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
This International Women’s Day, celebrate Henrietta Leavitt, who took us beyond the stars and into the galaxies. “Her will tells nearly all. She left an estate worth $314.91, mostly in […]
Einstein’s most famous equation works out more neatly than you’d expect. “It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the […]
Why is gravity so different from the other forces? On the hierarchy problem. “Science enhances the moral value of life, because it furthers a love of truth and reverence — love of […]
The Universe is full of surprises. These are the biggest, plus what they mean. “Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” –Boris Pasternak So it is in […]
On March 4th at 19:30:15 Universal Time, Venus and Uranus will pass within 0.1° of each other. Here’s how to see it. “Since you cannot do good to all, you […]
The Spitzer Space Telescope has imaged our entire galactic plane in the infrared, and it’s a 180,000 pixel spectacular. “Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a […]
Whether you loved the original series or never saw it, it changed our world. “An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must […]
Will you explode, freeze, or boil? Advice on how to maximize your life. “A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces […]
Another world orbits the Sun once a year at the same distance as our planet. “The moon was like this awesome, romantic, mysterious thing, hanging up there in the sky […]
Lessons from the Universe whenever a light goes out. “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain […]
Do craters only come in isolation? These images will make you think again! “These spots have never been observed by anyone before me; and from my observations of them, often […]
Amazing, fun and beautiful. So long as the cold doesn’t bother you, anyway. “The only frozen heart around here is yours.” –Anna, to Hans, from Frozen I know that the […]
What happened when things were hot enough to spontaneously create matter and antimatter? “It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations […]
What would happen if you dove into a hole straight through the Earth? “Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly […]
Theorems are gold in math. But in physics? The Universe will surprise you. “What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.”–Theodore Roethke Physics is one of the […]
All you need are clear skies, a telescope, and a plan. Make it a great one. “For my confirmation, I didn’t get a watch and my first pair of long […]
As comets approach near the Sun, they develop tails. Watch it happen. “In the year 1456 … a Comet was seen passing Retrograde between the Earth and the sun… Hence I […]
It’s the richest lottery game in the USA. When is it worth it to play? “I’ve done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you […]
If it happened billions of years ago, what’s it still doing here? “We like to admit to only that which already glows, although it is nobler to support brightness before […]
If they’re so massive that not even light can escape, how can we see them? “According to the special theory of relativity nothing can travel faster than light, so that […]
Incredible views from a single solar eclipse, thanks to an amazing photography mastermind. “Girls blush, sometimes, because they are alive, half wishing they were dead to save the shame. The […]
You won’t believe this view of the far side — and the Earth — until you see it. “When I look at the moon I do not see a hostile, empty world. I see […]
Light and sound are waves that we all know. But gravity makes them, too. “Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, […]
How many does it take to give us our Universe, and what’s left unexplained? “The joy of life consists in the exercise of one’s energies, continual growth, constant change, the […]
Live-streamed from Perimeter Institute, & exclusive real-time commentary! “Every generation of physicists solves some old puzzles and finds some new ones.” –Dr. Kendrick Smith I want you to think back […]
The largest, diffuse sight in the sky is full of wonder. (And stars, and more!) “The Milky Way is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in […]
Say “I still love you, but I’m furious” with the adorable, contemptuous Japanese concept of the “Revenge Lunchbox” (Shikaeshi Bento). “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you […]
Is there another version of you somewhere out there in a parallel Universe? “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” –Stephen King, The Dark Tower One of the most […]
New Horizons is closing in on what was once our Solar System’s most distant planet. How did it get there? “Even in hindsight, I would not change one whit of […]
It’s only a matter of time before another star has a close encounter with our Solar System. How long do we have? “From an incandescent mass we have originated, and […]