An ASTROPHYSICIST'S TOP 5 space news stories of 2024

[@vincentzimmerman2011]

Dr. Becky has an enthusiasm for science that is a joy to see. She breaks down complicated science in a way that's easy to understand. Her book is also a joy to read.

[@richard--s]

Oh yes, that is so true... I really like how she present her topics in her videos. And she has good well selected topics. Many thanks to you when you read this, Dr Becky!

[@Duckfisher0222]

100% She reminds me of Rachael Stirling from the series "the detectorists" Always an enjoyment to watch!

[@vincentzimmerman2011]

@@Duckfisher0222 I'm not familiar with that series.

[@markhodge7]

My last "formal" Physics class was in 1979. I've never lost my curiosity and your channel, Doctor Becky, satiates my astrophysics branch like no other. Mahalo.

[@andychisarick6879]

One could almost say, Dr Becky's eyes are "original Neptunian blue"

[@brothermine2292]

The paper published a week ago that analyzed the Type Ia supernova database, and concluded the Timescape model fits the data better than the Dark Energy model does, deserves a mention.

[@SD-ou3pt]

Yep think with Xmas Dr Becky not caught up on this. But this clearly will be in years to come the story from 2024

[@davidhoward4715]

@@SD-ou3pt Assuming it's a viable hypothesis. Declaring it to be doesn't make it so.

[@SteedRuckus]

I think it's a little early for that kind of inclusion mostly because it's SO new and based only on the single set of Type 1A supernovae data and not a more rigorous comparison of other data that would keep it from being part of 2024's "best of" - however, if it holds up under further scrutiny? oh yeah, 100% it'll be one of 2025's greatest discoveries (and probably one of the greatest of the 2020s period) without a doubt!

[@PhilMason1972]

Happy new year Dr Becky & Pip!! Thanks for the best space channel ever!!

[@gezblair]

“I work with supermassive black holes all the time, and..” is one bad ass aside to drop into a conversation ❤😊

[@geoffguitars]

A black hole with an accretion disk 7 light years across! ? Did I hear that right. That is crazy 😳

[@Gary-k2g]

Anton Petrov mentioned a Blackhole about 7 thousand light years away.

[@deltalima6703]

The second closest star to earth is less than 7 light years away.

[@MrAlRats]

6:01 For a moment, I thought Becky was going to tell us how old she was when the Universe was just 300 million years old - "I was so ..."

[@afernandesrp]

I have space FOMO. It saddens me that the most interesting questions won’t be answered in our life time.

[@GustavSvard]

Such as finding a planet with a atmosphere that we can't explain in any way other than life. FOMO for that. But also already resigned to not be around for that.

[@whoff59]

you never know ... before you know.

[@johnfitch5358]

Does it make it better to know that the most interesting question won't even be asked in our lifetime?

[@deltasixgaming]

​@@GustavSvard FOMO for Traveling to other Planets and seeing new Life

[@santyclause8034]

Plunging Regions: the disk being a planar that is in a region of extreme space-time curvature such that from all points of view it is either edge-on, or face-up backwards. Youse tell me. 2/ 2D lattice fineness and nearest neighbor matter stacking gradient, the Standing Wave puzzle.. ie convective current 'curvature' in stellar masses. 3/ The Oscillatory Universe and the superposition of "inside" and "outside" cosmic inflation phase relativity... roughly speaking phase equilibrium as Emergent phenomena and Gravity a derived force. 4/ Intelligent life being ubiquitous, a prime of evolved complex life always arriving at the same destination with minor variation.. we eventually meet ourselves. Enjoy.

[@richard--s]

The cat in the tripod: Oh yes, cats want to be not just IN the center of attention, but cats want to be THE center of attention ;-) (but only at times when the cats want it so...)

[@michaelsommers2356]

I remember watching the Neptune flyby on TV "live". Live as the data arrived on Earth, that is. It was quite exciting.

[@japneetsingh5015]

I feel that the progress in astrophysics is accelerating year by year although a bit slowly

[@Rob2]

... and there are different ways of measuring it that arrive at different results 🙂

[@mariodidier001]

Not unlike our Universe, I feel...

