June 21, 2013
"In any case, the number three fitted perfectly the way quarks occur in nature." -Murray Gell-Mann
You might think that we know it all, at least as far as knowing-it-all is possible. After all, we know that matter is made up of atoms, which are made up of electrons and nuclei, and the nuclei are…
June 19, 2013
"Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you can't construct a doctrine of creation without taking account of the age of the universe and the evolutionary character of cosmic history." -John Polkinghorne
Out there in space, whether we look with our eyes or with a…
June 17, 2013
“God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.” -Bill Watterson
Welcome back to another Messier Monday, only here on Starts With A Bang! With each new Monday, we take an in-depth look at a prominently visible random object…
June 16, 2013
"Illusion is the first of all pleasures." -Oscar Wilde
It's tough to tell fact from fiction, and sometimes just as hard to tell reality from illusion. As long as you're enjoying yourself this weekend, I'd have to agree with Buckwheat Zydeco, and say
Let The Good Times Roll.
But despite what these…
June 14, 2013
"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." -Frank Zappa
One of the most difficult things to talk about, for any self-respecting scientist, is politics. Like all of you, I have my preferences, my…
June 12, 2013
"Twinkle, twinkle, quasi-star
Biggest puzzle from afar
How unlike the other ones
Brighter than a billion suns
Twinkle, twinkle, quasi-star
How I wonder what you are." -George Gamow
The Big Bang is one of the greatest, revolutionary ideas in all of modern science, but it's also one of the most…
June 10, 2013
"It's coming right for us!" -Uncle Jimbo, from South Park
Welcome back to another Messier Monday, only here on Starts With A Bang! Each Monday, we take an in-depth look at one of the 110 deep-sky objects that make up the Messier Catalogue, the first accurate and comprehensive deep-sky catalogue of…
June 9, 2013
"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." -Oscar Wilde
It's an intense world out there, and life can leave you weary in many ways. And sometimes, making your way through each day makes it feel like the whole world is watching, and there's no hiding. Have a listen,…
June 7, 2013
"From my close observation of writers... they fall into two groups: one, those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and two, those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review." -Isaac Asimov
You'd never know it unless you were one of about six people in the entire world, but…
June 5, 2013
"You can spend too much time wondering which of identical twins is the more alike." -Robert Brault
You've of course heard by now the news that Kepler, the most successful and prolific planet-finding mission of all time, has probably reached the end of its useful lifespan.
Image credit: NASA /…
June 3, 2013
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." -Albert Camus
Welcome back to another Messier Monday, only here on Starts With A Bang! The first accurate, large catalogue of fixed, deep-sky objects, Messier's 110-object-strong catalogue features galaxies,…
June 2, 2013
"...because today, with cameras as pervasive as they are, there is no such thing really as professional photographers." -Marissa Meyer
Before you get irate, I don't actually agree at all with that quote above; I have no talent for photography at all and a tremendous respect for those who do, and…
May 31, 2013
"There could be no fairer destiny for any physical theory than that it should point the way to a more comprehensive theory in which it lives on as a limiting case." -Albert Einstein
Imagine: you've worked hard all your life, through your primary and secondary school education, where you worked hard…
May 29, 2013
"The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal." -Aleister Crowley
But the Universe itself experiences continual…
May 27, 2013
"Yes, indeed, if humankind — from humble farmers in the fields and toiling workers in the cities to teachers, people of independent means, those who have reached the pinnacle of fame or fortune, even the most frivolous of society women — if they knew what profound inner pleasure await those who…
May 26, 2013
"We are asking the nations of Europe between whom rivers of blood have flowed to forget the feuds of a thousand years." -Winston Churchill
One of the great arenas in the world that knows no international bounds are the performing arts in general, and music in particular. Some of my favorite musical…
May 24, 2013
"Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to - I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language! But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws! And feel the wind of a supernova…
May 23, 2013
“Because dark energy makes up about 70 percent of the content of the universe, it dominates over the matter content. That means dark energy will govern expansion and, ultimately, determine the fate of the universe.” -Eric Linder
It's been a while since we've spoken about dark energy, and we were…
May 21, 2013
"Science literacy is a vaccine against the charlatans of the world that would exploit your ignorance." -Neil deGrasse Tyson
Well, I guess it's that season again. The charlatan who claims to have invented a cold fusion device -- the same device whose flaws were exposed here two years ago -- has just…
May 20, 2013
“The Milky Way is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in clusters.” -Galileo Galilei
Welcome back to another Messier Monday here on Starts With a Bang! With 110 deep-sky objects making it up, the Messier Catalogue is the first comprehensive, accurate catalogue of faint (…
May 19, 2013
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." -Frederick Douglass
I thought we were past this, I really did. Having grown up in New York, having lived in eight different states and traveled to 39…
May 17, 2013
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -Albert Einstein
Back when Einstein first proposed his theory of General Relativity, his revolutionary picture of the Universe was met with a mix of curiosity, awe, and intense skepticism. It isn't every day that your most…
May 15, 2013
“Supposedly she’d died, but here she was again–somewhat changed, but you couldn’t kill her. Not when the truest part of her hadn’t even been born.” -Denis Johnson
Over the past 100 years, our picture of the Universe has changed dramatically, on both the largest scales and the smallest.
Image…
May 13, 2013
"How is it they live for eons in such harmony - the billions of stars - when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their mind against someone they know?" -Thomas Aquinas
Welcome back to another Messier Monday here on Starts With a Bang! Each Monday, we take an in-depth look at…
May 11, 2013
"But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything." -Alan Watts
As we move farther away from the equinox and towards the solstice, my part of the world is seeing not only more daylight,…
May 10, 2013
"As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In fact, a full frequency of vibrations occurs." -Charles Francis Richter
You've all been around long enough to be familiar with the severe damage…
May 8, 2013
"No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now." -Alan Watts
"They do not see what lies ahead, when Sun has faded and Moon is dead." -J.R.R. Tolkien
One of the most amazing facts about the Universe is that, despite only having spent a few hundred years…
May 6, 2013
"Why I came here, I know not; where I shall go it is useless to inquire - in the midst of myriads of the living and the dead worlds, stars, systems, infinity, why should I be anxious about an atom?" -Lord Byron
Welcome back to another Messier Monday here on Starts With a Bang! Messier's 18th-…
May 5, 2013
"I don't understand how super mario can smash blocks with his head but dies when he touches a turtle." -Unknown
The past few weekends have been far too serious around the internet, and it's time to kick back and enjoy something nice and simple. I'd like to introduce you to the little-known indie…
May 3, 2013
“Talent hits the target no one else can hit; genius hits the target no one else can see.” -Arthur Schopenhauer
You've probably heard the story, by now, of Kiera Wilmot, the 16-year-old girl who performed a mildly dangerous chemistry experiment on school grounds, mixing together household cleaner…
