May 2, 2025
Cosmic Chronicles: SphereX's Sky Mapping, Lunar Trailblazer's Silent Struggles
In this episode of Astronomy Daily, host Anna takes us on an exhilarating journey through the latest cosmic discoveries and developments that highlight the ever-evolving nature of our universe. Prepare to be captivated by this week’s stellar lineup of...
In this episode of Astronomy Daily, host Anna takes us on an exhilarating journey through the latest cosmic discoveries and developments that highlight the ever-evolving nature of our universe. Prepare to be captivated by this week’s stellar lineup of stories that push the boundaries of our understanding of space.
Highlights:
- NASA's SphereX Space Telescope: Join us as we dive into the ambitious mission of NASA's SphereX space telescope, which has just begun mapping the entire sky in unprecedented detail. Discover how this innovative observatory captures 3,600 unique images daily in 102 different infrared wavelengths, aiming to unravel the mysteries of the universe's origins and the building blocks of life.
- The Lunar Trailblazer Orbiter: Learn about the ongoing efforts to revive NASA's Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft, which went silent shortly after its launch. With cautious optimism, mission controllers are hoping for a window of opportunity to reestablish contact and guide the orbiter into its intended lunar orbit.
- The Enigmatic Big Ring Structure: Explore the discovery of a colossal ring of galaxies, dubbed the Big Ring, that challenges existing cosmological models. This astonishing structure measures 1.3 billion light years in diameter and raises intriguing questions about the distribution of matter in the universe.
- Cosmos 482's Unplanned Return: Track the unexpected return of Cosmos 482, a Soviet-era Venus probe that has been orbiting Earth for over five decades. As it prepares for reentry, experts speculate on the possibility of its survival and the implications of this historical spacecraft's descent.
- The Search for Planet Nine: Delve into the compelling evidence for the elusive Planet Nine, uncovered through archival data from two space telescopes. Researchers are excited about the potential discovery of this massive planet, which could reshape our understanding of the solar system's outer reaches.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - NASA's SphereX mission begins
10:15 - Update on Lunar Trailblazer Orbiter
15:30 - Discovery of the Big Ring structure
20:45 - Cosmos 482's return to Earth
25:00 - Evidence for Planet Nine
✍️ Episode References
NASA's SphereX Space Telescope
[NASA SphereX](https://www.nasa.gov/spherex)
Lunar Trailblazer Mission
[NASA Lunar Trailblazer](https://www.nasa.gov/lunartrailblazer)
Big Ring Structure Discovery
[American Astronomical Society](https://aas.org/)
Cosmos 482 Reentry
[Harvard Smithsonian Center](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/)
Planet Nine Evidence
[National Tsinghua University](https://www.nthu.edu.tw/en/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a supporter of this podcast:
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your cosmic connection to the latest
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happenings beyond our atmosphere. I'm Ana, and today we're exploring
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a fascinating array of space discoveries and developments that remind
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us just how dynamic our universe truly is. In today's
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stellar lineup, we'll dive into NASA's sphere X space telescope,
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which has just begun its ambitious mission to map the
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entire sky in unprecedented detail. We'll also check in on
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the ongoing efforts to revive the silent Lunar Trailblazer orbiter
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that went quiet shortly after launch. Then we'll explore a
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truly mind bending discovery, an enormous ring of galaxies that's
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challenging our fundamental understanding of the universe's structure. If that
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wasn't enough cosmic intrigue, we'll track a piece of space
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history as a Soviet era Venus probe from the nineteen
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seventies makes an unplanned return to Earth after more than
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five decades in orbit. And finally, we might be getting
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closer to answering one of our Solar system's biggest mysteries.
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Is there a ninth planet lurking in the distant reas
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is beyond Neptune. Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence in decades
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old data that could point to this elusive world. So
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strap in for a journey across the Cosmos as we
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explore these fascinating developments together. We'll kick things off with
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a story update. After weeks of preparation and testing, NASA's
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sphere X space telescope has officially begun its scientific mission,
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marking an exciting new chapter in our exploration of the Cosmos.
