
Paul Sutter
Paul M. Sutter is a cosmologist at Johns Hopkins University. A prolific scientist, he has written over 60 academic publications on topics such as the earliest moments of the big bang and the largest objects in the universe. Paul is also an award-winning science communicator. He has authored three critically acclaimed, international bestselling books and has hosted television shows on Discovery, Science Channel, History Channel, and numerous digital outlets. You can find his essays in The New York Times, Scientific American, Nautilus, and more. In addition to regular appearances on NBC News, BBC News, CNN, and The Weather Channel, Paul has developed one of the most popular podcasts in the world and is a globally recognized leader in the intersection of art and science, especially in his role as a United States Cultural Ambassador.
Latest articles by Paul Sutter

Here's how the universe could end in a 'false vacuum decay'
By Paul Sutter published
The world could end not with a bang, but with a quantum vacuum decay of the ground state of the universe to its true minimum.

Massive simulation of the universe probes mystery of ghostly neutrinos
By Paul Sutter published
How do you test theories of the universe? By building gigantic supercomputers and simulating the evolution of the cosmos.

Wormholes may be viable shortcuts through space-time after all, new study suggests
By Paul Sutter published
Wormholes may be stable after all, a new theory suggests, contradicting previous predictions that these hypothetical shortcuts through space-time would instantly collapse.

How many black holes are there in the universe?
By Paul Sutter published
In a recent study, researchers determined that about 1% of all the "normal" (that is, not dark) matter in the universe is bound up inside black holes.

Why is there a 'crisis' in cosmology?
By Paul Sutter published
Since 2014, there have been over 300 proposals for solutions to the "crisis in cosmology." None of these proposals is universally agreed upon by cosmologists, and the crisis just keeps getting worse.

Some supermassive black holes may contain fingerprints from the Big Bang
By Paul Sutter published
The elements around some giant black holes may be subtly different from the cosmic average, retaining a relic memory of the young universe.

How much of the solar system is made of interstellar stuff?
By Paul Sutter published
The detection of interstellar objects in the solar system has raised an interesting question: How much of the solar system is made of foreign material?

Astronomy needs a new long-term approach, new paper argues
By Paul Sutter published
If scientists want astronomy to thrive throughout the 21st century, we need a new approach: to view new observatories through a lens of public benefit.

Megaconstellations could destroy astronomy and there's no easy fix
By Paul Sutter published
Global satellite-based high-speed internet access will come at a cost, polluting the skies and contaminating astronomical observations.

Who was James Clerk Maxwell? The greatest physicist you've probably never heard of.
By Paul Sutter published
James Clerk Maxwell is the scientist responsible for explaining the forces behind the radio in your car, the magnets on your fridge, the heat of a warm summer day and the charge on a battery.

How neutron star collisions flooded Earth with gold and other precious metals
By Paul Sutter published
The universe is pretty good at smashing things together. And when neutron stars do it, the collisions release a flood of elements necessary for life.

1st sign of elusive 'triangle singularity' shows particles swapping identities in mid-flight
By Paul Sutter published
Physicists sifting through old particle accelerator data have found evidence of a highly-elusive, never-before-seen process: a so-called triangle singularity.

Is dark matter made of 'Fermi balls' forged in the Big Bang?
By Paul Sutter published
A new theory suggests dark matter may have come from quantum bags that got squished together in the early universe.

Primordial black holes may flood the universe. Could one hit Earth?
By Paul Sutter published
What are the chances that a primordial black hole forged in the earliest moments of the universe will come wandering toward Earth?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Black holes warp the universe into a grotesque hall of mirrors
By Paul Sutter published
If you were to place a galaxy behind the black hole and then look off to the side, you'd see a distorted image of the galaxy. Here's why.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!