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Ethan Siegel
Theoretical astrophysicist and science writer
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.
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Because “Earth-like” doesn’t necessarily mean “like our Earth.” “I have lost tolerance for things without meaning. There is no time for them. Does that make sense?” –Sara Seager At the end […]
And what are our prospects for observing its event horizon? “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the […]
And will it get too cold or too hot for our habitability? “What, I sometimes wonder, would it be like if I lived in a country where winter is a […]
But that doesn’t mean it actually works as advertised. “All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American […]
The strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational forces probably aren’t all there is. Did we just find evidence for a fifth? “A careful analysis of the process of observation in atomic physics […]
When our imaginations run wild, it’s important to remember that’s our fault, not the data’s. “Otherwise we are trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t exist with a system which doesn’t […]
It’s the most distant galaxy cluster ever discovered, and it’s exactly in line with our predictions! “These galaxies are among the most massive galaxies in the universe and are believed […]
Astrophysicists have been looking for worlds like Proxima b since the 19th century. At last, they’re found! This article is contributed by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in […]
How we know some galaxies have more than others. “Motions of the stars tell you how much matter there is. They don’t care what form the matter is, they just tell […]
When the next big solar flare comes for Earth, will we be ready? “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to […]
The present story is only the beginning; there’s a revolution coming! “Our existence in this place, this microscopic corner of the cosmos, is fleeting. With utter disregard for our wants […]
Now that we know the closest star has a potentially habitable planet, it’s time to ask if it’s really like ours. “To consider the Earth as the only populated world in […]
Images credit: New York Times, 10 November 1919 (L); Illustrated London News, 22 November 1919 (R). If the cloud situation had played out differently, the United States might have confirmed […]
https://players.brightcove.net/2097119709001/4kXWOFbfYx_default/index.html?videoId=5093427476001 In 1946, we made history by photographing the Earth from space for the first time. How far we’ve come! “You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an […]
The latest Starts With A Bang Podcast holds the answers. Our Universe has been expanding and evolving since the hot, dense, expanding state known as the Big Bang first came to […]
We’re looking back in time when we look across the light years, so what’s different between what we see and what’s really there? “I saw a star explode and send out […]
Or can moving at relativistic speeds through a general relativistic Universe change everything? “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard, there’s nothing you can […]
There’s a big gap between Helium and Carbon. Come find out why! “And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium,And chlorine, cobalt, carbon, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium.These are the […]
“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 […]