Roman Telescope Gets September Launch Date, Hidden Moons Around Uranus & Comet Alert for...

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:02.230
If you've been stepping outside after


00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.230
dark lately and wondering what that


00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:06.710
fuzzy smudge low on the horizon might


00:00:06.720 --> 00:00:09.110
be, stay tuned because by the end of


00:00:09.120 --> 00:00:10.950
today's show, you're going to know


00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.509
exactly what it is, exactly when to


00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:15.910
look, and exactly why you might only


00:00:15.920 --> 00:00:18.790
ever get one shot at seeing it. Welcome


00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.429
to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.


00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:24.310
>> And I'm Avery. This is season 5, episode


00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.429
91 of Astronomy Daily, your daily guide


00:00:27.439 --> 00:00:29.750
to everything happening in space and


00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:30.790
beyond.


00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.229
>> It is Thursday, the 23rd of April, 2026,


00:00:34.239 --> 00:00:37.350
and we have a cracking episode lined up.


00:00:37.360 --> 00:00:39.830
Six stories across the board today. From


00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:41.990
a gamechanging telescope that just


00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.709
locked in a launch date to a decad's old


00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:46.950
cosmic photograph getting a stunning


00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:49.750
update to a signing ceremony happening


00:00:49.760 --> 00:00:52.389
literally as we record this. And we'll


00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:53.990
close out with that comet you just


00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:55.910
teased, Anna, which our Southern


00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.150
Hemisphere listeners in particular are


00:00:58.160 --> 00:01:00.790
going to want to hear about. Trust us.


00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:02.150
>> Let's get into it.


00:01:02.160 --> 00:01:04.310
>> We touched on the Roman Space Telescope


00:01:04.320 --> 00:01:06.469
earlier this week when NASA hosted its


00:01:06.479 --> 00:01:08.390
big unveiling event at Gddard Space


00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:11.109
Flight Center. But since that story ran,


00:01:11.119 --> 00:01:13.429
something significant has become clear.


00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:15.510
The launch date. So, let's give this the


00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:16.950
update it deserves,


00:01:16.960 --> 00:01:18.870
>> right? And the headline here is


00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:21.429
genuinely exciting. The Nancy Grace


00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.310
Roman Space Telescope is now targeting a


00:01:24.320 --> 00:01:27.270
September 2026 launch. That's eight


00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.190
months ahead of its formal deadline of


00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:33.350
May 2027. 8 months. And it came in under


00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:35.749
budget. In government space projects,


00:01:35.759 --> 00:01:38.069
that is practically unheard of.


00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.069
>> To put this in perspective for anyone


00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:43.109
just catching up, Roman is NASA's next


00:01:43.119 --> 00:01:45.670
flagship space observatory. Think of it


00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.149
as Hubble's younger sibling. Same size


00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:51.270
mirror, about 2.4 4 m, but a field of


00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.389
view that is at minimum 100 times wider


00:01:54.399 --> 00:01:56.550
than Hubble's. The images it will


00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.109
capture are so large there is literally


00:01:59.119 --> 00:02:01.670
no screen currently in existence big


00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:03.109
enough to display them at full


00:02:03.119 --> 00:02:06.149
resolution. And NASA administrator Jared


00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.869
Isaacman made a striking comparison at


00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.869
this week's press event. What would take


00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:14.309
Hubble 2,000 years to survey, Roman can


00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.070
do in a single year. 2,000 years versus


00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.229
one. Let that sink in.


00:02:20.239 --> 00:02:23.110
>> The science objectives are vast. Roman


00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.270
will hunt for exoplanets, potentially


00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:27.670
more than 100,000 new worlds in its


00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.470
first 5 years. It'll survey billions of


00:02:30.480 --> 00:02:33.190
galaxies, and critically it will probe


00:02:33.200 --> 00:02:35.190
two of the deepest mysteries in modern


00:02:35.200 --> 00:02:38.229
physics, dark matter and dark energy. We


00:02:38.239 --> 00:02:39.830
don't know what either of those actually


00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.390
are. And Roman's wide field infrared


00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.869
vision is designed specifically to pull


00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:47.430
back the curtain. It's also carrying the


00:02:47.440 --> 00:02:49.670
Coronograph instrument, a technology


00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:51.350
demonstrator that will attempt to


00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:53.350
directly photograph planets around


00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:55.430
nearby stars. That could be a


00:02:55.440 --> 00:02:57.750
transformative capability for the search


00:02:57.760 --> 00:02:59.509
for Earthlike worlds.