[@SteedRuckus]

So you mean to say that there's some kind of "dark energy" amongst astrophysics discoveries? I'll see myself out.

[@MarcusAurileus]

What a pointless comment

[@SteedRuckus]

Okay I know I can't be the only one thinking that Dr. Becky's enthusiasm is SO friggin contagious, I absolutely love everything about her and this channel, thank you for bringing us non-academics the hard hitting scientific breakthroughs you all have worked so hard to uncover! ❤

[@sylviahoffman9440]

I love your excitement on this video. What an exciting year for astrophysics! Thanks for sharing Pip's and her playfulness with the tripod - too cute. 🐈

[@mostboringyoutubechannel8845]

Thanks Dr Becky۔ Happy holidays 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@capnkwick4286]

For the predicted supernova that was supposed to "go off" this past year, when the word "imminent" is used, we keep forgetting that it could be within one year or one hundred years.

[@fwd79]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Dr Becky for providing great news last year and here's to next year 😊

[@SolaceEasy]

Christmas was yesterday?

[@martynspooner5822]

I absolutely love this channel even though there is so much that is far beyond my limited understanding . Thanks so much to Dr Becky for breaking it all down as much as possible so people like myself can also get a little taste of what is happening out there. Looking forward to the news and discoveries in the coming year, thanks again always so appreciated.

[@javierjavier1429]

Can you make a video about timescapes?? 🙏

[@rose_and_thorns]

We just need those two research teams to have a massive pillow fight and whoever is the last one standing, their team's findings get crowned Best Science Facts.

[@santyclause8034]

When I was a kid in ophanage/children's home the winner stuffed phone books in their pillow slip. This became a passage of succession as you got older and caught on to the game mechanic (and had recovered from your concussion).

[@bobjackson6669]

Thanks for the 411 Dr. Backy - Happy Holidays!

[@DrReverendJ]

Merry Xmas Pip, and I guess Dr. Becky too.

[@Kneedragon1962]

Thank you Becky, Merry Christmas.

[@napotronix]

Thanks for all the video this year 🙏

[@oortcloud8078]

*5-4-3-2-1 Thunderbirds are Go!* "Yes, M'lady!" Dr Becky is my number one, but the Parker probe driving Fab One is a pretty close second. 🤓 Thank you Brains.

[@eljcd]

Mery Christmas, Dr. Becky! And to my taste, the Astrophysics story of the year is... Big Galaxies at High Redshift!! Big, brigth, structured Galaxies at z>10, that contradicts the LCDM cosmology.

[@Spherical_Cow]

On a related note, impossibly large supermassive black holes in the early universe. Such as the one reported recently (December 18) in Nature from JWST, that's already at 400 million solar masses just 800 million years after the Big Bang, and comprising a whopping 40% of the total mass of its host galaxy!

[@suicidalbanananana]

Happy holidays!

[@MCsCreations]

Happy holidays, dr. Becky! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@sourabhsoni2930]

Always waiting for your video dr Becky💙

[@Valery0p5]

Do I have reverse Mandela? Because I clearly remember that after the fiasco of Uranus's "dullness" to the pubblic they did enhance the features in Neptune

[@gordonwallin2368]

Merry Cristmas and Happy Boxing Day. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@mikeblake9761]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year Pip and Dr Becky

[@jimporter6084]

Number 2 is number 1 by a long shot for cosmologist.

[@primoroy]

Happy New Year Astrocat momma! ❤🎉

[@ubiergo1978]

16:28 Mentioning that the cat is not sabotaging the tripod =P, it's taking ownership of 2 things, the tripod itself, and the area around it, because EVERY vertical object, in a place, can be used by a cat to determine the characteristic of the zone around it, depending on which pheromone the cat "decides" to use for it. The ownership of things for a cat, relies on both, the necessity of the resource in a specific moment (aka: "Everything I see and I want, it's mine because I see it and I want it") plus, the type of pheromone used to "claim" the object or area. With that in mind: The cat DOES NOT live in your house... YOU live in the cat's house. (Yes, useless data for a cosmology youtube channel but my profession commands me) xD [She did asked "why" , though] xD

[@johnhoslett6732]

Please, please just call it the Hubble tension. I have so many non-science friends who believe it’s a true, massive crisis in astrophysics after reading science news stories. 😎

[@davidhoward4715]

I totally agree. "Crisis" is a sensationalist term, used far too often, which completely misrepresents the situation.

