From Comet Closures to Space Station Shifts: Your Daily Astronomy Update

WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:03.120
Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your

1
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:05.200
source for the latest news from across the

2
00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:06.880
cosmos. I'm Avery.

3
00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:09.440
Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.

4
00:00:09.840 --> 00:00:12.200
Today we say goodbye to our interstellar

5
00:00:12.200 --> 00:00:14.360
visitor and look to the future of life in

6
00:00:14.360 --> 00:00:14.880
orbit.

7
00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:16.920
Avery: That's right. We'll be talking about a

8
00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.360
comment from another solar system that just

9
00:00:19.360 --> 00:00:22.000
made its closest approach to Earth. And we'll

10
00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.520
check in on the Parker solar probe as it once

11
00:00:24.520 --> 00:00:27.280
again braves the Sun's fiery atmosphere.

12
00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:30.040
Plus, a fun story about how you could have

13
00:00:30.040 --> 00:00:32.420
helped design a mascot for the next mission

14
00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:33.020
to the Moon.

15
00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:35.620
Anna: And later in the show, we'll dive into a

16
00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:38.500
cosmic mystery involving incredibly powerful

17
00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:41.140
blue explosions, a building sized

18
00:00:41.140 --> 00:00:43.300
asteroid with a small chance of hitting the

19
00:00:43.300 --> 00:00:46.180
Moon, and Russia's surprising new plans for

20
00:00:46.180 --> 00:00:48.220
its future in space after the International

21
00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:49.260
Space Station.

22
00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:50.780
So let's get started.

23
00:00:51.260 --> 00:00:54.130
Avery: First up, a, visitor from very, very

24
00:00:54.370 --> 00:00:57.170
far away. On Friday, December

25
00:00:57.170 --> 00:00:59.860
19, interstellar comet

26
00:00:59.860 --> 00:01:02.740
3I Atlas made

27
00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:05.380
its closest approach to our planet.

28
00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:08.580
Anna: It came within 168 million

29
00:01:08.740 --> 00:01:11.260
miles of Earth. Now that it's passed us, it

30
00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:13.740
will begin its long journey back out of our

31
00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:16.220
solar system, continuing its voyage through

32
00:01:16.220 --> 00:01:17.060
the Milky Way.

33
00:01:17.380 --> 00:01:19.820
Avery: And, this isn't just any comet. It's only the

34
00:01:19.820 --> 00:01:22.020
third object we've ever detected passing

35
00:01:22.020 --> 00:01:24.140
through our solar system. That originated

36
00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:25.660
from interstellar space.

37
00:01:26.380 --> 00:01:29.140
Anna: Exactly. It was first spotted by NASA's

38
00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:31.900
Atlas system on July 1, 2025.

39
00:01:32.220 --> 00:01:34.700
By analyzing its trajectory, scientists

40
00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:36.780
determined it didn't come from around here.

41
00:01:37.020 --> 00:01:39.460
In fact, its path suggests it comes from a

42
00:01:39.460 --> 00:01:42.340
region of our galaxy that might be up to 7

43
00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:43.420
billion years old.

44
00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:47.060
Avery: 7 billion years. That means this little icy

45
00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:49.660
wanderer is significantly older than our own

46
00:01:49.660 --> 00:01:52.220
4.6 billion year old solar system.

47
00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:54.740
It's like a relic from a completely different

48
00:01:54.740 --> 00:01:55.500
time and place.

49
00:01:56.010 --> 00:01:59.010
Anna: Mm. A true cosmic fossil. And it

50
00:01:59.010 --> 00:02:01.810
gave scientists a bit of a surprise. As it

51
00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:04.130
made its closest approach to the sun, the

52
00:02:04.130 --> 00:02:06.690
comet brightened much more than expected. And

53
00:02:06.690 --> 00:02:09.170
the reason for that extra glow is still a

54
00:02:09.170 --> 00:02:11.410
mystery. It's a fascinating puzzle for

55
00:02:11.410 --> 00:02:13.850
scientists to analyze as they gather the data

56
00:02:13.850 --> 00:02:16.610
from its Flyby. So farewell, 3i

57
00:02:16.610 --> 00:02:19.050
Atlas. You put on quite a show for us.

58
00:02:19.450 --> 00:02:22.170
Avery: Speaking of getting close to the Sun, NASA's

59
00:02:22.170 --> 00:02:24.810
Parker Solar Probe has been doing just that

60
00:02:24.970 --> 00:02:25.370
again.

