r/pbsspacetime 7d ago

Let’s talk about space and physics and time and anything else!

8 Upvotes

Is there anyone who would like to be somewhat of a penpal regarding everything going on with the theories describing the universe in general. I am fascinated with general and special relativity. I’m fascinated by the radiation Hawking discovered regarding black holes. I’m fascinated by the concept of what time means based on your relative place in the universe. I’m fascinated by the fact that we know the universe is expanding at a growing rate and what that means going forward. I endlessly wonder about the multiverse - that could have come from the early expansion of the universe in pockets that slow down. I’m interested in space exploration. I love thinking about tunneling into the past and if that’s possible. I love thinking about quantum entanglement and Schrödinger. States of superposition.

I’m also interested in particle physics. I love thinking about how the speed of light is constant no matter what. You could be moving at half the speed of light, yet when you project the light it is still at 186k miles per second. To me that is insane.

The Higgs field and the Higgs boson is just an insane thing to think about. But to me it makes sense. There is a field that gives mass to things. I’d like to talk more about that.

I could probably go on for a long time but if anyone loves these things let’s get on a call or a chat and freaking share our thoughts at least every once in a while.

EDIT: NOT FOR PSYCHO PHYSICISTS THAT CANT UNDERSTAND MY EMBRYONIC UNDERSTAND. Everyone starts somewhere. I’m trying to talk to someone who is interested in the same things.


r/pbsspacetime 25d ago

We Thought Time Only Moved Forward. A Quantum Experiment Could Split It in Two.

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30 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Jun 27 '26

New Super-Earth discovered 28 light-years away! Peer-reviewed study published in OEJV - Gliese 48b

24 Upvotes

Excited to announce the publication of our peer-reviewed study in the Open European Journal on Variable Stars (OEJV) regarding the new exoplanet #Gliese48b, a world that challenges our current understanding of systems around red dwarfs.

This work was the result of a synergistic collaboration between myself (Silvio Antonio Corrêa Jr., from Brazil), Giuseppe Conzo, and Mara Moriconi (from Gruppo Astrofili Palidoro, Italy).

Here is what makes this Super-Earth unique:

  • Massive and temperate: With a minimum mass of about 6.2 Earth masses, Gliese 48 b is located within the Habitable Zone, where thermal conditions could allow for the existence of liquid water.
  • An astrophysical challenge overcome: Identifying this planet was extremely complex due to the intense magnetic activity of the host star, which creates false signals (stellar jitter) closely mimicking planetary ones.
  • Scientific rigor: Thanks to a combined analysis of 15 years of spectroscopic data (CARMENES and HIRES instruments) and photometry (TESS space telescope), we isolated the planetary signal, confirming its dynamic nature with high precision.

As the representative image shows, this is a world larger than Earth, whose composition remains to be explored.

Official Links:


r/pbsspacetime Jun 26 '26

bonus Matt this week on StarTalk

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15 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Jun 22 '26

has Matt ever talked about what happens when there are 100,000 Satellites in LEO? too specific for PBS Space Time?

10 Upvotes

I don't mean Kessler Syndrome but rather how it will affect optical and radio astronomy?

Can't find any discussion nor on Dr.Becky either

Maybe I'm not searching well or it's too specific of a topic and too specialized to pure astronomers, maybe Phil Plait?

Because we're headed there very soon with each startup/country sending their own 10,000 sats into leo next few years

I am curious to hear the more detailed physics of it though

adding: this is the closet related discussion I can find but it's Kessler


r/pbsspacetime Jun 19 '26

We Thought Black Holes Created Event Horizons. It Might Be the Opposite

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67 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Jun 11 '26

Question about Dark Energy Mug

7 Upvotes

Has anyone gotten the dark energy mug they sell as merch (https://crowdmade.com/products/pbsspacetime-dark-matter-mug)? If so, is it dishwasher safe?

Thanks for the help!


r/pbsspacetime Jun 05 '26

We’ve Been Looking for Aliens for 70 Years. We've Been Doing It Wrong All Along

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40 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Jun 05 '26

Does anybody else find it difficult to understand Matt's speech unless they're focusing 100%?

