Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels · Aired Aug 25, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Astrophysicist Beatrice Val saw 105,000 transients on astronomical plates from the Palomar Observatory between 1949 and 1957.
The finding
What the evidence shows
The real researcher here is Beatriz Villarroel, not 'Beatrice Val,' and she has genuinely published work studying transients on old Palomar Observatory plates and their timing relative to nuclear tests. So there's a real study behind this, but her conclusions have met wide skepticism from the scientific community, and we couldn't confirm the specific figure of 105,000 transients or that exact time window.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Astrophysicist Beatrice Val saw 105,000 transients on astronomical plates from the Palomar Observatory between 1949 and 1957?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. The real researcher here is Beatriz Villarroel, not 'Beatrice Val,' and she has genuinely published work studying transients on old Palomar Observatory plates and their timing relative to nuclear tests. Jesse Michels said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels, aired Aug 25, 2026, at 1:32:32. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
Challenge this finding or add context →Keep the evidence coming.
Follow new checks in your RSS reader, or catch up with the weekly briefing on the site.
Email signup is currently unavailable.
Prefer to catch up here? Read the weekly briefing.