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
Look for the bow shock, but not just in visible light! “Most people don’t know what’s happening around them because they’re just speeding through life. And before they know it, they’re […]
Is there an alternate Universe with a different version of you, and all the outcomes you didn’t choose? “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” –Stephen King, The Dark […]
In 30 million years, we’ll undergo star formation unlike anything else since before there were mammals on Earth. “Think about it this way — a boomerang goes out and comes back to you […]
How the biggest NASA mission of the decade will solve some of the Universe’s greatest mysteries. “Now the world has gone to bed,Darkness won’t engulf my head,I can see by […]
The first of the three great NASA disasters — Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia — happened 49 years ago. Look back. “If we die, we want people to accept it. We’re in a risky business, […]
The Orion Nebula demonstrates the answer. “So numerous are the objects which meet our view in the heavens, that we cannot imagine a point of space where some light would not […]
The similarities between the Universe and a living being are striking and surprising. Could larger entities than us be alive? “Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to […]
And how close does the farthest one we’ve ever found so far come to it? “Science, however, gives me the feeling of steady progress: I am convinced that theoretical physics […]
Planet Nine? More like “Planet maybe.” “Finding out that something you have just discovered is considered all but impossible is one of the joys of science.” –Mike Brown Last week, the […]
Is inertia of prior ideas the only thing keeping us from the next major revolution in science? This post was written by Brian Koberlein. Brian is an astrophysicist and Senior Lecturer […]
How the darkest places on the sky unexpectedly house the closest new stars. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will […]
And here’s the reason why, despite all you may have heard. “Thou shalt not embarrass thyself and thy colleagues by claiming false planets.” –Bill Cochran Late last year, one of the […]
The Universe may be truly infinite, but our understanding of it never will be. Here’s why. “To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not […]
And if the Universe is expanding, does that mean these ripples can break the speed of light? “Einstein’s gravitational theory, which is said to be the greatest single achievement of […]
It’s not that Astronomy has a “problem” that’s unique; it’s that they’re actually doing something about it. “Beauty provokes harassment, the law says, but it looks through men’s eyes when deciding […]
How the future of astronomy — and something we can’t even see — might open up the dark Universe. This post is written by Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity & […]
Last week’s $1.5 billion jackpot was a record that likely will be broken again and again. But when, if ever, should you play? “I’ve done the calculation and your chances of […]
From 10 billion years ago, a cluster more than 500 trillion times the Sun’s mass is revealed to us. “If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, […]
The first ultra high-energy map of the Universe is complete after six years. And there’s a surprise inside. “I happen to have discovered a direct relation between magnetism and light, also […]
Pyongyang says they’ve detonated a hydrogen bomb. Here’s how science can tell us they’re lying. “In this first testing ground of the atomic bomb I have seen the most terrible and […]
And what it means if we don’t see gravitational waves from inflation in the next 5–10 years. “The paradigm of physics — with its interplay of data, theory and prediction — is the most powerful […]
And it didn’t even need a transit to do it! “Mars is much closer to the characteristics of Earth. It has a fall, winter, summer and spring. North Pole, South Pole, […]
It has been brought to my attention that some of you would like to have a copy of my book, autographed and personalized, and perhaps sent to either you or […]
The two best-explored outer Solar System worlds orbit one another. But no one was prepared for what New Horizons saw. “Just as a Chihuahua is still a dog, these ice dwarfs […]
Four years ago, the world was shaken with the announcement of a planet around Alpha Centauri. But was it real? “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that.” –Samuel Beckett If […]
The ability for mass to bend and magnify background light is a unique feature of General Relativity. But it can fool us, too. “Gravitational and electromagnetic interactions are long-range interactions, meaning […]
With current technology, things might take generations. But that could be greatly reduced with a little help. “Oh, yes — I know you. There was a time you looked at the stars and […]
How we went from our Milky Way, alone, to the entire Universe. “Gamow was fantastic in his ideas. He was right, he was wrong. More often wrong than right. Always […]
The laws of physics appear to be symmetric between matter and antimatter. But the Universe tells a different story. “If you see an antimatter version of yourself running towards you, […]
From cities across the world, fireworks were the spectacular sight. But near the poles, nature was the star of the show. “You cannot rob me of free nature’s grace,You cannot […]