The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it.
Our mission: to answer, scientifically, the biggest questions of all.
- What is our Universe made of?
- How did it become the way it is today?
- Where did everything come from?
- What is the ultimate fate of the cosmos?
For countless generations, these were questions without resolutions. Now, for the first time in history, we have scientific answers. Starts With A Bang, written by Dr. Ethan Siegel, brings these stories — of what we know and how we know it — directly to you.
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Featured
Why power generated through nuclear fusion will be the future, but not the present, solution to humanity’s energy needs.
It’s a strange idea to consider: that a tiny building block of matter, the atomic nucleus, holds the greatest potential for energy release.
And yet, it’s true; while electron transitions in atoms or molecules typically release energy on the order of ~1 electron-Volt, nuclear transitions between different configurations release energies a million times as great, on the order of ~1 Mega-electron-Volt.
Popular
From before the Big Bang to the present day, the Universe goes through many eras. Dark energy heralds the final one.
A wild, compelling idea without a direct, practical test, the Multiverse is highly controversial. But its supporting pillars sure are stable.
The surface and atmosphere is colored by ferric oxides. Beneath a very thin layer, mere millimeters deep in places, it’s not red anymore.
The first supernova ever discovered through its X-rays has an enormously powerful engine at its core. It’s unlike anything ever seen.
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see 46.1 billion light-years away in all directions. Doesn’t that violate…something?
All Stories
“Eureka!” is not always as powerful as “that’s what I thought!” “Reality is what kicks back when you kick it. This is just what physicists do with their particle accelerators. […]
How they get so big so fast is a mystery. Could “direct collapse” be the solution we’re seeking? “For something to collapse, not all systems have to shut down. In most […]
After nearly 20 years in orbit around Saturn, Cassini prepares to say goodbye. “All the atoms of our bodies will be blown into space in the disintegration of the solar system, […]
Galaxy-sized? Human-sized? Atom-sized? Even smaller? How tiny can a bit of space be and still expand? “We now have the best picture of how galaxies like our own formed their stars.” […]
If you thought Usain Bolt’s 9.58s world record time in the 100 meters was ever in jeopardy, this shows how unlikely that was. “A lot of legends, a lot of people, […]
If you gazed up at the Perseids, you’ll want to appreciate the fact that we’re still here. “Honestly, if you’re given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don’t say ‘what […]
Could the Universe loop around on itself, and might you come back out the other side? “For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned […]
The 750 GeV particle that the LHC thought it saw? A sham. And we all should have known. “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are […]
A shining bauble among a diffuse cloud of stellar debris has a tremendously interesting physics story behind it. “Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; […]
46 billion light years in all directions in just 13.8 billion years? Here’s how it’s done! “They say the universe is expanding. That should help with the traffic.” –Steven Wright There are […]
Using incomplete facts to spin a false narrative and mislead the public is the modus operandi of a political liar. “I’m not a natural leader. I’m too intellectual; I’m too […]
200 meteors per hour is only three per minute, and with a more-than-half full moon out, you might want to stay inside. “My dad took me out to see a meteor […]
If you think you can just add up its components, you’re 99% short! “Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in […]
For the central 8,000 light years, there are practically no tracers of new stars. What gives? “This suggests a lack of Cepheids in the inner 2.5 kpc region of the Galactic […]
Does your galaxy have a black eye? It’s not because of violence, I promise! “He ate and drank the precious Words,his Spirit grew robust;He knew no more that he was poor,nor […]
If you’re looking for a point in space, the answer is going to shock you. “The world you see, nature’s greatest and most glorious creation, and the human mind which gazes […]
More than a million times what we make at the LHC, these could be the ultimate keys to nature. “Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson […]
The force of empty space isn’t always zero. Here’s how an electromagnetic experiment might be the key to dark energy. “Another very good test some readers may want to look up… […]
The greatest new anime of 2015 has some incredibly powerful feats. Here’s the physics of the most sensational one. “Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change […]
Could the secret to understanding gravity be held in reducing, not increasing, the number of dimensions? This article is written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in […]
How the bulge, disk, and halo stars of Andromeda reveal lessons we cannot see about our own galaxy. “He who would search for pearls must dive below.” –John Dryden The Milky […]
The strongest pull for hundreds of millions of light years goes toe-to-toe against the most energetic force of all. “We detect motion along this axis, but right now our data cannot […]
And it doesn’t mean we should give up, but it does mean we’ve got a lot of work to do! “‘Star Trek’ says that it has not all happened, it has […]
The LUX experiment just set the tightest bounds ever on dark matter, and may lead us down a different path entirely. “For me the best answer is not in words […]
While there are presently more than ~10²³ stars in the Universe shining today, each one of them is fated to live only for a finite amount of time. While more […]
https://players.brightcove.net/2097119709001/4kXWOFbfYx_default/index.html?videoId=5042734601001 In the more than 40 years since Apollo ended, we’ve never gone farther. “I knew I was alone in a way that no earthling has ever been before.” –Michael Collins On […]
When the Viking landers ran their three experiments looking for life, one came up positive. That’s still a mystery. “This suggests a robust biological response. These analyses support the interpretation that […]
The infrared reveals stars — and a surprising population of failed stars — we’ve never seen before. “…innumerable stars, thousands of double and multiple systems, clusters in one blaze with their tens of thousands of […]
If everything is relative, as Einstein says, then how do cosmologists measure these quantities in ways everyone can agree? “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the […]
Why, even with infinite magnification, we’d never view the first stars. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” –Marcus Aurelius Imagine the […]