Comments of the Week
esiegel | May 8, 2015“Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” -Louis Pasteur
Well, it's been another doozy of a week here on Starts With A Bang, and we've run the gamut from the far future to the smallest theoretical scales, from Hubble to the highest energies. If you missed anything, catch up on all of the following:
The last light in the Universe (for Ask Ethan),
Disney's Game of Thrones (for our Weekend Diversion),
The most extreme view into deep space (for Mostly Mute Monday),
The limit of what Hubble can see,
String theory, black holes,…
esiegel | May 2, 2015“The heart can get really cold if all you've known is winter.” -Benjamin Alire Sáenz
If you didn't read everything this week on Starts With A Bang, it's hard to blame you. Each week, on practically a daily basis, we've got new pieces coming at you, sharing the wonders of the Universe in our own unique fashion. The past seven days alone saw the following:
Hubble vs. the Big Bang (for Ask Ethan),
The horrible conditions of s'more factory farms (for our Weekend Diversion),
NASA's greatest observatories view the galactic center (for Mostly Mute Monday),
What happens to light when it hits the Sun…
esiegel | April 25, 2015“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” -Marcel Proust
As another fine week comes to a close at Starts With A Bang, let's take a look back at all the topics we've taken on:
Where did light first come from? (for Ask Ethan),
Zooming into a fractal (for our Weekend Diversion),
Space turns green on 4/20 (for Mostly Mute Monday),
The illusion of reality (a great contribution from Brian Koberlein),
Everybody wants to rule the quantum world (a special extra from Paul Halpern),
Earth day in the Universe,
What is the strong force? (for Throwback Thursday),…
esiegel | April 18, 2015“Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.” -Laurence J. Peter
This past week was a super busy one on Starts With A Bang, from dark energy to stars to a fabulous book review and more! Just in the last seven days, we’ve looked at:
What if dark energy isn't real? (for Ask Ethan),
The great yogurt tragedy (for our Weekend Diversion),
The cosmic sombrero (for Mostly Mute Monday),
Einstein, Schrödinger, and the story you never heard (a review of Paul Halpern's new book),
What the hell are baryon acoustic oscillations?, and
Is the Universe fine-…
esiegel | April 11, 2015“The simple fact of existence, of being aware that you are aware; this to me is the most astounding fact.” -William Hurt
There was so much that happened this past week on Starts With A Bang, from eruptions to bad science reporting to black holes and more, that we couldn't help but share so much with you! Just in the last seven days, we've taken on the following:
Why are all the planets in the same plane? (for Ask Ethan),
An unforgettable time-lapse volcano,
Reverse-pointillist art (for our Weekend Diversion),
The largest star in the Universe (for Mostly Mute Monday),
The LHC made simple,
The…
esiegel | April 4, 2015"The simple fact of existence, of being aware that you are aware; this to me is the most astounding fact." -William Hurt
It's amazing how quickly a week can go by, yet equally amazing how much a week can contain. First the first time since we've begun having contributor posts here at Starts With A Bang, we had not one or two, but four of them this week, resulting in one of the most fruitful sets of articles we've ever had. Here's what went down (and what you should catch up on, if you missed anything):
Could you crawl out of a black hole? (for Ask Ethan),
Why cons matter (for our Weekend…
esiegel | March 28, 2015“If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.” -Jim Valvano
It's been a little too long since I rounded up the best of your comments and doled out the astrophysics knowledge to fill in the gaps of all the questions I raised. Here at Starts With A Bang, last weekend saw me headlining at a science fiction convention, and while it was a fabulous time for all involved,
Image credit: the inimitable attendees of MidSouthCon.
it meant that we didn't have a Weekend Diversion or a Comments of…
esiegel | March 14, 2015“That there were other worlds, invisible, unknown, beyond imagination even, was a revelation to him.” -Kim Edwards
And every time two particles interact with one another, the Universe is forever different from how it was a moment before. Here at Starts With A Bang, this past week saw us explore a number of aspects of our ever-changing reality, including:
Why does E=mc^2? (for Ask Ethan),
The astronomer who brought us the Universe (for our Weekend Diversion),
A beautiful bridge between a lovely lens (for Mostly Mute Monday),
Photonic Booms (a fantastic contribution from Sabine Hossenfelder),…
esiegel | March 7, 2015“Many have argued that a vacuum does not exist, others claim it exists only with difficulty in spite of the repugnance of nature; I know of no one who claims it easily exists without any resistance from nature." -Evangelista Torricelli
The Universe is here, within us, out there in the great abyss beyond, and in our abstract imaginings, as the theoretical, observational and experimental all get their moments to shine here at Starts With A Bang. This week saw the dawn of a new month and articles across a wide variety of topics, including:
Humans in the vacuum of space (for Ask Ethan),
Spock and…
esiegel | February 28, 2015"True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Every week holds an amazing look at the Universe in a unique way here at Starts With A Bang, and this week saw not only a series of new posts from me, but two contributed ones, including the debut of the fabulous Jillian Scudder of Astroquizzical. If you missed anything, here's a look back at what we've covered:
The very early Universe (for Ask Ethan),
Bubbles on ice (for our Weekend Diversion),
Crater chains of the Moon (for Mostly Mute Monday),
