SEA: Space Exploration & Astronomy
A podcast that creates chilled-out "info-tainment" videos about space exploration and astronomy, covering topics from the Big Bang to the end of the universe. Each episode is written, recorded, and produced by a real human without AI, with new episodes released every Sunday.
Episodes
Journey to the Gas Giants (Probes Episode #2)
Far beyond the reaches of the four rocky planets, we find our Solar System's showpiece worlds- the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn. As the two largest planets, they both make tantalising targets for probes exploring the planetary neighbourhood, but both lie significantly further from the sun than the Earth and its terrestrial neighbours. But early in the 1970s, the technology for deep space voy
The God Particle
In 2012, the world’s most advanced science experiment uncovered the signature of the Higgs Boson, the so-called “God Particle” which gives particles their masses. The Higgs was the last of the Standard Model's particles to be verified experimentally. But far from closing the case, it instead opened a new frontier in physics that today embodies everything we still don’t know about nature’s smal
What Does it All Mean?
Why does the universe choose life over silence? Why has its once inanimate matter and energy come alive on planet Earth? Is it chance? Fate? Or even, by design? It is this profound question that has plagued our conscious minds since the time of our earliest ancestors, and it is going to be the topic of our video today. This video is my oldest idea, and I was planning for it as early as 2021. A mas
How Time Works in Space
Can we ever turn back the clock? On Earth, Time is rigid and immovable, but in space, it's practically the opposite. Out in the cosmos, time is another dimension alongside the three of space- but unlike in 3D space, there is only one way we seem to be able to move through time. The cause of this directionality, and so-called "Arrow of Time" through the cosmos, makes up the topic of o
The History of Time
Tick. Tock. It's a sound you probably hear several times a day. Time dominates virtually every aspect of our lives, attuned to the rigid, unflinching regularity of Hours, Minutes and Seconds. The question how did our ancient ancestors figure out these units? Who came up with the concepts of timekeeping, like Minutes and Seconds, and why are there 60 of them, and not say, 100? The answers to su
Leviathans: Giant Creatures of the Deep Sea
Aliens. They already roam this planet, but not on its surface or in the skies. Rather, they lie at the crushing depths of the vast, sprawling oceans. And so in this episode, we'll be swapping the familiar frontier of space for that of the deep ocean, as we plunge into the abyss in search of Leviathans- massive, monstrous marine specimens that have stalked the high seas for almost half a billio
Antarctica: The Alien Continent
On the dark, secluded underside of our planet, we find its most alien continent, Antarctica. A frozen desert larger than Europe, lying atop a sheet containing more than 90% of the world’s ice. But buried beneath this frosty surface, lie fossils and relics from an age where Antarctica was wildly different- covered not by ice, but by forests of trees. SOUNDTRACK:"Black Star" - Lustmord Son
Before Pangea: The Supercontinents
Long ago, the Earth's seven continents were assembled in a giant, sprawling supercontinent known as Pangea. You may've heard of it, but what is often less talked about is what came before. Our planet's current continental chunks have been smashing together and separating for over four billion years, and there have been more than a few "supercontinents" during that time. It is
You Are Here
As rich and life-supporting as the Earth is today, it was once nothing more than a column of dust, dancing in a scorched cyclone of gas. And just how we as humans managed to emerge from this ancient dust makes up the topic of this video today. So join us, as we wind the cosmic clock backwards almost five billion years, from you and I in the present, all the way back to the birth of the solar Syste
You Live in a Supervoid
Do we live in a cosmic void? It might sound like an odd question, but it’s something scientists have debated for decades. Does the Milky Way exist in a region of low cosmic density which is warping our view of the local universe as a result? The answer goes far deeper than you probably realise- and it’s just one of the many perplexing mysteries we’ll be diving into during this video, where voids a
Engine Black Holes: The Most Massive Objects in the Universe
Lying at the cores of most large galaxies, do we find the “largest” type of object in the universe- a supermassive “engine” black hole. They almost always have masses many millions of times that of the sun, while the biggest grow to tens of billions. Exactly what was responsible for seeding these great engines, and building up their immense sizes, is a challenge only the James Webb Telescope can r
Lost Worlds in the Dark
Laced within the cold, desolate swathes of the space between stars, lie myriad orphaned planets not tethered to a particular system. They are lost worlds floating in the dark, and there are likely tens of billions in the Milky Way galaxy alone. Today, we will journey through the galaxy in search of these lost worlds in the darkness of interstellar space, and sometimes even, intergalactic space.SOU
The Fundamental Forces of Nature
The universe as we experience it is rendered by myriad physical processes and interactions, but they all can be boiled down to one of four fundamental forces of nature. Gravity is one of these fundamental interactions, while the visible light we observe makes up part of another. And by understanding all four, we can gage comprehensive insights into our reality, from its tiniest particles to its la
The Sound of Space
What is the Sound of Space? The idea that it is a silent vacuum, completely devoid of any noise, is somewhat a misconception. And though sound as humans hear it can't travel in space, there are several way in which we can extract the anthems of the cosmos. And in this video, we'll be doing just that, as we embark on a journey of Sound in Space. SOUNDTRACK: - Uranus Sounds: https://youtu.be
Do We Live in a Multiverse?
