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.
Get Starts With A Bang in your inbox
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
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 […]
How an experiment high above Antarctica — Spider — sheds new light on the cosmic microwave background. Observations of the cosmic microwave background continue to capture public attention, highlighted these last few weeks in […]
The future of stars like our own, in a story only pictures can tell. “I lie on the floor, washed by nothing and hanging on. I cry at night. I […]
With superhuman speed, strength and precision, how far could the man of steel hit a baseball? “If I had to choose a superhero to be, I would pick Superman. He’s […]
We claim to know the Universe’s history to incredible precision. But is this justified? “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”-Albert Einstein We’ve reached […]
As the Hubble Space Telescope nears its 25th anniversary, it never stops amazing us. “That I learned even as a three year-old that I see this world that is really […]
Scientific debate is important for the questions it raises, not the early conclusions it reaches. “Even when Darwin’s teaching first made its appearance, it became clear at once that its […]
We owe our origins to the stars. But it’s not the fast catastrophes that made us possible, but a slow, burning romance. “It took less than an hour to make […]
In the story of where all this comes from, our closest world was a mystery for millennia. But now we know! “But even when the moon looks like it’s waning…it’s […]
How a funny idea to ship your enemies glitter turned into an empire. “There is a concept that is the corrupter and destroyer of all others. I speak not of […]
The Sun is made almost entirely out of hydrogen and helium; the Earth has hardly any of either. How’d that happen? “The single most powerful element of youth is our […]
How to figure out your location on Earth with only the most primitive tools. “And you may find yourself in another part of the world.And you may find yourself behind […]
Either there’s an unseen source of mass, or the laws of gravity are wrong. But only one can explain what we see. “The discrepancy between what was expected and what […]
Encounters in the fourth dimension. We all have an intuitive sense of what a dimension is. There are only three perpendicular directions in which we might move, which we might […]
From our spiral shape to the heavy elements expelled in supernovae, our galaxy’s gravity reveals far more than we see. “I think if I had to choose, I would rather […]
Our Milky Way is only the second-largest galaxy in our local group. Take an interactive dive into the biggest! “He who would search for pearls must dive below.” –John Dryden […]
If everything began with a Big Bang and is expanding, is there a center? “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out […]
If a scientific theory can never be “100% proven,” how can we know what’s true? “Never waste your time trying to explain who you are to people who are committed […]