Episodes

127
June 29, 2026

Bow and Arrow Galaxy Discovered, Hayabusa2's Daring Asteroid Flyby, and Mars' Geological Secrets Unveiled

Astronomy Daily S05E127 | Monday, June 29, 2026 Hosts: Anna & Avery | astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod In today's episode: RAD-BAARG — The Bow-and-Arrow Galaxy A citizen scientist scanning LOFAR radio telescope data spotted a galaxy like nothing seen in 25 years — RAD-BAARG stretches 1.8 million light-years and shows what may be the clearest radio signature of a giant cosmic bow shock ever observed. Published June 22 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Hayabusa2 Flyby — One W...
126
June 28, 2026

The Weekend Wrap: NASA's Bold Swift Rescue, Cosmic Demolition Derby Unfolds

Weekend Space & Astronomy News Wrap | Saturday, June 27, 2026 It's our Saturday wrap — and what a week it's been for space and astronomy! Join Anna and Avery for two brand-new stories plus the four biggest headlines from the past five days. THIS WEEK'S STORIES 🚀 NASA's Daring Swift Rescue Mission Launches Today NASA's Swift Boost mission launched this morning, sending the LINK robotic servicing spacecraft to rescue the 22-year-old Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from orbital decay. Built in under...
125
June 26, 2026

60 Million Stars Captured, Cosmic Fog Cleared, and Earth's Oldest Impact Crater Revealed

In this episode of Astronomy Daily (S05E125), hosts Anna and Avery cover six major stories from the frontiers of space science and astronomy, including the most detailed image ever taken of the Milky Way's core, a Hubble discovery that solves a decades-old cosmological mystery, the oldest confirmed asteroid impact crater on Earth, a pair of impossibly light exoplanets, an impending lunar impact from a SpaceX rocket stage, and a live solar weather alert for Southern Hemisphere aurora watchers. St...
124
June 25, 2026

Ancient Comet Shatters Time Records, Mars' Life Signs Intensify, and the ISS Faces Controversial Farewell

In this episode of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery explore six remarkable stories from the frontiers of space science. JWST has determined that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS likely formed 10–12 billion years ago — before our Sun existed — making it the oldest object ever chemically characterised. NASA's Perseverance rover has delivered its most robust organic detection yet in Mars's Jezero Crater. ESA's Euclid telescope has released the largest and most detailed visible-light image ever taken of t...
123
June 24, 2026

Roman Telescope Update, China's Shenlong Mystery Deepens, and Quantum Breakthroughs in Space

Story 1 — Roman Space Telescope Arrives at Kennedy NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrived at Kennedy Space Center on June 21, 2026, beginning a 70-day prelaunch campaign inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Launch is targeted no earlier than August 30, 2026, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A — eight months ahead of the previous schedule. The observatory's 300-megapixel camera offers a field of view 100× wider than Hubble's. Sources: • NASA Science Blog — 'NAS...
122
June 23, 2026

Starfall Takes Flight, Roman Telescope Arrives, and Dark Matter's New Secrets Unveiled

Episode Date: Tuesday, 23 June 2026 Runtime: Approximately 18–22 minutes Hosts: Anna and Avery Story Sources & Further Reading STORY 1 — SpaceX Starfall Demo SpaceX launches Starfall Demo mission (June 23, 2026) — SpaceX.com / Space.com / Gizmodo FAA Environmental Assessment for Starfall reentry vehicle operations STORY 2 — Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA Science: 'NASA's Next Generation Telescope Arrives in Florida Ahead of Launch' (June 21, 2026) Spaceflight Now / Discover Magazine — Ro...
121
June 22, 2026

Dark Matter Revealed by Light Echoes, MAVEN's Legacy, and Groundbreaking Research on Menstruation in Space

S05E121 | Monday, 22 June 2026 Hosts: Anna & Avery | astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod Story 1 — Dark Matter Is Hugging Our Galaxy's Black Hole • Virginia Tech researchers used 'echo mapping' — light reverberations around active black holes — to detect dark matter signatures • Supermassive black holes including Sgr A* (Milky Way) appear surrounded by dense dark matter clusters • Lead researcher Mayank Sharma: 'The observational evidence for dark matter is simply undeniable' • Published in Physi...
120
June 20, 2026

