Artemis, Pulsars, Big Crunch & City Killers

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. It is Thursday, the 19th


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of February, 2026, and we are recording


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this episode while NASA is literally


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fueling a rocket at this very moment.


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And we cannot wait to tell you about it.


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>> That's right. This is one of those days


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where space news isn't just something


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that happened somewhere out there in the


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universe. It is happening right now on a


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launchpad in Florida. But that's not


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all. Today, we're also asking what lurks


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in the darkness between us and our


00:00:34.480 --> 00:00:36.870
nearest cosmic neighbors. Could there be


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a cosmic clock ticking next to the most


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extreme object in our galaxy? And brace


00:00:42.559 --> 00:00:45.030
yourselves, is the universe actually


00:00:45.040 --> 00:00:46.470
going to end?


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>> Plus, we have a story that will make you


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want to check the sky tonight. A warning


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from NASA that is genuinely a little


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unsettling. And we're going to space


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with a music video. All of that is


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coming up on Astronomy Daily.


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>> Let's start with the big one, and I mean


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big in every sense of the word. As we


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speak, NASA's Space Launch System, the


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most powerful rocket ever built, is


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being loaded with more than 700,000


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gallons of cryogenic propellant at


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launch complex 39B at Kennedy Space


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Center in Florida. This is the second


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wet dress rehearsal for Artemis 2, the


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mission that will carry four astronauts


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on a loop around the moon. The first


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time humans have ventured to lunar


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distance since Apollo 17 back in 1972.


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The crew are commander Reed Weisman,


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pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist


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Christina Ko from NASA, and Jeremy


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Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.


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Now, the reason they're doing this


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rehearsal, and the reason there have


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been so many eyes on it today is that


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the first attempt back on the 2nd and


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3rd of February did not go as planned.


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Engineers detected a liquid hydrogen


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leak during fueling, which forced them


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to halt the test before they could


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complete the full countdown sequence. In


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the weeks since, technicians have


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replaced seals around two fueling lines,


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swapped out a filter and the ground


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support equipment, and added an extra


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hour of buffer time into the countdown


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to allow more room for troubleshooting.


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It's the kind of painstaking,


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unglamorous engineering work that rarely


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makes headlines, but it's exactly what


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keeps astronauts alive. Today's


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rehearsal targets a simulated launch


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window opening at 8:30 this evening,


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Eastern time. The test is expected to


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run until around 12:30 Friday morning,


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and the stakes are high. NASA has said


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it won't set a formal launch date until


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after a successful wet dress rehearsal


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campaign. March 6th remains the earliest


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possible crude launch date.


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>> NASA administrator Jared Isaacman put it


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well when he said, "We anticipated


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encountering challenges. That is


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precisely why we conduct a wet dress


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rehearsal. These tests are designed to


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surface issues before flight. The safety


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of the crew comes first. So, tonight we


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watch and we wait.


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>> We will be keeping a close eye on this


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one and we'll bring you the results in


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tomorrow's episode. Fingers crossed for


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a clean test, no leaks, and a March


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launch that puts humans back in the


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vicinity of the moon for the first time


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in over 50 years. All right, from a


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rocket at Kennedy Space Center to the


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absolute heart of our galaxy. And this


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story is one of those discoveries that


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if it's confirmed, could fundamentally


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change how we understand the universe.


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>> Researchers from Columbia University


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working with the Breakthrough Listen


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Initiative, which is best known for


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searching for signs of intelligent life


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beyond Earth, have announced the


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detection of a candidate millisecond


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pulsar very close to Sagittarius A star.


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That's the super massive black hole


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sitting at the center of the Milky Way.


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Roughly 4 million times the mass of our


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own sun.


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>> So, let's unpack what a pulsar is


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because it's one of the most


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extraordinary objects in the universe.


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When a massive star reaches the end of


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its life and explodes as a supernova,


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what's left behind is an incredibly


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dense core called a neutron star. Some


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of those neutron stars spin rapidly and


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emit beams of radio waves like a cosmic


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lighthouse sweeping through space. When


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those beams sweep past Earth, we detect


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them as regular pulses, hence pulsar.


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>> And what makes millisecond pulsar


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special is their extraordinary


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precision. They spin hundreds of times


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per second with almost perfect


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regularity. Scientists have called them


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the most accurate clocks in the


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universe, more stable than atomic clocks


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here on Earth. This candidate, nicknamed


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BLPSR, completes one full rotation every


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8.19 milliseconds. Now, here's why


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finding one near Sagittarius A star is


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such a big deal. A pulsar next to a 4


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million solar mass black hole would be


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operating in one of the most extreme


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gravitational environments imaginable.


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And Einstein's general theory of


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relativity makes very specific


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predictions about what happens to space


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and time in such extreme environments.


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Predictions that have never been tested


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at this level of precision.


