PBS Space Time - 2023-10-12
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to:http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime To understand where we came from—how earth, the solar system, the galaxy became what they are today—we need to understand the beginning of time. For example, how did the first galaxies pull themselves together from the dark universe-filling ocean of gas that followed the Big Bang? With the James Webb Space Telescope we’re starting to be able to find those first galaxies. It’s hard work because at those crazy distances all we see is tiny, faint and fuzzy blobs. If only we could see the individual stars in those galaxies we could learn so much more. Well, now using this one weird trick we can do exactly that. Or at least we have one lonely star at the end of the universe. But it won’t be lonely for long. Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Search the Entire Space Time Library Here: https://search.pbsspacetime.com/ Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Matt Caplan & Matt O'Dowd Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini & Stephanie Faria Directed by Andrew Kornhaber Associate Producer: Bahar Gholipour Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell Spacetime is produced by Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios. This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content. © 2023 PBS. All rights reserved. End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/user/MultiDroideka Space Time Was Made Possible In Part By: Big Bang Sponsors Bryce Fort Peter Barrett David Neumann Sean Maddox Alexander Tamas Morgan Hough Juan Benet Vinnie Falco Fabrice Eap Mark Rosenthal Quasar Sponsors Glenn Sugden Alex Kern Ethan Cohen Stephen Wilcox Mark Heising Hypernova Sponsors Stephen Spidle Chris Webb Ivari Tölp Zachry Wilson Kenneth See Gregory Forfa Bradley Voorhees Scott Gorlick Paul Stehr-Green Ben Delo Scott Gray Антон Кочков Robert Ilardi John R. Slavik Donal Botkin Edmund Fokschaner Chuck Zegar Jordan Young Daniel Muzquiz Gamma Ray Burst Supporters Lori Ferris James Sadler Dennis Van Hoof Koen Wilde Nicolas Katsantonis Piotr Sarnicki Massimiliano Pala Thomas Nielson Joe Pavlovic Justin Lloyd Chuck Lukaszewski Cole B Combs Andrea Galvagni Jerry Thomas Nikhil Sharma Ryan Moser John Anderson David Giltinan Scott Hannum Bradley Ulis Craig Falls Kane Holbrook Ross Story teng guo Mason Dillon Matt Langford Harsh Khandhadia Thomas Tarler Susan Albee Matt Quinn Michael Lev Terje Vold James Trimmier Jeremy Soller Paul Wood Joe Moreira Kent Durham Ramon Nogueira Ellis Hall John H. Austin, Jr. Diana S Poljar Faraz Khan Almog Cohen Daniel Jennings Russ Creech Jeremy Reed David Johnston Michael Barton Isaac Suttell Oliver Flanagan Bleys Goodson Mark Delagasse Mark Daniel Cohen Shane Calimlim Tybie Fitzhugh Eric Kiebler Craig Stonaha Frederic Simon John Robinson Jim Hudson Alex Gan David Barnholdt David Neal John Funai Bradley Jenkins Vlad Shipulin Cody Brumfield Thomas Dougherty King Zeckendorff Dan Warren Joseph Salomone Patrick Sutton Dean Faulk
Absolutely love the name for this star! The star of Eärendil…
Tolkien lore master are here ! I thought the same thing right away, and we're not alone
I always thought tolkiens half-elves were maybe the most interesting thing in The Silmarillion. Like they were so rare and strange that even that even Eru (the one true god) was like "alright i dont really have a plan for how to handle you. You have to pick either being a human or an elf". I think Elrond was Earendils brother and chose elf?
@@zakkus Nope, you’re thinking of Elros. Eärendil was their father.
Does gravitational lensing affect the red shift?
@@luudest Probably negligible, or very small influence.
as an ent-level tolkienist, i am fervently hoping that it turns out that earendel is in fact revealed to be a binary star system, as discussed at 11:00, and the individual stars can be named laurelin and telperion. ❤
As amazing as that would be, unfortunately far as I know the naming conventions for stars and multi-star systems make it pretty unlikely (if not entirely impossible), at least as so far as the official names goes.
They would simply be "Earendel A" and "Earendel B."
@@scaper8 Maybe we can get an exception and name them Earendel L and Earendel T
I think Earendel and Elwing would be even better names.
I'd save Laurelin and Telperion for the first 1st generation stars we find, as they were the first coalesced lights of Arda.
(EDIT: isomeme is right that they're 2nd gen light sources)
@@abydosianchulac2 , Laurelin and Telperion were second-generation light sources. The great lamps Illuin and Ormal preceded them.
