The “most distant explosion ever” turned out to be rocket debris In 2020, a team of astronomers saw a brilliant, temporary flash in the then-most distant galaxy, GN-z11. Now the culprit has been identified: glinting space debris from a proton rocket. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #physics

@ashleybvigil.bsky.social Hey I don't know if you saw, but your last email to me got me thinking so hard you just became the latest #AskEthan!

What is the true purpose of scientific peer review? #AskEthan Passing peer review isn't "crossing the finish line" where every claim inside has now been verified to be correct. Instead, it's "crossing the start line" by science's high standards. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #science #space

As noted earlier, there are 14 early warning signs of fascism widely agreed upon by scholars. medium.com/starts-with-... Earlier in the year, we checked 12 of those boxes. The last two holdouts were: -a free press, -and free and fair elections. The free press has fallen. Any idea what's next?

Did you invite Samsung into your home? Too bad for you.

The deep mathematics of why 10² + 11² + 12² = 13² + 14² Pythagorean theorem? Tired. Pythagorean runs? Wired! Learn why 10² + 11² + 12² = 13² + 14², plus a whole lot more! bigthink.com/starts-with-... #math #science #pythagoras #pythagorean

LIGO’s 10th anniversary gift confirms Hawking’s theorem 10 years ago, we measured our first black hole-black hole merger in gravitational waves. 10 years later, we can measure them so well we confirmed the Hawking area theorem. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #physics #LIGO #hawking

Science’s answer to the ultimate question: Where do we come from? Sure, the world is on fire, but don't despair. That ultimate question you always wondered about, of "where do we come from," has been answered, scientifically, in spectacular fashion. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro

There are plenty in power that are attempting to punish those who simply publish truthful things about America, in America, here in 2025. But the truth doesn't cease to be true. Don't succumb to the Ostrich effect; seek the truthful sources of information always, even when they challenge you.

Finding organics on Mars means absolutely nothing for life Yes, they found organics on Mars... again. Yes, it's possibly a potential biosignature, but so are many other things. On the scale for "is it life," though, this doesn't rise very high. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #mars

Where does cosmic dust come from? #AskEthan Of all the things that needed to arise to enable life in our Universe, the least appreciated is cosmic dust. At last, astronomers have pinned down the primary source of its creation. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #dust #signal #noise

10 incredible facts about the Big Bang Theory The Big Bang theory was cemented as the origin of our Universe, observationally, a full 60 years ago. Did you know all 10 of these incredible facts about it? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #bigbang

JWST could expose alien biosignatures on hazy exoplanets Plenty of sub-Neptune sized exoplanets have thick, haze-rich atmospheres. Combining JWST observations, laboratory synthesis, and theoretical modeling now begins to reveal what's inside. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #JWST

Looking for something fun to do in the PDX area? November 4th, at the Kiggins Theatre, I'll be hosting a fun and science-filled Science on Tap event on the origin of the Universe! The Big Bang: no longer the beginning? Tickets on sale now! Come join me! www.scienceontaporwa.org/events/kiggi...

The argument against the existence of a Theory of Everything Many theoretical physicists are on a quest to find the "holy grail" of physics: a theory of everything. But perhaps we should listen when the Universe tells us, "this is NOT the way." bigthink.com/starts-with-... #physics #theoretical

JWST improves, surpasses Hubble’s view of Pismis 24 Just what lies inside, within, and behind the brilliant young star cluster, Pismis 24, in the Lobster Nebula? JWST is showing us in ways Hubble never could. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #astronomy #stars #JWST

Starts With A Bang podcast #121 – Direct exoplanet imaging Most of the exoplanets we've found have been through the radial velocity or transit methods. But with direct imaging, the possibilities are both far more profound and concrete. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #astronomy #podcast

Could “positive geometry” unlock the theory of everything? #AskEthan Searches for a theory of everything have been challenging, to say the least. Does positive geometry, bolstered by the discovery of the amplituhedron, offer a promising new road? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #physics #math

Over all time, there'll be 4.7 trillion galaxies visible to us. 98.6% of them have already slipped past the cosmic horizon. The light of 60,000 stars is lost to us every second, forever, due to the expansion of the universe. via @startswithabang.bsky.social

The Sun is fainter than the Moon, at least in gamma-rays What shines brighter: the Sun or the Moon? In visible light, it's clearly the Sun, as the Moon only reflects the Sun's light. But in gamma-rays? The Moon wins, by a landslide. Here's how. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #gamma

Like books? How about a book about the greatest story ever told? Time to pre-order The Grand Cosmic Story, coming this fall, from Barnes & Noble today to get it with a bonus 25% off, now through Friday! #BNPreorder Use coupon code PREORDER25 and get it! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-grand-...

We are all so tired of texts from ActBlue, knowing that nearly all Democrats are complicit with fascism and are doing nothing substantive to fight it at all. Where is ActBrown, where someone following the ethos of John Brown is organizing to save us in the only way that fascists ever understand?

NASA to needlessly kill Juno mission to Jupiter this month NASA's Juno mission has been scouting out Jupiter and its icy moons since 2016. The next mission won't arrive until 2030. So why kill Juno when we're still learning so much from it? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #nasa #juno

“(T)he Court’s role is to respect the choices that the people have agreed upon, not to tell them what they should agree to." -Amy Coney Barrett, on overturning Roe v. Wade. And that, folks, is how we came to reinstitutionalize racism, segregation, bigotry, oppression, discrimination, and fascism.