61
00:02:26.090 --> 00:02:28.610
Anna: That's right. On December 13, the probe

62
00:02:28.610 --> 00:02:31.410
completed its 26th close approach, or

63
00:02:31.410 --> 00:02:33.850
perihelion. And it wasn't just another

64
00:02:34.010 --> 00:02:36.810
flyby. It matched its own incredible

65
00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:37.370
records.

66
00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:40.250
Avery: And what records they are, it flew just

67
00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:43.210
3.8 million miles from the solar surface.

68
00:02:43.450 --> 00:02:45.770
To put that in perspective, earth is about

69
00:02:45.850 --> 00:02:48.530
93 million miles away. And its

70
00:02:48.530 --> 00:02:51.380
speed, a, blistering 430,000

71
00:02:51.540 --> 00:02:52.420
miles per hour.

72
00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.320
Anna: It's almost impossible to comprehend that

73
00:02:55.320 --> 00:02:57.800
velocity. During this close approach, the

74
00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:00.240
spacecraft was completely out of contact with

75
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.080
Earth, operating fully autonomously as its

76
00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:05.360
instruments gathered data from right inside

77
00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:07.480
the sun's atmosphere. The corona

78
00:03:07.700 --> 00:03:09.810
Avery: And the timing is perfect. This is all

79
00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:12.050
happening while the sun is in a very active

80
00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:13.730
phase of its 11 year cycle.

81
00:03:14.050 --> 00:03:16.490
Anna: That's the key. These observations are

82
00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:18.850
critical for helping us understand our star

83
00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:21.490
and the space weather events it produces,

84
00:03:21.570 --> 00:03:24.040
like solar flares and coronal mass ejection.

85
00:03:24.910 --> 00:03:26.870
That data is vital for protecting our

86
00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:29.750
astronauts and technology both in orbit

87
00:03:29.750 --> 00:03:30.830
and here on Earth.

88
00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:33.710
Avery: Alright. From the intense heat of the sun to

89
00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:36.270
something a little more whimsical, NASA

90
00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:38.350
recently gave the public a very unique

91
00:03:38.350 --> 00:03:40.830
opportunity. The chance to design a mascot

92
00:03:40.830 --> 00:03:42.430
for the Artemis 2 mission.

93
00:03:42.670 --> 00:03:45.550
Anna: This is such a great story. In collaboration

94
00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:48.310
with the platform Freelancer, NASA held a

95
00:03:48.310 --> 00:03:51.270
contest for a zero gravity indicator. These

96
00:03:51.270 --> 00:03:54.030
are small, usually plush items that the crew

97
00:03:54.030 --> 00:03:55.940
takes with them when they start to fly

98
00:03:56.010 --> 00:03:58.370
afloat. It's a simple visual cue that they've

99
00:03:58.370 --> 00:04:00.250
reached the microgravity of space.

100
00:04:00.650 --> 00:04:02.730
Avery: Right. It's a long standing tradition in

101
00:04:02.730 --> 00:04:05.170
human spaceflight, but this is the very first

102
00:04:05.170 --> 00:04:07.130
time the public has been invited to create

103
00:04:07.130 --> 00:04:09.970
the crew's mascot. Artemis 2 is the

104
00:04:09.970 --> 00:04:12.129
mission that will send four astronauts on a

105
00:04:12.129 --> 00:04:15.090
trip around the moon in early 2026. So

106
00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:16.490
this is a historic flight.

107
00:04:16.730 --> 00:04:19.490
Anna: The response was overwhelming. The

108
00:04:19.490 --> 00:04:21.770
contest received thousands of submissions

109
00:04:21.770 --> 00:04:24.410
from over 50 countries. They've now

110
00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:27.250
narrowed it down to 25 finalists and the

111
00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:30.150
winning will be fabricated by NASA's own

112
00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:32.750
thermal blanket Lab and will fly with the

113
00:04:32.750 --> 00:04:33.990
astronauts on their journey.

114
00:04:34.230 --> 00:04:36.510
Avery: I love that we won't know the winner until

115
00:04:36.510 --> 00:04:38.950
closer to the launch date, but it's fantastic

116
00:04:38.950 --> 00:04:41.230
to see this level of public engagement with

117
00:04:41.230 --> 00:04:43.710
such a landmark mission. It really connects

118
00:04:43.710 --> 00:04:45.910
people to the adventure of space exploration.

