The ultimate fate of every star that’s ever lived

All of the stars are eventually going to die, and when they do, you can't count on their corpses sticking around forever.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

Are we expanding along with the Universe?

#AskEthan

The Universe really is expanding, and no, we aren't expanding along with it.

Here's the science behind why, as well as what else is (and isn't) expanding.
bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

4 pervasive myths that cause us to abandon science

None of us consider ourselves to be 'anti-science' at our cores, yet many of us regurgitate these four prominent myths all the time.

Here's how to see through to the truth instead.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

New LHC results refute Fermilab’s “hole” in the Standard Model

In 2022, Fermilab's CDF collaboration announced a new mass for the W-boson, defying the Standard Model.

Now CERN's ATLAS collaboration has weighed in, and the mismatch is gone.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

The unexpected connection between the northern lights and Hubble’s death

2024 has gifted us the most spectacular auroral show on Earth since 2003.

It's also been the year that Hubble's orbit has decayed more severely than any other.

They're related.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

Astronomers discover how energy escapes the galactic center

The galactic center has its own chimney, complete with 'vents,' that enable the escape of energy, the flow of plasma, and more.

Yet another reason why NASA's Chandra must continue!
bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

Starts With A Bang Podcast #105 – Dark Matter and Galaxies

New podcast, featuring The Emancipation of Keke, MS, HNIC!

Does dark matter merely hold galaxies together, or is there a much richer interplay at hand between the different species of matter in our Universe?

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

The #aurora is real, and even though it's faint and monochromatic to my human eyes, our phones can take long-exposure photos.

Here's what it's like, looking up at the Big Dipper from the Pacific Northwest, with the exposure time set to four seconds.

Can you explain wide binaries and modified gravity?

#AskEthan

Do wide binary star systems prove modified gravity or refute it? Neither; the data is insufficient to draw any such conclusions, and everyone should understand why.
bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

Does the Universe expand by stretching or creating space?

When the Universe expands, does the existing space stretch, or does new space get created in between the gaps of previously-existing space? The answer isn't universal.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

Our best idea for the “origin of gold” doesn’t add up

Where does gold come from in the Universe?

The amount that we know how to create, astrophysically, just isn't enough to match what we actually find.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

New particle at last! Physicists detect the first “glueball”

It's not a new 'fundamental' particle, but finding a glueball — a composite particle made solely out of gluons, with no valence quarks — is a huge deal.

bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

JWST uncovers new secrets within the Horsehead Nebula

Here's what JWST really saw, and what it means, when it peered inside the 'mane' of the Horsehead Nebula.
bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

So proud of outstanding astronomer and JWST pioneer Dr. Jane Rigby for being selected to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A well deserved honor for a remarkable human being.

The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong. by Ethan Siegel realclearscience.com/2024/04/20/ide…

Huge congratulations and very well-deserved!

Hey Portland!

What are you up to tomorrow night?

If I weren't recovering from surgery, here's where I'd be: at the Cedar Hills Powell's City of Books, listening to Matt Strassler talk particle physics and his new book, Waves in an Impossible Sea!

powells.com/book/waves-in-…

'No matter how good our measurement devices get, certain quantum properties always possess an inherent uncertainty. Can we figure out why?' via Ethan Siegel realclearscience.com/2024/04/12/the…