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.
The Standard Model can’t be all there is. Here are five compelling reasons why. “Other than the laws of physics, rules have never really worked out for me.” –Craig Ferguson Two […]
You never would’ve guessed that nuclear physics could be this easy. “Mr. Burns: Smithers, hand me that ice-cream scoop.Smithers: Ice-cream scoop?Mr. Burns: Damn it, Smithers! This isn’t rocket science, it’s brain […]
Every letter holds a special story for those who marvel at the Universe. “When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought that it would pay off.” –Vanna White […]
Washed out by the full Moon on any other night, the lunar eclipse makes this one visible tonight! “All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become […]
From the Beatles to Nirvana, this artist’s imaginings make the originals even better! “I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look […]
As teachers begin using new and questionable methods, will students suffer and get left behind? “Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.”–Dan Quayle As the first full […]
From how they’re born to how they live to the end of their life cycle, this story is common to them all. “Man alone is born crying, lives complaining, and dies […]
This April 15th, Earth experiences a total lunar eclipse, followed by an annular solar eclipse just 14 days later. “And everything under the sun is in tuneBut the sun is eclipsed […]
Summer is coming, and with it, the most famous nebula in the night sky. “The self-same atoms which, chaotically dispersed, made the nebula, now, jammed and temporarily caught in peculiar positions, […]
A big, bright, dust-rich barred spiral galaxy that won’t stay this way for long! “When we are sure that we are on the right road there is no need to plan […]
Deceive your eyes with this amazing art technique that makes 2-D drawings come alive! “The contemporaries and rivals of Zeuxis were Timanthes, Androcydes, Eupompus, and Parrhasius. This last, it is said, […]
If the Universe began with equal amount of matter and antimatter, why does matter dominate today’s cosmos? “You may not feel outstandingly robust, but if you are an average-sized adult you […]
If you had never heard of global warming before, how would you figure out whether it’s happening? “There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point […]
Inflation tells us that it’s likely real, but can it be the answer to any of our scientific questions? Probably not. “Physical reality does not require that we be pleased with […]
We all feel bad for Pluto, but it had its demotion coming. “I have announced this star as a comet, but since it is not accompanied by any nebulosity and, further, […]
Of all the galaxies in our local supercluster, one outweighs them all. “I recognize my limits, but when I look around I realise I am not living, exactly, in a world […]
The way they form is amazing enough, but then the time-lapse video left me speechless. “Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There […]
The physics of accurately knowing just how much time has passed. “While friendship itself has an air of eternity about it, seeming to transcend all natural limits, there is hardly any […]
Now that the Higgs has been discovered, the Standard Model is complete. But are there any other new particles? “The particle and the planet are subject to the same laws […]
An extraordinarily simple explanation of the most mind-boggling concept of modern science. “In the confusion we stay with each other, happy to be together, speaking without uttering a single word.” -Walt […]
You’ll be investing 5-to-7 years of your life. What will you get back? “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” –Benjamin Franklin Recently, a number of people — of widely different ages […]
A beautifully undisturbed, large spiral can be found right at the heart of the Virgo Cluster. “We’ll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one’s been.” […]
The sounds you hear are affected by what you see. Experience it for yourself! “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we […]
In 1887, two scientists set out to measure how the speed of light changed with the Earth’s motion. What they *didn’t* find wound up changing the world. “The conclusions, the bizarre […]
The speed of light in a vacuum is the limit for massless particles, but massive ones are limited even further! “All our sweetest hours fly the fastest.” -Virgil If you’ve been […]
What everyone should know about where our matter-and-radiation-filled Universe came from. “I don’t think at this point we have any way of knowing where the laws of physics came from. We […]
A surprising globular cluster found directly opposite to the galactic center! “A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain […]
How an observational signature from Cosmic Inflation could herald the scientific revolution of the century “Despite its name, the big bang theory is not really a theory of a bang at […]
“You Done Stole My Album! Uh Uh, No You Better Don’t, Hooker!“ “[M]y goal is to always come from a place of love… but sometimes you just have to break it […]
Is the largest object in our galaxy — our central black hole — poised to devour a massive gas cloud? “What makes us love… is when we learn all these fantastic stories. Feeding the imagination […]