"Hold up, we need to talk about how nerdy I can go for a full minute here"
...."OK now back to the physics"
In case anyone is wondering, Earendel's proper distance is 28 billion light years away (the distance its location is now), the light we see from it is 12.5 billion years old, and it was 3.5 billion light years away when it existed and emitted the light we see now.
Thank you!
Space math hurts my brain.
The 28 billion light years (bly) is a very misleading piece of information. It is at this distance today but obviously we see it as it was less than 14 bly from our current position. By the way at the time, we were much, much closer together.
@@arctic_hazeyeah he just said that
@@iwantmykidssusan4941 Well, who listens to the videos? 😁
Hearing Matt talk about LOTR characters and quickly shift to astrophysics and cosmology is next level nerd and I couldn't be happier 🧙♂️✨🌌
Haha I came to make this same comment
I have worked for NASA for over 40 years as an engineer. A very high percentage of the engineers and techs I have worked with are serious nerds. When we're discussing serious work stuff, references to Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, Marvel, D&D, and Holy Grail are often mentioned.
I'm 70+ and some interns will start chanting "Bring out yer dead." when I come into their area. Of course I'll respond with "I'm not dead," and the response is, of course, "Well, you will be soon."😂😂😂
Astrophysics, space telescopes, Tolkien (with the fun linguistic elements no less!) AND Norse mythology? They'd be hard-pressed to make this video more perfect for me.
@@Urronerthis is so heart warming! Much love
"We no longer need to invent our own origin story. We can know it." Powerful stuff Matt.
I was just about to quote the same prophecy!!❤🎉😊
I love that part too
fun fact: 99% of the population believes in s**tty origin stories and thats not going to change anytime soon. Science needs to make itself more heard. Sadly this still doesnt happen. Maybe the new generations in the West are better equipped to listen to this. But most of the world lives still in the middle ages. Also the West is on the brink or going back there by the way.
Why can I hear religions screaming right now?!
Matt has been replaced by AI!!!
As a Tolkien fan, I love this name! Earendil with a Silmaril in the night sky... The very star Frodo was watching from the mountains of Mordor.
Correction, but it was Sam who saw the Silmaril, no?
@@throwaway9208 yes, but maybe Frodo was watching too, they had a lot of time there:)
Is no one going to talk about the pronunciation tho? Ee-uh-ren-del? I get it's kind of spelt that way, but really now....
I don't think Galadriel would be happy if she found out that JWST captured the light of Eärendil.
Just wait until she hears about all those Einstein rings...
JWST is more magical and crafted more cunningly than her mirror, so that's fine
Eärendil's star was also of particular importance to the Elves by the time of the Third Age, and it became their "most beloved" star. Galadriel set its light in her mirror, capturing some in the phial she gave to Frodo Baggins. When Frodo used the phial against Shelob, he unconsciously cried out an appeal to the Star of Eärendil; its light was effective in repelling the spider, though it would have been more powerful if used continuously. Sam later tried to use the phial in the Crack of Doom, but Sauron's power there dimmed even the light of Eärendil.
Exactly. All fiction like modern astrology.
@@johnkean6852 "modern" astrology? you mean all astrology, the whole thing is frivolous, always was.
This is one case where we can say with certainty that the star we are seeing no longer exists. It exploded a long time ago but the light from the explosion hasn't reached us yet.
If absolute time existed, you'd be right.
@@dlevi67 lul wut (we dont need "absolute time" to know that star is now dead, or in one of those states they end up after they have lived their prime life, or whatever you want to call it - like a white dwarf or whatever.)
Great comment from a great channel. Also I'd argue the exploded star might have formed a new one (or new stars) since, and probably a few generations at that
At that redshift, I don't think the future states of that region of space will ever reach us.
@@xBINARYGODx "Now" is relative. There is no preferred reference frame, including time. This star is very much alive in Earth's "now".
LOVE the nerdy references to Tolkien and other languages. Agree, it is awesome! It is rare I understand the entire episode...this was a delight.
Brainwashing a success! A whole case of snakeoil on its way.
Looking through the stem of a wine glass to simulate gravitational lensing is peak physics professor. Whoever first figured that out deserves credit
Hmmm, no.
That isn't simulating gravitational lensing.... and the lensing from the Sun only occurs, as predicted from GR, at the limb of the Sun, which means it is due to the magnetic effect. They don't tell you that the shift further away from the Sun does not fall in line with predictions made by GR.
