SciShow
We Don’t Know What the Sun Is Made Of
Unlike Earth, our Sun is a giant ball of mostly hydrogen and helium. Astronomers managed to figure that one out roughly 100 years ago. But after all this time, they still can't come to an agreement on what "mostly" means, precisely.
SciShow
Cosmic Tails (That Aren’t From Comets)
Comets are famous for having space tails. But they're not the only ones! Asteroids, planets, and even stars can rock tails of their own.
SciShow
The Rarest Objects in The Solar System Are from...Elsewhere...
In 2017, astronomers discovered 'Oumuamua — the first definitive interstellar visitor to our solar system. But definitive evidence of space rocks that don't just visit but join our solar system is a little more elusive.
SciShow
The Solar System is Beige
Whether you grew up with a poster of the solar system on your bedroom wall or not, you've probably got a specific idea of what the planets look like. From brilliantly blue Neptune to the "red planet" Mars. But if you managed to actually...
SciShow
Our Galaxy May Be 10 Times Bigger Than We Thought
The Milky Way is often described as measuring 100,000 light years across and containing the mass of a trillion Suns. But our home galaxy is actually far bigger, and might be much less massive. Astronomers aren't sure what the exact stats...
SciShow
Can an Equation Really Tell Us How Many Aliens Exist?
In 1961, the astronomer Frank Drake wrote down what is now known as the Drake Equation. It's so important to the culture surrounding the search for extraterrestrial life that scientists have carved it into the upcoming Europa Clipper...
SciShow
Is JWST Living Up to the Hype?
The James Webb Space Telescope is the most ambitious space observatory ever launched, and nobody hyped it more than us. So is it putting in work? Oh, boy, yes. Yes it is.
SciShow
Are Sharks Really Older Than the North Star?
If you've spent enough time on the internet, you may have stumbled upon the fact that sharks are older than Polaris, aka the North Star. But are they really? It turns out the truth is a little more complicated.
MinuteEarth
Eclipses Used To Be Terrifying
Because eclipses are powerful and frightening events, ancient cultures went to great lengths to understand eclipses, leading to remarkably accurate predictions and helping invent the science of astronomy.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Something weird is happening in our galaxy | Ashkbiz Danehkar
In 2010, NASA announced the discovery of a never-before-seen galactic object: two gigantic gaseous bubbles, each emanating an impressive 25,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way. Astronomers were perplexed: what created these...
SciShow
How to Supersize a Telescope | Compilation
Telescopes can get pretty big, incredibly big actually. Unbelievably big. So here's a compilation about how we managed to get them that size and how that size helps us to see.
SciShow
Why are Astronomers So Bad at Naming Things?
With star names like 2MASS J05551028+0724255, it might seem like astronomers are not so great at naming things. But if you know the code, these names can actually help you find the star in the sky.
SciShow
Why Space is the Place For Halloween Lovers | Compilation
In honor of the spookiest time of year, let's take a look at the spookiest-named things in the cosmos.
SciShow
Five Of The Biggest, Baddest Supernova Varieties
Supernovae are only rare to the passive stargazer, but if you’re an astronomer studying them, you get to see some of the most brilliant explosions in the universe. Here are five of the most significant supernovae known to science.
SciShow
The Future of the Search for Life
Astronomers have found more than 5,000 planets in the last three decades, but that’s not nearly as exciting as potentially coming across the first extraterrestrial creatures. And we may finally be in a position to make that discovery.
SciShow
How Distant Stars Let Us See the Solar System Up Close
Occultations may sound spooky, but in actuality they can inform us of some of the most unknown parts of the universe.
SciShow
The Mystery of the Star That Wasn't There
In the 1970s, astronomers discovered a mysterious source of gamma rays that, 50 years later, still hasn’t revealed all of its secrets.
SciShow
Where Did Mercury’s Spots Come From?
The Sun isn’t the only celestial body in the solar system to boast spots of its own. Mercury, too, has its fair share, and they’re worth wondering about.
SciShow
How Do You Date a Star?
Figuring out the age of a blinking speck in the sky is a difficult feat, especially if considering how many types of stars there are. This is where a Hertzsprung-Russell meets a gyrochronologist.
SciShow
Earth’s other moons
You're familiar with the Moon, but it's not only our moon, depending on your point of view.
SciShow
Space Superlatives of 2022
As we wrap up 2022, we'd like to celebrate a few of the cosmic “winners” discovered this year, at least while they still hold their titles.
SciShow
Is Our Solar System Missing Moons?
You might be pretty confident that when a moon is there it’s there to stay, but that’s not always the case. Moons may have a history of disappearing.
SciShow
This Toxic Liquid Telescope from the 1850s Is Finally Useful
Sometimes looking into a pool of a toxic liquid holds the secrets of the universe–or maybe just this one time.
SciShow
The Biggest Star In The Universe Is Too Small
R136a1 is the most massive star that astronomers have ever discovered. It's so massive you might think the laws of physics wouldn't allow it. But it turns out that its current mass estimate is actually so low that it threatens our...