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
![This graphic shows a timeline of the universe based on the Big Bang theory and inflation models.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wabkNfzjXLbddSb3dqveZn-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Abstract illustration of particles interacting at the quantum level.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/haUjTy3KcZQ5qWDJPdPNQY-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Artist's illustration of Planet Nine, a world about 10 times more massive than Earth that may lie undiscovered in the far outer solar system.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pEJBJF7P5Y9GGSGo8wDW2e-320-80.jpg)
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' with Planck hearts would lack a true event horizon (like the one illustrated in this image).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KmwwrqsC37zHPkCD7U9xEK-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Artist’s illustration of the exoplanet Proxima b, the Earth-size world that orbits in the "habitable zone" of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. Proxima b is likely tidally locked, always showing the same face to its host star.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aKyhyUNZhPmx2tgEXkbYok-320-80.jpg)
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.
![This artist's concept shows what a gravity portal might look like.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SAjBhcngizkZpwmiopXpnW-320-80.jpg)
'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.
![Abstract illustration of the early universe and quantum physics.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sWF3DYQxn8myJNeu2aRDXm-320-80.jpg)
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.
![This artist's depiction shows the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone identified by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. In the hunt for life outside the Earth, astronomers are keen to spot planets in the "habitable zone," — the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet. But the true test for whether or not a planet could host life may, in fact, rest in the most noble of gases: nitrogen.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JLAvbzV3mJqme4cktcNpFN-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons, interact around a neutron star in this visualization. Why is there so much more matter than antimatter in the universe we can see?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FVFCTKxkGonZQMJ8TzpgYi-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Illustration of a pair of stars about to merge: a neutron star and a white dwarf, whose gravity is severely distorting the larger white dwarf.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ojEmHNcaJtkoZt5d97nmnB-320-80.jpg)
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.
![This image, created using data from the European Space Agency’s Herschel and Planck space telescopes, shows a piece of the Taurus Molecular Cloud.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UQJVu4hY5Mp5Ui2K7rjfKQ-320-80.jpg)
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.
![An artist's concept of the Big Bang.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rLNPHbheD8PXqPfzVwdU3B-320-80.jpg)
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.
![The protostar IRAS 20324+4057, which is still in the process of collecting material from an envelope of gas surrounding it. Astronomers recently found prebiotic molecules in two other protostars, known as Serpens SMM1-a and IRAS 16293B.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/unsfrxg9wLav7g7M3CgzjV-320-80.jpg)
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.
![A Hubble Space Telescope image of a nearby supernova remnant.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mJ4y3WsYY2GdknbmZSFsJW-320-80.jpg)
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 be proven true if scientists find that a black hole’s shadow is smaller than existing physics theories would predict.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WagumKVNkCf3bdkS87SP9m-320-80.jpg)
'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.
![In this Hubble Space Telescope image is the Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BVrv4WjsY5QWAiz2fUxnbP-320-80.jpg)
Why astronomy remains relevant today
By Paul Sutter last updated
The truth is, astronomy remains as real, human and relevant as ever, though the reason why might surprise you.
![A recent analysis of results from the Large Hadron Collider revealed no evidence of the theory known as supersymmetry.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sGRsc3ujfnhquh4J95qAmf-320-80.jpg)
From squarks to gluinos: It's not looking good for supersymmetry
By Paul Sutter published
According to a recent report, there have been no signs of supersymmetry, and the theory is looking a little shaky.
![The Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes, captured this image of the supermassive black hole and its shadow that's in the center of the galaxy M87.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/V4q7tR2uNk9f3Nqfeds2Yn-320-80.jpg)
Are primordial black holes really giant gravitinos?
By Paul Sutter published
New research proposes that the first black holes came from clumps of gravitinos, exotic, hypothetical particles that managed to survive the first chaotic years of the Big Bang.
![An artist's illustration of two black holes merging and creating ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wJJVQsgUsiWy3FUSXZSULA-320-80.jpg)
Did a holographic phase transition in the early universe release gravitational waves?
By Paul Sutter published
A team of physicists recently used a string-theory technique to reveal that we're on the cusp of detecting phase transitions in the early universe through their gravitational wave signature.
![This graphic shows a map of the universe's expansion rates in different directions, estimated in a recent study by Konstantinos Migkas and collaborators.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nbW5kkrXPe7mCYGEwd8evn-320-80.jpg)
Is there more than one dark energy?
By Paul Sutter published
What if there is more than one cosmological agent for dark energy? This mixture would have strange effects in our universe, making it potentially detectable with upcoming surveys.
![An artist's depiction of astronauts at work on the dusty lunar surface.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EoSeqDCQC2DZGZBNgnBccF-320-80.jpg)
The surface of the moon is a galactic time capsule
By Paul Sutter published
You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but the moon is a time capsule.
![A visualization of the filaments in the cosmic web. Simulation produced by the EAGLE project.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yq2YtZjRi3PuHT9qVDGUL7-320-80.jpg)
A new particle, the ultralight boson, could swirl around black holes, releasing detectable gravitational waves
By Paul Sutter last updated
A hypothetical particle known as the ultralight boson could be responsible for our universe's dark matter.
![Taken with a fish-eye lens, this image shows the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector assembly in a tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FATxNoRXiVtUq22NVH5v4N-320-80.jpg)
World's largest atom smasher could seed microscopic black holes
By Paul Sutter last updated
If teensy black holes could be produced inside the world's largest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, that would be a boon for physics.