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Launched on March eleventh, the observatory has spent the last
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six weeks undergoing rigorous checkouts and calibrations to ensure everything
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is functioning properly. Now it's ready to create something truly remarkable,
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a complete map of the entire sky. What makes SPHEREx
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special isn't just that it's mapping the sky. Other telescopes
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have done that before, but rather how it's doing it.
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The observatory is capturing roughly three thousand, six hundred unique
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images every single day, observing in one hundred two different waves,
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links or colors of infrared light that are invisible to
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the human eye. This spectroscopic approach will give astronomers unprecedented
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insights into the universe around us. From its orbit around Earth,
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SPHEREx looks outward into space, constantly shifting its view. The
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spacecraft completes more than fourteen orbits per day, passing over
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the poles in a north to south pattern. Each day,
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it photographs one circular strip of the sky as Earth
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moves around the Sun. Over the course of six months,
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Spherex's field of view gradually shifts until it has observed
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in every direction. The mission's primary goal is ambitious to
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help answer fundamental questions about the origins of our universe.
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By mapping the positions of hundreds of millions of galaxies
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in three dimensions, SPHEREx will search for clues about cosmic inflation,
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that mind bending moment in the first fraction of a
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second after the Big Bang, when the universe expanded a
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trillion trillion fold. Jim Fansen, the mission's project manager at
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NASA's Propulsion Laboratory, noted the beautiful symmetry in this approach, saying,
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we're going to study what happened on the smallest size
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scales in the universe's earliest moments. By looking at the
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modern universe on the largest scales. The telescope doesn't use
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moving mirrors or detectors like some other observatories. Instead, the
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entire spacecraft shifts position using reaction wheels that spin inside
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it to control its orientation. When it takes a picture,
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the light is captured by six detectors, each producing a
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unique image at different wavelengths. These groups of six images
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are called an exposure, and SPHEREx takes about six hundred
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exposures daily. Over its two year primary mission, the telescope
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will create four complete maps of the sky. But SPHEREx
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isn't just looking for clues about the universe's beginnings. It's
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also searching for the building blocks of life. The observatory
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will examine interstellar clouds within our own galaxy, making over
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nine million observations to map water and other key ingredients
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for life. This could help scientists understand how compounds essential
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to life on Earth formed and evolved throughout the cosmos.
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Jamie Bach, the mission's principal investigator, expressed excitement about the
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telescope's performance, saying, the performance of the instrument is as
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good as we hoped. That means we're going to be
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able to do all the amazing science we planned on
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and perhaps even get some unexpected discoveries. After twelve years
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of planning and development, SPHEREx is now operational and beginning
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to unravel some of our universe's greatest mysteries, one infrared
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image at a time. Next, let's pay a visit to
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NASA's Never Say Die department. I made that up. However,
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NASA is still holding out hope for its lunar Trailblazer spacecraft,
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which went silent just one day after its February twenty
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sixth launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket. Despite more
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than two months of silence, mission controllers haven't given up
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on the ninety four million dollar lunar orbiter. The situation
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became concerning short after launch, when the mission team determined
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that the four hundred and forty pound spacecraft was spinning
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slowly and running dangerously low on power. The probe couldn't
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properly orient itself to harvest enough sunlight with its solar panels,
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preventing it from charging its batteries as planned. Now, engineers
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see a potential window of opportunity. According to NASA's latest update,
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modeling indicates that lighting conditions from May through mid June
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could be favorable enough to provide sufficient sunlight on the
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spacecraft's solar panels. This might recharge the batteries to operational
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levels and potentially allow ground controllers to regain command of
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the vehicle. There's cautious optimism that if contact can be
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re established, the mission might still be salvageable. NASA officials
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stated that if they can command the spacecraft again, and
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if the propulsion system remains functional after thawing and the
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scientific instruments are still operable, they may be able to
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guide Lunar Trailblazer into its intended elliptical orbit around the Moon.
