Episodes

  • This Week in Astronomy: Milky Way’s Core, Planet Nine, and First Molecule

    This Week in Astronomy: Milky Way’s Core, Planet Nine, and First Molecule
    Aug 6 2025
    Magnetic Map of the Milky Way’s Core: Scientists created the first detailed map of magnetic fields near the center of the Milky Way, revealing how star formation and fast-moving particles are influenced by powerful magnetic forces. The findings help explain decades-old mysteries and improve our understanding of galactic behavior.

    The Hunt for Planet Nine:Astronomers suspect a hidden planet beyond Neptune is affecting the orbits of distant objects in the Kuiper Belt. While indirect evidence grows, the planet hasn’t been observed directly, keeping its existence an open and ongoing mystery.

    How the First Molecule Helped Stars Form: The helium hydride ion, the universe’s first molecule, played a key role in cooling early gas clouds, enabling the formation of the first stars. New lab experiments confirm its importance, reshaping our understanding of early cosmic chemistry.
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    15 mins
  • Twis Week in Astronomy - Rare Black Hole, Moon-Bound Telescope And An Interstellar Object

    Twis Week in Astronomy - Rare Black Hole, Moon-Bound Telescope And An Interstellar Object
    Jul 30 2025
    In this week:
    1. Rare Black Hole Feeding on a Star – Scientists observed a rare intermediate-mass black hole (HLX-1) tearing apart a star in a star cluster far from its galaxy’s center. This event, called a tidal disruption, allowed researchers to study how such black holes grow and possibly evolve into supermassive ones. It also supports theories about black hole formation and galaxy growth.
    2. Moon-Bound Telescope LuSEE-Night – A special radio telescope is being sent to the far side of the Moon to detect faint signals from the universe’s “Dark Ages,” a period before stars existed. Its unique design will help it survive extreme lunar conditions and could open the door to future radio astronomy missions from the Moon.
    3. Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS – A fast-moving object from outside the solar system was detected heading toward the Sun. Its speed, size, and path are unusual, prompting some scientists to speculate about alien technology. While likely natural, the object helps refine how we detect and study interstellar visitors.
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    15 mins
  • Twis Week in Astronomy: Dark Energy Might Be Changing, Hidden Star Orbiting Betelgeuse and Rocky Planets Forming

    Twis Week in Astronomy: Dark Energy Might Be Changing, Hidden Star Orbiting Betelgeuse and Rocky Planets Forming
    Jul 23 2025
    Dark Energy Might Be Changing Over Time
    Scientists have combined data from over 2,000 exploding stars to better study dark energy—the mysterious force causing the universe to expand. New analysis suggests dark energy may not be constant, possibly challenging current theories. This could have major implications for how the universe evolves or ends. More data from future telescopes will help clarify the picture.

    Hidden Star Found Orbiting Betelgeuse
    Astronomers discovered a hidden companion star very close to Betelgeuse, using a special imaging technique. This helps explain Betelgeuse’s brightness changes and offers insights into the future of this massive star. The smaller star may eventually merge with Betelgeuse, and the discovery opens the door for finding similar hidden companions around other stars.

    First Glimpse of Rocky Planets Forming Around Baby Star
    Using the Webb Telescope and observatories in Chile, scientists saw the earliest solid materials forming around a young sun-like star, a key first step in building rocky planets. This is the clearest evidence yet of how Earth-like planets might begin to form and suggests the process could be common in the universe.
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    17 mins
  • This Week in Astronomy: Dark Matter, Biggest Black Hole Merger and Hidden Galaxies

    This Week in Astronomy: Dark Matter, Biggest Black Hole Merger and Hidden Galaxies
    Jul 16 2025
    Scientists propose that "dark dwarfs"—brown dwarfs powered by dark matter—could reveal what dark matter is made of. Meanwhile, LIGO and its partners detected the most massive black hole merger ever seen, offering new insights into black hole formation. At the same time, new simulations suggest there may be many hidden, faint galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, helping to solve a mystery in our understanding of dark matter and galaxy formation.
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    14 mins
  • This Week in Astronomy: SPHEREx, Dark Dwarfs and an Interestellar Object