Are we living in a multiverse? If so, where are all the other universes? Scientists and philosophers have pondered these questions for centuries, as they contemplated the possibility of parallel universes. The multiverse theory is not often discussed by cosmologists, due to its speculative and untestable nature. However, there are myriad different interpretations depicting how a multiverse might m
The Insane Science of Neutron Stars
In the late 1960s, a series of anomalous, repeating radio sources began cropping up all over the Milky Way galaxy, and though initially speculated to be messages from aliens, we soon learned that they are Pulsars, a rapidly rotating neutron star emitting high volumes of radiation. In this video, we will revisit these extreme, dense objects, as the final gateway faced by matter before it collapses
Collisions of the Early Solar System
How did Earth get its moon? Why is Mercury so close to the sun? Why does Uranus orbit on its side? The answers to all of these questions are the many collisions that ravaged the early Solar System. Each of our neighbouring worlds bears scars which echo their violent past, from the many craters of the moon's battered surface, to the sideways rings of the planet Uranus. And in this video, we will ex
A Glimpse of the Sun
The Sun... both the giver of life, and destroyer of worlds. Host of the eight planets, and incubator of Earth with its light and heat. Yet in spite of its brilliance, the true nature of the sun's power remains shrouded in mystery, with scientists unable to explain many of the processes playing out in its atmosphere. But in 2024, NASA will attain their closest glimpse of the sun so far, as they
Back to the Moon with Artemis
It's been more than half a century since humans last went to the Moon. But we will return before the decade is up, through NASA's revolutionary Artemis Program. But unlike its ancestral Apollo Program, Project Artemis is about more than just landing astronauts on the lunar surface. Its endgame is to enable us to stay there, and keep going back to a semi-permanent surface habitat- all in pr
Voyager: Beyond the Solar System (Probes Episode #3)
Of all the spacecraft to have visited other worlds, there are two which have travelled further than any other, discovering more about the Solar System than their inventors ever could have imagined. They are the legendary pair of Voyager Probes- still the only spacecraft ever to have visited the Ice Giant planets, Uranus and Neptune. The story of their 40 years in space makes up the topic of our vi
Race to the Terrestrial Planets (Probes Episode #1)
From studying the dusty surface of Mars, to plunging into the atmosphere of Venus, over the last 60 years, we've launched hundreds of probes into space on trajectories to visit each of the terrestrial planets. But for all the fascinating discoveries made on the way, humanity's journey towards the stars started out in a much darker place- a battlefront between the world's then two great
The Final Age of the Solar System (Part 2)
Earth is a success story, a thriving world that has hosted life for almost 4 billion years. But, no matter how peaceful things are now, a new age is coming for the Solar System. An age of change, destruction and evolution. A place for new worlds and new stories, but one in which the Earth has no place.MUSIC:- Dreamscape - Density & Time - The Unknown - CO.AG Music - https://youtu.be/IFYTGVE1aR
The Birth of the Solar System (Part 1)
The Solar System is vast and diverse, home to eight large planets, including one which gave rise to life. While humanity was born too late to witness the events that occurred at the birth of the Solar System first-hand, by peering into the surroundings of others stars, we are starting to piece together the events that unfolded at the birth of our own Solar System. Today, we shall explore the culmi
The James Webb Telescope (2022 Version)
On December 25th, 2021, NASA's most sophisticated, ground-breaking and expensive observatory ever blasted off from the Earth. The James Webb Telescope is an infrared observatory, capable of looking back all the way to the universe's first light. In this video, we will explore how this initiative came to be, and what the future holds in this exciting new age of astronomy. SOUNDTRACK:- Valhalla [Lon
When Black Holes Collide
Black holes are fascinating in so many ways- especially when you put two of them together. Their resonance and orbit physically ripples space itself, emitting waves that can travel through space for billions of years. Since 2016, we have been able to detect these gravitational wave events, and earlier this month, we detected a record-breaking one. SOUNDTRACK:- Wander - Emitt Fenn (YouTube Audio Li
Dwarf Planets: Lesser Worlds
The Solar System is home to eight principal planets, but this is far from the full picture. Hidden beyond the orbit of Neptune are dozens of small, icy worlds, known as Dwarf Planets, or Minor Planets! The best example is Pluto, but there are dozens more orbiting within the same band of material in the outer Solar System. Today, we will visit these frozen, far out worlds first hand.MUSIC:- Mist -
The Oort Cloud: The Solar System's Shell
What lies at the edge of the Solar System? Far beyond the orbit of Neptune and the Kuiper Belt, deep into interstellar space, we find a vast, thick shell of icy space debris. We have never seen it directly, but we know it exists- because it is the source of the most distant comets that we see entering the Solar System. So why is it there? Today we'll find out.All background songs in this video
Moons Beyond the Solar System
Most large planets have moons. We have discovered almost 200 in our Solar System alone, and so we expect that the Milky Way is teeming with many more- perhaps even outnumbering planets and stars. With so many moons, it adds a plethora of additional holdouts in the galaxy capable of supporting life, and thus they are tantalising targets for scientists. However, extra-Solar moons are so insanely dis
Europa: A Frozen Oasis
