From Betelgeuse’s Secrets to Lunar Wonders: Your Daily Space Update

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Language: en

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast


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where we chat about the coolest space


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and astronomy news we can source. I'm


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Anna and with me is my co-host Avery.


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Hey Avery, it's January 8th, 2026. How's


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your week going?


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>> Hey Anna, and hello to all our


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listeners. It's been fantastic. Clear


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night for some stargazing. We've got a


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stellar lineup today. Mysteries solved


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on a famous star, a decadesl long


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supernova video, a census of nearby


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stars for life, lunar events to watch, a


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dramatic but lowrisk orbital scenario,


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and fresh insights on asteroid mining.


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Plenty to unpack. Let's get started.


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Leading off with big news from Orion.


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Astronomers have finally cracked Betal


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Juice's biggest mystery. the cause of


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its weird brightness swings and that


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dramatic great dimming back in 2020.


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>> Yeah, this red super giant, one of the


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brightest stars in the sky and about 650


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light years away, has been puzzling


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folks forever with its pulsations. It


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has a short 400day cycle from internal


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throbbing. But there's this longer


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2100day variation that stumped everyone.


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Theories range from giant convection


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cells to dust clouds or even a companion


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star.


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>> Turns out it is a hidden companion.


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Researchers from the center for


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astrophysics at Harvard and Smithsonian


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led by Andrea DRI used nearly eight


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years of Hubble data plus ground


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telescopes to spot direct evidence. The


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companion, playfully called Seawirha,


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orbits every 6 years or so, plowing


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through Betal Juic's massive extended


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atmosphere like a boat cutting through


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water, leaving a dense wake of gas. That


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wake disrupts the stars light and


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spectrum, causing the dimming and


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patterns we see. Dri described it


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perfectly. It's a bit like a boat moving


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through water. The companion star


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creates a ripple effect in Bet Jesus's


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atmosphere that we can actually see in


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the data. They caught the wake forming


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right after the companion passes in


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front.


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>> This explains the 2020 sneeze, too. Dust


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and gas from that interaction. Huge


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implications. It shows how companions


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can reshape massive stars evolution,


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mass loss, and eventual supernova. Betal


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Juice is eclipsing Seawware right now,


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but they'll watch for it emerging in


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2027.


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>> Front row sea to a stars dramatic life.


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Love it.


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>> Next, NASA dropped an incredible video


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that's literally decades in the making.


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A time lapse of Kepler's supernova


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remnant from Chandra X-way observatory


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data. This is the remnant from the


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supernova spotted by Johannes Kepler


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in6004. A type 1A explosion from a white


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dwarf that blew up after gaining too


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much mass, maybe from a companion or


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merger. It's about 17,000 light years


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away. And Chandra has been watching


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since 2000.


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>> The video combines observations from


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2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and even 2025,


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over 25 years. It shows this neon blue


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X-ray ring expanding like a balloon


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overlaid on optical light. The bottom


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side blasts out faster at 13.8 million


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mph while the top lags at 4 million mph


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because it hits denser gas.


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>> Chandra glows in blue from million


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degree material and the rim measurements


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tell us about the explosion's power and


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surroundings. It's the longest spanning


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Chandra video ever, showing how the


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remnant crashes into space stuff,


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hurling elements for new stars and


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planets.


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>> Mindblowing to see cosmic history unfold


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frame by frame.


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>> Shifting closer to home, a new all sky


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census of over 2100 K dwarfs within


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about 130 lighty years reveals some


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prime real estate for potential


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lifebearing planets.


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>> K dwarfs are cooler, fainter orange


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stars. twice as common as sunlike gwarfs


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nearby. And they live way longer, giving


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planets stable radiation for billions


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more years, perfect for life to evolve


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slowly. The team used high- res


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spectrometers on telescopes in Chile and


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Arizona for full sky coverage. They


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measured temperatures, ages, spin rates,


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magnetic activity, all key for


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habitability since flaring stars can


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strip atmospheres. This spectroscopic


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recon is a gold mine data set for future


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exoplanet hunts and even interstellar


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travel planning. Presented just this


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week at the AAS meeting, it's


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foundational for decades.


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>> Makes you wonder how many Earthlikes are


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chilling around these steady stars.


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>> For sky watchers, especially down south,


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2026 has some lunar treats. A red moon


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from a total eclipse, a blue moon, and a


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Christmas Eve super moon. The total


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lunar eclipse on March 3rd evening will


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turn the moon coppery red as Earth's


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atmosphere bends sunset light onto it.


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Totalities best from the southern


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hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand,


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lasting about an hour, visible even in


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cities naked eye.


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>> Then a blue moon on May 31st, the second


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full moon in a month. A calendar quirk


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every couple years. And December 24th,


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super moon, full moon at Perigee,


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looking bigger and brighter. Perfect


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illusion at moonrise.


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>> No equipment needed. Safe to watch. Mark


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those calendars for some magical nights.


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>> Now, a headline grabber. Could a passing


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star fling Earth into deep space?


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Destabilizing our orbit faster than


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thought?


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>> This comes from simulations by Nathan


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Kib and Shawn Raymond factoring in


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galactic flybys. Stars passing within a


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100 AU at slow speeds. Normally, solar


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system models assume isolation, but


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reality includes these encounters.


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>> Mercury is the weak link. A flyby could


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make its orbit more eccentric, leading


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to crashes or tugs that cascade outward.


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Maybe Venus or Mars nudging Earth toward


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Jupiter for a slingshot ejection.


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>> Probability about 0.2% chance over the


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next 5 billion years for Earth ejection


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or collision. Tiny, but higher than old


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estimates. Pluto's risk is four to 5%.


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Based on Gaia data and a archive paper,


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real science, but the article amps up


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the drama with hidden threat vibes.


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>> Comforting to know it's super rare. Our


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orbit stable for eons.


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>> Last up, is asteroid mining actually


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feasible? New chemistry data from


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meteorites offers sobering but


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insightful answers. Researchers analyzed


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carbonius condrites, proxies for sea


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asteroids, measuring 46 elements. These


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primitive rocks mix metals, silicates,


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waterbearing stuff, but impacts create


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brechas and regalith, making separation


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tough in low gravity.


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>> Some groups show enriched titanium or


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rare earths, but overall depleted and


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easy metals like copper. Water


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alteration oxidizes things, complicating


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extraction. Led by Joseph Togo Rodriguez


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and team, it suggests mining's hard for


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bulk profit, better for targeted water


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or in space manufacturing.


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>> Focus on sample returns like Osiris Rex


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to pick winners. Feasible eventually


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with tech advances, but not a quick


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space gold rush.


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>> Realistic view space resources for


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exploration, not Earth riches. Woo! From


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stellar companions to lunar lights in


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cosmic risks. What a ride today.


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>> The universe never runs out of stories.


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Thanks for joining us on Astronomy


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Daily. We appreciate every listen.


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>> Subscribe, share, and we'll catch you


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tomorrow with more.


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>> Keep looking up.


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>> Clear skies.


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Stories told.