The TOP 5 space news stories of 2023

[@jerelull9629]

There's a REASON why, given a choice of two new videos, I choose Dr Becky. Your enthusiasm is obvious, as is your ability to explain complexities to us non-physicist types.

[@icosthop9998]

Agree

[@littleflapjack]

She bit me.

[@PtolemyJones]

Yup!

[@kaio0777]

She is great

[@Sniperboy5551]

She’s also cute, with a cute accent

[@billirwin3558]

It is people like Dr. Becky that are making science accessible to the public. Explaining things in an understandable way to the average person. Keep up the great work and have a good 2024 Dr. Becky.

[@johnkochen7264]

If Betelgeuse is going to blow its top, let it be soon. I am nearly 72 and would dearly love to see this happen.

[@richardaitkenhead]

I hope you get to see it im 43 so hopefully both of us can.

[@icosthop9998]

Just live 30 more years.

[@althyk]

Hope it lives up to your expectations when it happens.

[@yorkshirej2219]

I hope you get to see it John!

[@thomasdjonesn]

I have a feeling that it's going to go after me lol but that doesn't mean you won't see it 😅

[@edthejester]

I love how you point out exactly why a discovery is interesting by outlining the possible ramnifications. Have a great new year!

[@noooooooooooooooooooope]

At 3:04 you forgot to edit out a couple of attempts to say "when the survey is done" and I thought I was trapped in a glitch of the matrix listening to you repeat that line 3 times 😂 your videos are absolutely awesome, by the way, you're my favourite astrophysics youtuber and one of the best science communicators out there!

[@marktunnicliffe2495]

Oh to be alive to witness Betelgeuse go supernova!! To be part of that select lucky few of humanity fortunate enough to see such a cosmic gift......I live in constant hope. 🤞

[@ianbrett3276]

I'm right there with you as it would be the event of are lives 🖖

[@Dr_Do-Little]

If it happens I hope it'll be in winter (Northern hemisphere). I've spent countless hours (?) (Minutes at a time.) watching it over the years "in hopes".

[@antonystringfellow5152]

And the Orion constellation, first named nearly 3000 years ago, will be forever changed, missing a shoulder.

[@stofosaurus]

Dr Becky, you're a gem! Thank you so much for reporting on space news in 2023. Please keep up the good work in 2024 as well. It'll be a great year. I can feel it.

[@Raven6794]

Betelgeuse going supernova would be fantastic to see. Almost as good as looking forward to another year of great videos from the world’s most enthusiastic Astrophysicist. I hope you have a great new year

[@hugegamer5988]

Only fantastic because it’s far enough from us. This is like watching an eruption, it’s great from far away only.

[@Raven6794]

Absolutely, you wouldn’t want to be too close. It would be interesting to know if there are any star systems close enough to be adversely impacted. It would be fair to discount anything around Betelgeuse itself. Any previous life would be unlikely to have survived up to this point.

[@michaelsommers2356]

It would be fantastic to see, as long as you didn't live nearby.

[@stangman2006]

This would be truly fantastic to see something like this in our lifetime

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

Good news: if the analysis is correct, it already has exploded and the light is almost done with the 700-year journey to Earth.

[@sylviahoffman9440]

Dr Becky makes Astrophysics fun and interesting. She also breaks things down to get a very cursory understanding on various topics. She is the ONLY astrophysicist I follow. 😊❤

[@pahtar7189]

I always look forward to your interesting and informative videos. As a bonus, your enthusiasm is infectious and you never fail to bring a smile to my face.

[@phild8095]

Doctor Becky, after reading books by Green, Hawking, Hertog and Kaku I recently read you book on Black Holes. Loved it. My wife has tried reading some of the books I've read and couldn't get through them but has started your book. Thanks for bringing us together.

[@shafiandpritha7701]

The 3rd highest energetic particle detection is one of my most favourite discoveries of this year.

[@lambeausouth1]

Dr. Becky as always we thank you for your diligence in bringing your professional viewpoint and time in the making of these videos! A gift that keeps on giving! 😀

[@302ci1968]

I absoluetly LOVE the way you explain things with so much enthusiasm ! I am addicted to astronomy, astrophysics (the part I am able to understand). And, if I was not much too old, I would secretly love your smile ;) Happy new year to you and to all the people sharing my love for your videos !

[@martynspooner5822]

As little as I understand it does not take away from my love of this channel, it is just so intriguing.

[@padders1068]

Dr. Becky, thanks for sharing, educating and entertaining! Looking forward to your posts for the coming years! 🙂😎🤓❤

[@Elderbch]

Thanks Dr B, the world needs more science communicators like yourself. Passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity.