New theory: Could early, supermassive stars explain the Universe? We have the Hubble tension, hints of evolving dark energy, and bizarre evidence suggesting negative neutrino masses. What if, instead, there were just unusually supermassive early stars? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro

"10 years ago, LIGO saw its first gravitational wave. After 218 detections, our view of black holes has changed forever." bigthink.com/starts-with-... by @startswithabang.bsky.social #GWTC4 #O4IsHere 🔭🧪⚛️

See the whole Universe at once in this unique logarithmic view If you look at the Universe nearby, you'll miss the cosmic forest, and if you look on large-scales, you'll miss what's nearby. But with this logarithmic view, you see it all at once. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #art

This is such a good writeup. Thanks @startswithabang.bsky.social . We're living in exciting times as so much more data will come in and we'll go soon from having more theories than data to having more data than theories I hope....

Is dark energy no longer a cosmological constant? #AskEthan With CMB, supernova, and large-scale structure data all combined, a "vanilla" ΛCDM cosmology doesn't look right anymore. Many favor evolving dark energy, but is that the right answer? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #physics #astro #space

"With so few clues to go off of, it’s no wonder that theorists are simply guessing, and guessing wrong at that. That is not a flaw with theoretical physics; it’s evidence that these problems are simply very hard." by @startswithabang.bsky.social www.realclearscience.com/2025/08/29/t...

"Oh no, now that the lies we spread about doctors and COVID-19 and masks and lab leaks and natural immunity have led us to this point, we're aghast! The bridge we're still building is a bridge too far!" Stop coddling and supporting fascists anytime. Instead of this 👇 milquetoast slap-on-the-wrist.

No, theoretical physics isn’t broken; it’s just very hard There are many asserting that "theoretical physics is broken," and that's why there haven't been revolutionary new advances recently. On the other hand, maybe today's problems are just very hard. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #physics

LIGO, facing threats of closure, more than doubles its black hole haul LIGO's latest release provides us with our best-ever census of stellar mass black holes, more than doubling the known population. Please, save these facilities from closing down! bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #ligo

SPHEREx and JWST reveal what comet 3I/ATLAS is… and isn’t Wonder what interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is all about? So did scientists working on SPHEREx and JWST. Hello, too much carbon dioxide, no aliens, and very little everything else. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #science #notaviloeb

How a dead star carved the “Hand of God” in space So, you've seen the new-and-improved "Hand of God" nebula in space: MSH 15-52. Now come learn why this "kicked" pulsar produces a wind nebula unlike any other in appearance. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #physics #pulsar #nebula

This is gonna age like

Can “zero-point energy” power the world? #AskEthan The promise of "free energy" is always alluring, but usually violates the laws of physics in some way. Could "zero-point energy" be the ultimate solution? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #energy #physics

Worth a follow!

Really great article in WIRED this morning, about what we're really losing (hope, wonder, the true "greatness" that NASA brings us) by defunding and devaluing science here in 2025. The Destruction of NASA Would Be a Blow to Our Collective Imagination. www.wired.com/story/the-de...

Are hidden variables real, and can they save quantum physics? More than 100 years after the weirdness of quantum physics was first exposed, we still don't have an underlying picture of what's happening. Here's why "hidden variables" probably isn't it. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #physics #quantum

He captured Harpers Ferry with his nineteen men so true. He frightened old Virginny till she trembled through and through. They hanged him for a traitor, they themselves the traitor crew. His soul goes marching on!

"History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power have destroyed knowledge of immeasurable value which truly belongs to us all. We must not let that happen again." -Carl Sagan

A fascinating study, showing that reliance on AI, or even just exposure to AI assistance, makes doctors less able to diagnose cancer after just a few weeks. A huge piece of evidence that the main effect of AI on humans is skill decay. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

NASA chief to defy agency’s charter, terminating science On August 14, 2025, NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy announced a new direction for NASA, eliminating science and focusing on spaceflight. Who cares if it violates the NASA charter? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #nasa #ohwell

Hey space/astronomy fans, what are you doing this Thursday? Come join me and this all-star lineup for a virtual one-day extravaganza hosted by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. astrosociety.org/get-involved... Get up early and catch me and more; it'll be worth it! #space #astro

The science behind LASIK Ever wonder how laser eye surgery works, and whether you'd be a good candidate for it? Here's the science behind it, and what you need to know. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #science #physics #optics #eyesight

A huge loss for NASA science. Another self-inflicted wound to our national science portfolio.

See the best night sky images from Capture the Dark 2025 DarkSky International just held their 2025 photo contest, receiving over 2200 submissions. Escape from the world's horrors with out-of-this-world images from the winners. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #science #astrophotography

Did life begin when the Universe was room temperature? #AskEthan Here on Earth, our planet has the right temperature for liquid water, enabling life. In the very young Universe, space was that same temperature. Could life have existed back then? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #life

Does the Universe expand faster than the speed of light? The Universe is expanding, and ever more distant objects appear to recede faster and faster. At some point, they exceed the speed of light. And yet, relativity is just fine with that. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #relativity