Matt O’Dowd’s Favorite Object in the Universe

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Did the Milky Way used to be a quasar? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore quasars, the high energy universe, and the movie we’re making of the night’s sky with astrophysicist & host of PBS Space Time, Matt O’Dowd.

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Why wasn’t the Milky Way massive enough to be a true quasar? The trio breaks down the history of quasars exploring how these pinpricks of light liberate insane amounts of kinetic energy through the raw friction of gas falling into supermassive black holes.

How will big data change how we view the cosmos? Neil and Matt trace the evolution of X-ray astronomy before shifting gears to the mind-bending role of gravitational lenses. You'll learn how these galactic funhouse mirrors create cosmic time machines, allowing us to view the exact same quasar at different points in time.

How will big data change how we view the cosmos? With the Vera Rubin Observatory recently achieving first light, how is the frontier being impacted by AI? Can variational autoencoders help us map the inner regions of a quasar, or will pattern-recognition templates cause AI to only see what we expect it to find? Neil freaks out over the varying patterns caused by moving stars. What do we lose when computers replace the grunt work of galaxy classification and spherical trig? Are future generations doomed to just vibecode into a black box?

Finally, we explore how the Rubin Observatory will capture 40 times the Hubble field of view to create a continuous, 10-year movie of the night sky. Plus, Neil reflects on why people are far more likely to become scientists than professional athletes, the viral success of PBS Space Time, and why true science is about mastering tools of thought rather than just memorizing a syllabus.

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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