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.
It might have puzzled Einstein right up until his death, but that doesn’t mean you can’t understand it! “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are […]
Even if the Universe grows to infinity, there might not be enough space to hold all the possibilities. “We are actually living in a million parallel realities every single minute.” –Marina […]
There’s never been a more important time to be aware of how the fate of the Earth depends on us. “We only have one planet that serves as an example and […]
In the depths of intergalactic space, the Big Bang’s leftover glow is just 2.73 K. But this spot in our own galaxy is even colder. “If you want your boomerang to […]
The way to greatness requires us to look forwards, not backwards. “Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, […]
Whether it’s “super” or not, you won’t want to miss this piece of the Universe. “From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab […]
Gravity is the oldest fundamental force ever discovered. Might it not be fundamental after all? “The whole edifice of modern physics is built up on the fundamental hypothesis of the atomic […]
We’ve just had the largest full Moon in 68 years. Here’s what was — and wasn’t — true. “For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of […]
Some things are held to a higher standard than mob rule. “The evidence at present available points strongly to the conclusion that the spirals are individual galaxies, or island universes, […]
How Polling botched the 2016 election “Distinguishing the signal from the noise requires both scientific knowledge and self-knowledge.” –Nate Silver On the eve of the 2016 election, Nate Silver’s 538 site […]
The reports that our Solar System is missing the galaxy’s most common type of planet are greatly exaggerated. “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a […]
With a whole-planet comparison, you’d never confuse the two worlds. But from their surfaces, telling them apart is harder than you’d think. Image credit: NASA. Think you can tell the red […]
Perhaps the limits of what we can observe aren’t just artificial; perhaps there are no limits to what’s out there at all. “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, […]
All pointing toward the Standard Model plus General Relativity not being all there is. “The Universe is very, very big. It also loves a paradox. For example, it has some extremely […]
The Big Bang’s leftover glow tells us a lot more than just where we came from. “Cosmology is the study of the origin, evolution, and fate of objects in the observable […]
Our Moon might even be a rarer occurrence for a Solar System than an ‘Earth’ is. “The pressure to compete, the fear somebody else will make the splash first, creates a […]
Something isn’t right about the Universe without something extra. So why can’t scientists agree on what that “extra” thing is? “All we know so far is what doesn’t work.” –Richard Feynman […]
As if the north pole of Saturn weren’t weird enough already. “Cassini is different — it’s a mission of enormous scope and is being conducted in grand style. It is much more sophisticated […]
The press says yes. But what does the science say? “This isn’t my life anymore, Mulder. I’m done chasing monsters in the dark.” –Dana Scully, X-files Without a doubt, one […]
They’re the darkest, most massive things in the Universe. How come they have nothing to do with each other? “All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued […]
Could the Nobel Prize of 2011 have been awarded without cause? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I will not realise my […]
And succeeds! “Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.” –J. K. Galbraith One […]
Sorry to all you ‘Flash’ fans out there; it’s not reality yet. This article was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity and high energy […]
From a “watery past” to water today! “If you look at the field of robotics today, you can say robots have been in the deepest oceans, they’ve been to Mars, you […]
From “Under The Sea” to “Part of your world” Happy Halloween!
And if it were, is there any way we could detect that this were the case? “Do I believe, for example, that by using magic I could fly? No. How would […]
SETI is searching for the same signals humans were producing in the 1960s. Why wouldn’t aliens do better? “I know perfectly well that at this moment the whole universe is listening […]
And could every black hole our Universe creates give rise to a baby Universe itself? “Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope,tied between beast and overman — a rope […]
From “billions and billions” to more than two trillion, we still need dark matter as much as ever! “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be […]
October had one, November will have one and December will have one, too. What’s the science of Supermoons? “The supermoon is a 16-inch pizza compared with a 15-inch pizza. It’s […]