Ask a Spaceman!

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Corres…

How did chemists save astronomy? What’s so important about the spectrum, and how are they made? How can we tell what things in space are made out of?  I discuss these questions and more in today’s As…

Why is infrared astronomy so hard? How do we fit giant telescopes into tiny rockets? What will the James Webb uncover?  I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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Where does the quantum world begin? Why do we have a hard time fundamentally understanding quantum systems? What connects quantum and classical physics?  I discuss these questions and more in today’s…

What’s it like to fall into a black hole (again)? What does the outside universe look like? Is there any way to avoid your grisly fate at the singularity? I discuss these questions and more in today’…

What is chaos theory? How can something be both deterministic and unpredictable? Is there are hope at all for physics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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How do cracks appear in spacetime? What does it have to do with symmetry? Could we ever hope to find a cosmic string? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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Why is it so hard to predict solar eclipses? How did Newton and Halley team up to solve it? What have we learned from solar eclipses since then? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Sp…

How hard is interstellar travel? What are the possible ways to achieve the required energy? Is there anything at all feasible in the works? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spacema…

What’s the deal with redshift? How can we actually interpret velocities when it comes to cosmic expansion? And what’s with the recent tension over measuring the expansion rate? I discuss these questi…

Is light made of waves or particles? Is matter made of waves or particles? What does it mean for matter to “wave”, anyway? Why is this so hard to understand? I discuss these questions and more in tod…

What’s so bad about Venus, besides everything? How did it get so bad? And are we next? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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What is the “cosmic calendar”? What are some important scales in the universe? Why is it so hard to judge “importance” of events? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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What are galaxy clusters made of, besides galaxies? How can we use them to understand dark matter? And how can we make pretend ones on a computer? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a …

What is “information” in physics? Why do we think it’s preserved, and what happens to information when it falls into a black hole? Why is this a problem? I discuss these questions and more in today’s…

How do cosmic voids form? What do they teach us about dark energy? What did the early universe look like? What does all this have to do with cupcakes? I discuss these questions and more in today’s As…

What’s the difference between the universe and the multiverse? How can cosmic inflation make bubble universes? Do those universes get different physics? If I travel far enough away, will I meet…mysel…

How did Max Planck accidentally discover quantum mechanics? Why is his constant so special? What happens at the quantum level? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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Why is the strong force better known as the “color force”? What’s the best way to think about protons and quarks? What do the Three Musketeers have to do with anything? I discuss these questions and …

Why are matter and antimatter symmetric? What happened in the early universe to make matter win? Do we have any clue as to why? What do puppies have to do with it? I discuss these questions and more …