119
00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:49.190
Anna: Now for a deep space mystery. For years,

120
00:04:49.270 --> 00:04:51.910
astronomers have been puzzled by extremely

121
00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:54.270
powerful and bright blue cosmic

122
00:04:54.270 --> 00:04:57.150
explosions. They're called luminous fast

123
00:04:57.150 --> 00:04:59.670
blue optical Transients, or L

124
00:04:59.810 --> 00:05:02.530
LFBOTs for short. And we may

125
00:05:02.530 --> 00:05:04.210
finally know what causes them.

126
00:05:04.450 --> 00:05:07.330
Avery: Lfbots. The name itself is a

127
00:05:07.330 --> 00:05:09.490
mouthful. What's the leading theory here?

128
00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:12.560
Anna: Well, a, recently detected signal designated

129
00:05:12.640 --> 00:05:15.440
at 2024wpp

130
00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.960
has provided a major clue. It suggests

131
00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:21.920
that LFBOTs are the result of an

132
00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:24.760
extreme version of something called a tidal

133
00:05:24.760 --> 00:05:27.120
disruption event, or tde.

134
00:05:27.730 --> 00:05:30.170
Avery: That's when a black hole tears a star apart,

135
00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:30.530
right?

136
00:05:31.010 --> 00:05:33.570
Anna: Exactly. But in this case, we're talking

137
00:05:33.570 --> 00:05:36.210
about a black hole with a mass up to 100

138
00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:39.170
times that of our sun, completely shredding

139
00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:41.410
its companion star in a matter of days.

140
00:05:41.890 --> 00:05:43.890
This particular event at

141
00:05:44.370 --> 00:05:47.170
2024wpp emitted

142
00:05:47.170 --> 00:05:49.810
about 100 times more energy than an

143
00:05:49.810 --> 00:05:51.490
average supernova explosion.

144
00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:54.530
Avery: Wow. So what makes it so much more powerful

145
00:05:54.530 --> 00:05:56.050
than a typical tde?

146
00:05:56.130 --> 00:05:58.650
Anna: The theory is that this wasn't just a one

147
00:05:58.650 --> 00:06:01.230
time. The black hole was likely

148
00:06:01.310 --> 00:06:03.990
parasitically feeding from its companion star

149
00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:06.790
for a long time, which created a huge

150
00:06:06.790 --> 00:06:09.710
shell of material around the pair. When

151
00:06:09.710 --> 00:06:12.430
the star finally spiraled close enough to be

152
00:06:12.430 --> 00:06:14.950
completely shredded, the new stellar

153
00:06:14.950 --> 00:06:17.670
material slammed into that pre existing

154
00:06:17.670 --> 00:06:20.430
shell. That massive collision is what

155
00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:23.430
generated the immense light and energy that

156
00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:26.320
we observe as an lfbot. Yes.

157
00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.320
Avery: So it's a cosmic two punch knockout. The star

158
00:06:29.320 --> 00:06:31.720
gets torn apart and then its remains crash

159
00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.480
into a wall of its own lost material. That's

160
00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.560
an incredible level of cosmic violence.

161
00:06:36.960 --> 00:06:39.520
Anna: It certainly is now bringing the

162
00:06:39.520 --> 00:06:41.680
cosmic violence a little closer to home.

163
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.960
Let's talk about an asteroid named 2024

164
00:06:44.960 --> 00:06:45.770
yr. 4.

165
00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:48.650
Avery: Right. This is a building size asteroid

166
00:06:48.650 --> 00:06:51.330
roughly 60 meters wide. And scientists have

167
00:06:51.330 --> 00:06:53.610
calculated that there is about a 4% chance

168
00:06:53.610 --> 00:06:56.410
that it will hit the moon in the year 2032.

169
00:06:56.970 --> 00:06:59.890
Anna: A 4% chance isn't huge, but it's

170
00:06:59.890 --> 00:07:02.050
certainly not zero. And the potential

171
00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:04.890
consequences are significant. If it does

172
00:07:04.890 --> 00:07:07.290
hit the moon, the impact could release energy

173
00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:10.210
equivalent to 400 times the Hiroshima

174
00:07:10.210 --> 00:07:10.650
bomb.

175
00:07:10.810 --> 00:07:13.090
Avery: And it gets a bit more concerning. There's

176
00:07:13.090 --> 00:07:15.370
also a 1% chance that the impact could

177
00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:17.770
scatter meteorites into near Earth space.

178
00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.690
That debris cloud could pose a real threat to

179
00:07:20.690 --> 00:07:22.870
our satellites and any astronauts in orbit.

