How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe

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This week on TED.com April 25, 2015

Talk of the week Jedidah Isler: How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe 04:19 minutes · Filmed Mar 2015 · Posted Apr 2015 · TED2015 Jedidah Isler first fell in love with the night sky as a little girl. Now she’s an astrophysicist who studies supermassive hyperactive black holes: quasars. In this short talk, she takes us trillions of kilometers from Earth to introduce us to these objects that can be 10 billion times the mass of the sun — and which shoot powerful jet streams of particles in our direction. Watch now »

Playlist of the week Big ideas in short talks Jedidah Isler is a TED Fellow, part of a group of artists, scientists and entrepreneurs at the beginning of landmark careers. We've curated 10 amazing talks (most of them under 6 minutes) from these trailblazers, each with a big idea to share. Watch » Total run time 1:19:39

More from TED.com A 50-foot-long carnivore who hunted its prey in rivers 97 million years ago, the spinosaurus is a "dragon from deep time." Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim and his crew found new fossils, hidden in cliffs of the Moroccan Sahara desert, that are helping us learn more about the first swimming dinosaur -- who might also be the largest carnivorous dinosaur of all. Watch » Chris Milk uses cutting-edge technology to make films that delight and enchant. But the human story is the driving force behind everything he does. In this short, charming talk, he shows some of his collaborations with musicians including Kanye West and Arcade Fire, and describes his latest, mind-bending experiments with virtual reality. Watch » (This talk is part of Pop-Up Magazine's guest-curated session at TED2015!) As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends. In a heartfelt piece, the poet paints the scene of his father's furious and fearful response. Watch » For all the aid money that's gone to ending poverty -- it's still with us. Civil rights expert Gary Haugen suggests one hidden reason why, a pervasive problem that drives people into poverty and firmly keeps them there. Haugen reveals the dark underlying cause we must recognize and act on now. Watch »

read more about ideas on ted.com Gallery: Inside the best kindergarten ever » A place that lets kids be kids (or monkeys) List: What are the best countries to live in? » See where your country ranks Yipes: On the trail of bedbugs » This itchy pest has a surprisingly fascinating story

Quote of the Week “ As an astrophysicist, I have the awesome privilege of studying some of the most exotic objects in our universe: supermassive, hyperactive black holes. Weighing one to 10 billion times the mass of our own sun, these galactic black holes are devouring material at a rate of upwards of 1,000 times more than your 'average' supermassive black hole." Jedidah Isler How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe

Join the Conversation StoryCorps' Dave Isay interviews his mom. Listen in ... Did you catch TED on 60 Minutes last week? Here's every TED Talk they mentioned (all 50 of them!) ...

TEDWomen 2015, may 27–29 Meet the TEDWomen speakers Groundbreaking writer Roxane Gay ... high school principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman ... activist and actor Maria Bello -- an amazing lineup of women and men will speak in Monterey at TEDWomen 2105. Learn more -- and join in » TEDWomen 2015: May 27–29, 2015, in beautiful Monterey, California. Join us!

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