Space & Astrophysics
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?
A radio message will be sent to an alien solar system this year. What should it say?
There are pros and cons to sending interstellar messages to aliens that may or may not exist.
Do singularities exist in nature?
Singularities frustrate our understanding. But behind every singularity in physics hides a secret door to a new understanding of the world.
I’m a PhD astrophysicist, and I once saw a UFO
It didn't look like anything I'd seen before, but I'd be a great fool to consider "aliens" as a reasonable possibility.
Does time really exist?
We take for granted that time is real. But what if it's only an illusion, and a relative illusion at that? Does time even exist?
What we’ve learned after 32 years of NASA’s Hubble
When the Hubble Space Telescope first launched in 1990, there was so much we didn't know. Here's how far we've come.
SpinLaunch to fling a NASA payload toward space
Spin, spin, spin — fire! The startup’s radical system could make satellite launches cheaper and cleaner.
What leaking helium-3 gas can tell us about Earth’s origin
Ancient helium-3 from the dawn of time leaks from the Earth, offering clues to our planet’s formation. A key question is where it leaks from.
Ring galaxies, the rarest in the Universe, finally explained
Spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars are all more common than ring galaxies. At last, we know how these ultra-rare objects are made.
Searching for Planet 9
Pluto failed to meet the definition of a planet, but some astronomers think there might be a legitimate Planet 9 out there.
What happens if the Solar System’s largest comet collides with Earth?
The recently discovered Oort cloud comet, Bernardinelli–Bernstein, has the largest known nucleus: 119 km. Here's what it could do to Earth.
Staring into the depths of the Sun with ultraviolet eyes
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently captured images that could help scientists better under the mysterious physics of our Sun.
Neil deGrasse Tyson explores 3 mind-blowing space facts
Dr. Tyson explains where we might find aliens, why "dark matter" is a misleading term, and why you can blame physics for your favorite team's loss.
A quasar-galaxy hybrid could be astronomy’s “missing link”
Single objects rarely change the course of an entire scientific field. Distant object GNz7q, a galaxy-quasar hybrid, might do exactly that.
Ask Ethan: Why is the Universe electrically neutral?
For some reason, the charges on the electron and proton are equal and opposite, and their numbers are equal, too. But why?
Could aliens suck the energy from black holes with Dyson Spheres?
A new paper combines two concepts from the edges of astrophysics: Dyson Spheres and black holes. A Type III civilization could combine them.
Most distant laser ever found in a galaxy 6.6 billion light-years away
Forget about the terawatt lasers we're making on Earth. This natural one is thousands of times more powerful than the Sun.
What do aliens look like?
We should not expect aliens to look anything like us. Creatures that resemble octopuses or birds or even robots are legitimate possibilities.
Is the Universe infinite?
As far as we can tell, there's no limit to how far it goes on; only a limit to how far we can see. Could the Universe truly be infinite?
Einstein wasn’t a “lone genius” after all
Even the most brilliant mind in history couldn't have achieved all he did without significant help from the minds of others.
“Farthest galaxy ever” HD1 is probably not what it seems
We've fooled ourselves before with galaxies that look just like this one. The evidence we have simply isn't strong enough.
Starts With A Bang Podcast #80: The cosmos, James Webb, and beyond
In the latest edition of the Starts With A Bang podcast, we talk with soon-to-be Dr. Arianna Long about galaxies, from birth to today.