180
00:07:23.580 --> 00:07:25.780
Anna: So what can be done? Is there a plan to

181
00:07:25.780 --> 00:07:26.460
deflect it?

182
00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:28.510
Avery: At the moment a deflection mission is

183
00:07:28.510 --> 00:07:30.910
impractical. However, some options like

184
00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:32.990
intentionally breaking it up into smaller,

185
00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:35.470
less harmful pieces are being considered.

186
00:07:35.790 --> 00:07:38.030
The most immediate step is to gather more

187
00:07:38.030 --> 00:07:38.350
data.

188
00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:41.760
Anna: and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope might

189
00:07:41.760 --> 00:07:44.040
give us the clear view we need. There's a

190
00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:46.400
potential observation window in February

191
00:07:46.400 --> 00:07:48.880
2026 that could help scientists

192
00:07:48.880 --> 00:07:51.520
refine the asteroid's orbit and get a much

193
00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:53.760
better handle on the actual odds of a L

194
00:07:54.140 --> 00:07:54.380
impact.

195
00:07:54.780 --> 00:07:57.060
Avery: For our final story today, we're looking at a

196
00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:58.900
major shift in the future of human

197
00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:01.700
spaceflight. Russia has significantly altered

198
00:08:01.700 --> 00:08:03.620
its plans for what comes after the

199
00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:04.780
International Space Station.

200
00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:07.580
Anna: That's right. The original plan was to build

201
00:08:07.580 --> 00:08:10.219
an entirely new station, the Russian

202
00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:12.980
Orbital Station or ros. But now

203
00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:15.620
the plan has changed. The core of this new

204
00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:18.300
station will actually be the old Russian

205
00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:19.740
segment of the issuance.

206
00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:23.170
Avery: So in 2030 when the US segment of the ISS

207
00:08:23.410 --> 00:08:25.730
is scheduled to be deorbited and burned up in

208
00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:28.450
the atmosphere, the Russian segment will just

209
00:08:28.530 --> 00:08:30.610
detach and become its own station.

210
00:08:31.090 --> 00:08:33.930
Anna: Essentially, yes, this decision is

211
00:08:33.930 --> 00:08:36.290
widely seen as a money saving move for

212
00:08:36.290 --> 00:08:39.050
Russia's war strapped economy. However,

213
00:08:39.050 --> 00:08:41.570
it means their new national space station

214
00:08:41.570 --> 00:08:43.810
will be based on modules that are already

215
00:08:44.050 --> 00:08:45.490
over 30 years old.

216
00:08:46.290 --> 00:08:48.610
Avery: That raises some pretty serious concerns.

217
00:08:48.850 --> 00:08:51.730
Using hardware that old brings up major

218
00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:54.490
questions about safety, long term maintenance

219
00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:56.490
and the station's future scientific

220
00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:57.010
capabilities.

221
00:08:57.730 --> 00:09:00.610
Anna: It does. And it places Russia's program

222
00:09:00.690 --> 00:09:03.610
in stark contrast with other nations. At

223
00:09:03.610 --> 00:09:05.930
a time when China is operating its new

224
00:09:05.930 --> 00:09:08.850
Tiangong space station and India is

225
00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:11.570
developing its own, Russia is choosing to

226
00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:14.490
repurpose aging infrastructure. It's a

227
00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:16.810
significant moment that could reshape the

228
00:09:16.810 --> 00:09:19.630
geopolitical landscape of human activity in

229
00:09:19.630 --> 00:09:20.670
low Earth orbit.

230
00:09:21.230 --> 00:09:23.310
Avery: And that is all the time we have for today.

231
00:09:23.630 --> 00:09:25.870
From interstellar visitors to the shifting

232
00:09:25.870 --> 00:09:28.150
future of space stations, it's been another

233
00:09:28.150 --> 00:09:29.950
busy day in the world of astronomy.

234
00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:32.270
Anna: We hope you enjoyed our tour of the latest

235
00:09:32.430 --> 00:09:33.789
headlines from the cosmos.

236
00:09:34.350 --> 00:09:36.590
Avery: Thank you for tuning in to ASTRONOMY Daily.

237
00:09:36.670 --> 00:09:37.550
I'm Avery.

238
00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:40.350
Anna: And I'm Anna. We'll be back on Monday with

239
00:09:40.350 --> 00:09:42.750
more updates. Until then, keep looking up.

240
00:09:48.800 --> 00:09:49.440
Avery: The world.