Ethan Siegel
A theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, host of popular podcast "Starts with a Bang!"
Ethan Siegel is a Ph.D. astrophysicist and author of "Starts with a Bang!" He is a science communicator, who professes physics and astronomy at various colleges. He has won numerous awards for science writing since 2008 for his blog, including the award for best science blog by the Institute of Physics. His two books "Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive" and "Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe" are available for purchase at Amazon. Follow him on Twitter @startswithabang.
When matter falls in, black holes grow. But Hawking radiation says that black holes decay. Who wins? “Maybe that is our mistake: maybe there are no particle positions and velocities, but […]
More than 90% of the eclipses to ever happen on Earth have already occurred. Don’t miss the next one! “We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded […]
The pulsar map to Earth was perfect when it was launched. By time aliens get it, it’ll be completely useless. “We [are] a species endowed with hope and perseverance, at […]
The new Moon is brighter than every star in the sky. But you’ll never see it during an eclipse. “Even though the reason for taking the photographs was science, the result […]
The origin of life on Earth may have nothing to do with Earth at all. “An extrapolation of the genetic complexity of organisms to earlier times suggests that life began before […]
It’s a great show in total darkness. Here’s how to not ruin it for yourself. “Yes, I am well aware that nature — or what we call nature: that totality of objects […]
It’s a lot more than just being unable to measure two things simultaneously. “In the future, maybe quantum mechanics will teach us something equally chilling about exactly how we exist […]
No other object this large has come so close to Earth in millions of years. In the 5th millennium, we might suffer the consequences. “Honestly, if you’re given the choice […]
When you’re confronted by some new information, how do you tell whether it’s valid or not? “I’m old enough to remember when the polio vaccine was still new. Also, it hadn’t […]
That number is far bigger than anyone expected, but physics doesn’t lie. “Our first priority was making sure we weren’t fooling ourselves.” –Keith Riles, LIGO team member How many black holes are […]
It isn’t about saving us from aliens at all. “To be on my very first spacewalk, to be outside, and to have contamination in my suit to the point that I […]
Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming are all on fire, and simply driving your car can be the most dangerous thing of all. “I’d rather fight 100 structure fires than a wildfire. With […]
Drop a chunk of sodium metal into water, and a violent reaction ensues. But it’s more than just chemistry at play. “Chlorine is a deadly poison gas employed on European battlefields […]
99 years ago, General Relativity was still unproven. During the 1918 eclipse, a small team of Americans almost changed that. “Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway around the world […]
Gravitational waves and spacetime ripples have so much more to do with the Universe than just merging black holes. “The years of searching in the dark for a truth that one […]
If you know when, where and how to look, the show will still be spectacular. “My dad took me out to see a meteor shower when I was a little […]
Black holes shouldn’t be this big, much less this big so many billions of years ago. Yet here we are. “Ultramassive black holes — that is, black holes with masses exceeding 10 billion […]
The speed of light is a universal constant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that light always travels at that speed, does it? “There was a young lady named Bright,Whose speed was […]
The atoms, planets, stars, and even galaxies aren’t expanding, even though space is. How come? This article was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity […]
On August 21st, 2017, a total eclipse will hit 14 states. Here’s your guide to everything you need to know. “…and the Sun has perished out of heaven, and an […]
If you can’t look at the full suite of evidence and tell the full truth, you’re nothing but a deliberate misleader. At best. “Climate change does not respect border; it does […]
The greatest advances in human history have come from science and scientific knowledge. Don’t stop now. “Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.” […]
But there are resources, tips, and telltale signs to keep you from being duped. “Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as […]
Holes, lines, or even walls in space aren’t just fiction; they could actually exist! “Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended.” –Francois de La Rochefoucauld The biggest lesson […]
Before we go venturing off to another star to look for life, why not look here? “If I had to describe myself to an alien I’d say I was bigger than […]
With August 21st just a few weeks away, it’s time to learn everything we can! On August 21, 2017, a coast-to-coast total eclipse across the United States will occur, the […]
Unpredictable winters? Seasons that don’t line up? It’s possible with the right configuration, says physics. “Lord of Light! Come to us in our darkness. We offer you these false gods. Take […]
With five moons orbiting it, Pluto is the richest rocky world known to date. How did it get that way? “We really expect the mission to be transformational. This is the […]
Totality is a time to look at the eclipsed Sun, enjoy, and marvel at it. But for photographers, there’s even more in store. “Having totality means being capable of following ‘what […]
The red planet is nearby, cool, sunny, and was once potentially habitable. Could it someday be that way again? “It would be great some day to have astronauts in a rover […]