    This Week in Astronomy: SPHEREx, Dark Dwarfs and an Interestellar Object
    Jul 9 2025
    NASA's new SPHEREx telescope is mapping the entire sky in infrared, helping scientists study the origins of stars, planets, and life—and the data is shared publicly. Researchers also propose a new type of glowing object called a "dark dwarf," powered by dark matter, which could offer clues about what dark matter is. Meanwhile, a giant object named 3I/ATLAS, recently spotted speeding through our solar system, is confirmed to be interstellar and may reveal how planets form in other star systems.
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    14 mins
  • This Week in Astronomy: Hidden Gravitational Waves, Dark Matter Black Holes and First Stars

    This Week in Astronomy: Hidden Gravitational Waves, Dark Matter Black Holes and First Stars
    Jul 2 2025
    Scientists are developing new ways to explore hidden aspects of the universe. One approach uses powerful superconducting magnets to detect high-frequency gravitational waves—tiny ripples in space that current detectors often miss. Another proposes finding dark matter by spotting tiny primordial black holes through their Hawking radiation as they pass through our solar system, using existing instruments like the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Meanwhile, astronomers are rethinking the search for the universe’s first stars, suggesting we look in slightly "polluted" galaxies where Population III stars may still shine alongside early supernova debris, making them easier to detect.
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    15 mins
  • This Week in Astronomy: Vera Rubin First Images, The Hunt for Planet Nine and Universe’s First Stars

    This Week in Astronomy: Vera Rubin First Images, The Hunt for Planet Nine and Universe’s First Stars
    Jun 25 2025
    The Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile has released its first dazzling images, showcasing star-forming nebulae and galaxy clusters with unprecedented clarity. Designed to lead the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the observatory will scan the night sky over ten years to explore billions of galaxies, track cosmic events, and detect unknown objects. Named after Vera Rubin, a pioneer in dark matter research, the observatory has already found over 2,000 new asteroids.

    Meanwhile, scientists may be closing in on the elusive Planet Nine using infrared data from Japan’s AKARI telescope.

    Separately, radio astronomers are using hydrogen signals to study the universe’s first stars during the "Cosmic Dawn," offering a new way to understand how the first light emerged in the cosmos.
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    17 mins
  • This Week in Astronomy: Simulating the Universe’s First Light, Through Cosmic Lenses and Ancient Water

    This Week in Astronomy: Simulating the Universe’s First Light, Through Cosmic Lenses and Ancient Water
    Jun 18 2025
    In this week, we'll be covering:

    Simulating the Universe’s First Light with SKA-Low Scientists created an advanced simulation of what the SKA-Low radio telescope will detect when it starts observing the early universe. The project focuses on capturing ultra-faint 21-cm hydrogen signals from the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization—eras when the first stars and galaxies lit up the cosmos after a long dark age. This simulation includes realistic foreground interference, technical noise, and cosmic signals, helping researchers refine data analysis techniques before SKA-Low becomes operational. The goal is to study the universe’s first light with unmatched detail.

    Through Cosmic Lenses: Unlocking the Universe with Light and Gravity Researchers are using a technique called multi-messenger gravitational lensing, which combines gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals bent by massive cosmic structures, to observe distant cosmic events from multiple perspectives. This emerging field helps answer big questions about dark matter, gravity, and the expansion of the universe. International collaborations and new instruments like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network are central to this effort, aiming for major breakthroughs in the coming decade.

    Ancient Water Ice Found Around Young Star Suggests Pre-Solar Origins Astronomers have detected semi-heavy water ice (with deuterium) around a young star similar to the early Sun, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. This finding supports the theory that much of the water in our solar system formed in cold, dark interstellar clouds long before the Sun existed. The deuteration ratio in this system is close to that found in comets and Earth’s oceans, hinting at a common origin. Ongoing research will study more young stars to trace the cosmic journey of water across space and time.
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    16 mins