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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
The 1st few seconds of the Big Bang: What we know and what we don't
By Paul Sutter published
Believe it or not, physicists are attempting to understand the universe when it was only a handful of seconds old.
A new approach to directly testing quantum gravity
By Paul Sutter last updated
A team of physicists has proposed a clever plan to concoct a quantum theory of gravity: refine an age-old technique, and use it to probe the tiniest scales in the universe.
What if Planet Nine is a baby black hole?
By Paul Sutter published
The hypothetical Planet Nine may not be a planet but rather a small black hole that might be detectable from the theoretical radiation emitted from its edge, so-called Hawking radiation.
Black holes could be dark stars with 'Planck hearts'
By Paul Sutter published
Black holes may not be black or holes, a new theory proposes.
Can super-rotating oceans cool off extreme exoplanets?
By Paul Sutter published
New research suggests a way to move heat around "tidally locked" alien planets: ocean currents whipping around the worlds faster than they rotate.
'Gravity portals' could morph dark matter into ordinary matter, astrophysicists propose
By Paul Sutter published
Astrophysicists have a wild idea to explain the bizarre abundance of super-high-energy radiation shooting from the center of our galaxy: gravity portals.
Superpowerful 'oscillon' particles could have dominated the infant universe, then vanished
By Paul Sutter published
A weird, super-powerful particle that's not truly a particle could have dominated the universe when it was just a second old, releasing a flood of ripples that permeated all of space-time.
We don't really understand the habitable zones of alien planets
By Paul Sutter published
It turns out we don't really understand habitable zones.
Could there be a cluster of antimatter stars orbiting our galaxy?
By Paul Sutter published
We don't know why the universe is dominated by matter over antimatter, but there could be entire stars, and maybe even galaxies, in the universe made of antimatter.
Neutrons' 'evil twins' may be crushing stars into black holes
By Paul Sutter published
The universe may be filled with "mirror" particles — and these otherwise-undetectable particles could be shrinking the densest stars in the universe, turning them into black holes.
We may have found the most powerful particle accelerator in the galaxy
By Paul Sutter published
Astronomers have long wondered where high-energy cosmic rays come from within our galaxy. And now, new observations reveal an unlikely candidate: an otherwise mundane giant molecular cloud.
Mysterious 'kick' just after the Big Bang may have created dark matter
By Paul Sutter published
A mysterious "kick" in the early universe may have produced more matter than antimatter. And that imbalance may have also led to the creation of dark matter, researchers now say.
Prebiotic ingredients for life found around young star
By Paul Sutter published
Where did the ingredients for life on Earth come from? A team of astronomers has found a crucial new link: the observation of essential "prebiotic" molecules around a still-forming star.
How do stars die?
By Paul Sutter published
Surprisingly, the fate of a star is easy to predict. All you need to know is how big it is.
'Bumblebee gravity' could explain why the universe is expanding so quickly
By Paul Sutter published
Bumblebee gravity could explain dark energy — if it's proven true.
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