[@glyngreen538]

Yeah I heard something about Hubble being tense. He should try meditation or yoga or something to relax maybe.

[@eugenelevich320]

Happy new year Dr. Becky. U r talented

[@haroondaniel7245]

Merry Christmas Dr Becky Smerthurst

[@SolaceEasy]

Christmas was yesterday?

[@MarcusAurileus]

Spell her name right

[@gerardbryant1445]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Dr Becky! Here's to a 2025 full of just as many discoveries!

[@syoung6126]

Merry Christmas Dr B!!

[@clementmartinez121]

Yay I have the right answer to #1. Thanks for a fantastic year. Best wishes. Cheers

[@rayhallett]

Ah, Dr. Becky, you say the darnedest things! Thanks for all the thought-provoking videos throughout the past year. Keep it up!!

[@inspectorcolt]

Thank you, Dr. B!

[@spacemissing]

I remember the announcement during the Neptune flyby live coverage (I stayed up All Night for that And recorded it) that the colours were modified so we could better see certain features.

[@adamzientarski7065]

I love Dr. Becky!!!!!

[@wobh688]

If we had sent more probes out to Neptune and Uranus those "Flase Colour" images would never have become so iconic.

[@deltalima6703]

Couple of landers would be a good idea. Like the ones on mars.

[@michaelallen434]

I just finished your audio book. It was fantastic. I hope you do another! Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙂

[@DanielHebell]

omg, I LOVE this chrismassy sweater, Becky is wearing!

[@williamscoggin1509]

Happy New Year Dr Becky! ✨🛸

[@Lawasoft]

Colors are always up for discussion, nature or space.. That last wobble of the cam because of cat.. made me LOL

[@danibee535]

thanks dr. s, love your work! and a very happy midwinter to you and yours!

[@blisteringbarnaclesmagnets6364]

Merry Christmas ⚓️🧲👍😁

[@shockmesane4158]

With the new telescope this has been an amazing year for Astronomy and frankly I'd be willing to bet my life that we've also gotten some really interesting data no one has really had time to either process and publish! Hope you have a great 2025 Dr Becky!

[@BradIngham-w5q]

OI model refined the estimate for the Hubble constant (H0) to 69.8 km/s/Mpc The analysis of the Hubble tension using the Early Dark Energy (EDE) model and the Optimal Individual (OI) model reveals a sophisticated interplay between various cosmological measurements and theoretical adjustments. By integrating data from Cepheid Variable Stars, Type Ia Supernovae, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), we employed the OI model to optimize the parameters and reconcile discrepancies. The inclusion of the EDE factor provided a significant enhancement, suggesting that early dark energy plays a crucial role in the universe's expansion rate. Through iterative modeling and parameter optimization, we refined the estimate for the Hubble constant (H0) to 69.8 km/s/Mpc, offering a more cohesive understanding that bridges the gap between local and CMB measurements. This approach underscores the importance of comprehensive data integration and advanced modeling techniques in addressing complex cosmological puzzles.

[@hamsandwich780]

lol'd at Flase Color instead of False Color - a perfect misspelling

[@karlgoebeler1500]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Again

[@SolaceEasy]

Christmas was yesterday?

[@vdivanov]

@@SolaceEasy "On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me..."

[@karlgoebeler1500]

@@SolaceEasy Just catching up on my to do list. LOL

[@Rancid-Jane]

Number 2 (super massive black hole) is the most astounding and interesting, for me. #1 is the most distressing.

[@chadcrotts870]

Fantastic year end review as always. Looking forward to what 2025 has to share!

[@J-MQ_1956]

Great Video as always!

[@2Sheds30619]

Many thanks for all your 2024 videos and already looking forward to 2025. Happy New Year to you and Sam

[@debaryagain2270]

Merry Christmas

[@SolaceEasy]

Christmas was yesterday so get over it

[@Neilhuny]

My guess at your No 1 was that JWST had pushed back the age of galaxies! I was nowhere near. I've long admired your content and presentation; genuinely great explanations of what is going on "out there" and why some astronomical observations matter... so I've watched you for many years and in this video I am suddenly aware of how stunning your eyes are! Shallow of me? Or have you altered the lighting? Doesn't really matter - keep doing what you are doing.