[@saab0009]

Love your work and your shows, Dr. Becky. Please, keep going. Happy NY to you!

[@Dwarficus]

One detail that is usually over looked in the OSIRIS-REx story is that Brian May, or to include his titles Doctor Sir Brian May and the lead guitarist of Queen (possibly one of the UK's greatest bands), helped produce the 3d model of the asteroid that enabled NASA to pinpoint the slap location. As an old Queen fan, it was awesome to see Brian May return to his astrophysics roots after Freddy's passing. It is amazing to see May's work still contributing at the top levels regardless of the field.

[@herblapp6134]

I think Brian was Patrick Moore's favorite student. Brian certainly a follower for sure but along their journey they began to collaborate. What a tribute to Sir Patrick on his influence on a generation of his sharing his work by the BBC and publishing all his books. As a Yank l didn't know Sir Patrick through his BBC productions as they weren't available here. But as a young teen l'd walk to our town library and take out one of his book's to devour. I'm certainly not a Dr. Brain but l'm proud to say Sir Patrick had a similar impact on me. I went onto earn a physics degree and later teaching developed an Astronomy course for the average student. 😉👍

[@Dwarficus]

@@herblapp6134 Aye, I had heard that Brian was Patrick's favourite student too. Patrick was a great help in Brian completing his PhD, as I understand it. I heard this a long time ago, so details are a little blurry lol Here in the UK we had Patrick's astronomy show, but my generation was introduced to him through the Games Master TV show, a kids show about video games. Was so weird seeing him on Games Master then finding out he's possibly one of the most famous astrophysicists.

[@TomHill-xh7ec]

We need Brian May to portray Isaac Newton in some form.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Makes sense for him to study asteroids; he's into hard rock.

[@manuelespinosa724]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year Dr. Becky... always a pleasure!

[@URnickel_MY2cents]

*_HAPPY NEW YEAR, DR BECKY !!!!!_* Looking forward to much more great information from you in '24 !!! Thank you !!!!!!

[@Krypto_Knight_33]

It’s been great watching your videos and learning an astronomical array of stuff. Fingers crossed for BG in our lifetime. All the best for 2024, Dr Becky, and keep producing content.

[@mitchellminer9597]

Always great to learn about new things. Especially in such an enthusiastic way.😊

[@giordy9013]

Your job is always amazing, keep on doing that like this, you've made astrophysics accessible to everyone without watering down the complexity of the content. Bonus points for that gorgeous tree behind

[@walterwadlow9438]

Thanks! This end of year wrap up was especially great for those of us who joined in 2023. Happy New Year!

[@jerryoconnor-ps8bb]

A belated Happy New Year Doctor Becky. Thank you for keeping us updated on new discoveries.

[@fwd79]

Lovely end to the 2023 and here's wishing 2024 brings more awesome news. Here's a little Christmas _thanks_ for all great videos of last year.

[@kevink2398]

What a year this has been for Dr. Becky and the whole universe in hand.!!

[@jerelull9629]

She and they have been using JWST well, I see.

[@patrikhjorth3291]

Not sure why, but I literally got chills down my spine when you explained the Pulsar Timing Array.

[@MCsCreations]

Thanks for all the news, dr. Becky! 😊 Happy new year! And stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@alaska2oregon]

I just discovered this channel today, and I am very impressed and intrigued!! I’ve heard of most of this, but never in such clear detail. I will go back and watch these videos (and more), but I am equally excited to follow along and see what you discover in the next year! Living in this golden age of exploration is incredible! Happy holidays to you and yours Dr. Smethurst! 🥳 (Would you prefer to be called Dr. Becky?)

[@RobJones-yn4xs]

Thank you Dr B for a great year of informative videos (tho I admit I still struggle to understand some stuff). Love to see Betelgeuse blow before I pop my clogs. Also my 2024 wish, we discover some sort of alien life. Have great new year all, keep looking up xx

[@neoanderson7]

I concur with this list. Always a pleasure with Dr. Becky! Hope Santa was able to bring you something great! In case we don't hear from you earlier, Happy New Year!!! I have a feeling 2024 is going to be a good one! :-)

[@BillMSmith]

Picking top (x) lists is always a fraught exercise at best, so I can't fault your choices. However you remain my number one astrophysics/astronomy channel, so I thereby avoid making bad list choices. Thank you for a wonderful year of videos, I look forward to what you have for 2024.

[@utuberrocks-q5j]

I always leave your videos more educated than when I arrived. Thanks!

