Cosmic Filaments, Earth 2.0, and Mayonnaise in Space

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast that brings you the latest


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news from across the cosmos. I'm your


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host, Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.


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We've got a busy show today. From the


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largest rotating structure ever observed


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to man is in space.


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>> That's right. We'll also be looking at


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China's ambitious plans to find Earth


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2.0, know checking in on a commander


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swap at the International Space Station


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and celebrating an Emmy win for NASA.


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So, let's get started. First up, an


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incredible discovery that's being


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compared to a cosmic teacup ride.


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Astronomers have found a string of 14


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galaxies that are all spinning in the


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same direction as the massive structure


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they belong to.


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>> And this isn't just any structure. It's


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a cosmic filament, a gigantic threadlike


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formation made of dark matter, galaxies,


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and gas. They're the biggest things in


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the universe, forming a kind of cosmic


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web.


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>> Exactly. This particular filament is


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about 50 million light-years along and


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is rotating at a staggering velocity of


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110 km/s.


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>> Wow. 110 km/s.


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And the galaxies within it are spinning


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along with it. That's the amazing part.


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Researchers looked at a section of this


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filament about 140 million lighty years


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away. They found these 14 galaxies, all


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rich in hydrogen gas, moving in a way


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that suggests the whole structure is


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rotating. And more surprisingly, many of


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the galaxies themselves are spinning in


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the same direction as the filament.


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>> Right. The lead researcher, Llaya Jung,


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used a great analogy. She said it's like


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the teacups ride at a theme park.


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>> Mhm. Each galaxy is a spinning teacup


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and the whole platform, the cosmic


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filament, is rotating too. This dual


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motion gives us a rare insight into how


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galaxies get their spin from the cosmic


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web they inhabit. It suggests these


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larger structures have a much stronger


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influence than we previously thought.


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>> A truly mind-bending discovery. Now,


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let's shift our focus a bit closer to


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home and look at the future of space


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exploration. The China National Space


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Agency or CNSA has outlined some very


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ambitious plans.


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>> That's right. In a video titled Earth


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2.0, China's plan to find new Earth,


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they detailed four major upcoming


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missions scheduled for their 15th 5-year


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plan between 2026 and 2030.


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>> And these missions cover a huge range of


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objectives. They're planning a


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radioastronomy experiment for the far


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side of the moon, a solar observatory to


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study space weather,


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>> duts, a space telescope to monitor black


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holes and neutron stars, and of course,


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the exoplanet hunting satellite that


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will search for those Earthlike planets.


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>> It's a clear statement of intent. China


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is positioning itself to be at the


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absolute forefront of space science and


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exploration in the coming decade.


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>> Absolutely. Now for a couple of updates


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from the International Space Station


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where it's been a busy few days. First


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up, a change of leadership.


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>> Yes, Expedition 73 is handing the reigns


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over to Expedition 74. On Sunday,


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veteran Rose Coast Most Cosminaut Sergey


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Rissov will pass the symbolic station


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key to four-time NASA astronaut Mike


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Fininky.


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>> And that handover marks the beginning of


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the end of the mission for three crew


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members. Rissov along with flight


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engineers Alexi Zubritzky and NASA's


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Johnny Kim are packing up for their


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return trip to Earth inside the Soyuse


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MS27 spacecraft.


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>> Safe travels to them. But while the crew


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is changing, the science never stops.


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And our next story from the ISS is a


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fascinating one. Anna, why are


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scientists studying mayonnaise in space?


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>> It sounds strange, but it's all about


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understanding something called soft


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matter. This includes things like gels,


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foams, collids, and mayonnaise. These


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substances have internal structures that


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reorganize very slowly over time. Think


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about how sunscreen can change in the


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cabinet or how a cream loses


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effectiveness.


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>> Okay, that makes sense. And studying


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this process on Earth is complicated by


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gravity. Right.


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>> Exactly. So, researchers developed an


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experiment called Kolis, which is now


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operating on the space station. It uses


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sophisticated optical techniques to look


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inside these materials without


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disturbing them in a microgravity


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environment.


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>> And are there any results yet?


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>> There are, and they're already


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surprising. Early data shows that


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gravity affects the structure of soft


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matter much more dramatically than


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anyone expected. This could have huge


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implications for everything from food


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production to pharmaceuticals right here


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on Earth. Incredible what we can learn


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from looking at everyday items in an


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extraordinary place. Next, let's talk


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comets. NASA's Punch mission has


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released an incredible 40-day time lapse


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of comet Swan.


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>> This might be the longest, most frequent


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observation of a comet ever recorded.


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The spacecraft imaged Comet C 2025 R2,


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also known as Swan, every 4 minutes from


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late August to early October.


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>> The video is just stunning. You can see


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the comet gliding through space with its


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bluish green coma and glowing tail


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clearly visible. That glow is from the


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sun's heat vaporizing the comet's ices,


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a process called sublimation.


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>> Mhm. And there was an unexpected guest


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star in the video. The comet happened to


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be sharing the same patch of sky with


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the famous interstellar visitor Threei


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Atlas, which you can just glimpse in the


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footage. A true cosmic photo bomb.


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>> Fantastic. And for our final story


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today, we're switching from scientific


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observation to television production.


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NASA has won another Emmy award.


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>> They have. This time it's for their


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broadcast of the total solar eclipse


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back on April 8th, 2024. The Academy of


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Television Arts and Sciences recognized


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them for excellence in production


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technology.


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>> And it was a massive undertaking. The


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agency called it the most complex life


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project they've ever produced. The


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broadcast was 3 hours long, covered


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seven American states in two countries,


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and had hosts and correspondents all


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over the path of totality.


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>> The effort definitely paid off. The


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broadcast pulled in nearly 40 million


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views across all of NASA's channels,


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including their streaming service NASA


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Plus. From watch parties in libraries to


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Times Square, people all over the world


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tuned in.


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>> A well-deserved win for a truly


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spectacular production that brought a


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celestial wonder to millions. And that


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unfortunately is all the time we have


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for today.


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>> Thanks for joining us on Astronomy


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Daily. If you'd like to stay on top of


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all the latest space news or listen to


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our back episodes, just visit our


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website at astronomydaily.io.


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It's constantly updating so there's


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always something new to check out.


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>> And that's it for today. See you Monday


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when we do it all over again. Until


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then, clear skies and keep looking up.


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Stories told


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stories told


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stories