Europa is a fascinating moon, which is thought to be hiding a global ocean below its frozen surface. This makes it a hotspot for research and missions, with the ultimate goal being to identify an independent life source. In this video, we will go over this iconic satellite of Jupiter by the numbers, as we blow its perplexing mysteries wide open.All background music came from the Royalty-Free &
Corrupted Stars: Hypothetical Stars that Defy Explanation
Not every star in the universe can be seen shining brightly in the night sky. There are dozens of types of fascinating hypothetical stars, which are characterised by their extreme behaviour. Today, we will be taking a look at a few of these corrupted stars, from the start of the universe right up until the end. MUSIC TRACKS: - Passing a Foreign Moon - I Think I Can Help You (YouTube Audio Library)
Ghost Galaxies
Not every galaxy is a fully formed spiral or elliptical galaxy. Some are much smaller, and orbit larger galaxies as well as each other, like ghosts. Today, we will examine these ghost galaxies- the satellites of the Milky Way and Andromeda. SOUNDTRACK:- The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow - Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Four - Chris Zabriskie- I Can't Imagine Where I'd Be Without It - C
The Mind-Blowing Scale of Voids & Supervoids
Supervoids are the enormous, empty spaces between galaxy clusters and galaxy filaments. But just because they are empty, doesn't mean they can't be filled with fascinating science! They have taught us a great deal about both galaxy structures in the early universe, and how they grow in the present. And today we'll be venturing into a few of the biggest!MUSIC: - Long Walks [Emily A Spra
Large Quasar Groups
Quasars are the brightest phenomenon in the entire universe, able to outshine any type of star, and even entire galaxies containing hundreds of billions of them. They are the product of monster black holes at the centres of large galaxies, and so when we find multi-billion light year clusters of quasars dotted around the early universe, we are forced to reconsider some of our most fundamental assu
The Largest Star (2021 Version)
Stars come in a wide range of sizes, but how do we calculate a star's size to determine which is the largest? In this episode, we will find out how stars are measured to determine their mind-boggling sizes, and above all, which of them are the biggest of all.PLEASE NOTE: This one is an older video of mine, back in 2021 when it was thought that the largest known star was Stephenson 2-18. It has
The Great Attractor
No matter where you are, you are always moving. The Earth orbits the sun, while the sun moves round the galaxy. But what makes the galaxy move? That is the topic of our video today. Everything in our local galaxy supercluster, Laniakea, is being dragged towards a high concentration of mass obscured by the opaque clouds of our galaxy, but what is it? It has all the ingredients for an epic cosmic my
The Cosmic Scale
How large is the universe? Where does it begin and end? How does it expand? These are some of the biggest questions of astronomy- and while humanity is so small that we may never be able to fully understand the universe's true scale, advancements in technology are helping us to look ever-deeper into space, towards the edge of our observable universe known as the Cosmic Horizon. Today, we will get
Beyond the Observable Universe
What we perceive to be the edge of our universe is not the actual edge of the universe, with most scientists in agreement that more space lies hidden beyond what we're able to see. Last time out, we travelled to the very edge of our observable universe. But today, we will be going even farther, as we wade out into the darkness of the unobservable universe. Soundtrack by CO.AG Music: https://www.yo
Journey to the Edge of the Universe
Ever wonder what it would be like to fly all the way to the edge of space? Well in this video, we'll be doing just that. Using beautiful images snapped by the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, we will embark on a tour of our universe- venturing deep into the darkness, and uncovering the most jaw-dropping landmarks along the way. This is our journey to the edge of the universe.SOUNDTRACK [In or
The Dark Energy Mystery
In 1998, two teams of scientists measured the universe's rate of expansion, expecting to find it slowing down on route to a collapse. But instead, they found the opposite- the universe's expansion appears to be accelerating, having expanded more in the latter half of its life. In attempting to explain this mysterious behaviour, they revived one Einstein's long-since-forgotten ideas. Th
The Dark Matter Mystery
Dark Matter is a theoretical form of invisible mass, which has never been definitively detected. You've probably heard of it before, as it makes up a large part of the physics you find in textbooks. But how can something that's never been seen have so much scientific confidence behind it? Furthermore, if we can't see it, how do we know that it is really there? And if it's not, what are the alterna
In Search of the Largest Black Holes
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 Oldest Map in the Universe
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
Planetary Ring Systems
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
The New Largest Galaxy
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
Cosmic Catastrophes: Types of Supernova
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- Sp
The Other Side of a Black Hole
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.
A Tour of the Triangulum Galaxy
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
Journey to the Andromeda Galaxy
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: https
History of the Milky Way
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
The Genesis Planets
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
The Greatest Discoveries of the Hubble Telescope
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
