Ethan Siegel

Ethan Siegel

A theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, host of popular podcast “Starts with a Bang!”

Ethan Siegel 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.

two particles different wavelength speed of light
The Michelson-Morley experiment of 1887, despite expectations, revealed a null result: no effect. The implications were revolutionary.
For centuries, Newton's inverse square law of gravity worked beautifully, but no one knew why. Here's how Einstein finally explained it.
how many planets
From size to mass to density and more, each world in our Solar System is unique. When we compare them, the results are truly shocking.
A computer-generated visualization shows particle collision data with yellow lines and red dots against a black background. The simulated particles appear to interact within a transparent geometric shape.
Today, the Large Hadron Collider is the most powerful particle physics experiment in history. What would a new, successor collider teach us?
Dark matter's hallmark is that it gravitates, but shows no sign of interacting under any other force. Does that mean we'll never detect it?
perseid meteor shower mt lemmon adam block
Peaking on the night of August 11/12, up to 100 bright meteors per hour will be visible. Here's how to make the most of it.
lunar horizon glow clementine
Earth, the only rocky planet with a large, massive satellite, is greatly affected by the Moon. Destroying it would cause 7 major changes.
epsilon eridani comet storm
Straddling the bounds of science and religion, Newton wondered who set the planets in motion. Astrophysics reveals the answer.
Image of a galaxy cluster with a purple haze showing dark matter, surrounded by numerous distant stars and galaxies against the dark backdrop of space.
How do normal matter and dark matter separate by so much when galaxy clusters collide? Astronomers find the surprising, unexpected answer.
smbh growth evolution from direct collapse seed
Even in the very early Universe, there were heavy, supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. How did they get so big so fast?
Often viewed as a purely theoretical, calculational tool only, direct observation of the Lamb Shift proved their very real existence.
Webb’s image of NGC 1512 shows a face-on barred spiral galaxy anchored by its central region, which is circular and shows a bright white point at the center with blue and yellow circles around it. The galaxy’s large bar is crossed by filamentary dust lanes that extend diagonally to the top left and bottom right. The bar is connected to a dense oval-shaped ring of orange spiral arms that start at the edges of the bar
In July of 2022, the first science images from JWST were unveiled. Two years later, it's changed our view of the Universe.
A large circular particle accelerator with several cables and machines is where engineers work inside and around the structure. The facility, dedicated to solving the muon g-2 anomaly, has platforms and specialized equipment surrounding the central structure.
A longstanding mismatch between theory and experiment motivated an exquisite muon measurement. At last, a theoretical solution has arrived.
Overhead view of athletes in starting blocks on a track, preparing for the fastest 100 meters. Marked lanes and starting lines are visible.
The all-time record is Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds, set in 2009. What is the fastest time, ultimately, for an ideal human body?
A stopwatch appears normal on the left side while the right side is digitally warped, creating a distorted, wavy effect that makes you question, "Does time exist?
The passage of time is something we all experience, as it takes us from one moment to the next. But could it all just be an illusion?
JWST deep field vs hubble
From inside our Solar System, zodiacal light prevents us from seeing true darkness. From billions of miles away, New Horizons finally can.
Black and white sketch of a bald man with a long beard, wearing a suit and bow tie, looking to his left.
Adams was infamously scooped when Neptune was discovered in 1846. His failure wasn't the end, but a prelude to a world-changing discovery.
A robotic hand is centered against a blue background, surrounded by a green and blue circuit board pattern, symbolizing the intricate processes of math AI and why machines learn.
It's knowledgeable, confident, and behaves human-like in many ways. But it's not magic that powers AI though; it's just math and data.
For its 2-year science anniversary, JWST has revealed unprecedented details in "the Penguin and the Egg." Here are the surprises inside.
earth sun magnetic magnetosphere
As the Sun ages, it loses mass, causing Earth to spiral outward in its orbit. Will that cool the Earth down, or will other effects win out?