AirSpace

Revisited - Supermassive Black Hole


Listen Later

We’re hard at work on Season 6 (and a super special project coming in just a few weeks!!). But today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from last year. They’re incredibly dense, super cool, and mind-bendingly-mysterious -- BLACK HOLES! But how do you imagine – let alone study—the unseeable? And seriously—what happened at the end of “Interstellar?”

The concept of black holes isn’t new—scientists first theorized their existence in the early 20th century. But in the last few years our knowledge of black holes has expanded – from confirmation of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way (it really ties the galaxy together) to the first-ever image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. We’re now making direct observations that prove their existence. And scientists even released an image of a black hole in polarized light, with signs of magnetic fields around the event horizon. And if you don’t understand what that means, you’re not alone!! We’re all on this magic school bus of discovery together – come abroad, it’s going to be a wild ride!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the show! Take our listener survey.

Did you know AirSpace has a monthly newsletter? Sign up here!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

AirSpaceBy National Air and Space Museum

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

193 ratings


More shows like AirSpace

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,870 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,706 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,860 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,238 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,666 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,223 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,400 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,226 Listeners

Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

Twenty Thousand Hertz

4,184 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,551 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,151 Listeners

The Last Archive by Pushkin Industries

The Last Archive

1,800 Listeners

Antiques Roadshow Detours by GBH

Antiques Roadshow Detours

692 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,729 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,670 Listeners