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Ethan Siegel

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Starts With A Bang!

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Ethan Siegel

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9h ago

Ask Ethan: Can you explain the Higgs boson in depth?

The Higgs boson, officially discovered in 2012, is unique among all known fundamental particles. But what is it really all about?

Ask Ethan: Can you explain the Higgs boson in depth?

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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1d ago

3 original methods for measuring the distance to the stars

For thousands of years, humanity had no idea how far away the stars were. In the 1600s, Newton, Huygens, and Hooke all claimed to get…

3 original methods for measuring the distance to the stars

In

Starts With A Bang!

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Ethan Siegel

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2d ago

A fake Einstein quote actually explains the affordability crisis

Einstein never said his famous “compound interest” quote. But the math of compound interest — and its inverse, inflation — explains so…

A fake Einstein quote actually explains the affordability crisis

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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3d ago

What natural object is the roundest in the Universe?

Nearly everything has angular momentum, so even massive, self-gravitating objects don’t become perfect spheres. Which one comes the…

What natural object is the roundest in the Universe?

In

Starts With A Bang!

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Ethan Siegel

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4d ago

What Vera Rubin observatory’s first new dwarf planet means

Some are clamoring to make it the Solar System’s 6th official dwarf planet. They’ll be shocked to learn how rich our own backyard truly is.

What Vera Rubin observatory’s first new dwarf planet means

In

Starts With A Bang!

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Ethan Siegel

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Nov 6

Ask Ethan: What should you do when a respected theory is false?

Every leading scientific idea today will eventually be proven wrong: superseded by a more correct one in the future. Getting there is hard.

Ask Ethan: What should you do when a respected theory is false?

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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Nov 5

Was dark matter first discovered by Fritz Zwicky or Vera Rubin?

Back in 1933, Fritz Zwicky postulated the existence of dark matter. Only 40 years later, with Vera Rubin’s work, did we take it seriously.

Was dark matter first discovered by Fritz Zwicky or Vera Rubin?

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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Nov 4

These five divisions define how far we can go in space

What’s communicable or reachable is different from what’s observable and unobservable, and all of that will evolve as the Universe expands.

These five divisions define how far we can go in space

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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Nov 3

Do the three quantum forces all unify together?

The idea of grand unification is a tempting one for our Universe, and a fascinating suggestion. But nature won’t necessarily cooperate.

Do the three quantum forces all unify together?

In

Starts With A Bang!

by

Ethan Siegel

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Nov 2

How long does it take to travel through the Universe at 1g?

1g is our acceleration in Earth’s gravity: 9.8m/s². If a spaceship constantly accelerated at that rate, here’s how far we could travel.

How long does it take to travel through the Universe at 1g?

Ethan Siegel

Ethan Siegel

Friend of Medium

The Universe is: Expanding, cooling, and dark. It starts with a bang! #Cosmology Science writer, astrophysicist, science communicator & NASA columnist.

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