00:02:59.519 --> 00:03:02.149
>> Roman will travel to the Sun Earth L2


00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.309
point, the same orbital neighborhood as


00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.949
the James Webb telescope about a million


00:03:06.959 --> 00:03:09.589
miles from Earth. Once there, it begins


00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.470
a 5-year primary mission. If September


00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:14.630
holds, we could see first light before


00:03:14.640 --> 00:03:16.309
the end of this year.


00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.790
>> 16 years after astronomers ranked it as


00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:21.350
the single highest priority for the next


00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.990
decade of space science, four separate


00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.390
attempts to cancel the mission. And here


00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.110
we are 8 months ahead of schedule,


00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:31.030
watching it ship to Kennedy Space Center


00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:33.670
this summer. Some stories really do have


00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:34.789
a good ending.


00:03:34.799 --> 00:03:37.190
>> A feel-good story indeed.


00:03:37.200 --> 00:03:39.430
>> Right. Story two. And this one involves


00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:41.750
Uranus, which is having quite a moment


00:03:41.760 --> 00:03:43.430
scientifically lately.


00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:45.509
>> Uranus is the gift that keeps giving.


00:03:45.519 --> 00:03:47.670
The ice giant seven planets out from the


00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.869
sun, famously tilted on its side with 29


00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.229
known moons and a system of 13 rings.


00:03:54.239 --> 00:03:56.229
And it's those rings at the center of


00:03:56.239 --> 00:03:58.149
new research published this week in the


00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.869
journal of geoysical research, planets.


00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:03.830
A team led by Enke Deotter at UC


00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.869
Berkeley has combined data from three of


00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:09.429
the world's most powerful observatories.


00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:12.710
The WM KEKCK Observatory in Hawaii, the


00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:15.830
Hubble Space Telescope and the James Web


00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.390
Space Telescope to build the first


00:04:18.400 --> 00:04:20.229
complete reflectance spectrum of


00:04:20.239 --> 00:04:23.430
Uranus's two outermost rings known as


00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:26.550
the MU ring and the new ring. And what


00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.870
they found is that these two rings


00:04:28.880 --> 00:04:31.030
sitting side by side in the uranian


00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.749
system are made of completely different


00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.710
stuff. Which raises an obvious question.


00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:37.670
How?


00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.150
>> The Mu ring, it turns out, is composed


00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:43.189
of water ice particles. Tiny frozen


00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:45.350
grains being knocked loose from a small


00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.310
moon called Mab by micrometeorite


00:04:48.320 --> 00:04:52.629
impacts. M is only about 12 km across,


00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.430
barely a pebble on cosmic scales, but


00:04:55.440 --> 00:04:57.990
it's generating an entire ring of ice


00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.830
debris as it orbits.


00:04:59.840 --> 00:05:02.150
>> Interestingly, the only other blue ring


00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:03.990
like this in our solar system is


00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.629
Saturn's E-ring, produced by volcanic


00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.670
activity on Enceladus. The mechanism is


00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.749
different, but the result is remarkably


00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:14.469
similar. Major finding the same solution


00:05:14.479 --> 00:05:17.590
twice. Now, the new ring is where things


00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.230
get really strange. It's not made of


00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.189
ice. Instead, it's composed of rocky


00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.230
material laced with organic compounds,


00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.029
carbonri molecules. And crucially,


00:05:29.039 --> 00:05:31.430
there's no known moon nearby that could


00:05:31.440 --> 00:05:32.710
be the source.


00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:34.550
>> The researchers believe there must be


00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.510
unseen rocky bodies, possibly small moon


00:05:37.520 --> 00:05:39.909
lids tucked between the known moons,


00:05:39.919 --> 00:05:42.310
getting bombarded by micrometeorites and


00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:44.710
feeding material into the ring. In other


00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.350
words, Uranus likely has more moons than


00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:48.550
we know about.


00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.270
>> Mark Shoalter from the SETI Institute, a


00:05:51.280 --> 00:05:53.189
co-author on the study, was pretty


00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.430
direct about it. He said solving the


00:05:55.440 --> 00:05:57.749
full mystery will probably require a


00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.469
spacecraft mission to Uranus, and one is


00:06:00.479 --> 00:06:02.710
in the planning stages. It was the top


00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.790
priority in the most recent National


00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.270
Academy of Scienc's planetary science


00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:09.830
decadal survey, though funding remains


00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:11.510
the critical question.