[@Ryan_gogaku]

Very surprised that the MOND disconfirmation study by Banik et al. didn't make at least an honorable mention. It's not so much a "finding something new" so much as "ruling something out," but it seems like a very impressive and influential result that will really put pressure on the community to either find something that could be dark matter or find a way to get around it.

[@lordgarion514]

But they've been "ruling something out" about MOND for awhile now. The bullet cluster made the person who came up with MOND say it proved MOND wrong.

[@stewiesaidthat]

Gravitational attraction was disproven in the 70s with fhe moon landings. Relativity was disproven with the synchronized clock tests. The fact that mathematicians are still trying to give mass force shows how ignorant the scientific community is.

[@hugegamer5988]

@@lordgarion514 just to be precise, our understanding of gravity wasn’t proven correct, just that the data can’t be explained by modified gravitation alone. Even mond, though unlikely, could be shown to be correct with a much weaker effect in conjunction with dark matter.

[@lordgarion514]

@@hugegamer5988 Never said we proved GR right. In fact, I've posted on several vids that even Einstein knew GR wasn't right. That's why he was working on a theory of everything when he died. 8 years to get a wrong answer. Gotta suck. But to use MOND you still need a little dark matter. If I'm not mistaken, Dr Becky did the video where I heard that.

[@lordgarion514]

@@hugegamer5988 But sure, in the end, it could be a case of MOND and DM. But their claim today is that it's only MOND and that DM is wrong. My personal opinion is that Einstein was right about the big picture of gravity, that is to say Mass curves space, and the problem lies within quantum mechanics. We also know that not everything in QM matches reality..... But most scientists act like QM is just correct.

[@markberman6708]

What a joy to watch, and brings much to think about. You and your work are much appreciated and Oxford is lucky to have you- Cheers.

[@johndd9140]

Thank you for educating me this year - Happy New Year!

[@CreativeArtandEnergy]

Thank you for this 2023 wrap up. I’m looking forward to all the new things we’ll be able to study in the future.

[@Hobbes746]

I got ‘a brief history of black holes’ as a holiday gift, and really enjoyed it. It ties together so much of the history of astronomy, and is easy and enjoyable to read despite the complexity of the subject. The footnotes reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s books.

[@jpgolan1944]

Thank you for a year of great videos on astrophysics and astronomical exploration!!!

[@mariaceliawider9223]

Thanks for your amazing videos and happy new year

[@billharvey6119]

You are the absolute best! Very informative. You have a gift of being able to deliver something so complicated and getting everyone to understand what is going on. Good luck to you, you have a supernova of a future!

[@JKVisFX]

I am with you on really looking forward to what the next year will bring us in the physics and astronomical fields. You are one of my favorite sources for this stuff. I'm not a Phu.D, I don't have access to any of the science journals (nor would I be able to understand them well enough) so, it's things like Science News, SciAm, and scientist/science communicators like you for my information.

[@joen0411]

Thank you for all the great videos this year. I hope you get some telescope time and your paper makes the top five list next year.

[@Kloppin4H0rses]

Dr. Becky I'd like you to know I was taking a shower and listening to your video and loudly reciting everything you said in a horrible British accent (I'm Murican) to my dog as she hypedly hopped around outside the shower. And we both hyped over awesome Space News. In a really trash year for me in turns of health, school, and work it was a nice bit of joy in a simple moment to start the new one off.

[@user-rm2qj2jh4l]

This is so cool! I'm so excited about the future, both near and distant, of astronomy. And when you said that you would be highly surprised if we don't have strong evidence of a biomarker sometime in 2024, I felt such a rush of excitement!!! That would be incredible! As always, I love your videos! This was a wonderful summary of space news in 2023! Happy New Year!

[@donstamps]

Thank you so much for all your great videos! Happy New Year!!!

[@dylanhyatt5705]

Great Christmas roundup of the 2023 highlights - it will be interesting to see how the cosmological models for the early universe develop next year.

[@timpointing]

[Snicker] 1:01 Bethelgeuse [snicker] 😉 Keep up the great work at making astronomy and astrophysics accessible to the masses, @DrBecky. We'll be watching your videos for years to come.

[@Stefan-ht3tv]

Thank-you for your explanations, even beginners can be enlightened, with less confusion. 'Don't let the sun catch you crying', best wishes in the new year. Cheers from Canada.

[@MrWuster]

Unlikely you’ll see this, but I bought your latest book A Brief History of Black Holes for my 15 year old grandson. He’s on the autism spectrum and fascinated with all matters of the universe. His Grandmother and I are his guardians. He’s a wonderful young man. Hopefully he’ll love your book.

[@corneliusblackwood9014]

Bless your heart, please stay strong and be patient with him. Depending on, even regardless of, where he is on the spectrum, it’s not easy to live with. Things that will seem normal to you could seem like a totally foreign language to him. I wish you all the best, have a great new year!

