Episodes

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 97 The world watches as a SpaceX rocket crashes into the Moon A disused SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage has crashed into the Moon providing astronomers with useful data on the effects of impacts hitting the lunar surface. The radiation eating mutant fungus from Chernobyl Scientists say there’s a black fungus in the highly radioactive ruins of the Chernobyl power station that’s now evolved to feed on radiation. NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory Scientists have designed t...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 96 The largest known galaxy in the universe Astronomers have taken the deepest images yet of the largest known galaxy in the universe – a behemoth called IC 1101 located at the heart of the galaxy cluster Abell 2029. Evidence of streams flowing on Pluto Astronomers have found the first ever evidence of liquids flowing across the surface of the distant frozen world of Pluto. The Mars Curiosity rover celebrates its 14th birthday on the red planet NASA’s Mars Curiosity r...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 95 Spectacular vortices discovered on the Sun’s surface Astronomers have for the first time observed swirling whirlpool like vortices deep in the Sun’s photosphere – its visible surface. The event horizon of merging black holes seen for the first time Astronomers have for the first time picked up gravitational waves from the event horizon during the actual merger of two black holes. Starship recovery efforts underway off Western Australia SpaceX are towing their Test ...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 94 Black holes are a hundred times more powerful than we thought Astronomers have been forced to rewrite their textbooks on the power of supermassive black holes after new observations have shown that these cosmic monsters can generate enough energy to impact galaxies hundreds of thousands of light years away. The dramatic collision the flipped our Milky Way galaxy A new study suggests that our home galaxy the Milky Way may have undergone a dramatic change in orientat...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 93 The strongest evidence yet that Betelgeuse is not alone Astronomers have finally demonstrated that the red supergiant star Betelgeuse has a binary companion star about two to three times the mass of the Sun. Is the mighty Andromeda galaxy dying A new study has found that star formation is winding down in our nearest big neighbouring galaxy Andromeda. The most volcanically active world in the Solar System NASA's Juno spacecraft has provided the first measurements of...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 92 The monster that’s been let out of its cage Astronomers have for the first time discovered a monstrous supermassive black hole wandering unseen near the edge of a galaxy. Counting down to next week’s solar eclipse Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Greenland Russia and the arctic are about to experience a total solar eclipse as the Moon’s shadow sweeps across the surface of the Earth. The Swift Space Telescope rescue mission suffers a major setback NASA’s Link mission to sa...

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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 90 Discovery of an atmosphere on a planet orbiting a red dwarf Astronomers think they may have detected an atmosphere on a super-Earth exo-planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf star. How mega-dust storms and the Sun affect Martian weather A new study has found that solar storms hitting Mars at the same time as planetary wide dust storms could cause major changes in Martian weather. Approval granted for the world’s first orbital space reflector ar...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 89 A lucky 13th test flight for the world’s biggest rocket The world’s largest and most powerful rocket has successfully launched on its latest test flight bringing it a step closer to NASA’s Artemis program’s aim of returning humans to the lunar surface, and eventually on to Mars and beyond. Scientists identify the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs A new study has determined that the asteroid which slammed into the Earth 66 million years ago wiping out over 75 perce...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 88 The hellish planets orbiting a nearby star Astronomers have painted the most detailed portrait yet of the planetary system orbiting Barnard’s Star – the Sun’s closest stellar neighbour after Alpha Centauri, just under six light-years away. Australia’s role in India’s manned space program India’s manned space program is moving ahead with the commissioning of a new space tracking station on Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The latest mission to the International ...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 87 Ancient impacts display the red planet’s past history A new study has shown how ancient Martian rocks exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater are preserving a 3.9-billion-year-old “weather report” from the solar system’s most dynamic era. Understanding of the Moon’s regolith for human habitation Scientists have mapped out the thickness of the Moon’s regolith, the layer of loose dust and rock that covers the entire lunar surface finding it averages about six meters in t...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 86 The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever Astronomers have linked a massive collision in the main asteroid belt to a huge meteor bombardment in the inner solar system that may have changed life on Earth. Alien chemistry discovered in meteorite that hit New Jersey home Scientists have discovered high concentrations of salt in briny fluids that could potentially create molecules crucial to life in a meteorite that slammed into a New Jersey home in 202...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 85 Detecting nuclear weapons in space New modelling says small cube-sat sized spacecraft not much bigger than a fridge could be used to detect the presence of nuclear weapons on satellites in space. NASA’s rescue mission to save the Swift space telescope reaches orbit NASA’s Swift re-boost rescue mission is finally on its way to intercept the gamma ray space telescope and try to save it from its fiery fate. Stopping astronauts from wanting to kill each other on long s...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 84 Japan swoops past a cosmic snowman shaped asteroid Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has just swooped past a tiny asteroid in deep space that’s shaped like a snow man. Revealing the secrets of the ice moon Europa A new study has shown that the Jovian Ice Moon Europa is reflecting radio signals in a strange unexpected way. What happens to Earth when the Sun dies A new study has provided astronomers with a glimpse of the future we’re likely to face when our Sun dies in ar...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 83 Earth’s oldest known asteroid impact crater dated in Western Australia Scientists have determined the most precise age yet for the oldest known impact crater on Earth finding it to be some 3.024 billion years old. A Chinese spacecraft has just reached Earth’s second moon China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at a temporary second moon orbiting Earth -- although technically the object is a small near Earth asteroid which is orbiting in sync with the Earth around ...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 82 China’s Mars sample return mission set for 2028 China says its planning to launch a Mars sample return mission in two years bringing back at least 500 grams of Martian regolith by 2031. Is science wrong about the universe The universe should look the same in all directions on the large cosmic scale, but new data based on dark energy observations are suggesting otherwise. An ASSASSN reveals its secrets Astronomers have converted observation of a nova explosion on a ...