What happens when Betelgeuse…
esiegel | February 21, 2015“In this land of ours, there are many great pits. But none more bottomless than the bottomless pit. Which, as you can see here, is bottomless.” -Grunkle Stan, Gravity Falls
After another week of fun-filled stories about the Universe here at Starts With A Bang, it's time to take a look back at everything we've said, as well as everything you've said in response. If you missed anything (or simply want a second look), here's what we've covered over the past week:
How can we still see the Big Bang? (for Ask Ethan),
The math of Powerball (for our Weekend Diversion),
A comet comes alive! (for…
esiegel | February 14, 2015“Life is strong and fragile. It's a paradox... It's both things, like quantum physics: It's a particle and a wave at the same time. It all exists all together.” -Joan Jett
We've reached the end of yet another week here at Starts With A Bang, which means it's time to take a look back at everything we've covered. It also means it's time for you to catch up on any of the (amazing) articles you missed, which includes:
Gravitational waves (for Ask Ethan),
The Moon as no one's seen it (for our Weekend Diversion),
The edge of the Sun (for Mostly Mute Monday),
The tragic fate of physicist Paul…
esiegel | February 7, 2015“And there is the headlight, shining far down the track, glinting off the steel rails that, like all parallel lines, will meet in infinity, which is after all where this train is going.” -Bruce Catton
At the end of each week here at Starts With A Bang, it's important to take a look back at all we've gone through, and give some time and energy to all your thoughts on it. This week, there have been a lot of them, as we've covered the following:
The multiverse and you (for Ask Ethan),
Revenge, it's what's for lunch (for our Weekend Diversion),
The galactic plane (for Mostly Mute Monday),
Dark…
esiegel | January 31, 2015“Time is the longest distance between two places.” -Tennessee Williams
I'm always stoked to give you weekly recaps at Starts With A Bang, just in case there's anything you missed. We saw some fantastic posts this week, including two amazing contributions from Brian Koberlein and Amanda Yoho! Here's what we saw:
The timeline of the Universe (for Ask Ethan),
Superman vs. Baseball (for our Weekend Diversion),
The Cat's-Eye Nebula (for Mostly Mute Monday),
From Heaven to Earth, (a Jovian treat by Brian Koberlein)
The Big Bang by Balloon, (a story of cosmic exploration by Amanda Yoho),
Impending…
esiegel | January 24, 2015“You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge.” -Eckhart Tolle
It's been an amazing week here at Starts With A Bang, and you've been given plenty to think about. In particular, here's what the past seven days have seen:
Heavy planets, light Sun? (for Ask Ethan),
Revenge of the sparkles (for our Weekend Diversion),
Genesis episode 6, the Moon (for Mini-Movie Monday),
The slow dance that made you,
Science by democracy doesn't work, and
The camera that changed the Universe (for Throwback Thursday).
These…
esiegel | January 17, 2015"You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge." -Eckhart Tolle
We're really hitting our stride for 2015 here at Starts With A Bang, and I'm so pleased you shared this past week with me. If you missed anything, here's what we've been through:
Does the Universe have a center? (for Ask Ethan),
Fall into a bigger galaxy (for our Weekend Diversion),
Genesis episode 5, our galaxy's gravity (for Mini-Movie Monday),
Everything you ever wanted to know about nothing, (from Sabine Hossenfelder)
When Einstein met…
esiegel | January 10, 2015“Do you know where to find marble conference tables? I'm looking to have a conference... not until I get the table though” -@kanyewest on Twitter
If you noticed we had a busier week than normal here at Starts With A Bang, you weren't alone. But there's a good reason: the first week in January marks/highlights the annual American Astronomical Society big meeting, and yours truly was not only in attendance, but I did my best to bring you the scoop on the biggest stories at the start of 2015! In addition to our regularly scheduled programming, we had a host of special articles. Altogether, we've…
esiegel | January 3, 2015“Where are you going now, my love?
Where will you be tomorrow?
Will you bring me happiness?
Will you bring me sorrow?” -Stephen Stills / Crosby, Stills & Nash
We've made it! It's the first Comments of the Week of the new year here at Starts With A Bang, and we're doing our best to start it off right, with some of the most interesting and compelling stories about life, the Universe and everything that there are. This past week has seen the following articles that you should catch up on if you missed anything:
Choosing your (professional) life (for Ask Ethan),
The simplest solution to…
esiegel | December 27, 2014“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” -John Steinbeck
Here we are: the final Comments of the Week of 2014 here at Starts With A Bang, a year that's seen a tremendous number of changes, achievements, struggles and triumphs. This past week has perhaps been a microcosm for the entire year, with articles on cosmology, a new Monday series, a guest post and more. If you missed anything, here's what we've covered:
Dark matter vs. dark…
esiegel | December 20, 2014"I'm a man! I'm forty!" -Mike Gundy
'Twas the weekend before Christmas at Starts With A Bang, and the comments you left ranged from "hooray" to "dang!" There's much that you like and a bit you abhor, but some things require explaining some more. This past week saw seven posts, crafted with care:
Did we just find dark matter? (for Ask Ethan),
25th Anniversary of Wendy's training music videos (for our Weekend Diversion),
Our Universe changes (for Memory Monday),
The Big Bang for children,
Does the scientific method need revision? (by Sabine Hossenfelder),
Quantum Immortality (by Paul Halpern), …