[@Dobbo314]

Only 33 - I should coco! I hit 60 in 2024! Keep up the good work - love your reporting on the space news!

[@archionblu]

I would LOVE a video about your 2024 bingo card! I really enjoyed your nobel prize guess and I think that'd be a similar vibe

[@jerelull9629]

May Dr Becky get a BINGO in 2024!

[@yomogami4561]

thanks for a fantastic list and year of reporting dr becky have a great new year

[@johnmccoy9058]

Great summary. Thanks for all the good work helping us laypeople follow along!

[@DarthLink1986]

Thanks for the amazing and informative content all year long and hopeful to you having a happy new year!

[@adenihil]

Thank you dr Becky… I really enjoy your science news bit - preparing me for what to watch for in the forecoming night sky. …And whatever else too 😊

[@johnkotches8320]

I love the sweater! Also thank you for taking time from your holiday to make this video. Do you have any research papers out for review and future publication?

[@kornegay]

First time commenting. Dr. Becky! You said in this video that a JWST detection of a (presumably real) biosignature in an exoplanet atmosphere was on your bingo card for 2024. Why do you feel so certain? Are there any specific contenders you’re thinking of? Thanks for the great videos!

[@hampelrutledge4624]

Happy New Year to you. Love your KZbins.

[@Sk8Vader]

And that's why you're brilliant, you're open minded to new physics in regards to gravitational waves. So thankful for your channel and enthusiasm. It's contagious ❤

[@chaoslab]

The Pulsar array is mind blowing, so awesome.

[@thezood]

That biosignature tease gave me goosebumps 😶

[@pickleballer1729]

I wish Betelguese would go ahead and go Super Nova. I'm 68 and I'd _really_ like to see that! This channel has become my favorite of all of them. And for me, the JWST overly massive galaxies is #1, probably because it supports my own personal theory of the universe, which I call "The Big BangS Theory". Time will tell (That is, if time even exists.)

[@althyk]

What do you expect to see when it goes supernova?

[@pickleballer1729]

@@althyk Well, very bright light. I think I read that in the previous supernova, for a time it was so bright at night that you could read. Just would like to see as many interesting (but not killer) astronomical phenomena as possible before I clock out. Looking for ward to the Apophus passes in 2029 and hopefully 2036.

[@althyk]

Sweet!

[@steveegbert7429]

Quite the year indeed! Looking forward to new discoveries in 2024! Great Christmas sweater Dr. Becky!

[@marcelschannel8605]

Happy new year, and thanks for all videos, I'm doing mathematics, but I like to follow all kinds of science, and this is how I follow astronomy. Of course as a geometer I have a special weakness for black holes and other general relativity weirdness.Just so you can laugh at me, and if someone else got confused, I got confused by the picture of Orion, I first thought that you had mislabelled Rigel as Betelgeuze - but of course you know exactly where Rigel and Betelgeuze are. And then it was from the Southern hemisphere. Us Notherners have to turn the ipad/phone upside down (and don't forget to turn the rotation of the screen off).

[@caw25sha]

I'm in two minds about Betelgeuse. It's one of the most famous and easily recognised stars so it would be sad to lose it wouldn't it?

[@asingularhuman]

it would become one of the easily recognized nebulae, maybe.

[@JoeBeaudette]

Yeah it would be kind of unfortunate but to get to watch a supernova and the following nebula develop from scratch and from such relatively close range would be AMAZING

[@elmurcis1]

But Beteljuice might be worth Betelsqueeze.

[@dexter9313]

Things can't go on forever and it's sometimes for the best. I too would be sad to lose the Orion constellation as we know it. But the excitement of seeing a supernova in my lifetime would Easily compensate for that!

[@phillipjones2924]

In reality it's already gone, we just haven't seen the end yet

[@hinesification]

Great summary of the year. However, on nitpick. Cas A was witnessed by observers in 1680, so Kepler's is older and Cas A was the least visible supernova in the Milky Way. See references in my 2004 paper on Spitzer/MIPS observations of Cas A (Hines et al. 2004, ApJS, 154, 290). From the intro to that paper: "Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is the youngest known SNR in our Galaxy. The explosion was apparently witnessed in 1680 (Ashworth 1980; Fabian et al. 1980), consistent with the radial extent and expansion velocities of [N ii]-emitting knots (NKs: Fesen et al. 1988; Thorstensen et al. 2001; Fesen 2001)."

