Comments of the Week
esiegel | July 12, 2014"Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time." -Albert Camus
After a week at Starts With A Bang filled with a huge variety of topics, from Ninja Warrior to the Moon to the far future of our Universe, you've responded with plenty of original thoughts that have been worth listening to. To recap, and for you to review if you missed anything, this past week saw us cover the following:
What came first, black holes or galaxies? (for Ask Ethan),
Imagine a hero (for our Weekend Diversion),
A…
esiegel | July 5, 2014“I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active -- not more happy -- nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.” -Edgar Allan Poe
It's been quite a fun-filled week for thinking about science and the Universe over at the main Starts With A Bang blog. Just in case you missed anything, this past week (from last Friday to this Thursday) we tackled the following topics:
Decaying Gravitational Orbits (for Ask Ethan),
Happy Perfect Number Day (as a special bonus for June 28th),
An Observatory Made for…
esiegel | June 28, 2014"We converse as we live by repeating, by combining and recombining a few elements over and over again just as nature does when of elementary particles it builds a world." -William H. Gass
Only here, when you repeat, combine and recombine your letters and words, the thoughts, questions and comments you submit are as completely as though no one else in the world had the same ones you did. This past week over on the main Starts With A Bang blog saw us take a deep dive into a number of diverse topics, including:
Is the Sun brighter in the summer? (for Ask Ethan),
5 doses of Terry Crews'…
esiegel | June 21, 2014"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." -F. Scott Fitzgerald
The moment of Solstice has passed, and we've officially entered Summer (in the north) here at Starts With A Bang. Of course, that doesn't mean anything is different; just warmer days and different celestial sights visible throughout the night than during other times of year. While I ponder getting my first big light bucket for enjoying the night sky directly, there's still…
esiegel | June 14, 2014"The real deal is always going to win in the end." -Bill Hybels
I always do my best to cut through the hype and give it to you straight here at Starts With A Bang, and that means telling you the secrets of the Universe and the truth about our physical reality to the absolute best of our knowledge. In turn, you do your thing and let me know what you think, what else you want to know, and what just doesn't sound right to you in the comments here on our forum. Over the past week, we've covered the following topics:
What are supernova impostors? (for Ask Ethan),
The world's first Vine from space…
esiegel | June 7, 2014"All one can really leave one's children is what's inside their heads. Education, in other words, and not earthly possessions, is the ultimate legacy, the only thing that cannot be taken away." -Wernher von Braun
After another outstanding week here at Starts With A Bang, it's time to take a detailed look at what you've had to say about everything we've talked about. From the expanding Universe to galaxies near and far, to the future of NASA and more, here's the weekly recap, just in case you missed anything (or want a second look):
Why does light stretch as the Universe expands? (for Ask…
esiegel | May 31, 2014“Einstein, my upset stomach hates your theory — it almost hates you yourself! How am I to' provide for my students? What am I to answer to the philosophers?!!” -Paul Ehrenfest
It's been another great week here at Starts With A Bang, and we've shed light on a number of wonders of the Universe, from galaxies to dark matter to some of the amazing properties of relativity itself. As always you’ve had plenty to say about it as well. Over the past week, in case you missed anything, we covered:
How do I write a science blog? (for Ask Ethan),
The Best (Worst) Fake Astro Pics (for our Weekend…
esiegel | May 24, 2014"To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour." -William Blake
Another week is behind us here at Starts With A Bang, and not only has the Universe been particularly kind to us, but you've had plenty to talk about. Over the past week, here's what we've talked about:
The Earth's Motion through the Galaxy (for Ask Ethan),
Funny (colored) honey (for our Weekend Diversion),
The unusual galaxy Messier 90 (for Messier Monday),
The Birth of a Meteor Shower,
How did the Universe begin?, and
The Big Bang's Last Great…
esiegel | May 17, 2014"The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship." -Amelia Earhart
It's been another fantastic week for us here at Starts With A Bang! This past week, we've had a blast covering a wide range of topics, including:
The Amazing Spinning Electron (for Ask Ethan),
The Top 5 Spectacles from Eurovision 2014 (for our Weekend Diversion),
A Perfect Ten on the Celestial Equator, M10 (for Messier Monday),
Why you're not alone, but probably wrong if you don't believe…
esiegel | May 10, 2014"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception." -Aldous Huxley
From tiny, laser-light wavelengths to dark skies to dark matter on the largest scales in the Universe, it's been quite a week at the main Starts With A Bang collection over at Medium. New this week, we've talked about:
Is there a limit to Lasers? (for our Ask Ethan series),
Finding darkness (for our Weekend Diversion),
The globular cluster Messier 4 (for Messier Monday),
The Unparalleled Power of Experiment,
The Death of Dark Matter's #1 Competitor, and
The Whole Story on Dark…
esiegel | May 3, 2014“If the world wants you, it's gonna keep on coming till it gets you. And who am I that can fix it? Who am I that can change this if the world wants it so badly? Who am I to stop the end of the world if it keeps on coming?” -Patrick Ness
It's been a wonderful and diverse week over at the main Starts With A Bang blog on Medium, and we've covered an awful lot of ground if you missed anything (or want a re-read), including:
Using up the Universe's Fuel (for Ask Ethan),
LEGOs for those with a little Curiosity (for our Weekend Diversion),
An Elliptical Rotating Wrongly, M59 (for Messier Monday),…
esiegel | April 26, 2014"I'm a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds." -Mike Tyson
It's been another busy but fun week over at the main Starts With A Bang blog, where we've gone and looked at:
A Flight Without Stars (for Ask Ethan),
Building your own iron-rich star (for our Weekend Diversion),
A Most Unusual Elliptical, M105 (for Messier Monday),
Happy Earth Day from the Universe,
Striking Cosmic Gold, and
the need for science to inform your politics (for Throwback Thursday).