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The mission team has been able to track Lunar Trailblazer's
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precise position using ground based equipment, which has been crucial
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in planning recovery efforts. If they do re establish contact,
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NASA will conduct a thorough review to determine whether the
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mission can proceed or should be terminated. However, if no
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signal is received by the end of this favorable period
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in mid June, the agency will begin procedures to officially
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close out the mission. Lunar Trailblazer was designed with an
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important scientific purpose, mapping the Moon's water stores. From lunar orbit.
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This information is considered vital for NASA's Artemis program, which
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aims to establish one or more bases near the Moon's
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south Pole, an area believed to contain significant deposits of
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water ice. Understanding the distribution and accessibility of these water
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resources could prove crucial for sustained human presence on the
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lunar surface. Interestingly, Lunar Trailblazer wasn't the only spacecraft on
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that February launch to encounter difficulties. It shared its ride
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to space with Athena, the second moonlander built by Houston
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based company Intuitive Machines. While Athena did successfully reach the
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lunar surface on March sixth, it toppled over shortly after
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touchdown near the moon South Pole, cutting short its planned
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ten day mission. The coming weeks will be critical for
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Lunar Trailblazer as engineers watch closely for any signs of
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life from the silent spacecraft, hoping that the changing solar
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conditions might just provide enough power to bring it back
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from the brink. Next on today's story, Rundown, a startling
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discovery in the depths of space is challenging our fundamental
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understanding of the universe. Astronomers have identified a colossal structure
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dubbed the Big Ring, an almost perfect ring of galaxies
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measuring an astonishing one point three billion light years in diameter.
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This enormous cosmic formation appears in light that has traveled
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six point nine billion years to reach our telescopes, meaning
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we're seeing it as it existed when the universe was
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roughly half its current age. What makes this discovery so
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remarkable is that it simply shouldn't exist according to our
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current cosmological models. The standard model of cosmology is built
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upon what's called the cosmological principle, the idea that on
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a large enough scale, matter should be evenly distributed throughout
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the universe. Theoretical calculations suggest structures shouldn't exceed about one
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point two billion light years in size, yet the Big
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Ring dramatically exceeds this limit. The discovery was led by
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astronomer Alexia Lopez of the University of Central Lancashire and
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presented at a recent American Astronomical Society meeting. Even more
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intriguing is that this isn't the first megastructure Lopez and
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her team have found in this region. In twenty twenty one,
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they announced the discovery of the giant arc in the
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same area of sky and at the same cosmic distance.
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That structure was nearly three times larger than the theoretical
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size limit. Neither of these two ultra large strips ructures
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is easy to explain in our current understanding of the universe,
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Lopez explained, and their ultra large sizes, distinctive shapes and
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cosmological proximity must surely be telling us something important. Upon
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closer inspection, researchers determined that the Big Ring isn't actually
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a perfect circle, but more of a corkscrew shape that
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appears ring like from our vantage point. This rules out
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the possibility that it's a baryon acoustic oscillation circular arrangements
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of galaxies formed by acoustic waves in the early universe,
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which typically measure around one to one billion light years
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across the presence of these enormous structures raises fascinating possibilities.
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Some astronomers suggest they could be evidence supporting alternative cosmological theories,
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such as Roger Penrose's conformal cyclic cosmology, which proposes the
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universe goes through endless Big Bang expansion cycles. Another possibility
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is that they represent cosmic strings, theoretical defects in the
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fabric of space time that formed as the universe expanded
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in its earliest moments. Finding multiple ultra large structures in
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close proximity also presents a statistical anomaly. As Lopez noted,
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we could expect maybe one exceedingly large structure in all
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our observable universe, Yet the Big Ring and the Giant
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Arc are two huge structures and are even cosmological neighbors.
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This discovery adds to a growing list of observations that
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don't neatly fit within our current understanding of the universe.