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>> And if a pulsar is orbiting close to


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Sagittarius a star, the black hole's


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gravity would warp spaceime so severely


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that those precise pulsar pulses would


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arrive at our telescopes with tiny but


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measurable distortions. As researcher


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Slavo Bogdanov from Colombia put it, any


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external influence on a pulsar would


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introduce anomalies in the steady


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arrival of pulses which can be measured


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and modeled.


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>> In other words, a confirmed pulsar next


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to a super massive black hole would be a


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natural laboratory for testing


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Einstein's theories in the most extreme


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conditions possible. It could also help


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us understand things like the mass of


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Sagittarius a star, the geometry of


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space-time near a super massive black


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hole, and potentially even offer clues


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about dark matter.


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>> Now, it's important to be clear this is


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still a candidate. The team published


00:06:07.919 --> 00:06:09.590
their findings in the Astrophysical


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Journal, and Breakthrough Listen has


00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.189
released all the observational data


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publicly, so researchers around the


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world can do independent analyses.


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Confirmation will require extensive


00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.670
follow-up observations, but the


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scientific community is buzzing. This is


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the kind of discovery that reshapes


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entire research programs if it holds up.


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>> Keep watching the skies and the galactic


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center. This story is far from over.


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>> So, we've talked about what's happening


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in Florida tonight and what might be


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happening at the center of our galaxy.


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Now, let's zoom all the way out, farther


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than you've probably ever thought about,


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and ask, how does the universe end?


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>> For most of the past few decades, the


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scientific consensus has been pretty


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clear. The universe expands forever.


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Dark energy, that mysterious force


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making up roughly 68% of all the mass


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and energy in the cosmos, was thought to


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be a constant, relentlessly pushing


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everything apart. Eventually, galaxies


00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:10.629
would drift. so far from each other that


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the night sky would go dark. Stars would


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burn out. Everything would fade into a


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cold, silent void. Scientists call this


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the big freeze or heat death. But new


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data is challenging that picture in a


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dramatic way. Physicist Henry Thai at


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Cornell University has published new


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calculations using data from two of the


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world's most powerful dark energy


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observatories. The dark energy survey in


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Chile and the dark energy spectroscopic


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instrument in Arizona. And his


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conclusion is striking. The universe may


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be heading not for a freeze, but for a


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crunch.


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>> Here's how it works. Both surveys are


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finding evidence that dark energy isn't


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actually constant. It appears to be


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weakening over time. If that's true,


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then the force pushing the universe


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apart is gradually fading. And at some


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point, gravity takes over. The expansion


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slows, stops, and then reverses.


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Everything that has been flying apart


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for billions of years begins falling


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back together. A TAI model introduces a


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hypothetical particle called an ultra


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light axion combined with what's known


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as a negative cosmological constant to


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explain how dark energy could behave


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this way. The math suggests the universe


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is currently about 13.8 billion years


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old and approaching the halfway point of


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its total lifespan. It would continue


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expanding for roughly another 11 billion


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years, reach its maximum size, and then


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begin to contract, ultimately collapsing


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into a single point of unimaginable


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density, the big crunch. Total elapsed


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time approximately 33 billion years.


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>> Now, before anyone starts updating their


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bucket list, this is one model. It's not


00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.430
yet scientific consensus. There's


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healthy debate about how to interpret


00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:05.430
the dark energy data and upcoming


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missions from the European Space ay's


00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:10.790
Uklid telescope, NASA Spherex project


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and the Vera C Ruben Observatory will


00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:14.870
provide much better measurements over


00:09:14.880 --> 00:09:17.829
the coming years. But the very fact that


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two independent observatories, one in


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the southern hemisphere, one in the


00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:24.949
northern, are converging on similar


00:09:24.959 --> 00:09:27.670
results about dark energy evolving.


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That's significant. As Tai himself put


00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:33.190
it, for the last 20 years, people


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believed the universe would expand


00:09:35.040 --> 00:09:37.990
forever. The new data may be telling us


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something very different.


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>> The universe might be mortal after all.


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Quite the thought to sit with on a


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Thursday evening.


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>> And now, because apparently one


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existential revelation isn't enough for


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one episode, let's talk about city


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killer asteroids.


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>> Those two words together are doing a lot


00:09:57.040 --> 00:10:00.070
of work. They really are. So, at the


00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.310
American Association for the Advancement


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of Science conference in Arizona this


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week, NASA's Planetary Defense Officer,


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and yes, that is a real job title, Dr.


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Kelly Fast, gave a presentation that's


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been making headlines ever since, and


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for good reason.


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>> Dr. Fast explained that when it comes to


00:10:20.160 --> 00:10:22.230
asteroids, there are essentially three


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categories of concern. At the small end,


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things are hitting Earth all the time.


