Starts With A Bang
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.
Ask Ethan: Why do we have an Oort Cloud?
Our Solar System's outer reaches, and what's in them, was predicted long before the first Oort Cloud object was ever discovered.
How devouring “the Kraken” made the modern Milky Way
Did the Milky Way form by slowly accreting matter or by devouring its neighboring galaxies? At last, we're uncovering our own history.
Why “F = ma” is the most important equation in physics
From high school through the professional ranks, physicists never tire of Newton's second law.
Why the cosmic speed limit is below the speed of light
As particles travel through the Universe, there's a speed limit to how fast they're allowed to go. No, not the speed of light: below it.
Astronomers discover “missing” population of normal, young galaxies before reionization
Previously, only the brightest and most active galaxies could pierce the obscuring wall of cosmic dust. At last, normal galaxies break through.
The science lesson we should all be thankful for in 2021
No matter how controversial or politicized our world becomes, science remains humanity's best tool for figuring out how things work.
Ask Ethan: Why are planets always round?
The stars, planets, and many moons are extremely round. Why don't they take other shapes?
Does the expansion of the Universe break the speed of light?
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?
The 7 ways we might first find life beyond Earth
Finding out we're not alone in the Universe would fundamentally change everything. Here's how we could do it.
Ask Ethan: Could axions be the solution to the dark matter puzzle?
The majority of the matter in our Universe isn't made of any of the particles in the Standard Model. Could the axion save the day?
‘Oumuamua wasn’t an alien spacecraft, and ignoring the science can’t make it so
The most unique interloper into our Solar System has a natural explanation that fits perfectly — no aliens required.
The “airless” Moon really does have an atmosphere, after all
We once thought the Moon was completely airless, but it turns out it has an atmosphere, after all. Even wilder: It has a tail of its own.
How the best alternative to “quantum spookiness” failed
Many still cling to the idea that we live in a deterministic Universe, despite the nature of quantum physics. Now, the "least spooky" interpretation no longer works.
Why the partial lunar eclipse of November 19, 2021 is the longest in 600 years
We haven't seen a partial eclipse lasting this long since 1440, and won't again until 2669. North America is perfectly positioned for 2021's.
Ask Ethan: Why can’t black holes be made of dark matter?
Although most of the Universe's mass is dark matter, which gravitates just as well as normal matter, it still can't make black holes.
New black hole discovery proves it: ding, dong, the “mass gap” is dead
The latest gravitational wave data from LIGO and Virgo finally shows us the truth: there are no "gaps" in the masses of black holes.
Earth is the Solar System’s densest planet. It shouldn’t be.
Based on the atoms that they're made out of, the innermost planet should always be the densest. Here's why Earth beats Mercury, hands down.
Overcoming the last “impossible” step in making supermassive black holes
It had long seemed impossible that supermassive black holes could grow to such enormous sizes. But the biggest problem is now solved.
The 8 ways that all the elements in the Universe are made
There are over 100 known elements in the periodic table. These 8 ways of making them account for every one.
Astro2020: Astronomy’s bright future revealed in game-changing decadal report
Big dreams and big telescopes are back at last, but everything depends on sufficiently funding NASA, the NSF, and the DOE.
Ask Ethan: Would a false vacuum state of the Universe lead to our destruction?
There's a big difference between the notions of 'false vacuum' and 'true vacuum' states. Here's why we don't want to live in the former.
Does modern cosmology prove the existence of God?
The Kalam cosmological argument asserts that everything that exists has a cause, and what caused the Universe? It's got to be God.
We understand planets better than ever, and that’s why Pluto still isn’t one
In 2006, Pluto was demoted in a very controversial decision. Unless you ignore nearly all of planetary science, it'll never be one again.
How big will the Sun become when it dies?
Our Sun will continue to grow, becoming a red giant and then a planetary nebula. Here's how large it will get.
Ask Ethan: What should everyone know about quantum mechanics?
Quantum physics isn't quite magic, but it requires an entirely novel set of rules to make sense of the quantum universe.
No, we probably didn’t detect our first planet in another galaxy
Named M51-ULS-1b, it's certainly a curious astronomical event. But the evidence is far too weak to conclude "planet."
Terraforming: why the Moon is a better target than Mars
The first world that humans should inhabit beyond the Earth is the Moon, not Mars. Here's why terraforming our lunar neighbor is so appealing.
Can just one equation describe the entire history of the universe?
As the first Friedmann equation celebrates its 99th anniversary, it remains the one equation to describe our entire universe.
“Most distant explosion ever” turns out to be a lie
The universe is filled with unlikely events, but is also full of ways to fool ourselves.
Ask Ethan: How do we know the universe is 13.8 billion years old?
It's been precisely 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang occurred. Here's how we know.