The cluster of galaxies MACS J1149.5+2223 is so massive that it has gravitationally bent (or lensed) the light from multiple things behind it, including one of the most distant galaxies in the universe and a supernova.

Can You Find the Supermassive Black Hole?

19 days ago 8m 53s

NGC 34 (also known as NGC 17) is a chaotic-looking galaxy that formed from two smaller galaxies merging together, and it is a place where astronomers have easily found lots of stars forming in a starburst but where they have had difficulty conc

A Possible Source of the Cosmic Rays that Gave the Fantastic Four Their Superpowers

Mar 18th, 2024 11m 14s

The Monogem Ring, which is one of the largest sources of X-rays in the Earth's sky, was created by a supernova explosion about 86000 years ago, and the core of the star that exploded has been identified as the pulsar PSR B0656+14 at the center

Alpha Table

Mar 4th, 2024 8m 49s

Even though Alpha Mensae is in one of the faintest and dumbest constellations in the sky, it's an intriguing star system because it is very close to the Earth, because one of the stars is very Sun-like, and because it may contain an exoplanet o

The Golden Standard

Feb 19th, 2024 10m 50s

The Type Ia supernova SN 2005cf was observed at multiple wavelengths for three months after its appearance, allowing astronomers to create templates of its spectrum that could be used to measure distances to other Type Ia supernovae.

No Shockingly Dumb Jokes in This Episode

Feb 5th, 2024 6m 38s

Kappa Cassiopeiae is a large blue variaable star that is most potentially interesting because of the bow shock between its stellar winds and the interstellar medium.

The Really Really High Expectations Exoplanetary System

Jan 22nd, 2024 8m 40s

47 Ursa Majoris is a nearby Sun-like star that astronomers have intensely studied in an effort to find an Earth-like exoplanet, and while three exoplanets have been found orbiting the star, none of them are remotely similar to the Earth.

Oyster?

Jan 8th, 2024 9m 35s

While the planetary nebula NGC 1501 is a popular amateur astronomy target, the newly formed, hot, pulsating white dwarf at its center is much more interesting to professional astronomers.

George's 2020 Data Processing Project from Hell

Dec 25th, 2023 15m 51s

As the second closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, Messier 33 has been a very popular observing target for both amateur and professional astronomers, and even I have made images of the galaxy.

The Mystery Spot

Dec 11th, 2023 8m 10s

The white dwarf GD 394 seems to have an abnormal amount of heavy elements in its outer atmosphere and also varies in brightness with a period of 1.146 days, and no one understands why.

Imagine Marilyn Monroe in a Movie Named the Great Attractor

Nov 27th, 2023 9m 37s

The Norma Cluster lies near the center of a giant supercluster of galaxies that is pulling in everything else in the local universe, including our galaxy.

The 1925 Classic

Nov 13th, 2023 7m 23s

The classical nova RR Pictoris was one of the brightest and closest to ever appear in the sky.

We Came, We Saw, We Measured

Oct 30th, 2023 10m 1s

The spiral galaxy Markarian 766 contains an active galactic nucleus with a supermassive black hole, which means that everyone needs to apply their favorite technique to measure the black hole's mass.

A Water World without Kevin Costner

Oct 16th, 2023 12m 14s

The Kepler-138 star system contains at least four exoplanets, one of which may be a "water world" covered in a very deep ocean.

Objects in the Mirror May Be More Complicated Than They Appear

Oct 2nd, 2023 10m 43s

The protostellar object PDS 70 has a very complicated protoplanetary system that includes a disk of gas and dust and two protoexoplanets.

The Red Rectangle

Sep 18th, 2023 10m 57s

The Red Rectangle (yes, the Red Rectangle) is a uniquely weird protoplanetary nebula formed by a uniquely weird binary star system.

A Tale of Two Binary Star Systems

Sep 4th, 2023 12m 9s

While some astronomers are interested the globular cluster NGC 6712 because it appears to have been severely tidally disrupted by orbiting too close to the center of the Milky Way, other astronomers are interested in the cluster because it cont

Super-Slow Star Formation

Aug 21st, 2023 11m 21s

Located at the edge of the Local Group, the Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy has some of the stars with the fewest elements other than hydrogen or helium in the known universe.

Going Cross Country for a Supermassive Black Hole

Aug 7th, 2023 9m 15s

Observations with a telescope as large as the Untied States were needed to prove that J16021+3326 is a blazar, a type of galaxy containing a supermassive black hole.

The Pulsar within the Cosmic Hand

Jul 24th, 2023 8m 35s

PSR B1509-58 is a relatively young pulsar that sits within a supernova remnant that looks like a giant hand.

Another Ring Thing

Jul 10th, 2023 7m 14s

The spiral galaxy NGC 7552 is best known for its relatively small but bright starburst ring.

Warm and Cold

Jun 26th, 2023 11m 48s

The star Eta Corvi is surrounded by a disk of dust with a rather complex structure and rather complex origin.

The Self-Descriptive Nebula

Jun 12th, 2023 13m 52s

The Taurus Molecular Cloud is exactly what it sounds like it is, a cloud made of mulecular gas (mostly molecular hydrogen) in the constellation Taurus, but it is also much more than that.

No References to the Six Wives of Henry VIII

May 27th, 2023 9m 41s

Abell 514 is a cluster of galaxies that contains six radio galaxies, and the polarized radio emission from those six radio galaxies can be used to probe the magnetic fields within the cluster.