we are, “seeing” the Universe all the same. “If the imprint is really due to gravitational waves from the big […]
Now that it’s seen gravitational waves, could physics beyond Einstein be its next target? This post is written by Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity & high energy […]
“Scanning for signs of life” is a staple of science fiction. Could it be science, too? This post was written by Jillian Scudder. Jillian is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Astrophysics […]
How the Hubble Space Telescope captured Andromeda and showed us a Universe we’ve never seen. “We are stardust, we are golden,We are billion year old carbon,And we got to get […]
There are many different levels, but one key difference separates science from the rest. “I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory […]
With Valentine’s Day in the past, that’s no reason to forget about the best part of that holiday! “Look, there’s no metaphysics on earth like chocolates.” –Fernando Pessoa One of the […]
What LIGO’s first signal actually means. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have detected gravitational waves.” –David Reitze This morning, the principal investigator of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), David Reitze, made […]
How we’ll directly take pictures of Earth-like planets in the future! “We stand on a great threshold in the human history of space exploration. If life is prevalent in our neighborhood […]
Just two days before its data was released, I wrote this story on what it all means. Come get the scoop! “Einstein’s gravitational theory, which is said to be the greatest […]
It’s actually better to not catch that extra light. Here’s why. “A mouse does not rely on just one hole.” –Plautus If you want to see farther, deeper and more […]
Are comets and asteroids periodic, and are we due? “Biological diversity is messy. It walks, it crawls, it swims, it swoops, it buzzes. But extinction is silent, and it has no […]
The first of the next generation of telescopes is already under construction. Here’s the audacious new science we’re in for! “We find them smaller and fainter, in constantly increasing numbers, and […]
Still want more information about the LIGO gravitational wave discovery? Check me out on my local news!
Is it how the Universe began, or just how our observable Universe began? They’re not the same! “These theories were based on the hypothesis that all the matter in the universe […]
An incredible live-blog of an incredible event. “It’s becoming clear that in a sense the cosmos provides the only laboratory where sufficiently extreme conditions are ever achieved to test new […]
In the Iowa caucuses, she won six coin tosses in a row to decide state delegates. Foul play, or normal statistics? “[T]he coin of life has meaning and value no […]
The Surprising Scientific Answer Has A Lot More Than Just Heat Exchange Involved. “I like cappuccino, actually. But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at […]
Look for the bow shock, but not just in visible light! “Most people don’t know what’s happening around them because they’re just speeding through life. And before they know it, they’re […]
Is there an alternate Universe with a different version of you, and all the outcomes you didn’t choose? “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” –Stephen King, The Dark […]
In 30 million years, we’ll undergo star formation unlike anything else since before there were mammals on Earth. “Think about it this way — a boomerang goes out and comes back to you […]
How the biggest NASA mission of the decade will solve some of the Universe’s greatest mysteries. “Now the world has gone to bed,Darkness won’t engulf my head,I can see by […]
The first of the three great NASA disasters — Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia — happened 49 years ago. Look back. “If we die, we want people to accept it. We’re in a risky business, […]
The Orion Nebula demonstrates the answer. “So numerous are the objects which meet our view in the heavens, that we cannot imagine a point of space where some light would not […]