@@pyropulseIXXIwhen will you submit your paper and claim your Nobel prize?
it's amazing that hubble is still so useful in finding new things and even that it's still operational
And yet there is no photo of our beloved Earth.
@@johnkean6852that's not true. Are you a flat earther?
@@GameTimeWhy He's been spamming this entire comments section with "all science is fiction" bullsh*t. Just ignore the ignoramus.
I love the star's name. Beautiful.
Always admired beauty of Tolkien's characters names.
Somewhere deep in the dark distant past, a voice carried on stellar winds is still traveling billions of light years towards us to announce: "FIRST!" 😂
once I saw George Clooney from far away. Furthest star I've seen
Bat nipples!
I saw what you did there.
Hmmmm I was close to Mark Hamill. Couldn’t interact with him 🥺🥺
Once I saw the guy who played Cliff Claven on Cheers
@@MattHudsonAtx "the guy who" is the name of no star at all. ;-)
Even if we find abundance of large stars like that it may be due to survivorship bias rather than large stars being more present in the past. Large, brighter stars have higher chance of being spotted.
I'd imagine that's also a problem we have to deal with in the modern universe tho. Red dwarfs are a lot dimmer, and I'd imagine our telescopes can't make them out more than several thousand light years away
(At least we have a good patch of the universe where we're confident we can see all the stars to reference the population of. That probably helps)
On the other hand, they live far shorter lives; the total time they shine will be much less, which is its own bias.
lol physicist know about survivorship. Its modeled
Low mass stars live a lot longer.
It's quite possible that there is a large number of just as old red dwarf stars pretty close to us. Even at the age of the universe, they would still just now have reached 1% of their total lifetime.
Matt talking Tolkien is just too much to handle <3
Thank you for all the awesome content and great videos!!!!
I be watching a video doc. on stars and I finally get what I needed. Thanks Matt!!! So many cool facts I’ve learned. Earendel. Gotta love Tolkien.
They're not FACTS don't be deluded.
I am in love with the animations in this episode. Just feels like the perfect balance of sci-fi flair and serious-science-seriousness.
1:00 V762 Cassiopeiae is only about 2,500 light-years away, according to data from Gaia. You'll find websites online that claim that it is the most distant visible star, but those are all outdated (by about a decade).
This is super cool! Thanks for keeping us updated! And a million thanks for writing the closed captions yourself instead of autogenerating them. I know that would have a million mistakes
True, but the resulting hysterical laughter would be fun too. What would autogen make of "Earendel?" Year-end ell? Year handle? We'll never know.
I love this channel. Watching these videos about new discoveries knowing that more discoveries are constantly being made is exciting and entertaining in a way that's lacking comparison
For: "new discoveries" read: "some way out man theories developed reading The Hobbit and Harry Potter ."
This dude has the most chill voice ever.
You both put me to sleep because it's so chill and I can't help but get captivated by the topic.
It helps that I love space lol
It's the accent, partially
And space loves you. Jk. Everything in the interstellar medium wants you dead. Yay for toxic love I guess? 😅
Space is so amazing
It’s crazy to think that when that light was emitted its destination did not exist for billions of years(earth). It is both incredibly cool and frustrating; I mean we can literally look back in time but not at the present. What is out there now?
On the flip side, there's no way a star that massive will last long. So when the light ultimately reached its destination, the star it came from no longer existed.
What is more crazy is that photons do not experience time. From the photon's perspective, the instant it began its journey it arrived here. It left from a star that no longer exists to arrive at a point that did not yet exist in the exact same instant.
@@AshleyReynolds-vc6ly Trippy
It is under-appreciated to the extent that JWST has been cracking open our universe and refining our theories at a record pace. What a marvelous creation and achievement for humanity.
Don't forget Hubble! Earendil was discovered with Hubble, and to my eyes, the increased sensitivity of the newer telescope did little to enhance it. (I am aware the spectroscopy of JWST will likely reveal things beyond the capabilities of Hubble)
That lonely star at the end of the universe: would that be next to the restaurant at the end of the universe? I'm planning to go there soon and need to map out my route.
You matched my first thought when he mentioned “… at the end of the universe” - I wonder if he chose that phrase deliberately as a teaser?
Thank you for your very clear and comprehensive explanation of lensing and early star formation.
Old English and Old Norse didn't just exchange words in the middle ages. They share a common root from long before both. They're in a wider Germanic language group with many words originating in their prehistory. Only later branching off into Norse, English, German, etc. Many of their words, especially regarding these old languages, sound similar due to shared linguistic roots even before their time.