00:06:11.520 --> 00:06:12.950
>> There's one more wrinkle worth


00:06:12.960 --> 00:06:15.270
mentioning. The MU ring appears to be


00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:17.830
changing in brightness over time, subtly


00:06:17.840 --> 00:06:20.710
but measurably. What's causing that?


00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.270
Nobody knows. Another mystery for a


00:06:23.280 --> 00:06:25.270
mission that, fingers crossed,


00:06:25.280 --> 00:06:27.270
eventually gets off the ground.


00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:29.990
>> Uranus. Deeply weird, deeply


00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.550
fascinating, and apparently still full


00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.110
of secrets. This story is going to keep


00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:36.230
developing.


00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:38.469
>> Story three. And this one's a treat for


00:06:38.479 --> 00:06:40.710
anyone who loves cosmic imagery with a


00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:43.110
sight of time-lapse astronomy. The


00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.430
Hubble Space Telescope has gone back to


00:06:45.440 --> 00:06:47.830
one of its classic targets, the Triffid


00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:50.150
Nebula, and the comparison between the


00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:52.469
original image and the new one is


00:06:52.479 --> 00:06:54.230
genuinely remarkable.


00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.710
>> For those unfamiliar, the Triffid Nebula


00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.550
is a star forming region in the


00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.350
constellation Sagittarius, about 5,000


00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.589
light years from Earth. Its name comes


00:07:03.599 --> 00:07:06.309
from the Latin for divided into three.


00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:08.870
It split into three distinct loes by


00:07:08.880 --> 00:07:11.749
dark dust lanes, giving it the striking


00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.990
trilobate appearance. It's one of


00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.629
Hubble's most celebrated early targets.


00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.189
Hubble first imaged the tripffid back in


00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:23.189
1997, nearly three decades ago. The new


00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:25.830
image captured with upgraded instruments


00:07:25.840 --> 00:07:28.469
covers essentially the same field. And


00:07:28.479 --> 00:07:30.550
by placing the two side by side,


00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.270
astronomers have been able to track real


00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:36.070
measurable changes in how young stars in


00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:39.670
the region behave and evolve. Now, 29


00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.309
years sounds like a long time to us. On


00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.629
cosmic scales, it's barely an eyelink,


00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.110
but young stars still in the process of


00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:49.749
forming, still shedding material, still


00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.150
igniting, can show perceptible changes


00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:54.710
on human time scales. And that's exactly


00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.510
what the comparison reveals. What Hubble


00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.830
is doing here is functioning as a kind


00:07:59.840 --> 00:08:02.469
of cosmic time-lapse camera. The same


00:08:02.479 --> 00:08:05.029
telescope returning to the same subject


00:08:05.039 --> 00:08:07.749
decades apart and documenting how the


00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:10.230
universe has shifted in the interim.


00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.550
It's one of the most powerful aspects of


00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.790
having a long lived observatory in


00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:15.749
space.


00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:18.469
>> And of course, visually the new tripffid


00:08:18.479 --> 00:08:21.589
image is spectacular. The deep magentas,


00:08:21.599 --> 00:08:24.390
electric blues, and soft golden hues of


00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:26.710
active stellar nurseries. If you haven't


00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.629
seen it yet, it's worth seeking out.


00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:30.390
We'll link it in the show notes.


00:08:30.400 --> 00:08:33.750
>> The Triffid Nebula, 30 years older and


00:08:33.760 --> 00:08:36.949
if anything, more beautiful than ever.


00:08:36.959 --> 00:08:39.750
Proof that some things genuinely improve


00:08:39.760 --> 00:08:40.949
with age.


00:08:40.959 --> 00:08:42.870
>> Like us, maybe. Anna,


00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:45.269
>> story four now. And this one is


00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:48.630
happening today. Right now, as we record


00:08:48.640 --> 00:08:51.829
at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC,


00:08:51.839 --> 00:08:53.829
>> the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is


00:08:53.839 --> 00:08:55.829
signing the Artemis Accords, becoming


00:08:55.839 --> 00:08:58.070
the 63rd country to commit to the


00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:00.150
framework for peaceful and responsible


00:09:00.160 --> 00:09:02.710
space exploration. NASA administrator


00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:04.949
Jared Isaacman is hosting Ambassador


00:09:04.959 --> 00:09:07.269
Dena Cow for the ceremony.


