How Much Of The Universe Can Humanity Ever See? • 2023 • PBS Space Time

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There’s an absolute limit to our access to the universe beyond our own galaxy. There’s a limit to what we can ever hope to explore or send signals to, and a very different limit to what we can ever hope to witness. Today we’re going to explore the latter. We’re going to figure out the absolute limit of our future view of the universe, and of the universe’s ability to influence us. Next time we’ll turn it around and ask: how much of the external universe can WE potentially influence, and even explore?

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PBS Space Time • 2015 - 2023 • 9 episodes •

Do Events Inside Black Holes Happen?

Do Events Inside Black Holes Happen?

Black holes! From Stephen Hawking to Interstellar, black holes are mammoths in the world of science AND sci-fi. But what exactly IS a black hole? Do events happen inside black holes? Are black holes really a hole? Are black holes really black?! Join Gabe on this week’s episode of PBS Space Time as he debunks popular black hole misconceptions, and rethinks what the term, ‘black hole’, even means. Thought you knew what a black hole was? Think again!

2015 • Astronomy

The Andromeda - Milky Way Collision

The Andromeda - Milky Way Collision

The Andromeda galaxy is heading straight toward our own Milky Way. The two galaxies will inevitably collide. Will that be the very last night sky our solar system witnesses?

2018 • Astronomy

The Unruh Effect

The Unruh Effect

Worried about black holes? Consider this: Every time you accelerate - you generate an event horizon behind you. The more you accelerate away from it the closer it gets. Don’t worry, it can never catch up to you, but the Unruh radiation it generates sure can.

2018 • Astronomy

The Physics of Life

The Physics of Life

Our universe is prone to increasing disorder and chaos. So how did it generate the extreme complexity we see in life? Actually, the laws of physics themselves may demand it.

2018 • Astronomy

Using Stars to See Gravitational Waves

Using Stars to See Gravitational Waves

Now that gravitational waves are definitely a thing, it’s time to think about some of the crazy things we can figure out with them. In some cases we’re going to need a gravitational wave observatory - in fact, we've already built one.

2018 • Astronomy

Black Hole Swarms

Black Hole Swarms

It’s been conjectured that the center of the Milky Way is swarming with tens of thousands of black holes. And now we’ve actually seen them.

2018 • Astronomy

Quantum Theory's Most Incredible Prediction

Quantum Theory's Most Incredible Prediction

Let’s talk about the best evidence we have that the theories of quantum physics truly represent the underlying workings of reality.

2018 • Physics

Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?

Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?

Adamantium, bolognium, dilithium. Element Zero, Kryptonite. Mythril, Netherite, Orichalcum, Unobtanium. We love the idea of fictional elements with miraculous properties that science has yet to discover. But is it really possible that new elements exist beyond the periodic table?

2022 • Science

How Much Of The Universe Can Humanity Ever See?

How Much Of The Universe Can Humanity Ever See?

There’s an absolute limit to our access to the universe beyond our own galaxy. There’s a limit to what we can ever hope to explore or send signals to, and a very different limit to what we can ever hope to witness. Today we’re going to explore the latter. We’re going to figure out the absolute limit of our future view of the universe, and of the universe’s ability to influence us. Next time we’ll turn it around and ask: how much of the external universe can WE potentially influence, and even explore?

2023 • Astronomy

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Finding the New Earth

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New discoveries have revealed thousands of exoplanets beyond the solar system. Some resemble earth enough that one could be a new home for humanity. Even with cutting-edge technology, finding the perfect one is the scientific challenge of the age.

S7E9 • How the Universe Works • 2019 • Astronomy

A Matter Of Gravity

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Where and how are we going into space post Space Shuttle? Further travel in space is inhibited by the challenges of gravity wells and the science and cost of developing vehicles that can transcend them. How can the moon possibly help with this problem and move space exploration to the next level?

S1E1 • Destination: Moon • 2016 • Astronomy

Timelapse of the Entire Universe

Timelapse of the Entire Universe

On a cosmic time scale, human history is as brief as the blink of an eye. By compressing all 13.8 billion years of time into a 10 minute scale, this video shows just how young we truly are, and just how ancient and vast our universe is. Starting with the big bang and culminating in the appearance of homo sapiens, this experience follows the unfolding of time at 22 million years per second, adhering closely to current scientific understanding.

2018 • Astronomy

Last week we covered multiple star systems, but what if we added thousands or even millions of stars to the mix? A star cluster. There are different kinds of clusters, though. Open clusters contain hundreds or thousands of stars held together by gravity. They’re young, and evaporate over time, their stars let loose to roam space freely. Globular clusters, on the other hand, are larger, have hundreds of thousands of stars, and are more spherical. They’re very old, a significant fraction of the age of the Universe itself, and that means their stars have less heavy elements in them, are redder, and probably don’t have planets (though we’re not really sure).

35 • Crash Course Astronomy • 2015 • Astronomy

Alien Planets Revealed

Alien Planets Revealed

It’s a golden age for planet hunters: NASA's Kepler mission has identified more than 3,500 potential planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun. Some of them, like a planet called Kepler-22b, might even be able to harbor life. How did we come upon this distant planet? Combining startling animation with input from expert astrophysicists and astrobiologists, “Alien Planets Revealed” takes viewers on a journey along with the Kepler telescope. How does the telescope look for planets? How many of these planets are like our Earth? Will any of these planets be suitable for life as we know it? Bringing the creative power of veteran animators together with the latest discoveries in planet-hunting, “Alien Planets Revealed” shows the successes of the Kepler mission, taking us to planets beyond our solar system and providing a glimpse of creatures we might one day encounter.

Order Out of Chaos

Order Out of Chaos

Discover how beauty and order in Earth's cosmic backyard was formed from nothing more than a chaotic cloud of gas. Chasing tornados in Oklahoma, Professor Brian Cox explains how the same physics that creates these spinning storms shaped the young solar system. Out of this celestial maelstrom emerged the jewel in the crown, Brian's second wonder - the magnificent rings of Saturn.

S1E2 • Wonders of the Solar System • Astronomy