Space & Astrophysics
A rare “black widow” binary has the shortest orbit yet
"The pulsar sort of consumes the thing that recycled it, just as the spider eats its mate.”
Dark energy is here to stay, and a “Big Crunch” isn’t coming
13.8 billion years ago, the hot Big Bang gave rise to the Universe we know. Here's why the reverse, a Big Crunch, isn't how it will end.
Why is Titan’s landscape so Earth-like despite its different composition?
The answer may lie in the particular way sand forms on Titan.
Could “nuclear clocks” drive a technological revolution?
Atomic clocks keep time accurately to within 1 second every 33 billion years. Nuclear clocks could blow them all away.
Voyager 1 has left the Solar System. Will we ever overtake it?
In all of human history, only 5 spacecraft have had the right trajectory to exit the Solar System. Will they ever catch Voyager 1?
Chinese rover makes surprise discovery about liquid water on Mars
Data from the Zhurong rover suggests the Red Planet was wet more recently than we thought.
No music on Mars: Sound is different on the red planet
The high pitches from the flute and the harp would reach your ears before the notes from the tuba and the cello.
Ask Ethan: What would an antimatter black hole teach us?
Everything is made of matter, not antimatter, including black holes. If antimatter black holes existed, what would they do?
Could an advanced civilization change the laws of physics?
Do the laws of physics place a hard limit on how far technology can advance, or can we re-write those laws?
Did the Milky Way lose its black hole?
At four million solar masses, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole is quite small for a galaxy its size. Did we lose the original?
Einstein was right. Flying clocks around the world in opposite directions proved it.
Time isn't the same for everyone, even on Earth. Flying around the world gave Einstein the ultimate test. No one is immune from relativity.
Black hole science enters its golden age
The idea of black holes has been around for over 200 years. Today, we're seeing them in previously unimaginable ways.
Jim Al-Khalili: How our ancient sense of wonder drives physics deeper into the unknown
Popular media often frame scientists as having a cold, sterile view of the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Why seeing the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole is such a big deal
Astronomers in 2017 caught an image of a supermassive black hole in a galaxy far, far away. Doing it in our own galaxy is a huge milestone.
Everything we now know about the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole
After years of analysis, the Event Horizon Telescope team has finally revealed what the Milky Way's central black hole looks like.
Ask Ethan: Why is fusion in stars different than during the Big Bang?
In Sun-like stars, hydrogen gets fused into helium. In the Big Bang, hydrogen fusion also makes helium. But they aren't close to the same.
Cryovolcanoes: How ice volcanoes reshaped the surface of Pluto
We have long thought that Pluto was completely frozen solid, but the discovery of cryovolcanoes challenges that assumption.
Did ancient Greek philosophers believe in aliens?
Speculation about the existence of aliens goes all the way back at least to the Greek philosophers. Their arguments will sound familiar.
Physicists embark on a hunt for a long-sought quantum glow
Could we finally detect the elusive Unruh effect?
What happens when the Universe turns up the heat?
Everything that gets heated up has to, somehow, radiate that energy away. Here's what we see when that happens in the Universe.
Starts With A Bang podcast #81: The local bubble
For a thousand light-years in all directions, there's a "bubble" that the Sun sits at the center of. Here's the story behind it.
Europa’s similarity to Greenland suggests its hidden ocean is close to surface
Europa may be difficult to access. But if a recent study is correct, its subsurface ocean would be more accessible than previously thought.
Meet the one NASA mission that could save us from extinction
Most potentially hazardous asteroids remain unidentified. NEO surveyor could change that, but only if it's funded, and soon.
How general relativity could help predict volcano eruptions
Extremely precise atomic clocks are not just of theoretical interest; they could help detect impending volcanic eruptions or melting glaciers.
We are the only humans in the universe
All life forms, anywhere in our Universe, are chemically connected yet completely unique.
Is life possible on Mars?
Was there ever life on Mars? Is there life on Mars now? Did it originate there or here, on Earth? All possibilities are fascinating.
Why “distance” is not what it seems in the expanding Universe
Look out at a distant object, and you're not seeing it as it is today. It's size, brightness, and actual distance are all different.
How the James Webb Space Telescope beat all expectations
It was supposed to have a 5.5-10 year lifetime, and take 6 months to calibrate. It's performing better than anyone anticipated.
Ask Ethan: Could a big enough telescope see aliens directly?
If there are human-sized creatures walking around on other planets, would we be able to view them directly?