Using AJAX and PHP to load next post object

The URL you are trying to pass to cannot be used (wp-content/themes/stargazer/populate.php)

As @Milo pointed out, please check the AJAX Codex, and it will explain the use of ‘ajaxurl’, which is a protected variable.

In short, all AJAX requests must be passed through ‘admin-ajax.php’ whether it is for the frontend or backend.