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meteors burning up in the atmosphere,


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the occasional fireball. We're not


00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:33.430
particularly worried about those. At the


00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.829
large end, the extinction level rocks,


00:10:35.839 --> 00:10:38.710
the movie asteroid kind, scientists are


00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:40.550
actually fairly confident about where


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those are. We track them. We know their


00:10:42.880 --> 00:10:43.829
orbits.


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>> It's the middle ground that keeps Dr.


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Fast up at night. Asteroids in the range


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of 140 m and larger, large enough to


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devastate an entire city or a wide


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region. but small enough to be difficult


00:10:58.079 --> 00:11:00.630
to detect with current telescopes. Her


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estimate there are around 25,000 of


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these objects in the vicinity of Earth's


00:11:06.079 --> 00:11:06.949
orbit.


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>> And how many have we found? About 40%.


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Meaning there are potentially 15,000


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city killing space rocks out there right


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now that we simply do not know about.


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>> To add some context to that and to the


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challenge of actually doing something


00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:25.269
about it if we did spot one, Dr. Nancy


00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.910
Shabet, the planetary scientist who led


00:11:27.920 --> 00:11:30.550
NASA's Dart mission, the spacecraft that


00:11:30.560 --> 00:11:32.550
successfully changed the orbit of an


00:11:32.560 --> 00:11:35.829
asteroid back in 2022, was also at the


00:11:35.839 --> 00:11:38.230
conference. She pointed out that DART


00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:40.470
was a breakthrough demonstration, but


00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.389
there isn't another one sitting on a


00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:45.269
launchpad ready to go. She specifically


00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.470
referenced the asteroid Y R4 which


00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.790
caused some anxiety earlier this year


00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:53.750
with a small but not zero probability of


00:11:53.760 --> 00:11:57.750
a lunar impact in 2032. She said if


00:11:57.760 --> 00:12:00.069
something like Y4 had been headed


00:12:00.079 --> 00:12:02.389
towards the Earth, we would not have any


00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:04.790
way to go and deflect it actively right


00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:05.430
now.


00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:07.590
>> The hope on the horizon is the Near


00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.310
Earth Object Surveyor Telescope which is


00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.790
planned for launch next year. Unlike


00:12:12.800 --> 00:12:15.509
conventional optical telescopes, it uses


00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.069
thermal infrared signatures to detect


00:12:18.079 --> 00:12:20.389
darker asteroids that are essentially


00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:23.030
invisible to conventional instruments.


00:12:23.040 --> 00:12:25.430
Potentially a gamecher for the detection


00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:26.790
side of the problem.


00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:29.750
>> But Dr. Shabau's point stands. Detection


00:12:29.760 --> 00:12:32.790
is one thing. Having an active readyto


00:12:32.800 --> 00:12:35.670
deploy deflection capability is another.


00:12:35.680 --> 00:12:37.829
And that investment, she says, is simply


00:12:37.839 --> 00:12:39.509
not being made at the level that needs


00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.750
to be. Something worth thinking about


00:12:41.760 --> 00:12:43.910
given that planetary defense is probably


00:12:43.920 --> 00:12:46.150
the one area of space science that is


00:12:46.160 --> 00:12:48.470
quite literally about survival.


00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.870
>> Sobering stuff. Let's come back down to


00:12:50.880 --> 00:12:52.949
Earth for a moment. Or rather, let's


00:12:52.959 --> 00:12:54.550
look up from it.


00:12:54.560 --> 00:12:56.150
>> Here's something wonderful and


00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:58.310
wonderfully timely because this one is


00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:00.870
happening right now tonight as you


00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:03.430
listen to this. Mercury, the innermost


00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:05.670
planet of our solar system and the one


00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:07.910
most people have never actually seen


00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:10.389
with their own eyes, is tonight reaching


00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:12.470
what astronomers call its greatest


00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:15.110
eastern elongation. That's the point in


00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.269
its orbit where it's at its maximum


00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.509
angular distance from the sun as seen


00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.910
from Earth. Meaning it appears as far


00:13:21.920 --> 00:13:24.629
from the sun in our sky as it ever gets.


00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:26.710
And why does that matter for observers?


00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.030
Because Mercury is normally incredibly


00:13:29.040 --> 00:13:31.430
difficult to spot. It's always close to


00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.190
the sun in the sky, so you're either


00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.590
trying to catch it just before sunrise


00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.230
or just after sunset with very little


00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.230
time before it follows the sun below the


00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:43.269
horizon. But at greatest elongation, you


00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:44.790
get the best window.


00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:47.030
>> Tonight, look to the western horizon


00:13:47.040 --> 00:13:49.509
shortly after sunset. Mercury will be


00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:51.670
visible as a moderately bright point of


00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:53.990
light, shining steadily rather than


00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.230
twinkling like a star. You won't need


00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.829
any special equipment, though.