Sponsor Link: This episode of SpaceTime is brought to you by Inconi. Take back your privacy and data online with Incogni. Check out our special offer: https://www.incogni.com/stuartgary SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 81How a passing star redirected...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 80 Did ancient asteroid impacts prevent Earth’s continents from forming A new study suggests the barrage of asteroid impacts that slammed into the ancient Earth during the Hadean Eon between 4.6 and four billion years ago may have prevented the formation of the planet’s first continents. Could the ice giants Uranus and Neptune really be magma worlds A new study suggests that the solar systems two ice giants Uranus and Neptune might actually be magma worlds. World’s bi...

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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 78 Discovering how the cosmic dark ages ended Astronomers have discovered an early galaxy during the Era of Reionization –when the universe was transformed from the cosmic dark ages – when the cosmos went from being opaque to becoming transparent like it is today. New clues about the origins of interstellar comet 3i Atlas Astronomers using NASA’s Webb space telescope have discovered new clues about the origins of interstellar comet 3i Atlas. A pink planet with a salty...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 77 BepiColombo mission finally reaches Mercury space After eight years of powered flight towards the planet Mercury, mission managers have finally turned off the BepiColombo spacecraft’s propulsion engines in preparation for planetary orbit insertion. Is our Sun changing A new study claims the Sun has been mysteriously changing over the last forty years. Strange new type of x-ray flare detected in deep space Astronomers have detected a mysterious never before seen new...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 76 A possible supernova remnant discovered in the galactic centre Astronomers may have discovered a supernova remnant near the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. A new quantum view of Big Bang A new study could change what science knows about the Big Bang and the earliest moments of cosmic history. Work begins on new Western Australian ground station for lunar missions Construction has begun on Kongsberg’s new 20-metre parabolic dish antenna ground s...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 75 The Moon’s oldest and largest impact crater A new study suggests the Moon’s oldest and largest impact crater – the two and a half thousand kilometre wide South Pole-Aitken basin -- could have excavated material so deep it included parts of the lunar mantle. New clues to how the red planet Mars evolved Scientists have discovered the mineral garnet in a Martian meteorite which may reveal how the red planet evolved billions of years ago. Mission to boost Swift space t...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 74 Why Venus spins backwards A new study suggests that the strange retrograde spin of the planet Venus is the result of a massive impact event. Could Dark Matter explain what’s happening at the centre of our galaxy A new study has failed to rule out Dark Matter as the source of the so called Galactic Center Excess at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Trying to solve a meteor cold case Last month astronomers detected a small near Earth meteoroid on a collision course ...