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.
From atoms to solar systems to galaxies, everything seems to have rotation and revolution. Where does that come from? Image credit: Fermilab / DOE / Dark Energy camera; Dark Energy […]
More science, more stories, and more spectacular scientists are coming to Starts With A Bang! Image credit: BBC, The Story of Science. “Men at some time are masters of their […]
The incredible story of a single simple atom, that just happens to be in your body right now! Image credit: Richard Crisp, via http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/incoming/horse_ap155edf_pl39k_lrgb_15hrs.jpg. “The atoms come into my brain, […]
If spinning-and-moving charges make magnetic fields, why does a giant neutral thing have one? Image credit: NASA, Chandra X-ray Observatory, SAO, DSS, via http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140725.html. “By allowing the positive ions to […]
The incredible story of the record-breaking red planet’s rover. “In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.”–John Archibald Wheeler Sometimes, things get difficult. Sometimes, there are challenges […]
It’s the last Virgo Cluster member in the entire Messier catalogue, but they saved the best for last! Image credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), via http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0608a/. “From a little spark […]
Piss off George Lucas and shoot your eye out with a real-life light saber! “General Kenobi. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you […]
And if not, how do you reason with those who believe they are? “Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that […]
And what they mean for humans here on Earth. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” –Alexander […]
If spiral galaxies have a preferred direction, it just might be. “Since the beginning of physics, symmetry considerations have provided us with an extremely powerful and useful tool in our […]
From asteroids to planets to stars and more, doubling what you’ve got can be disastrous! “Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like science has a double […]
The Virgo Cluster of galaxies is the richest nearby treasure trove of ellipticals; this is the final one Messier ever found. “We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, […]
Mike Denison’s artistic tribute to the small-screen legend is just delightful! “I’m not playing a role. I’m being myself, whatever the hell that is.” -Bea Arthur When it first came […]
The observer changes everything, but what does that mean? “You can observe a lot by just watching.” –Yogi Berra In our everyday lives, things happen the way they happen, and whether […]
As the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11 approaches, take time to remember the first human to reach the Moon. “Geologists have a saying: rocks remember.” –Neil Armstrong Looming up above us, […]
The DAMA experiment has seen an annual modulation in its signal for over a decade. But can it be explained without invoking dark matter? Today’s article comes courtesy of Sabine Hossenfelder. […]
They’re one of the great undetected predictions of dark matter, and we may have just found the first ones! “Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest […]
Amidst the great plane of the Milky Way, a glittering masterpiece awaits. “[T]his all fades to black, and it’s gone. It’s dust. Choose carefully what you obsess about.” -Meshell Ndegeocello […]
Seven out-of-this world tastes for the seven other planets in our Solar System. “I’ve learned what ‘classical’ means. It means something that sings and dances through sheer joy of existence.” –Gustav […]
Which ideas are likely, which ones are speculative, and which ones are pure fiction? “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think […]
We observe our Universe as it is today: 13.8 billion years old and full of galaxies. What would we see 100 billion years from now? “It is always wise to look […]
The science behind defeating one of Ninja Warrior’s toughest legendary obstacles! “Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make […]
The far side looks *nothing* like the side that faces us. After 55 years, we may finally know why. “When you’re finally up at the moon looking back on earth, all […]
Peeking out through the galaxy’s dust, this ancient relic has plenty to offer if you know where to look! “When someone demands blind obedience, you’d be a fool not to peek.”–Jim […]
An amazing art project casts your heroes of TV and film as an imagination-firing set of Marvel superheroes! “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when […]
There’s a supermassive black hole at the center of almost all of them, but who came first? “One has to be an optimist; one has to hope that somewhere there’ll be […]
Gravity is a hard force to overcome, but some worlds get an unlikely assist that makes it all too easy. “Some prophecies are self-fulfillingBut I’ve had to work for all of […]
The quantum nature of the Universe ruins everything. “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” –Werner Heisenberg When you think about the […]
And what are the odds that it’s out there? “Since stars appear to be suns, and suns, according to the common opinion, are bodies that serve to enlighten, warm, and sustain […]
And the unheralded astronomer who brought its secrets to light. “In a word, in the eyes of a giant, to whom our Suns were what our atoms are to us, the […]