Journey to the Edge of the Universe in Real Time!

The podcast documents a real-time journey to the edge of the observable universe using a telescope in one of the darkest places on Earth. The host progressively zooms out from the Moon to objects billions of light-years away, encountering various celestial objects and phenomena, including galaxies, quasars, and gravitational lensing. Ultimately, the host attempts to capture a 12-billion-year-old image of the 'Cheshire Cat' galaxies, a feat that requires extensive processing of collected data.

Observatory location

• 00:01:14 The Athos Observatory on the Isle of La Palma, Spain, is situated in a dark location with clear skies for most of the year. Its high altitude and position on the leeward side of a volcano minimize cloud coverage, making it ideal for astronomical observations.

Journey steps

• 00:03:27 The journey to the edge of the universe is divided into steps, each 1,000 times further than the last, aiming to reach billions of light-years away. The host begins with the Moon and progresses to Jupiter, the comet cloud, the Orion Spur, and eventually beyond the Milky Way to other galaxies and galaxy clusters.

Telescope and equipment

• 00:02:08 The host uses a 12-inch Newtonian telescope with specialized equipment for capturing faint objects. A custom-made Peltier cooler and fan are used to reduce dark current, enhancing the image quality. The telescope is capable of capturing light from 12 billion years ago.

Galaxies and clusters

• 00:08:45 The podcast explores the vastness of galaxies like Andromeda and the Whirlpool Galaxy, with the latter showing evidence of colliding galaxies. The journey takes viewers to galaxy clusters, which are groups of thousands of galaxies, showing the orange-red color shift due to the expansion of the universe.

Quasars and black holes

• 00:12:02 The host discusses quasars, extremely luminous objects powered by supermassive black holes. Quasars are among the brightest objects in the universe and can be seen billions of light-years away. The host tries to capture a quasar that is 8 billion light-years away, potentially using gravitational lensing to see further back in time.