Best ESOcast Podcasts (2025)

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found a metal ‘scar’ imprinted on the surface of a dead star. This video summarises the discovery.By European Southern Observatory

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Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar | ESOcast Light 1:11

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1+ y ago1:11

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Astronomers have characterised the most luminous quasar observed to date, which is powered by the fastest-growing black hole. This black hole is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day. The matter being pulled in toward this black hole forms a disc that measures seven light-years in diameter — about 15 000 times the distance from the S…

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Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar | ESOcast Light 1:11

1+ y ago1:11

1:11

Astronomers have characterised the most luminous quasar observed to date, which is powered by the fastest-growing black hole. This black hole is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day. The matter being pulled in toward this black hole forms a disc that measures seven light-years in diameter — about 15 000 times the distance from the S…

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Supernovae give rise to black holes or neutron stars (ESOcast 269 Light) 1:29

1+ y ago1:29

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Astronomers have found a direct link between the explosive deaths of massive stars and the formation of the most compact and enigmatic objects in the Universe — black holes and neutron stars. This video summarises the discovery.

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Supernovae give rise to black holes or neutron stars (ESOcast 269 Light) 1:29

1+ y ago1:29

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Astronomers have found a direct link between the explosive deaths of massive stars and the formation of the most compact and enigmatic objects in the Universe — black holes and neutron stars. This video summarises the discovery.By European Southern Observatory

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The furthest ever galactic magnetic field (ESOcast 267 Light) 1:30

2y ago1:30

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Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us. Never before had we detected a galaxy’s magnetic field this far away. This video summarises the discovery.

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The furthest ever galactic magnetic field (ESOcast 267 Light) 1:30

2y ago1:30

1:30

Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us. Never before had we detected a galaxy’s magnetic field this far away. This video summarises the discovery.By European Southern Observatory

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ESO telescopes help solve pulsar puzzle (ESOcast 266 Light) 1:27

2y ago1:27

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ESO telescopes help solve pulsar puzzle (ESOcast 266 Light) 1:27

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By European Southern Observatory

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Mysterious Neptune Dark Spot Detected from Earth (ESOcast 265 Light) 1:27

2y ago1:27

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Mysterious Neptune Dark Spot Detected from Earth (ESOcast 265 Light) 1:27

2y ago1:27

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By European Southern Observatory

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New type of star gives clues to magnetars' origins (ESOcast 264 Light) 1:38

2y ago1:38

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Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star. This video summarises the discovery.

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New type of star gives clues to magnetars' origins (ESOcast 264 Light) 1:38

2y ago1:38

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Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star. This video summarises the discovery.By European Southern Observatory

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Does this planet have a “sibling” sharing the same orbit? (ESOcast 263 Light) 1:28

2y ago1:28

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Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. This video summarises the discovery.

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Does this planet have a “sibling” sharing the same orbit? (ESOcast 263 Light) 1:28

2y ago1:28

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Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. This video summarises the discovery.By European Southern Observatory

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Hidden views of vast stellar nurseries (ESOcast 262 Light) 1:17

2+ y ago1:17

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Using ESO's VISTA telescope, astronomers have created a vast infrared atlas of five nearby stellar nurseries by piecing together more than one million images.By European Southern Observatory

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Hidden views of vast stellar nurseries (ESOcast 262 Light) 1:17

2+ y ago1:17

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Using ESO's VISTA telescope, astronomers have created a vast infrared atlas of five nearby stellar nurseries by piecing together more than one million images.

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Observing the ashes of the first stars (ESOcast 261 Light) 1:18

2+ y ago1:18

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Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found the fingerprints left by the explosions of the first stars.By European Southern Observatory

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Observing the ashes of the first stars (ESOcast 261 Light) 1:18

2+ y ago1:18

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Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found the fingerprints left by the explosions of the first stars.

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First image of a black hole expelling a powerful jet (ESOcast 260 Light) 1:37

2+ y ago1:37

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With the help of ALMA, astronomers have obtained a new image of the supermassive black hole at thecentre of the M87 galaxy.

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Witnessing the Birth of a Distant Cluster of Galaxies (ESOcast Light 259) 1:31

2+ y ago1:31

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Using ALMA, astronomers have detected a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy –– the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. This further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.By European Southern Observatory

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Witnessing the Birth of a Distant Cluster of Galaxies (ESOcast Light 259) 1:31

2+ y ago1:31

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Using ALMA, astronomers have detected a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy –– the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. This further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.

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The Missing Link for Water in the Solar System (ESOcast 258 Light) 1:31

2+ y ago1:31

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Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the chemical signature of gaseous water in the planet-forming disc V883 Orionis. This acts as a timestamp for the water’s formation, allowing us to trace its journey.

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The Missing Link for Water in the Solar System (ESOcast 258 Light) 1:31

2+ y ago1:31

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Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the chemical signature of gaseous water in the planet-forming disc V883 Orionis. This acts as a timestamp for the water’s formation, allowing us to trace its journey.By European Southern Observatory

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Heaviest Element yet Detected in an Exoplanet Atmosphere (ESOcast 257 Light) 1:32

3y ago1:32

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Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, barium has been detected in the atmosphere of two exoplanets.By European Southern Observatory

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Heaviest Element yet Detected in an Exoplanet Atmosphere (ESOcast 257 Light) 1:32

3y ago1:32

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Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, barium has been detected in the atmosphere of two exoplanets.By European Southern Observatory

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Hot Gas Bubble Swirling Around our Supermassive Black Hole (ESOcast 256 Light) 1:27

3y ago1:27

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Using ALMA, astronomers have found a hot bubble of gas that swirls around Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, at 30% of the speed of light.By European Southern Observatory