August 4, 2017
“Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway around the world to see an eclipse, clouds prevent a sight of it; and yet a sense of relief accompanies the disappointment.” –Simon Newcomb
On August 21st, a total solar eclipse will travel coast-to-coast across the United States,…
August 2, 2017
"The years of searching in the dark for a truth that one feels but cannot express, the intense desire and the alternations of confidence and misgiving until one breaks through to clarity and understanding, are only known to him who has himself experienced them." -Albert Einstein
In 2015, for the…
August 1, 2017
"My dad took me out to see a meteor shower when I was a little kid, and it was scary for me because he woke me up in the middle of the night. My heart was beating; I didn't know what he wanted to do. He wouldn't tell me, and he put me in the car and we went off, and I saw all these people lying on…
August 1, 2017
"I think it's rarely about what you actually learn in class. It's mostly about things that you stay motivated to go and continue to do on your own." -Maryam Mirzakhani, on success in mathematics
Only a few weeks ago, pioneering mathematician and the first (and only) woman to win the Fields Medal,…
July 31, 2017
"Ultramassive black holes — that is, black holes with masses exceeding 10 billion solar masses — are probably not rare; several and even dozens of these colossal black holes may exist." -Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo
The largest black hole in the Universe was a shocker when it was first discovered. At 40…
July 30, 2017
“Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived.” -Brannon…
July 29, 2017
"There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
In a relative way,
And returned on the previous night." -A.H. Reginald Butler
Throughout the entire Universe, there’s a fundamental law that governs the motions of all particles: Einstein’s relativity.…
July 28, 2017
"In an expanding universe, time is on the side of the outcast. Those who once inhabited the suburbs of human contempt find that without changing their address they eventually live in the metropolis." -Quentin Crisp
The Universe is expanding. The farther away a galaxy is, the faster it appears to be…
July 27, 2017
"...and the Sun has perished out of heaven, and an evil mist hovers over all." -Homer's Odyssey
The great american eclipse is coming, and you're in luck! This astronomical sight is unlike anything else that occurs on Earth (or any rocky planet in the Solar System), and there are three incredible…
July 25, 2017
"Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who you are - rich and poor, small and big. Therefore, this is what we call 'global challenges,' which require global solidarity." -Ban Ki-moon
Earlier this week, the executive editor of the Heartland Institute published a declaration…
July 25, 2017
"Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
The enterprise of science is one of the most misunderstood in all of society. Some view it as its own religion; others view it as a political ideology gussied up in smart-sounding clothes;…
July 24, 2017
“Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away.” -Ismail Haniyeh
Have you ever seen some beautiful, breathtaking, awe-inspiring pictures of the Universe, with what appears to be a too-…
July 23, 2017
"I have never gone out of fashion. And do you know why? Because I never sought it. When you don't seek it, it's always with you." -Bonnie Tyler
Well folks, it's summer, and that means a lot of things for a lot of people, including for me! So, some fun announcements:
I have an official pre-release…
July 22, 2017
"Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended." -Francois de La Rochefoucauld
So, you’d like to ruin the fabric of your space, would you? Similar to tying a knot in it, stitching it up with some poorly-run shenanigans, running a two-dimensional membrane through it (like a hole…
July 21, 2017
“If I had to describe myself to an alien I’d say I was bigger than the average human, enjoy a drink or two with a good meal and have a bigger head than most. I’d also say I’m really handsome — especially if they were a female alien.” -Dwayne Johnson
The Earth, to the best of our knowledge, is the…
July 20, 2017
"Lord of Light! Come to us in our darkness. We offer you these false gods. Take them and cast your light upon us. For the night is dark and full of terrors." -Melisandre, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice
Imagine a world where you know that winter is coming, but you don’t know when, or…
July 19, 2017
"We really expect the mission to be transformational. This is the capstone of the original visits to the planets. It takes us 4 billion miles away and 4 billion years back in time." -Alan Stern
When the Hubble Space Telescope discovered additional moons of Pluto, beyond Charon, it was speculated…
July 18, 2017
"The design of the universe...is very magnificent and shouldn’t be taken for granted." -Charles W. Misner
One of the more puzzling aspects of our Universe is that, no matter which direction we look in, no matter how far away we check, its properties appear to be practically identical. This is…
July 17, 2017
“Having totality means being capable of following 'what is,' because 'what is' is constantly moving and constantly changing. If one is anchored to a particular view, one will not be able to follow the swift movement of 'what is.'” -Bruce Lee
If you’ve never seen a total solar eclipse before, you’ve…
July 16, 2017
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” -Isaac Asimov
Just like every week, we've had a slew of new stories to share with you here on Starts With A Bang! It's been great fun to put these stories together, to share a new…
July 15, 2017
"It would be great some day to have astronauts in a rover on Mars. But just about anyone except an oil company executive would say its more important to have 50 million solar powered vehicles in the United States." -Brad Sherman
Is terraforming a real possibility for Mars? It seems like one of the…
July 14, 2017
“Gamow was fantastic in his ideas. He was right, he was wrong. More often wrong than right. Always interesting; … and when his idea was not wrong it was not only right, it was new.” -Edward Teller
100 years ago, our conception of the Universe was so small it's almost laughable. We still were mired…
July 13, 2017
"The discovery of deuterium and the marked differences in the physical and chemical properties of hydrogen and deuterium, together with an efficient method for the separation of these isotopes, have opened an interesting field of research in several of the major branches of science." -Harold Urey…
July 12, 2017
“Jupiter instead cooled down below the threshold for fusion, but it maintained enough heat and mass and pressure to cram atoms very close together, to the point they stop behaving like the atoms we recognize on earth. Inside Jupiter, they enter a limbo of possibility between chemical and nuclear…
July 12, 2017
"There would be no Star Trek unless there were transporter malfunctions." -LeVar Burton
Since way before even Star Trek, the idea of teleportation was featured in Shakespeare, The Arabian Nights, and even the Jewish Talmud. To disappear at one location and reappear at another has long been a…
July 11, 2017
"In the current cosmological model, only the three lightest elements were created in the first few minutes after the Big Bang; all other elements were produced later in stars." -Fumagalli, O'Meara and Prochaska, 2011
When it was first conceived, the idea of the Big Bang was spectacular for the fact…
July 10, 2017
"Juno will peer hundreds of miles downward into the atmosphere with its microwave radiometer, which passively senses heat coming from within the planet. This capability will enable Juno to reveal the deep structure of the Great Red Spot, along with other prominent Jovian features, such as the…
July 9, 2017
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” -Abraham Lincoln
As you've come to expect, it's been another fantastic week of science here on Starts With A Bang!? There's a chance I'll be in Las Vegas next month for the official Star Trek convention, and in addition to all…
July 8, 2017
"Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard." -Robert Jackson
Ever since we began uncovering the laws of nature, humanity has looked for a way to simplify them. We…
July 7, 2017
“Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.” -Alfred A. Montapert
So you’re passing by a black hole in a massive, fast-moving spaceship, and you want to do an experiment: you tether a small mass outside of the ship and let it fall into the black hole, just allowing it…
