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.

atom
Quantum uncertainty and wave-particle duality are big features of quantum physics. But without Pauli's rule, our Universe wouldn't exist.
JWST most distant galaxy proto-cluster
Finding out how the Universe grew up was the biggest science goal of JWST. This ultra-early proto-galaxy cluster is one amazing discovery.
jwst background galaxies
From quarks and gluons to giant galaxy clusters, everything that exists in our Universe is determined by what is (and isn't) bound together.
JWST deep field vs hubble
JWST has brought us more distant views of the early Universe than ever before. Is the Big Bang, and all of modern cosmology, in trouble?
anti-gravity mirror
If you look into a mirror, you'll notice that left-and-right are reversed, but up-and-down is preserved. The reason isn't what you think.
Mount Vesuvius 1760-1761 eruption
Nearly 2000 years ago, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii but incinerating Herculaneum. The most lethal volcanic phenomenon is at fault.
universe bulk volume brane dimension
For decades, theorists have been cooking up "theories of everything" to explain our Universe. Are all of them completely off-track?
JWST vs Hubble deep field
With infrared capabilities and image sharpness far beyond Hubble's limits, JWST looked at Hubble's deepest field, revealing so much more.
infinity
The Universe is grand, awe-inspiring, and greater than we likely imagine. Even astrophysicists get anxious thinking about it, but we cope.
double slit experiments with electrons send one at a time
The double-slit experiment, hundreds of years after it was first performed, still holds the key mystery at the heart of quantum physics.
quantum superposition
With a massive, charged nucleus orbited by tiny electrons, atoms are such simple objects. Miraculously, they make up everything we know.
einstein quote imagination knowledge
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" is often taken to mean that your conceptions outweigh what's real. That's not what he said.
Uranus 1986 Voyager 2 2023 JWST
Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, finding a bland, featureless world. Now, in 2023, JWST's sights are similar. There's a reason for that.
two colliding white dwarfs trigger a type Ia supernova
When white dwarfs explode, they create a type Ia supernovae. After decades of following the leading theory, here's the complete overhaul!
lightning over Bristol talkie_tim
From up close, the cracking sound of a thunderclap dominates. From far away, it's more like a drawn-out rumble. Can science explain why?
sentient AI
When someone attempts to make you afraid of something that hasn't happened instead of a true, present danger, suspect this nefarious ploy.
wormholes
Leading a scientific revolution is easy: you just have to succeed where the current theory fails while equaling its successes. Good luck!
full circle rainbow ring optics physics
Most of us only ever see a fraction of a full rainbow: an arc. But optically, a full rainbow makes a complete circle. Physics explains why.
map of earth eclipse path April 8 2024
The next solar eclipse to occur over heavily populated areas is on April 8, 2024. For a spectacular show; here's where the best views are!
inflation spawn parallel universes
Our huge, expanding Universe may truly be infinite. But if the set of possible quantum outcomes is also infinite, which "infinity" wins?