00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.430
>> Now, we should explain what the Artemis


00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.910
Accords actually are for anyone who


00:09:11.920 --> 00:09:14.310
joined us more recently. The accords


00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.949
were established in 2020 during the


00:09:16.959 --> 00:09:19.750
first Trump administration by NASA and


00:09:19.760 --> 00:09:21.990
the State Department initially with


00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.790
seven other founding nations including


00:09:24.800 --> 00:09:27.350
Australia. They're a set of practical


00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.910
principles covering how countries should


00:09:29.920 --> 00:09:32.150
conduct themselves in space.


00:09:32.160 --> 00:09:34.870
transparency, interoperability,


00:09:34.880 --> 00:09:38.150
data sharing, protecting historic sites,


00:09:38.160 --> 00:09:41.110
safe zones around operations, and the


00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.910
responsible extraction of resources.


00:09:43.920 --> 00:09:46.470
>> They're built on top of the 1967 Outer


00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:48.630
Space Treaty, but they add specificity


00:09:48.640 --> 00:09:50.870
that the original treaty lacked. And


00:09:50.880 --> 00:09:52.790
critically, they're open to any nation


00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:54.710
that wants to participate in the broader


00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.269
Artemis program of moon exploration.


00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.670
What's interesting about the timing here


00:09:59.680 --> 00:10:02.710
is that just 3 days ago on Monday,


00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:06.310
Latvia signed as the 62nd nation, though


00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:09.350
we've seen two signitories in one week,


00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.829
right on the heels of Artemis 2's


00:10:11.839 --> 00:10:14.150
successful return to Earth.


00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:16.550
>> There is a momentum story here. Artemis


00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:19.110
2 returns from the moon and within days,


00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.190
the international community is literally


00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.750
lining up to join the framework. Jordan


00:10:23.760 --> 00:10:26.150
notably has genuine aspirations in the


00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:28.230
space sector. The country has invested


00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.150
in satellite technology and space


00:10:30.160 --> 00:10:32.389
science education in recent years. This


00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:36.550
isn't just symbolic. 63 nations. The


00:10:36.560 --> 00:10:39.829
list now spans every inhabited continent


00:10:39.839 --> 00:10:43.430
with 29 European nations, 15 across


00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:45.590
Asia, and representation from the


00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.630
Americas, Africa, and Oceanania. The


00:10:48.640 --> 00:10:51.190
Aremis program is increasingly a


00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:53.590
genuinely global endeavor.


00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.750
>> Congratulations to Jordan. Welcome to


00:10:55.760 --> 00:10:57.269
the coalition.


00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:59.350
>> Before we move on to our next story,


00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:01.190
I'll just jump in and give you a


00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.150
reminder about our sponsor, NordVPN.


00:11:04.160 --> 00:11:05.829
They're the ones who are helping us keep


00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:07.750
the lights on this week. But if you're


00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:09.910
looking to make your online presence


00:11:09.920 --> 00:11:12.550
really secure from snooping eyes, and


00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:15.030
that includes governments, then you need


00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:18.150
NordVPN. They're the one we use and can


00:11:18.160 --> 00:11:20.470
highly recommend. Check them out via the


00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.310
link in the show notes and I think


00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:24.710
you'll be amazed at the incredible deals


00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.030
they have in place for Astronomy Daily


00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:28.069
listeners.


00:11:28.079 --> 00:11:29.910
>> All right, story five. And if you're


00:11:29.920 --> 00:11:32.069
wondering how quickly NASA moves after a


00:11:32.079 --> 00:11:34.949
successful mission, wonder no more.


00:11:34.959 --> 00:11:37.670
>> It was just 10 days ago that the Aremis


00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:40.470
2 crew splashed down in the Pacific.


00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:43.590
Four astronauts home safe after the most


00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.310
distant human space flight in history.


00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:48.710
And NASA is already rolling out the


00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:50.389
hardware for the next one.


