Articles by Paul Sutter, Astrophysicist

Paul M. Sutter is a research professor in astrophysics at SUNY Stony Brook University and the Flatiron Institute in New York City. He regularly appears on TV and podcasts, including "Ask a Spaceman." He is the author of two books, "Your Place in the Universe" and "How to Die in Space," and is a regular contributor to Space.com, Live Science, and more. Paul received his PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011, and spent three years at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, followed by a research fellowship in Trieste, Italy.

Articles by: Paul Sutter

Do quantum universes really exist?

By Paul Sutter published 2 January 23

In some interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the Many-Worlds interpretation or the Pilot Wave Theory, parallel universes may form every time a subatomic particle goes through any interaction.

Concept art of quantum mechanics, theory of superstrings.

Does consciousness explain quantum mechanics?

By Paul Sutter published 29 December 22

A wild theory suggests that consciousness may explain quantum mechanics, by forcing the subatomic particles to choose one concrete outcome.

Abstract image of two waves of light (one pink the other red) colliding together.

Is all matter made up of both particles and waves?

By Paul Sutter published 27 December 22

According to quantum mechanics, the physics theory that describes the zoo of subatomic particles, all matter can be described as both particles and waves. But is it real?

An illustration of two merging black holes

How gravitational waves can 'see inside' black holes

By Paul Sutter published 14 December 22

What lurks at the center of a black hole? Studying the space-time ripples from black hole collisions could reveal an answer.

The dusty center of the Milky Way as it appears today.

How did the Milky Way form?

By Paul Sutter published 8 December 22

Our 13 billion-year-old galaxy has gone through many growing pains — usually to the detriment of its smaller neighbors.

A composite image showing the concentration of dark matter (multi-colored) in the core of a nearby galaxy

How much of the universe is dark matter?

By Paul Sutter published 26 November 22

Most matter in the universe cannot be seen — but its influence on the largest structures in space can.

Millions of stars are born in a nearby galaxy

How was the universe created?

By Paul Sutter published 25 November 22

Short answer: We don't really know how the universe was created, though most astrophysicists believe it started with the Big Bang.

Particles of the Standard Model of particle physics.

What is the Standard Model, the subatomic physics theory that has been tested more than any other?

By Paul Sutter published 19 September 22

The Standard Model is the modern physical understanding of three of the four forces of nature: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force.

Artist's concept of a supermassive black hole.

Do black holes explode?

By Paul Sutter published 19 September 22

Black holes go boom in several ways.

Computer generated image of a dense star formation (quark star)

Never-before-seen 'strange quark star' may have formed after cosmic collision, physicists say

By Paul Sutter published 16 September 22

A team of physicists has found that the remnant of a neutron star merger observed in 2019 has just the right mass to be a strange hypothetical quark star.

Wormholes are still the stuff of science fiction.

Are black holes wormholes?

By Paul Sutter published 13 September 22

And can we use them to traverse the universe?

An artist’s impression of the cosmic web. It looks like a vast cobweb-like structure or mostly purple and some orange filaments on a black background.

Giant voids of nothingness may be flinging the universe apart

By Paul Sutter published 12 August 22

Dark energy could be caused by pressure from giant voids of nothingness that may be flinging the universe apart.

Why does E=mc^2?

By Paul Sutter published 26 July 22

Albert Einstein's famous equation E = m^2 connects energy to mass via the speed of light. Find out why E = m^2.

Atoms consist of a nucleus made of protons and neutrons orbited by electrons.

Where do electrons get energy to spin around an atom's nucleus?

By Paul Sutter published 22 July 22

Quantum mechanics explains why the electrons can keep spinning indefinitely.

Abstract image of an alarm clock against a black space-like background.

Physicists link two time crystals in seemingly impossible experiment

By Paul Sutter published 14 June 22

New time crystal achievement could help bridge classical and quantum physics.

A 3D rendering of a Dyson sphere in a galaxy.

The aliens are all hanging out on Dyson spheres circling white dwarfs, physicist argues

By Paul Sutter published 3 June 22

If aliens exist, they do exist, they might be hanging out on Dyson spheres circling the husks of sunlike stars called white dwarfs.

Climate change is pushing hurricanes to their extremes. In 2018, Hurricane Michael (shown here in this digitally enhanced image) became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall on the Florida Panhandle.

Physicists predict Earth will become a chaotic world, with dire consequences

By Paul Sutter published 25 May 22

Humans aren't just making Earth warmer, they are making the climate chaotic, a stark new study suggests.

Artist's concept of a pulsar. There is a small blue sphere in the center with light pulsing out from the NW and SE areas of the pulsar.

What are pulsars?

By Paul Sutter published 24 May 22

Reference Pulsars are the ultradense cores of gigantic stars that emit beams of radio waves in regular pulses, like cosmic lighthouses.

Artist concept of an alien planet. In this image is feels like you're standing on a mountain, looking over the top of the clouds as the sun sets in the background. There are several stars and planets just visible in the sky. There are also two sphere-shaped buildings to the right.

Humans could become a truly interplanetary species within 200 years, physicists claim

By Paul Sutter published 20 May 22

Harness renewable energy to explore the cosmos or risk planetary doom, new physics study argues

The universe. Nebula Abstract background. Xuanyu Han via Getty Images

What is the universe?

By Paul Sutter published 3 May 22

Reference It's quite a big question and a lot is still unknown about the universe, but we'll tell you everything that we do know, from how the universe was created, how old it is and what it's even made of.

The CDF detector, which is part of the Tevatron particle accelerator at Fermilab in Illinois, just stunned physicists with new “hefty” measurements of the W boson’s mass.

Oddly heavy particle may have just broken the reigning model of particle physics

By Paul Sutter last updated 20 September 22

An ultraprecise measurement of the mass of the W boson may diverge from the Standard Model, a long-reigning framework that governs the strange world of quantum physics.

An illustration of a clock spiraling into space-time.

What is time?

By Paul Sutter published 5 April 22

Reference From the beginning of the universe to the present day, it's one of the few things we regard as regular and unchanging. But is it really so constant? We take a look at the physics of time.

In this illustrative concept image, a black hole is sucking in all the nearby matter in space.

A spiderweb of wormholes could solve a fundamental paradox first proposed by Stephen Hawking

By Paul Sutter published 21 March 22

A seemingly intractable black hole paradox first proposed by physicist Stephen Hawking could finally be resolved — by wormholes through space-time.

This illustration shows what a multiverse of bubble universes might look like.

Our universe may have a twin that runs backward in time

By Paul Sutter published 16 March 22

A mirror universe that runs backward in time sprouted up before the Big Bang.

Northern lights glow green and purple above Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

Northern Lights: What are the aurorae borealis?

By Paul Sutter published 13 March 22

REFERENCE The northern lights appear in the sky when charged particles from the sun slam into molecules in the atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of colorful lights.

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