[@rylian21]

Oh my gosh, what a beautiful cat!

[@NilaniPlays]

I would've picked #2 and #1 the same as you, Dr. Becky. Very exciting science. I was also glad for the reminder about the Neptune story.

[@ncdave4life]

1:58 A hazy pale WHAT? EDIT: from a web search, "cerulean" is apparently sky blue, more or less.

[@rickseiden1]

I had two predictions, and was wrong about both of them. First, I thought for sure JADES-GS-z14-0 would show up in the bloopers. Second, I thought for sure that Pip would take the number 1 spot. Happy New Year!

[@williammorton8555]

Dr. Becky... I confess... I had to pause playback after you announced your number 2 pick... You were soo000ooo EXCITED about number two... I thought you would become incandescent when revealing Number One.... and then "the Crisis in Cosmology"... meh... the "Hubble Tension" is created by the current Cosmology, not the current observations. Cosmologies come and go... Observations are forever. Stick with #2.... it's far more interesting, exciting... and REAL.

[@martin_gkf]

@16:40 an astronomer noticing a slight wobble and getting excited by it? who would've guessed it.

[@deltalima6703]

Russia answered "what happens if you stop doing doing cool space stuff, like putting a lander on venus, and focus on local issues instead?". Its not good. :-/

[@YULspotter]

Thanks Dr Becky for all the videos you posted in 2024. I look forward to more space news in 2025. I also think you’re gonna need to add the word “Cat” to the title “bloopers” segment in 2025 as your cat seems to now be the cause of most of them 😊

[@damiensmith9240]

That might have been thrown in its head. David Kipping spoke about the new study regarding expansion, on Cool Worlds. Would like to get your commentary on that paper, Dr Becky!

[@altrucker18]

Happy Christmas 🎄

[@altrucker18]

And Boxing Day

[@SolaceEasy]

Christmas was yesterday so get over it

[@altrucker18]

@@SolaceEasy ok sure, it’s Boxing Day here, hope you’re enjoying any solstice celebrations you are into or just living life to your liking

[@vdivanov]

@@altrucker18 apparently they never heard of The Twelve Days of Christmas

[@James_Ryan]

I can't fault that list apart from 5) - my list would replace that with Webb's observation of Vega's smooth planetary disk, which is completely unlike any other disk and suggests we are missing an important piece of the puzzle of planet formation.

[@Rancid-Jane]

15:50 I could not find that link below the video. Is it there?

[@annrobinette]

I have a question @3:45 so why do they have calculations for non-spinning black holes when they all spin, I guess it’s the simplest n easier to calculate but wouldn’t the ISCO radius be different if it was spinning?

[@timl.b.2095]

Dr. Becky is the most engaging scientist on KZbin that I am following. I want to see if I can get my granddaughter to watch her.

[@user-ck9cw8fs5n]

Thank you for dimming the white papers. So much easier on the eyes

[@MaxAmiga]

Such a pretty kitty!!!

[@Valery0p5]

Also yes, our favourite soap opera, The Crisis in Cosmology 😁

[@GH-oi2jf]

An apt comparison.

[@tlrleonard]

Hi, I have a question about black holes, that might be worth answering in a video. If time slows in the gravity of a black hole, presumably to almost zero, how does the black hole grow? Wouldn't the material falling into singularity never reach it, or at least not to the rate that we see? Does the mass falling into the blackhole add to the gravity without it actually reaching the singularity?

[@sweetybnz7482]

I know it is very recent but the #1 has to be research into the Timescape theory nulifying the need for dark energy and changing the predicted future for the universe.

[@michaelwhalan9783]

Riding 2024 into the sunset with the Raiders' March playing.

[@TechNed]

I've met Sam Lai and been on the phone to Chris Onken a few times.

[@JUJKYZON]

Definitely the Timescape model.

[@annmoore6678]

One of her books will be delivered any day now! We have a digital version of another.

