Ethan Siegel
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startswithabang.bsky.social
Ethan Siegel
@startswithabang.bsky.social
Cosmologist, science communicator, author, speaker, and longtime writer of Starts With A Bang.

Not the next Carl Sagan; the first Ethan Siegel.
Why does something exist instead of nothing?

#AskEthan

We all know that the fact that the Universe exists has made a lot of people angry since the dawn of people.

But how did our Universe come to have "something" instead of nothing?

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #quantum #physics #reality
Ask Ethan: Why does something exist instead of nothing?
Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the Universe at all is simply that it, and everything in it, exists. But what's the reason why?
bigthink.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Does our physical reality exist in an objective manner?

With quantum mechanics, we can keep the idea that an objective reality exists, Independent of observers, but there's a whole lot we have to give up if we do.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #quantum #particle
Does our physical reality exist in an objective manner?
We think of physical reality as what objectively exists, independent of any observer. But relativity and quantum physics say otherwise.
bigthink.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Why ice skating is a miracle of physics

Most animals slip on the ice, but put a pair of skates on, and you can control your motion on the ice like it's child's play.

The unusual physics of ice is at fault.

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #science #ice #water
Why ice skating is a miracle of physics
While ice itself is slick, slippery, and difficult to navigate across under most circumstances, skaters easily glide across the ice.
bigthink.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The simplest explanation for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

The highest-energy cosmic rays are too high in energy.... for bare protons.

But if they're actually heavier ions instead, the simplest explanation is just plain iron-ic.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #cosmicrays #astro #physics
The simplest explanation for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays
The highest-energy particles could be a sign of new, unexpected physics. But the simplest, most mundane explanation is particularly iron-ic.
bigthink.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
How recently have we understood the Universe?

The Universe has been around for 13.8 billion years.

But it's really only over the most recent millennia, centuries, and decades that humanity has understood it at all.

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #universe #cosmos #astro
How recently have we understood the Universe?
While humanity has been skywatching since ancient times, much of our cosmic understanding has come about only recently. Very recently.
bigthink.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:21 PM
They tell us to settle down because we have everything to gain (and they have everything to lose) if we join together and rise up.
WELKER: Massie and Khanna say they are looking at options including impeachment and contempt for DOJ officials. Would you support those steps?

KAINE: I think that's premature
December 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Can stars form within the expanding Universe?

#AskEthan

The Universe, since the Big Bang, expands, cools, and gets less dense.

How is it possible for gravity to form stars in such a dilute environment?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astronomy #stars #cosmology
Ask Ethan: Can stars form within the expanding Universe?
Our Universe doesn't just expand and cool, but the expansion itself is accelerating. Can stars form under such structure-erasing conditions?
bigthink.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
10 solstice facts for everyone to know

"If you live at a higher latitude than the 43rd parallel, the Sun is lower during your winter solstice than it is at the opposite hemisphere’s pole."

Weird but true; come see all 10!
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astronomy #solstice
10 solstice facts for everyone to know
Earth orbits the Sun while spinning on its tilted axis, with two annual occasions marking that maximal tilt. That's where solstices arise.
bigthink.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The USA’s Genesis Mission: moonshot or madness?

The USA just announced the "Genesis Mission," an AI/quantum computing platform for all 17 national laboratories.

Will it accelerate scientific discovery, or end it completely?

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astronomy #physics #genesis
bigthink.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:11 PM
As 2025 ends, the Standard Model still hasn’t cracked

Here in 2025, many challenges have arisen to both Standard Models: particle physics and cosmology.

As the year end, there's barely a crack in either.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics
As 2025 ends, the Standard Model still hasn't cracked
Our Standard Model of the Universe, for both particle physics and cosmology, remains intact for now. When will its foundations crack?
bigthink.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Brightest-ever lensed supernova reveals astronomy’s coming revolution

Astronomers found our first gravitationally lensed superluminous supernova.

With the Vera C. Rubin Observatory now operational, hundreds, maybe thousands more should be coming.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #supernova
Brightest-ever lensed supernova reveals astronomy's coming revolution
With the observation of SN 2025wny, a lensed superluminous supernova, astronomy's future comes into sharp, exciting focus.
bigthink.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Starts With A Bang podcast #124 – Astrochemistry

Everyone gets excited about astrobiology, but we've never found "biology" beyond Earth.

Chemistry abounds, however, and that's why astrochemistry is so fascinating. Listen for yourself!

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #chemistry #astro
Starts With A Bang podcast #124 - Astrochemistry
It takes a wide variety of processes in the Universe to make all the elements that populate space today. We're still discovering new ones!
bigthink.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
How do LLMs/chatbots impact students and cheating?

#AskEthan

Across all educational levels, students are outsourcing their assignments to LLMs like ChatGPT.

Except for the ones who care about growing their own minds, they're unlikely to stop.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#astro #physics #ed
Ask Ethan: How do LLMs/chatbots impact students and cheating?
As technology advances, more opportunities for cheating arise. AI/LLMs aren't posing a new problem; they're how students cheat themselves.
bigthink.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Does science reveal the absolute truth about reality?