[@thedarkknight1971]

Happy New Year Dr Becky! I HOPE 🤞 2024 sees a definitive decision to go ahead with building and future launch of the 15 Metre Luvoir space telescope... As much of a HUGE step JWST was from the iconic Hubble, imagine what a HUGE step up from the 6 Metre JWST to the 15 Metre Luvoir would be! 🤔😏👌 😎🇬🇧

[@robainscough]

32 ... so young! Now I really feel old ... thanks for the excellent top 5 of 2023, looking forward to 2024.

[@MichaelBristow137]

I would really love to see Beetlejuice going supernova. They don't happen very often and seeing one would be so cool.

[@patreekotime4578]

For me the most interesting thing in astronomy news this year is the sheer volume of observations that don't match predictions. This seems to suggest some big gaps in understanding and that means we may very well soon see some big paradigm shifts! It feels very much like what I imagine geologists were going through in the 1950s or what paleontologists were going through in the 1990s.

[@tntristan12]

I'm someone who LOVES astronomy and cosmology, but I've never been more excited than when watching Dr. Becky's videos.

[@trampslikeus3575]

All the Best in the New Year Dr. Becky!

[@brucehemming9749]

Great video thanks for sharing your look back over the year …. Happy new year… here’s hoping to see a supernova in my lifetime 🎉🍻👍

[@JavSusLar]

Next video: "My 2024 bingo card"

[@philigan2339]

Thank you Dr. Becky.

[@miinyoo]

28000+ and year is not over yet, couple more days. That's so much work done and gone unrecognized. Hope we get some real "out there" diamonds in the rough that get polished next year. Happy New Year Dr. Smethurst!

[@fazalkareem329]

Thanks for making our work (Nanograv, EPTA, InPTA, PPTA) your top space news of 2023 ❤️❤️✨

[@DJayDiamond]

Just want to say becky you're awesome! Love your content 😊

[@Youtube_deleted_my_favourites]

Hey Becky. What in your opinion do you think is the cause of the wow signal?

[@bibaniffy]

Thank you for explaining space news to me! I love your channel so much!

[@Sk8Vader]

So thankful for your channel. Actual brilliant scientific research and entertainment. In this world of click bait saturated content, it's nice to have a channel with spot on research and data. Been a subscriber for years. Thank you Doc. 🙏🏻👍🏼

[@hairybustard4247]

Your enthusiasm is infectious

[@joemcguire4907]

I nominate Dr. Becky for the next Doctor Who companion! At least a cameo would be awesome for both camps. You'll get lots of subscribers!

[@zzzaphod8507]

Interesting choices for the top 5, thanks! Did a gravitational wave hit at 3:05?

[@Slaat1]

haha came to the comments for this

[@Masterplan79th]

editing Becky was hit by a cosmic ray as she was watching that bit

[@dex1lsp]

Euclid's images are absolutely STUNNING. The awe of seeing them for the first time was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me.

[@AndrewJohnson-oy8oj]

So when we say "Betelguese may go supernova in the next hundred years" we actually mean Betelguese HAS already gone supernova hundreds of years ago.

[@davidmurphy563]

The fate of Betelgeuse isn't 100% certain to be explosion, it could be implosion. Now, it's far more likely to be the former than the latter but there's a lot of uncertainty about the distance to the star and also there isn't a firm mass cut-off between three two outcomes as there are many factors at play. Long story short, it probably will explode and soon but it just might go out with a whimper.

[@grahamrich3368]

Wonderful video Dr Becky -- many thanks!! You make astrophysics really interesting and fun!! 👏🌟☀️

[@pekkavirtanen5130]

it's better for me to watch this good video at 0.75 speed, that way the my thought stays with you better, especially the last part 😎 Happy New Year.

[@markcohen7991]

Happy New Year. You are fantastic. We love you. LLAP 🖖

[@christiansiebott6881]

you totally left a blooper in the vid. i love your news updates thank you so much.

[@warrengday]

Love this year summary video. Betelgeuse - do we know for how long the supernova will be daylight visible? Seconds? Hours? Days?

[@alexthieb5164]

My french ears heard "Beetlejuice" instead of "Betelgeuse"... But I don't count how many times you said it (old man reference)! I discovered your channel this year and I love it! I'm reading 2001 Short Stories, a manga about the evolution of space travel. It's brilliant! Do you know it?

[@BurstNibbler]

Awesome, thanks Becky!

[@thetalkingboard]

I love love love that you are not scripted. All the best YTers go off cuff and don’t read a script.

[@Quay_Chanel]

As a presale enthusiast, Staxum STX caught my eye. Betting on it for a potential 200x post-presale!

[@folkmaster101]

In 10 years from now we will know much more about the universe. I enjoy learning from Dr. Becky.