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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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.
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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
And the method teaches us just how far Pluto is from actual planethood. “Some kind of celestial event. No — no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should have sent […]
The Planck satellite measures the polarization of light, inferring our galaxy’s magnetic field. The result is spectacular art. “It is true that we are made of dust. And the world […]
Most of you know that we run a Patreon campaign for Starts With A Bang, enabling us to bring you the best content in the Universe, ad-free, here on Medium. […]
Wanting to believe in the impossible can be far worse than keeping an open mind. “No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man […]
There’s a big, big difference between a “scientific” theory and all other types. It should make you more confident, not less. One of the most important things any expert hoping to […]
Mars used to be a warm, wet world, filled with oceans, rivers, and maybe even life. Here’s what happened. “Studying whether there’s life on Mars or studying how the universe […]
There are likely no more than five this big, this early in the entire Universe. “Based on our understanding of how galaxy clusters grow from the very beginning of our […]
Looks like the inner planets formed *after* the gas giants moved to their current position, and Jupiter ejected a fifth giant, too! “The stars look the same from night to […]
Sometimes, space itself comes with its own magnifying lens. “We see the world through the lens of all our experiences; that is a fundamental part of the human condition.” –Madeleine […]
Planets, Stars, Galaxies, Groups and Clusters are all real. But Superclusters? They’re nothing more than optical illusions. “It is far harder to kill a phantom than a reality.” –Virginia Woolf […]
Exploring and mapping the Universe? A great plan. But the math of spending billions on asteroid deflection doesn’t add up. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the […]
In principle, they could, of course. But around bizarre star KIC 8462852? Probably not. “The fancy that extraterrestrial life is by definition of a higher order than our own is […]
They won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, but their legacy’s just beginning. “I know all about neutrinos, and my friend here knows about everything else in astrophysics.” –John Bahcall, […]
With the recent discovery of liquid water on the Martian surface, it’s time to take a look back at the full suite of evidence that we have concerning the red […]
With the greatest hair and mustache style of all time. “I have signs in my kitchen to remind me not to eat breakfast and that my job is always. Most […]
When everything passes away, what will be left? “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of […]
Will we stick around for eternity? Or someday decay away? “I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end […]
The origin of life is one of the biggest open questions. Could it all have started before our planet was even born? “When you arise in the morning, think of […]
Supernova remnants return the insides of exploded stars back to the Universe, making things like us possible. “No matter how ‘normal’ people look, living ‘ordinary’ lives, everyone has a story […]
Carve these frighteningly costumed versions of Einstein, Curie and other famous physicists thanks to Fermilab! “It’s said that All Hallows’ Eve is one of the nights when the veil between […]
Even the cosmic home where our Solar System resides will someday meet it’s demise. But how? “Unless one says goodbye to what one loves, and unless one travels to completely new […]
Throwback Thursday: How Dark Matter’s #1 Competitor Died The only way out is to modify the laws of gravity, and our best observations rule those modifications out. “The discrepancy between […]
Traveling to the future is possible, but the “back” part runs into trouble. Mr. Strickland: “I noticed your band is on the roster for the dance auditions after school today. […]
Star Wars’ Hoth has nothing on the real-life version! “My Lord, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed. Com Scan has detected an energy field protecting an area of the […]
Fish, plants, rocks, and some ornaments? Amateur hour is over; take a look at the results from the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest! “Life is life’s greatest gift. Guard the […]
Four billion years ago, the Universe was a different place. What would we have seen? “In such moments, offering up his heart at the hour when the flowers of night […]
Before NASA’s Dawn spacecraft found white weirdness on Ceres, it had a close encounter with the second largest asteroid: Vesta. “I have announced this star as a comet, but since […]
If all the worlds formed together, they have the ingredients for life, too. Maybe it isn’t just Earth who got lucky. “If I had to describe myself to an alien […]
Exclusion and a lack of diversity are the breeding grounds for harassment. “There is no kind of harassment that a man may not inflict on a woman with impunity in […]
The evidence is there, and sometimes a set of pictures can show you better than words could ever tell. “If I want water, I’ll have to make it from scratch. […]