00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.630
>> On April 20th, just a week and a half


00:11:52.640 --> 00:11:54.949
post splashdown, engineers at NASA's


00:11:54.959 --> 00:11:57.430
Mish assembly facility in New Orleans


00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.829
loaded the core stage of the Aremis 3


00:11:59.839 --> 00:12:02.310
space launch system rocket onto the AY's


00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.550
Pegasus barge. It's currently on route


00:12:04.560 --> 00:12:06.550
to Kennedy Space Center in Florida,


00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:08.550
where final integration and outfitting


00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:11.269
will take place. The core stage is


00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.069
enormous. When fully integrated, it'll


00:12:14.079 --> 00:12:19.350
stand 212 ft tall, around 65 m. What


00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:21.829
rolled onto the barge is the top four


00:12:21.839 --> 00:12:24.069
fifths of that structure. The liquid


00:12:24.079 --> 00:12:26.710
hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank,


00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:29.590
intertank, and forward skirt. The engine


00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:33.110
section with its four RS25 engines will


00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.910
be attached at Kennedy. Now, Artemis P's


00:12:35.920 --> 00:12:37.750
mission profile has evolved since the


00:12:37.760 --> 00:12:39.430
program was first announced. The


00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:41.509
original plan, landing astronauts at the


00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:43.670
lunar south pole, has been pushed back


00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:46.230
to Artemis 4, now targeting the first


00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.590
half of 2028. Artemis 3, scheduled for


00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.389
2027, will instead test rendevous and


00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.470
docking procedures in Earth orbit. With


00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.870
the Orion spacecraft linking up with one


00:12:56.880 --> 00:12:59.110
or both of the contracted lunar landers


00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.670
from SpaceX and Blue Origin,


00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:04.550
>> it's a sensible reconfiguration. test


00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:06.949
the systems in Earth orbit first where


00:13:06.959 --> 00:13:08.949
rescue is possible if something goes


00:13:08.959 --> 00:13:11.750
wrong, then send people to the moon.


00:13:11.760 --> 00:13:13.430
>> And there's an added layer of


00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:15.910
significance here. One of those landers,


00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:18.470
Blue Origins Blue Moon, was supposed to


00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.949
launch on a new Glenn rocket. That


00:13:20.959 --> 00:13:23.350
rocket is currently grounded following


00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.750
last week's upper stage mishap. So,


00:13:25.760 --> 00:13:27.590
there's some pressure on Blue Origin to


00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.310
resolve that situation quickly. NASA


00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.310
administrator Isaac men has expressed


00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.389
confidence publicly, but the clock is


00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:35.269
ticking.


00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:37.750
>> The momentum of the Aremis program feels


00:13:37.760 --> 00:13:40.150
very real right now. One mission just


00:13:40.160 --> 00:13:42.790
returned. The next one is literally on a


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:45.350
barge. The one after that is already in


00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:48.310
planning. This program is moving.


00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.269
>> Next, something for our sky watchers.


00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.269
>> That's right. The story I teased in the


00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:55.269
opener summary. And this one is


00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:56.949
especially for our listeners in


00:13:56.959 --> 00:13:59.350
Australia, New Zealand, and across the


00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:00.870
southern hemisphere.


00:14:00.880 --> 00:14:05.430
>> Comet C 2025 R3 pan stars. It's been


00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.750
generating buzz for months. Some corners


00:14:07.760 --> 00:14:09.269
of the internet have called it the


00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.710
potential great comet of 2026. And right


00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:14.790
now, this week, is when southern


00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:16.870
hemisphere sky watchers get their best


00:14:16.880 --> 00:14:17.910
shot at it.


00:14:17.920 --> 00:14:20.069
>> Let's set the scene. This comet was


00:14:20.079 --> 00:14:23.189
discovered in September 2025 by the Pan


00:14:23.199 --> 00:14:26.069
Star Survey Telescope in Hawaii. At that


00:14:26.079 --> 00:14:28.629
point, it was a faint 19th magnitude


00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.269
spec visible only to the most sensitive


00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.350
detectors. It's been brightening


00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.670
steadily ever since. It reached


00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:37.829
perihelion, its closest approach to the


00:14:37.839 --> 00:14:40.949
sun on April 19th, passing within about


00:14:40.959 --> 00:14:43.990
75 million km of the sun. And here's


00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.910
where it gets particularly interesting


00:14:45.920 --> 00:14:48.150
for our southern hemisphere listeners.


00:14:48.160 --> 00:14:50.230
While northern hemisphere observers have


00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:52.550
now largely lost it in the sun's glare,


00:14:52.560 --> 00:14:55.350
the geometry is turning in your favor.


00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:58.230
>> From late April through early May, the


00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.470
comet will appear in the evening sky for


00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:02.629
southern hemisphere viewers, moving


00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.350
progressively higher after sunset. At


00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.590
its brightest estimates, it could reach


00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:11.110
magnitude 3.5, comparable to the stars


00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.350
of the Southern Cross, and potentially


00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.910
brighter. There's even an optimistic


00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:18.150
scenario where it approaches magnitude


00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:20.230
zero, which would make it one of the


00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:23.670
most striking naked eye comets in years.


