SEA: Space Exploration & Astronomy

Lately, there has been talk of a new largest black hole, named Phoenix A*, which is said to have a mass greater than 100 billion times the mass of the sun! This is much larger than the previous record holder, TON-618. But can we really rely on this prediction? And if not, then what is the largest black hole out there, and how do we know its true size? These are the questions we will answer in sear...

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the oldest light in the universe that we can see or detect. It was emitted only 380,000 years after the universe was born, back when it was a much more chaotic place. This microwave-band static is fundamentally linked to the Big Bang, and if we map it precisely enough, we can discover a wealth of information about the age, composition and structure of the u...

Saturn's most distinguished feature are its brilliant, shining rings, which have intrigued astronomers since the 17th century. But in the 1980s, Voyagers 1 & 2 revealed to us that each of the large planets in the Solar System is home to a ring system, but each varies wildly in its composition, arrangement, and substantiality. In this video, we will explore the complex and elegant natural p...

What is the largest galaxy? For a long time, the largest was thought to be IC 110. But since 2022, there has been talk of a new, even larger galaxy, Alcyoneus, which is said to be more than 16 million light years in diameter! But is that what's really being proposed in the original paper detailing the discovery? Not exactly, because Alcyoneus is a Radio Galaxy. But what is a radio galaxy, and...

Supernovae are some of the brightest and most powerful explosions in the universe, bright enough to outshine entire galaxies. These cosmic catastrophes come in many varieties, characterised by their elements and light. Today, we will cover the various types of supernova as we take a deep dive into these tremendous explosions. SOUNDTRACK: - Woodstock | Joni Mitchell: https://youtu.be/cRjQCvfcXn0 -...

One of astronomy's great, enduring mysteries is what really happens on the inside of a black hole. We know that anything which gets too close to a black hole is destroyed, but if you were able to jump right inside of one, then what would happen and where would you go? Today, we will explore a few of the many exotic and fascinating possibilities for what lies on the other side of a black hole....

The Milky Way is surrounded by more than 50 near neighbour galaxies that make up the Local Group. The two largest galaxies are us and Andromeda, but we also have an often-overlooked third large galaxy in our neighbourhood- the Triangulum Galaxy. This galaxy is like its own mini-Milky Way, containing stars, clouds, clusters, supernova remnants, and satellites. These are the checkpoints in the Trian...

The Andromeda Galaxy is our massive galactic neighbour, a spiral galaxy more than double the size of the Milky Way. In this video, we will be taking a journey, from this galaxy's ancient history, right up to its remote future- using the latest and most beautiful images to know our cosmic neighbour like never before. This is our journey to the Andromeda Galaxy... Soundtrack by CO.AG Music: http...

On the darkest of nights, free from the glow of the moon and the haze of light pollution, a stunning, striking formation can be seen imprinted upon the sky. That imprint is our galaxy- the Milky Way. Our galaxy is a giant, which extends for hundreds of thousands of light years. But by measuring the motions and velocities of the stars in our neighbourhood, both their past and future trajectories ca...

How old is the oldest planet? When did the first planets form in the universe? And what about life-supporting worlds? These are some of the most complex questions in extrasolar-planetary science. But by studying the ancient exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy, we've managed to build up a comprehensive picture of when the genesis planets formed, and what they were like. Those findings make up th...

For more than 30 years, the Hubble Telescope provided our most profound window into the cosmos. From imaging the beautiful interiors o nebulae, to revealing the secrets of the universe at large, we’ve seen glimpses of space our ancestors scarcely dreamed of. And in today’s episode, we will relive some of the telescope’s grandest achievements as we recount the greatest discoveries of the Hubble Tel...