Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Could entire stars simply vanish?! One of the strangest mysteries in astronomy isn't about black holes or aliens. It's about stars that seem to disappear without a trace.
In this conversation, astronomer Beatriz Villarroel explains the VASCO (Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations) project and one of its most astonishing discoveries: **nine star-like objects that appeared and disappeared simultaneously on a single photographic plate**, long before the satellite era.
We cover:
• Why hundreds of "missing stars" had to be investigated one by one.
• The automated search pipeline developed by Enrique Solano to analyze decades of astronomical data.
• Why about 600 disappearing objects demanded closer inspection.
• The famous image containing nine transient objects that still challenges conventional explanations.
• What these discoveries could mean for astrophysics, observational astronomy, and the search for rare cosmic phenomena.
Watch the full conversation:
[youtube.com/watch?v=D4jvdrN-FQw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4jvdrN-FQw)
---
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**ABOUT BRIAN KEATING**
Brian Keating is Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Physics at UC San Diego, a leading observational cosmologist, and Principal Investigator on the Simons Observatory. His research focuses on the Cosmic Microwave Background, inflation, and the origin of the Universe. On *Into the Impossible*, he interviews Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, entrepreneurs, and thinkers exploring the biggest questions in science.
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#Astronomy #Astrophysics #BeatrizVillarroel #VASCO #MissingStars #Technosignatures #BrianKeating
Could entire stars simply vanish?! One of the strangest mysteries in astronomy isn't about black holes or aliens. It's about stars that seem to disappear without a trace.
In this conversation, astronomer Beatriz Villarroel explains the VASCO (Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations) project and one of its most astonishing discoveries: **nine star-like objects that appeared and disappeared simultaneously on a single photographic plate**, long before the satellite era.
We cover:
• Why hundreds of "missing stars" had to be investigated one by one.
• The automated search pipeline developed by Enrique Solano to analyze decades of astronomical data.
• Why about 600 disappearing objects demanded closer inspection.
• The famous image containing nine transient objects that still challenges conventional explanations.
• What these discoveries could mean for astrophysics, observational astronomy, and the search for rare cosmic phenomena.
Watch the full conversation:
[youtube.com/watch?v=D4jvdrN-FQw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4jvdrN-FQw)
---
📬 Subscribe to my Monday **M.A.G.I.C. Message** for science insights, meteorites, giveaways, and impossible conversations: (briankeating.com/bvyt)
🪨 Win a **4.5-billion-year-old meteorite**
📖 Get your **FREE copy of Flatland**
📚 My books
*Into the Impossible: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner*
[https://a.co/d/0aFjx6Y](https://a.co/d/0aFjx6Y)
*Into the Impossible Two: Unlocking the Universe with Mathematics*
[https://a.co/d/3mS4jLk](https://a.co/d/3mS4jLk)
🚀 Grow your YouTube channel with vidIQ
[vidiq.com/DrBrianKeating](https://vidiq.com/DrBrianKeating)
---
**ABOUT BRIAN KEATING**
Brian Keating is Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Physics at UC San Diego, a leading observational cosmologist, and Principal Investigator on the Simons Observatory. His research focuses on the Cosmic Microwave Background, inflation, and the origin of the Universe. On *Into the Impossible*, he interviews Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, entrepreneurs, and thinkers exploring the biggest questions in science.
---
Follow Brian:
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[https://x.com/briankeating](https://x.com/briankeating)
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#Astronomy #Astrophysics #BeatrizVillarroel #VASCO #MissingStars #Technosignatures #BrianKeating