Cosmic Secrets in Ocean Rocks, Record-Breaking Ariane Launch, and a Salty Pink World Revealed

This weekend's Astronomy Daily wraps up the biggest stories from across the cosmos, starting with two completely fresh discoveries — a 1976 ocean rock that's turned out to hold atomic-scale proof of an ancient neutron star collision, and a record-breaking rocket launch from Europe's Ariane 6. Then we wind back through the week for our four biggest headlines: a new crew for Artemis III, JWST's salty 'Pink Planet' discovery, an update on the daring Swift Observatory rescue mission, and China's Tia...
119
June 19, 2026

Salty Skies on a Pink Planet, Black Holes Burp, and a Lunar Lander for Moon Base 2

Welcome back to Astronomy Daily! In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six of the biggest stories in space and astronomy for Friday June nineteenth, twenty twenty-six — from a salty surprise on a mysterious pink world to a little rover completing a marathon on Mars. Story 1: JWST Reveals Salty Clouds on the 'Pink Planet' GJ504b Northwestern University astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to finally crack open the spectrum of GJ504b — the so-called 'Pink Planet' 57 light-years ...
118
June 18, 2026

A Milky Way Fossil Unearthed, Extreme Weather on a Roasted Planet, and a Space Telescope's Last Chance

A landmark episode packed with discoveries at the cutting edge of space and astronomy. Webb and Hubble redefine a category of stellar object, JWST delivers unprecedented chemistry data from an extreme exoplanet, a 21-year-old NASA observatory faces a daring robotic rescue, a multi-telescope image reveals an ancient galactic supernova, China's Tianwen-2 zeroes in on a possible fragment of our own Moon, and astronomers detect the chemical fingerprint of a planet swallowed by its star. Story 1: Web...
117
June 17, 2026

Rockets Across Continents, A Black Hole's Jet Unveiled, and Rain of Rubies on Distant World

A launch-packed Wednesday kicks off with two rocket milestones — SpaceX's BlueBird 8-10 direct-to-cell satellite launch and Ariane 6's record-breaking Amazon Leo flight — followed by a splashdown update for the science-laden Dragon CRS-34. Then a Chandra double-header delivers the most detailed X-ray view ever of M87's famous black hole jet, plus the discovery of possible supernova wreckage at the very heart of the Milky Way. We close with JWST's extraordinary weather portrait of WASP-121b — a p...
116
June 16, 2026

James Webb's Cosmic Revelation, Lunar Landers Take Flight, and a Race Against Time for SWIFT

Today's episode covers six stories spanning cosmic mysteries, lunar exploration, robotic rescue missions, cutting-edge space medicine, and what's happening in your own night sky tonight. 1. JWST Solves the "Little Red Dots" Mystery Four years after the James Webb Space Telescope began spotting strange, compact red objects in the ancient universe, scientists have a definitive answer. A team led by Vasily Kokorev at the University of Texas at Austin published the most detailed spectrum ever obtain...
115
June 9, 2026

NASA's Historic Artemis 3 Crew, Early Launch for Roman Telescope, and a Solar Storm Spectacle

In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six major stories: NASA's historic Artemis III crew announcement, the official August 30 launch date for the Roman Space Telescope, a G3 geomagnetic storm delivering northern lights to mid-latitudes, a worrying air leak aboard the International Space Station, the fallout from Blue Origin's New Glenn explosion and its impact on NASA's Moon programme, and JAXA's H3 rocket attempting a redemption launch tonight. Stories Covered • BREAKING: NASA announces the...
114
June 3, 2026

From Rocket Ruins to Cosmic Discoveries: Blue Origin's Resilience and New Magnetic Insights

In today's Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery cover six major stories: Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp pledges New Glenn will fly again before year's end despite last week's launchpad explosion; astronomers announce the first direct evidence of magnetic fields on exoplanets using Hot Jupiter wind data; NASA's Roman Space Telescope clears its final mirror inspection ahead of a September 2026 launch; SpaceX wins a $4.16 billion Space Force contract for an airborne threat-tracking satellite constellation; a...
113
June 2, 2026