There may indeed be an "absolute truth" to the nature of reality, but if so, science isn't capable of finding it.

That's okay; understanding how science truly works is far more important.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #science #physics
Does science reveal the absolute truth about reality?
Science isn't absolute. Its truths and discoveries enable us to approximate reality, but we must always remain open-minded to revisions.
bigthink.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Gravitational lensing is amazing, but won’t solve the Hubble tension

People often claim that:
-lensed supernovae,
-lensed quasars,
-or standard sirens
can measure the expanding Universe independently of the cosmic distance ladder.

Don't believe it.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
Gravitational lensing is amazing, but won't solve the Hubble tension
The method you use to measure the expanding Universe determines which of two answers you'll get. Lensed supernovae can't resolve that issue.
bigthink.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Ethan Siegel
Great list; 1 is what you expect, but 8 is the kicker. Passing peer review doesn't make 1 study true. It means ~10 people found it convincing. Important corollary is a manuscript not through review is no better than a twitter post from the perspective of being authoritative. Ahem Avi Loeb (No.2).
10 scientific truths that somehow became unpopular in 2025

Scientific truths exist independently of public opinion.

But when we disbelieve them, we embrace misinformation instead, and that harms more than most of us realize.

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #science #physics #misinformation
10 scientific truths that somehow became unpopular in 2025
Scientific truths remain true regardless of belief. These 10, despite contrary claims, remain vitally important as 2025 draws to a close.
bigthink.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
10 scientific truths that somehow became unpopular in 2025

Scientific truths exist independently of public opinion.

But when we disbelieve them, we embrace misinformation instead, and that harms more than most of us realize.

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #science #physics #misinformation
10 scientific truths that somehow became unpopular in 2025
Scientific truths remain true regardless of belief. These 10, despite contrary claims, remain vitally important as 2025 draws to a close.
bigthink.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The LHC’s best 2025 discovery points the way to new physics

One key ingredient, needed to make more matter than antimatter, is CP-violation.

From 1964-2025, it had only ever been observed in mesons.

Well, meet our first CP-violating baryons!
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #matter #2025
The LHC's best 2025 discovery points the way to new physics
Some vital, key ingredients must be in place for the Universe to make more matter than antimatter. The LHC took us one step closer in 2025.
bigthink.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Can we ever observe a proton decaying?

#AskEthan

As far as we experimentally know, the proton is a truly stable particle.

But theoretically, there are many motivations to search for proton decay.

Will we ever observe one in action?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #astro #particle #matter
Ask Ethan: Can we ever observe a proton decaying?
As the lightest baryon in the Universe, the proton is thought by many to be eternally stable. But if it isn't, can we observe it decaying?
bigthink.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
New discovery sets humanity up to image “alien Earth”

Yes, astronomers are preparing to directly image Earth-sized worlds around Sun-like stars for the first time.

Here's how the biggest "missing piece" for getting there just fell into place.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #exoplanets
New discovery sets humanity up to image "alien Earth"
Finding alien Earths requires seeing Earth-sized planets at Earth-like distances from Sun-like stars. A new discovery completes the roadmap.
bigthink.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
2025’s Geminids will be the best meteor shower of the year

August's Perseids were good this year, like every year, but they're no longer Earth's most prolific meteor shower.

The Geminids have taken over the top spot, and they peak just days from now.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
2025's Geminids will be the best meteor shower of the year
With a waning Moon and a denser-than-ever debris trail, 2025's Geminids might be the year's best meteor shower, and 2026's could be amazing.
bigthink.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Will new physics affect our Universe’s far future?

We have a long-term story, based on our consensus cosmology, of how our Universe will end.

But if dark matter interacts, the proton decays, or dark energy evolves, all bets are off.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics #future
Will new physics affect our Universe's far future?
We have a picture of how and when it will all come to an end. These three big ideas could still profoundly change how our cosmos evolves.
bigthink.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
The 9 biggest gaps in our understanding of cosmic history

No matter how well we understand the Universe, and the cosmic story that created us, there will always be gaps for us to further study.

These 9 are the biggest ones we're facing right now.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #science
The 9 biggest gaps in our understanding of cosmic history
Science has assembled an incredible story outlining our the Universe's whole history. Despite its unrivaled success, 9 profound gaps remain.
bigthink.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:50 PM
What’s the point of exploring the Universe?

#AskEthan

With so much going on in the world and so many problems to solve, why should we be investing in exploring the Universe?

We must always remember.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics
Ask Ethan: What's the point of exploring the Universe?
There are so many problems, all across planet Earth, that harm and threaten humanity. Why invest in researching the Universe?
bigthink.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:45 PM
10 scientific phenomena to be thankful for every day

Today marks American Thanksgiving, but here on Earth and in this Universe, we have so much to be thankful for (for enabling our existence) every day.

bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #darkmatter
10 scientific phenomena to be thankful for every day
Although American Thanksgiving only comes once a year, the scientific rules that make our Universe possible are always worth appreciating.
bigthink.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:34 PM