
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
Sometimes, it’s the most unexpected ingredients that give rise to the greatest results in the end. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” –Joseph Campbell When you […]
The story of our neck of the woods, on the most cosmic of all scales. “We live in a world that has narrowed into a neighborhood before it has broadened […]
NASA’s great observatories combine to give us a unique view of a sight no human ever saw the first time around. “And no one showed us to the landAnd no […]
What do you get when the Death Star meets LEGO friends? “The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear […]
With three spatial dimensions, the possibilities are tremendous. But only one answer fits what we see. “Never erase your past. It shapes who you are today and will help you […]
These cosmic monsters make the LHC look like child’s play, and yet even they have their limits. “Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson You […]
Can the world’s most fantastic and speculative “theory of everything” candidate shed light on the Universe’s most invisible objects? “I just think too many nice things have happened in string […]
The most powerful telescope in history will never see the farthest galaxy. “No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded […]
See as far back in the Universe as our greatest telescope’s eyes will take us. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. […]
If winter is coming, this epic artwork is the spring thaw. “When I was a kid, my world was five streets long. I never got away, except in books. I […]
Can failed stars, or stellar corpses, give light to the Universe once again? “A single tiny light creates a space where darkness cannot exist. The light vanquishes the darkness. Try […]
Can a running start really improve your driving distance in golf? “What a shot by Happy Gilmore! <aside> Who the hell is Happy Gilmore?”–Announcer, from Happy Gilmore As I prepare […]
Should we get vaccinated? Fluoridate our water? Fight global warming? Believe in evolution? The Big Bang? Dark matter? Find out. “Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has […]
Govert Schilling’s new book deserves a place in everyone’s life. “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” –Carl Sagan Imagine the […]
With Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra combined, we get a view like no other. “But I see it differently now. There has to be a middle. Without it, nothing can truly […]
After seeing these pictures, you’ll switch to raising your own. “People speak sometimes about the “bestial” cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal […]
How do we know that the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background aren’t polluted by everything Hubble reveals? “Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,Blossomed the lovely […]
It’s what holds the nuclei in atoms together, overcoming electric repulsion. But how does it work? “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say […]
The most important lessons about Earth come from looking outward. “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” […]
What sort of greenery are these galaxies smoking? “The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity […]
Just open your eyes, full-screen it, and watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD2XgQOyCCk “Exploring this set I certainly never had the feeling of invention. I never had the feeling that my imagination was rich […]
Before the first star ever formed, the Universe was filled with light. But how? “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light […]
The Anthropic Principle is more limited than we like to believe. “There is a voice inside of youThat whispers all day long,‘I feel this is right for me,I know that […]
They’re our best measurement of dark energy, even better than supernovae! “If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others.”–Philip K. Dick Imagine you’re looking […]
How “faith” in the Universe destroyed two brilliant men of genius. “I don’t like it, and I’m sorry I ever had anything to do with it.” –Schrödinger The idea that […]
The closest, brightest edge-on galaxy gives us a view like nothing else. “Since man, fragment of the universe, is governed by the same laws that preside over the heavens, it […]
Sick of yogurt winding up stuck to the underside of the lid? Problem solved. “My love for you would blot out the sun like a cloud made out of yogurt. […]
If our “standard candles” aren’t so standard, is dark energy still real? “Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with […]
The Universe contains black holes billions of times as massive as our Sun. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you […]
It’s the only thing separating real knowledge from ignorant misinformation. “The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it’s scientific truth or historical truth or personal […]