[@chrisschene8301]

What type of cat do you have? Much of my life, I have adopted cats that were homeless? So mine were mutts. I had two handicapped black cats: one was missing an eye, the other is missing a back leg. Funny thi is: the cats don't know they are handicapped. Rather they overcome to survive.

[@Linshark]

Have you covered the Timescape model of the Universe yet?

[@mr.mirror1213]

Literally was about to ask, liking this!

[@davidhoward4715]

Apparently "timescape model" are the latest buzz words.

[@Tom-ec4pl]

So, what you're saying is , in your best Johnny Cash " It's a mighty Universe we live in. But we're just passing thriugh"

[@ubiergo1978]

Speaking of growing black holes... a question that I always do and never get picked by anyone that knows (snif).... what is the "death" of a black hole?... I mean, it absorbs anything around it that surpasses the event horizons and then.... what... it can continuously "eating" until the infinite time or something happens that it does something else? O.O

[@corbenya]

Perhaps proxima b will hit # 1

[@blablablablablablblablabla]

I have an idea for April Fools, a video where you explain some paper just like usual, but every single time you mention spectrum of light you do a full explanation with the iconic video what spectrum is :D like maybe a ten times or more

[@shaunehuolohan5736]

Hope you had a wonderful 🎄 Christmas and have a interesting 2025 from Australia 🦘 🇦🇺

[@troy6882]

Curvature the issue with cosmology..... expansion WTH!!!!!

[@shiznitts]

I hate to be the dunning-kruger guy but I promise you for the crisis in cosmology, we're not observing nearby galaxies incorrectly...we can calculate and send out probes that interact with gravity of nearby planets to shift between orbits; all while the solar system is moving through space. We still don't know how this all happened though and our observation of the known universe is limited even in the name. Just basing an answer off the graphs; the observation of nearby galaxies falls more inline with what one would expect to see, while the CMB makes a drastic shift around the midpoint that we don't really have an explanation for. Nothing in any other universal observations aligns with this shift MORESO than it aligns with the galactic observations. I still yearn for the discovery of a true magnetic monopole (hint: if they'll be found anywhere; it'll probably out in the middle of nothing or directly in the middle of everything) and the day we can harness dark energy. (I'm one of those guys who thinks magnets are the answer to everything) I'm not a huge proponent of FTL travel as I don't foresee how one can take material data and turn it into pure light without destroying that matter beyond repair. How does a spaceship travel inside a light particle? Ergo I believe the manipulation of magnetic fields and dark energy (and a healthy dose of cybernetics for our own sustainability) are our only way off this rock and out into the wild black yonder. Anyway; hope ya'll enjoyed the ponderings of a guy who knows absolutely nothing. And why in every example of space-time do we use a sheet grid illustrated below the celestial object in question? Again; dunning-kruger but that's just...visually misleading. Would not a bowl of jello with some marbles in it be a far better visual example? Now I don't believe this but I like to think of this universe as a singular poop from a tardigrade. I like to think everything in the universe is fractile; by the nature of what growth and decay are. Something obviously created us most likely through the same methods at which everything else in the universe is created out of. Perhaps we are merely waste or perhaps we are DNA of the offspring; that matters (Or at least SHOULD) significantly less to us than our ability to make it the best piece of poop in existence. I'll be the first guy to volunteer heading to the center of a blackhole knowing exactly what's going to happen to me once I reach the event horizon. I say hook me up Elon with anything and everything you got; just as long as I don't have to pay for it. I'll gladly be a guinea pig if it means pushing humanity further into the cosmos. I couldn't think of a better reason to die for, than to get all these different ideologies and beliefs as far away from each other as physically possible.

[@nickjohnson410]

My #1 scientific experiment/discovery/confirmation is that the earth is, in fact, ROUND...

[@palkokity8235]

Does this now confirm that Dr Becky has heavenly eyes... In that they are the color of Neptune?!

[@QuantumGravityResearch1]

On Gravity's role in Quantum State Reduction

[@JereckNET]

What about the 5 smallest news stories of the year ?

[@Zajcooo]

absolutely stellar enthusiasm, very cute

[@SurprisedLifeJacket-hs9ch]

Amazing black hole!