And, as always, you've come through here on our forum with some outstanding…
esiegel | April 20, 2014"All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer." -Robert Louis Stevenson
It's been another wonderful week in the Universe, and there's been so much to share together. New this week on the main Starts With A Bang blog over at Medium, we've talked about:
Are our students doomed to an inferior education? (For Ask Ethan),
The greatest album covers as seen from behind (For our Weekend Diversion),
A Star-Forming Spiral, M61 (For Messier Monday),
The Astro Alphabet,
How the Sun *really* shines, and
Top 5 Signs of New Physics (For Throwback Thursday…
esiegel | April 12, 2014"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong." -Voltaire
It's been another great week over on the main Starts With A Bang blog, where we got to touch on a number of remarkable topics, including:
Why are we made of matter? (For Ask Ethan #31)
Trompe-l’œil Art (For our Weekend Diversion)
The Farthest Messier Object for now, M58 (For Messier Monday)
The secret of the galaxy’s most famous nebula
Incredibly rare “back-to-back” maximum eclipses are coming!
and The Lives and Deaths of Sun-Like Stars (For Throwback Thursday)
As always, you've had your say…
esiegel | April 5, 2014"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are all mortal." -John F. Kennedy
After a great week over on the new Starts With A Bang blog, where we covered a whole slew of topics like:
Long Term Timekeeping (for Ask Ethan #30),
The Amazing Lives of Coral Reefs (for our Weekend Diversion),
The Biggest one of them All, M87 (for Messier Monday),
Why are there (at most) eight planets in our Solar System?,
The Multiverse is not the answer, and the great long-read,
Global…
esiegel | March 29, 2014"A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." -Max Planck
It’s been a great week for learning a little more about our Universe, from fundamental particles to scales beyond our observable Universe. Our new articles at the main Starts With A Bang blog got quite a response over here, and I'm happy to share with you the Comments of the Week, and my responses to them! Let's start with last week's Ask Ethan.
Image credit: Albert Abraham…
esiegel | March 22, 2014"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." -T.S. Eliot
It's been a remarkably exciting week for science, and you've had a lot to say about our new articles at the main Starts With A Bang blog. After all, it isn't every week that we possibly discover the imprint of gravitational waves on the Cosmic Microwave Background!
Images credit: Seljak & Zaldarriaga (L), Wayne Hu (R), via http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/~yuki/CMBpol/CMBpol.htm.
Let's dive right in -- and respond -- to your comments…
esiegel | March 15, 2014"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -Soren Kierkegaard
After all is said-and-done this week, and after all the new posts over at the main Starts With A Bang on Medium, you've had a chance to have your say here on our forum! And Kierkegaard would likely change his tune if everyone he came across left comments like yours.
Image credit: Mark Garlick / HELAS.
From the end of the Sun's life to the light elements, let's take a look at your best comments this week!
From Ted Lawry concerning Ask Ethan #27: Will the Earth and Moon…
esiegel | March 8, 2014"I don't watch it, but I know enough to comment on it." -Dan Quayle
First off, I want to thank everyone involved here at Scienceblogs (especially Wes Dodson) for all the support over the years and especially over the past few months, even as the main Starts With A Bang blog has moved to Medium. I think it's important to keep this place open as a home for comments and discussions, and it's my great hope that excellent ones continue to ensue here.
Well, they have so far, particularly on three posts from the past week:
What is color?
Ask Ethan #26: Burn, Baby, Burn!
Can science ever be "settled…