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The best path forward may involve finding more such arrangements
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scattered throughout the Cosmos, potentially hiding in plain sight in
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our astronomical data. Whatever the Big Ring ultimately proves to be,
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it serves as a humbling reminder that the universe remains
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full of mysteries, even in its largest and most fundamental structures.
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A relic from the space race era is about to
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make an unexpected return to Earth. Cosmos four hundred and
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eighty two, a Soviet spacecraft originally designed to explore Venus
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back in nineteen seventy two, is now on track for
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an uncontrolled re entry into Earth's atmosphere around May tenth.
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This half ton piece of space history never fulfilled its
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intended mission due to a rocket malfunction that left it
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stranded in Earth orbit instead of heading toward our neighboring planet.
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For over five decades fifty three years to be precise,
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this abandoned spacecraft has been silently circling our world in
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a highly elliptical orbit that has gradually degraded over time.
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Dutch scientist Marco Langbrook, who's been tracking the object, predicts
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it will come plummeting down at approximately one hundred and
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fifty miles per hour if it remains intact during re entry.
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What makes the situation particularly interesting is the spacecraft's specialized design.
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Cosmos four hundred eighty two, was built to withstand the
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incredibly harsh conditions of Venus's atmosphere, which is much thicker
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than Earth's and filled with carbon dioxide. This robust construction
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means there's a significant possibility that the spacecraft could survive
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its fiery descent through our atmosphere, rather than burning up
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as most space debris does. The surviving component is believed
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to be The landing capsule itself a spherical object roughly
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three feet in diameter, weighing about one thousand pounds or
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nearly five hundred kilograms. Although experts doubt that its parachute
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system would still function after so many years in the
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harsh environment of space, the heat shield might remain effective
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enough to protect the craft during re entry. Jonathan McDowell
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from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics noted that it
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would actually be better if the heat shield fails, causing
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the spacecraft to burn up during its atmospheric dive. Otherwise
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we could have a half ton metal object falling from
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the sky. While this sounds alarming, Langbrook emphasizes that the
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risk to people on Earth is relatively small, comparable to
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that of a random meteorite fall, several of which occur
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each year. The spacecraft could potentially re enter anywhere between
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fifty one point seven degrees north and south latitude, encompassing
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a vast area from as far north as London and
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Edmonton down to near South America's Cape Horn. Given that
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most of our planet is covered by water, the odds
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favor and ocean splashed down rather than landfall. However, the
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exact location remains unpredictable at this time. This event adds
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to a growing list of uncontrolled re entries in recent years,
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including a Chinese booster rocket in twenty twenty two and
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the tiangong I space station in twenty eighteen, both of
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which fortunately ended without incident. And to wrap up today's stories,
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could we be about to solve a major space mystery.
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In what could be the most significant development in our
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Solar System's outer reaches in decades. Astronomers have uncovered compelling
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evidence for the long hypothesized planet nine by examining infrared
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surveys conducted twenty three years apart. This potential new member
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of our planetary family has been hiding in plain sight,
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buried within archival data from two different space telescopes. The
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detective work was led by astronomer Terry long Fan of
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Taiwan's National Singhua University, who devised an ingenious method to
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hunt for the elusive planet. The team compared infrared images
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from NASA's IRAS satellite, which operated in nineteen eighty three,
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with those from Jacks's Akari spacecraft, which collected data between
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two thousand and six and twenty eleven. They were searching
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for objects that appeared in one position in the nineteen
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eighty three data and had moved by the time Akari
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looked at the same region of sky. What makes this
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discovery particularly credible is that they found an object that
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moved exactly the distance that would be expected for a
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large planet in a distant orbit over that time period.
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The object appears in the Iras imagery and then shows
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up again in Akari's data approximately forty seven point four
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arc minutes away, consistent with the slow movement of an
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extremely distant planet. To rule out false positives, fans tear
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time carefully accounted for parallax effects caused by Earth's movement
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around the Sun, and eliminated fast moving nearby objects by
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examining hourly changes in position. Their meticulous approach has yielded
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