00:13:57.839 --> 00:13:59.990
Binoculars will give you a much nicer


00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.710
view. This is Mercury's first greatest


00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.069
elongation of 2026, and the best evening


00:14:06.079 --> 00:14:07.829
viewing opportunity we'll get for the


00:14:07.839 --> 00:14:10.230
year so far. There's also a bonus


00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:12.710
tonight. The crescent moon, Saturn, and


00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:14.710
Neptune are all gathering in the same


00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.269
part of the sky, with Saturn and Neptune


00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:19.110
very close together near the western


00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.670
horizon. Now, Neptune will need a


00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:23.350
telescope, and you'll need to wait until


00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.310
the sun is fully set. Do not point any


00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.310
optical instrument toward the horizon


00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.030
until the sun has cleared it completely.


00:14:31.040 --> 00:14:33.030
But the overall scene is really quite


00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:34.389
beautiful this evening.


00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.230
>> And for those of you keeping track of


00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:38.710
the upcoming six planet parade on the


00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.189
28th of February, Mercury reaching


00:14:41.199 --> 00:14:43.430
greatest elongation tonight is actually


00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.310
a key milestone in that buildup. By the


00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:48.389
28th, Mercury will have improved its


00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.189
position enough to join Venus, Saturn,


00:14:51.199 --> 00:14:53.910
Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, all


00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:56.389
visible in the same sky. We'll have a


00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:58.230
full guide to that event closer to the


00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.710
date, but tonight is your preview. Go


00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:01.910
look west.


00:15:01.920 --> 00:15:04.230
>> And now to close out the episode, we


00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.550
have something that we absolutely love.


00:15:06.560 --> 00:15:08.790
A reminder that even on a space station


00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:11.350
in orbit, humans will find a way to


00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.150
celebrate. The crew of China's Shenzhu


00:15:14.160 --> 00:15:16.310
21 mission currently living and working


00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.790
aboard the Tangong space station have


00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:20.949
released a music video to mark the Lunar


00:15:20.959 --> 00:15:23.269
New Year, the year of the horse. And


00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.310
honestly, it is delightful. Filming a


00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.710
music video in microgravity is, as you


00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:30.710
might imagine, a unique creative


00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.509
challenge. Everything floats. Hair


00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.910
floats. Props float. But the crew


00:15:35.920 --> 00:15:37.990
apparently embraced all of it. And the


00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.470
result is one of those lovely, warm,


00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.629
deeply human moments that cuts right


00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:44.870
through all the geopolitical complexity


00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:47.189
of the space race and reminds you that


00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:49.430
the people up there are just people


00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:51.030
celebrating a holiday with their


00:15:51.040 --> 00:15:53.670
families watching from below. Pyong,


00:15:53.680 --> 00:15:55.749
which means heavenly palace, currently


00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:57.829
has a crew of three aboard following the


00:15:57.839 --> 00:16:00.470
Shenzhu 21 mission. China has been


00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:02.470
steadily expanding its space station


00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:04.790
program. And moments like this one


00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:07.189
shared with the world are a reminder of


00:16:07.199 --> 00:16:09.590
why humans go to space in the first


00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.230
place. Not just for science or national


00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:14.949
prestige, but for the sheer joy of being


00:16:14.959 --> 00:16:15.990
up there.


00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.310
>> Dang fai to all of our listeners


00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.389
celebrating the lunar new year. May the


00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:22.389
year of the horse bring you good fortune


00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:25.990
and hopefully fewer hydrogen leaks.


00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.790
And on that note, that's your Astronomy


00:16:28.800 --> 00:16:33.110
Daily for Thursday, February 19th, 2026.


00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.990
What a lineup today. A live rocket


00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.629
fueling test, a cosmic clock near a


00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:40.790
black hole, the possible end of the


00:16:40.800 --> 00:16:43.749
universe, city killing asteroids,


00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:46.389
Mercury in the evening sky, and a music


00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.230
video from orbit.


00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.670
>> If you want to follow along with the


00:16:49.680 --> 00:16:52.230
Aremis 2 fueling test tonight, NASA has


00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.269
a live stream at nasa.gov. We'll link


00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:57.110
everything in the show notes. And if you


00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.189
spot Mercury tonight, tag us on social


00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:02.069
media at Astro Daily Pod. We would love


00:17:02.079 --> 00:17:03.590
to see your photos.


00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:05.510
>> Subscribe, leave a review if you're


00:17:05.520 --> 00:17:07.510
enjoying the show, and we will be back


00:17:07.520 --> 00:17:09.510
tomorrow with the results of tonight's


00:17:09.520 --> 00:17:12.230
fueling test. Until then, keep looking


00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:13.110
up.


00:17:13.120 --> 00:17:25.750
>> Clear skies, everyone.


00:17:25.760 --> 00:17:29.480
Stories told.