A bit similar to how British English and American English share many words, but pronunciation, usage, and a few words regarding newer (mostly technological) words are a bit different after 250 years of separation. Like that, but it had been a much longer span of time between those old languages.
Just a heads-up. 😉
True, old English is closer to old noise than today's English to old English. Modern English is an amalgam of old English and old French (since old French was a language of english ruling class since 1066 and they despised English as a language of peasants).
@@oskarskalski2982”old noise” = Old Norse? Auto-correct up to its tricks again 😊. Tolkien was well-versed in these old languages; one reason his books are so very rich and rewarding to read.
@@lindaj5492 yeah, it was meant to be "Old Norse", auto correct is a b.....
As usual, very informative video Matt! I just can't wrap my mind around "29 Billion Light Years"! 🤔🤔💥💥
For 29 billion read; 1 trillion, 250 million, even infinity ... you're guess is as good as his, might be more accurate! You'll never know.
3:39 We fellow Tolkien and Destiny2 nerds salute you, Matt!
All I can say is, this channel is amazing and Matt is amazing narrator. I've been watching this for years and it's still today the number one source of space news I come to watch now and in the future!
So Valinor is 28 billion LY away from us. GOT IT.
Now I can rest easy.
Whatever gave you the impression that Eärendil was in Valinor? The entire point of the sky boat is that he's not allowed back into Valinor.
What a marvel and engineering phenomenon the JWST is.
It’s a shame social media has provided a voice for some that can’t grasp the incredible science being performed.
...prosletysed.
Performed LOL.
@@johnkean6852 Case in point.
@@johnkean6852 What?
All of this from just looking up at the sky. It's truly amazing.
No. You have to have read Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Stephen Hawkings books, ALL FICTION. But required reading.
Well, and a lot of careful observation, modeling and collaboration.
I like how you explains things and break things down
I love this channel because it has given me a basic knowledge of these huge concepts in astrophysics and theoretical physics to help me enjoy fun science fiction like the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" which I just finished. wouldn't have been as enjoyable if i didn't understand some of the deep concepts in the book beforehand
Wherein: "the smell of space helps you remember the big bang fom your subconscious memories embedded in your DNA like animal instinct."
Hmm, no.
I hope you cover more of this story as it develops and maybe even explain how they figure out the lensing more accurately. Very cool video thank you!
All the people in the commentary were satisfied - YOU have to blow it by asking him to explain all his fantasies again. Doh!
@@johnkean6852what? You don't believe this story?
This video has achieved the Chandrasekhar limit of my fandoms.. and I, Durin Whitestar, have collapsed in pure delight!
I'm so glad you went over the lore behind the name!
Just WOW. I remember when Hubble and the Webb telescopes were in their planning stages. Reading national geographic about how they'd be able to peer into the beginnings of the universe. And here we are. Just WOW.
That is actually very cool
Thank you. I was looking for something worth watching.
Nice little Geekout on the Tolkien Background there 😆
Truly inspiring. and amazing how we can gleam so much from as spot of light at the edge of observable.... spacetime.
I love this channel so much. What a time to be alive.
Keep taking the feelgood pills, they're the green ones.
I love you adorable muf.
Can we have an episode on how time slowed back in the early universe ? Relative to now, due to the difference in mass density? Hawking talked about this in his Universe in a Nutshell book, but no one else seems to have discussed it. Bonus, it means a lot for kurzgesagt’s latest video on possible life in the early universe. 🙏
Time only exists in YOUR HEAD it's virtual it doesn't exist.
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity showed that space & time are a single construct, i.e. spacetime. Mass curves spacetime. We experience this curvature as gravity and time dilation.
Fixed my morning cup of coffee and sat down to watch this. Whoa! The caffeine level in my brain had not sufficiently accumulated for all that. Paused to smoke a doob and now it all makes perfect sense.
@CyborusYT - 2023-10-12
How incredible is it that light rays once from the same source but then lost from each other for billions of years at ludicrous distances finally end their journey back together again in such a tiny patch of space as a telescope receiver.
EDIT: some light beams guys, didn't mean all
@momiaw - 2023-10-12
The wonders of the universe never get old
@Rattus-Norvegicus - 2023-10-12
And they often arrive at different times because despite starting and ending at the same place, they cover different distances.
@paulmurphy8549 - 2023-10-12
Line of sight straight lines
@kayakMike1000 - 2023-10-12
Hum... never thought of it that way. Pretty cool!
@2dollarkevin - 2023-10-12
Poet