Paul Sutter
Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute in New York City. 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, His research focuses on many diverse topics, from the emptiest regions of the universe to the earliest moments of the Big Bang to the hunt for the first stars. As an "Agent to the Stars," Paul has passionately engaged the public in science outreach for several years. He is the host of the popular "Ask a Spaceman!" podcast, author of "Your Place in the Universe" and "How to Die in Space" and he frequently appears on TV — including on The Weather Channel, for which he serves as Official Space Specialist.
Latest articles by Paul Sutter
![Traveling through a wormhole could be possible in certain gravity conditions.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/B6hgS6YANiGuA6CEkLWat-320-80.jpeg)
Traversable wormholes are possible under certain gravity conditions
By Paul Sutter published
Certain weird gravity conditions would make it possible to travel through a wormhole and back.
![An artist's depiction of the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, which a NASA spacecraft will visit later this decade.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vTGJApE9dzqXTRGzDS4uYL-320-80.jpg)
What can we do with a captured asteroid?
By Paul Sutter published
Asteroids are packed with gold and other valuable resources. And the best way to harvest those metals may be to bring space rocks to Earth.
![An artist's depiction of what the surface of Proxima b might be like,](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9eDqui68EF6T4Zy5YCAKeP-320-80.jpeg)
How can we take pictures of Earth-like exoplanets? Use the sun!
By Paul Sutter published
If we ever want to take pictures of an Earth-like exoplanet, we need to think bigger than the biggest telescopes on Earth.
![An artist concept of Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in orbit.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KJbKmbdwZ2e3h2dAr8E4Ra-320-80.jpg)
Happy birthday, Fermi! Top 5 highlights from 13 years of the gamma-ray telescope
By Paul Sutter published
On Aug. 4, 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope began full science operations, scanning the entire sky through the highest-energy form of light.
![The problem of "space junk" continues to grow.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/szJCNVuP7b5BoGJ7dBJbCZ-320-80.jpeg)
Who's going to fix the space junk problem?
By Paul Sutter published
The growing problem of space junk poses a risk to future space missions, but the solution isn't going to be easy.
![3D illustration of an asteroid flying past Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fhKT3UY6WiGZvV5M97BwMN-320-80.jpg)
Move asteroids now before they become a threat, researchers argue
By Paul Sutter published
A pair of astronomers have proposed two new strategies for preventing possible asteroid impacts.
![An artist's interpretation of the Big Bang](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iFfTjYRJ7W36v95EpZziPh-320-80.jpg)
Seeing the 'real' Big Bang through gravitational waves
By Paul Sutter published
The earliest and most momentous epoch in the history of the universe released a flood of gravitational waves, tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time.
![An artist's depiction of the primary star Cancri 55 and one of its planets, the massive Cancri 55 e.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hRdg89bujLXTkmdBgP8zrK-320-80.jpeg)
Can rocky worlds exist between alien gas giants?
By Paul Sutter published
A wild variety of star systems exist in the nearby regions of the Milky Way, and astronomers are eager to know where they might find an "Earth 2.0."
![Illustration of the terraforming of Mars, to a world not unlike ours.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2XH7NjPrk9Gr9UaydoEVcH-320-80.jpg)
Could we really terraform Mars?
By Paul Sutter last updated
With its frigid temperatures, remoteness from the sun and general dustiness, changing Mars to be more Earth-like is more challenging than it seems (and it already seems pretty tough).
![Abstract image of a cosmic donut.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NfZp4C2SDejF6Q7weZPBod-320-80.jpeg)
Our universe might be a giant three-dimensional donut, really.
By Paul Sutter published
Astrophysicists say our universe might be shaped like a three-dimensional donut, meaning you could point a spaceship in one direction and eventually return to where you started.
![An artist's depiction of a star, an exoplanet and an exomoon.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dREdokufGefnXXgW8zgny8-320-80.png)
With all these planets, why haven't we found any exomoons?
By Paul Sutter published
Despite numerous attempts, astronomers have not yet confirmed the detection of an exomoon, a moon orbiting a planet around a distant star.
![Some of the potential exoplanets could actually be minuscule black holes](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vRpmmGps6Pewmq5sdhCYqX-320-80.jpg)
Can we solve the black hole information paradox with 'photon spheres'?