00:15:23.680 --> 00:15:26.310
Now, comets are famously unpredictable.


00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.310
We can model their orbits beautifully,


00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:30.470
but their brightness depends on how the


00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.030
icy nucleus responds to solar heating,


00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:35.189
and that's harder to forecast. The


00:15:35.199 --> 00:15:37.910
magnitude 3.5 estimate is a solid


00:15:37.920 --> 00:15:39.910
baseline, but don't be surprised if it


00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:42.629
over or underdelivers. The closest


00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:45.829
approach to Earth happens on April 26th,


00:15:45.839 --> 00:15:48.230
just 3 days from now, when it passes


00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:52.389
within about 73 million km. Look low in


00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.790
the western sky after sunset in the


00:15:54.800 --> 00:15:56.949
direction of the constellations Pisces


00:15:56.959 --> 00:15:59.749
and Pegasus. Binoculars will certainly


00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:02.069
help, but under dark skies, you might


00:16:02.079 --> 00:16:04.069
find it with the naked eye.


00:16:04.079 --> 00:16:05.910
>> And here's the detail that gives this


00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:08.470
story real weight. The comet's orbit may


00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:11.110
be hyperbolic. That means it may have


00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.670
come from interstellar space, will swing


00:16:13.680 --> 00:16:16.230
past the sun once, and then head back


00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.030
out, never to return. If that's


00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:22.069
confirmed, April and May 2026 could be


00:16:22.079 --> 00:16:24.949
the only time in all of human history


00:16:24.959 --> 00:16:28.470
that anyone ever sees this object ever.


00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.350
>> So, get outside this week. Dark sky,


00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.230
western horizon, after sunset. You might


00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.870
be watching something no human has ever


00:16:36.880 --> 00:16:39.590
seen before and no human ever will


00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.629
again.


00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:42.710
>> Before we wrap up, time for your daily


00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:44.389
dose of cosmic trivia.


00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.749
>> Today's question, the Nancy Grace Roman


00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.310
Space Telescope shares its primary


00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.030
mirror size with a famous existing space


00:16:53.040 --> 00:16:55.670
telescope. Which one and where did the


00:16:55.680 --> 00:16:57.430
mirror originally come from?


00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:59.030
>> I'll give you a second or two to think


00:16:59.040 --> 00:16:59.910
about it.


00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:03.189
>> The answer, Roman's 2.4 4 meter mirror


00:17:03.199 --> 00:17:05.270
is the same size as the Hubble Space


00:17:05.280 --> 00:17:07.669
Telescopes. And here's the remarkable


00:17:07.679 --> 00:17:09.990
backstory. The mirror was actually


00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.150
donated to NASA by the National


00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:14.630
Reconnaissance Office. It was originally


00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:16.710
built for a classified intelligence


00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:20.069
satellite. NASA repurposed surplus spy


00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:22.470
satellite hardware into what will become


00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:24.789
one of the most powerful astronomical


00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:27.429
instruments ever launched. From watching


00:17:27.439 --> 00:17:29.190
Earth from above to watching the


00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:31.750
universe from afar. Not a bad career


00:17:31.760 --> 00:17:33.110
change for a mirror.


00:17:33.120 --> 00:17:35.510
>> And that is your astronomy daily for


00:17:35.520 --> 00:17:39.110
Thursday the 23rd of April 2026. Six


00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:42.150
stories, one extraordinary universe.


00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:43.990
Thank you so much for spending part of


00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:45.430
your day with us.


00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:47.990
>> Find us everywhere podcasts are found on


00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.110
YouTube and at astronomydaily.io.


00:17:51.120 --> 00:17:52.710
Leave us a review if you're enjoying the


00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.950
show. It genuinely makes a difference.


00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:57.350
and follow us on social media at Astro


00:17:57.360 --> 00:17:58.549
Daily Pod.


00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:00.230
>> And for our Southern Hemisphere


00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:02.630
listeners, get outside this week. That


00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.630
comet is waiting for you.


00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.789
>> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.


00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:11.270
>> Clear skies, everyone. Astronomy day.


00:18:11.280 --> 00:18:19.270
Stories be told.


00:18:19.280 --> 00:18:23.000
Stories told.