SCIENCE

Cosmic first: supermassive black hole caught “turning on” in real-time | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

This artist’s depiction shows a tidal disruption event around an active black hole. Whereas most active black holes that have…

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Ask Ethan: How do photons mediate both attraction and repulsion? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

Today, Feynman diagrams are used in calculating every fundamental interaction spanning the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces, including in high-energy…

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25 year update on the “Millennium problems” in physics | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

The idea that the forces, particles, and interactions that we see today are only part of a grander, larger-dimensional structure…

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Ask Ethan: Can a lumpy Universe explain dark energy? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

By mapping out the three-dimensional positions of galaxies over a large volume of the Universe, scientists within the DESI collaboration…

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The one-page calendar that changes how you view the year | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

The conventional way we display annual calendars, at left, requires us to examine each month separately, either relegating the full…

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Ask Ethan: Could SETI detect a “twin” of Earth? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

While we often imagine that an alien civilization that’s intelligent and technologically advanced will be far more advanced than we…

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Devouring “the Kraken” led to the modern Milky Way | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Jan, 2025

Whether we examine satellites orbiting around planets, planets orbiting around stars, stars moving around a galaxy, or galaxies moving within…

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Have we found a galactic “twin” of the Milky Way? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Dec, 2024

From our own perspective on Earth, we’ve identified the presence of spiral arms. By viewing the Milky Way in infrared…

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Ask Ethan: Do gravitons need to exist? | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Dec, 2024

Quantum gravity attempts to combine Einstein’s general theory of relativity with quantum mechanics. Quantum corrections to classical gravity are visualized…

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Waves in an Impossible Sea: the 2024 science book of the year | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Dec, 2024

The excellent popular science book, Waves in an Impossible Sea: How everyday life emerges from the cosmic ocean, written by…

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