NASA's Lunar Dreams in Jeopardy, China's Bold Moves, and a Lava World Reimagined

Episode Summary In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six major space and astronomy stories: the growing implications of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explosion for NASA's lunar plans; China's surprise maiden flight of the Long March 12B reusable rocket plus the return of the Shenzhou-21 crew; Starship V3 being grounded by the FAA following Flight 12 — with SpaceX's IPO in the balance; the upcoming launch of NASA's Roman Space Telescope and its mission to find 100,000 new exoplanets; new res...
112
May 26, 2026

NASA's Lunar Base Blueprint, Starship V3's Bold Launch, and the Secrets of Supernovae Revealed

Episode: S05E112 — Tuesday, 26 May 2026 Hosts: Anna & Avery Network: Bitesz.com Podcast Network Website: astronomydaily.io | Social: @AstroDailyPod Story Summaries 1. NASA Unveils Ambitious Moon Base Plan As this episode was recorded, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was preparing to announce a landmark plan for a permanent human outpost at the lunar south pole by 2036. The programme carries a price tag of approximately $30 billion across a seven-year foundational phase, relies on nuclear power...
111
May 25, 2026

Shenzhou-23 Makes History, Psyche's Mars Masterclass, and a 19-Day Solar Mystery

China launches three astronauts to Tiangong — including Hong Kong's first-ever taikonaut — on a mission that breaks multiple records. NASA's Psyche probe delivers breathtaking imagery from its Mars flyby. A bizarre 19-day solar radio burst finally gets an explanation. Scientists zero in on the source of the most powerful neutrino ever detected. Two dead stars orbit each other in less than nine minutes. And researchers propose using fungi to turn Martian soil into farmland. It's a big Monday on A...
110
May 23, 2026

Starship V3 Maiden Flight, New Glenn Cleared, Cosmic Web Photographed | Weekend Wrap

Sponsor Link: You've heard us talking about them now it's time to check out the special money saving deal from our sponsor NordVPN. https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn Your weekly roundup of the biggest stories from across the cosmos — two fresh stories...
109
May 22, 2026

'Hold That Thought' - T-Minus 40: Starship Scrubs, Mars Beckons

Sponsor Link: To check out our special money saving deal and upgrade your online security with NordVPN - https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn SpaceX came agonisingly close to launching the most powerful rocket ever built in its newest configuration — but a...
108
May 21, 2026

Starship V3 Flight 12: A Giant Leap for SpaceX | Neptune's Moon Mystery Unveiled

Sponsor Link: To secure your online life and save money into the bargain, check out our NordVPN offer - https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn Starship V3 is on the pad and tonight's the night — Flight 12 launches the most powerful rocket ever built. Plus:...
107
May 20, 2026

Launch Eve: Starship V3 Ready for Liftoff | Lunar Laser Navigation Breakthrough | VAST Ventures into Satellites

Sponsor Link: To check out our great NordVPN money saving deal - https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn Astronomy Daily • S05E107 • Wednesday 21 May 2026 Starship V3 is on the pad and counting down for Thursday's debut launch — we bring you the full update...
106
May 19, 2026

Space News Update: SMILE Satellite's Historic Launch | Starship V3 Delayed | Snappy's Quest to Detect Solar Neutrinos

Sponsor Link: To get our special money saving deal from NordVPN - https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn A launch day episode packed with big science and bigger rockets. Today we cover the real-time launch of the ESA/China SMILE space weather satellite,...
105
May 18, 2026

Are We Living in a Simulation? Physics Says No | Asteroid Buzzes Earth TODAY | Starship V3 Tomorrow

Sponsor Link: To grab our special money saving NordVPN deal - https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn In today’s episode, Anna and Avery cover a blue whale-sized asteroid making a close pass of Earth today, the imminent debut of SpaceX’s most powerful rocket...
104
May 16, 2026

Weekend Wrap: Mars Slingshot, Dragon Launch, Cosmic Web, Dracula's Chivito, Starship V3 & More

Sponsor Link: To get the deatils of our money saving NordVPN deal - https://bitesz.com/nordvpn It's the Astronomy Daily Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap — your Saturday deep dive into the biggest stories from across the week, plus two brand-new...