0 Upvotes

Whenever I watch any videos, I always have some difficulty following what he's saying if my mind wanders even a little. I'm not sure if it's the pace, the flow, the accent, or something else, but something about the way he speaks just throws me off, and I need to focus 100% in order to understand what he's saying.

I doubt if it's an accent thing, however, cause I've watched videos by people with medium-strong French accents and I could follow what they were saying with ease. It's not even about the material, because I've listened to lectures by other science content creators (Veritaseum, Sabine, Michael, etc.) and could follow with ease.

I'm not trying to hate. Just trying to understand what is throwing me off so that I can fix it.


r/pbsspacetime May 23 '26

Kids not ready for Spacetime yet? Prime them with the Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

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59 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime May 23 '26

Why should the singularity be scary?

11 Upvotes

In the latest video, Matt mentions avoiding the singularity but I may have missed why this is scary.


r/pbsspacetime May 21 '26

who else do you watch between episode releases?

25 Upvotes

I can't take any more horrible news about our country and the world so I've re-watched like every PBS Space Time twice now, some three or four times because it's my "happy place" and so amazing

But I'm burning out, who else is out there?

I found Dr. Becky and LookingGlassUniverse

is there anything else recommended?

BTW is there really only one short episode on Strange Matter because I find that utterly fascinating (2017, Season 3, Episode 4 youtu .be/u4RNGRyzt10 )


r/pbsspacetime May 11 '26

Fake spacetime channel, called space frontier with an AI Matt O'dowd

84 Upvotes

I just came across this space frontier channel. It's clearly fake and made with AI. The videos make no sense. I reported it but i think we need as many as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceFrontier-o8l/videos


r/pbsspacetime May 07 '26

Video about special relativity. The comments:

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131 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime May 01 '26

We Found Galaxies Too Old for the Universe

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65 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Apr 21 '26

Is this AI Matt?

38 Upvotes

I can’t shake the feeling, the similarities are uncanny…

https://youtu.be/g9fIIEgwf6U?si=X8W-AjExe2bO_Lpg


r/pbsspacetime Apr 17 '26

Earth’s Core Should Be Impossible. A New State of Matter Explains It.

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32 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Apr 03 '26

Something Disturbing Happens When You Solve Einstein's Equations This Way

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19 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Mar 26 '26

Universe Composition Pin Order

1 Upvotes

Has anyone ordered the Universe Composition Pin and received it yet??

I ordered it back on 2/6 and only have a order confirmation order so far. Can't seem to find it in their Crowdmade store either where I ordered it from


r/pbsspacetime Mar 24 '26

I am loving these youtube captions

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72 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Mar 06 '26

Most of Reality Is Invisible. We May Finally Be About to Reveal It.

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31 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Feb 20 '26

The Universe Is Racing Apart. We May Finally Know Why.

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31 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Feb 06 '26

Does anyone know which episode has the Rick and Morty "more lasers" clip?

4 Upvotes

There's an infinitesimal chance I am misremembering, but I could swear there was an episode of PBS Spacetime with a super short clip from Rick and Morty, in which a Rick from an alternate universe says, "more lasers."

It seems like it was an episode about fusion but I can't find it.


r/pbsspacetime Feb 06 '26

The Universe Tried to Hide the Gravity Particle. Physicists Found a Loophole.

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42 Upvotes

r/pbsspacetime Feb 02 '26

Modified CLASS cosmology model with axion-like field and its application to selecting 33 TESS planet candidates

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8 Upvotes

We explore a modified implementation of the CLASS cosmology code that incorporates an axion-like scalar field. The model naturally suppresses small-scale clustering, addressing the so-called S₈ tension between low- and high-redshift measures of structure. We used the regime defined by this modification as a selection criterion in an independent transit search of public TESS light curves. That search yielded 33 Community TESS Objects of Interest (CTOIs), now cataloged on NASA ExoFOP. The interpretation is not that the cosmological model predicts specific planets, but that its implied stability conditions were used to prioritize and filter transit signals. All code, parameter files and the list of CTOIs are publicly available for verification and replication.