By Paul Sutter published
Theories that attempt to resolve the so-called black hole information paradox predict that black holes are much more complicated than general relativity suggests.
![Dark matter particles might interact with each other.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QjywYLMwgFh8RNJhMQSK2o-320-80.jpeg)
Can we explain dark matter by adding more dimensions to the universe?
By Paul Sutter published
Dark matter could be even weirder than anyone thought, say cosmologists who are suggesting this mysterious substance could interact with itself in a higher dimensional universe.
![The Dark Energy Camera imaged 10 selected areas of the sky called deep fields. The multiple images of each provided astronomers with a glimpse of distant galaxies and how they are distributed throughout the universe.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9VXZUADQJK7upYSs5qbWvf-320-80.jpeg)
Did a dark energy discovery just prove Einstein wrong? Not quite.
By Paul Sutter published
The Dark Energy Survey just released its most comprehensive results. But did they really prove Einstein wrong?
![Astronomers map dark matter indirectly, via its gravitational pull on other objects.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/crjzVraCvBu2zmw8GWdWi6-320-80.jpg)
How to make a universe
By Paul Sutter published
If you'd like to "bake" a universe, you need two essential ingredients and one optional ingredient.
![A galaxy cluster that may hide dark matter in its core.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zQjVRWC8GYfapC69w4LPLj-320-80.jpg)
Can we see dark energy from Earth? New experiments offer hope.
By Paul Sutter published
New research shows how a hypothetical form of dark energy might be made inside the sun and could be detected here on Earth. In fact, we may have already seen it.
![This artist’s impression video shows the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive "black hole" at the center of the Milky Way.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tbCYGgGnPNmXyi2iCTgVjN-320-80.gif)
Fluffy ball of darkinos could be lurking at the center of the Milky Way
By Paul Sutter published
The supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy may not be a black hole at all, but rather a fluffy ball of dark matter called darkinos.
![An artist's depiction of a Voyager probe entering interstellar space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2c5RkvtNWmNXMLMon7zX65-320-80.jpg)
Lost in space? Here's a new method to find your way back home.
By Paul Sutter published
Space is big — really big. And if you want to successfully navigate the interstellar depths of our galaxy, you're going to need some sort of reliable system.
![The Flame Nebula.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zcm58McnQQPcqHsX4bCHiR-320-80.jpg)
Gravitational wave 'memories' could help us find elusive cosmic strings
By Paul Sutter published
Many theories of the early universe predict that the cosmos should be flooded with cracks in space-time, called cosmic strings, but no cosmic strings have been detected yet.
![Galaxy clusters in the "cosmic web."](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DE9Z2ndLmSXReUvzgGeYjV-320-80.jpg)
Is there a pattern to the universe?
By Paul Sutter published
For decades, cosmologists have wondered if the large-scale structure of the universe is a fractal — that is, if it looks the same no matter how large the scale.
![An illustration of the expansion of the universe after the Big Bang.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NSGgGy9JN2cHE2yD63xC4M-320-80.jpeg)
Will we ever know exactly how the universe ballooned into existence?
By Paul Sutter published
Physicists have long been unable to describe what happened just after the Big Bang when a teensy blip ballooned into the universe, a process called inflation. We may know why.
![The spiral galaxy M81 is located about 12 million light-years away from Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ryPeVLSSDT3WGWPZ8CXEwR-320-80.jpeg)
Galaxies, the cosmic cities of the universe, explained by astrophysicist
By Paul Sutter last updated
Galaxies are glittering cities, massive metropolises full of stars, dust, gas, black holes, magnetic fields, cosmic rays, dark matter and more.
![An artist's depiction of a brief but incredibly bright gamma-ray burst.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vPqHPnwBMaana2KyfAJmHF-320-80.jpg)
Gamma-ray bursts don't get kicked around
By Paul Sutter published
For years, astronomers thought that the objects responsible for short gamma-ray bursts get kicked out of their home galaxies shortly after they're born. But new observations prove otherwise.
![Uranus and Neptune have each only been visited by one spacecraft, Voyager 2.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xuwTPxP8ayY8XJnDUUQDSJ-320-80.jpeg)
A mission to Uranus and Neptune could act as massive gravitational-wave detector
By Paul Sutter published
What if one mission could study the gravitational ripples triggered by some of the most violent events in the universe — on the way to observing the least-known planets of our solar system?