Universe Today Podcast

A new asteroid with a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, the European Space Agency is building a Lunar Lander platform, the largest structure in the Universe has been discovered, and how far away could we detect ourselves? 🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Intro 00:19 Asteroid can hit Earth in 2032 https://www.universetoday.com/170717/an-asteroid-has-a-1-chance-of-impacting-earth-in-2032/ 02:27 ESA's lunar lander https://www.universetoday.com/170745/esa-is-building-its-own-lunar-lander/ 03:39 Moon's geological activity https://www.universetoday.com/170694/evidence-of-recent-geological-activity-on-the-moon/ 05:17 Moon canyons https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55675-z 07:01 How far can we detect ourselves https://www.universetoday.com/170747/how-far-away-could-we-detect-ourselves/ 09:45 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/community 10:25 Largest structure in the Universe https://www.universetoday.com/170765/astronomers-find-the-largest-structure-in-the-universe-and-name-it-quipu/ 12:44 Signs of a SMBH in the Large Magellanic Cloud https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.00102 14:00 Three great images 16:15 Even more space news 17:42 Interviews 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/Nforc1j1Dl4 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Who will get sample from Mars first? Who controls the James Webb Space Telescope? Does space radiation rule out panspermia? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show. 👉 Watch the extended Overtime Q&A: https://www.patreon.com/posts/overtime-for-qa-121506185 00:00 Start 00:25 Mars sample return race. USA or China? 06:04 What happens to the information going into a black hole? 09:49 Who controls JWST? 12:20 Do we need science when we have AI now? 17:00 Does space radiation rule out panspermia? 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/5RCVITsXEQA 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

We all want to see potentially habitable exoplanets around Sun-like stars. But to do that you need a starshade. Something to cover the star and reveal the faint planets around it. What can we build these structures from to make them rigid and strong enough? Finding out in this interview. 🟣 Guest: Christine Gregg Dynamically Stable Large Space Structures via Architected Metamaterials https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/dynamically-stable-large-space-structures-via-architected-metamaterials/ 🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Intro 02:05 Meta-materials 06:12 NIAC award 14:11 In-space assembly 27:04 More interviews 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/exiT7BsJhH0 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Why are most craters circular, no matter which angle the meteor falls? Is there a size limit for a telescope before diminishing returns take place? Can black holes have atmospheres? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show. 👉 Watch the extended Overtime Q&A: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Start 00:24 How big can a telescope get? 05:12 Does an optical telescope on the Moon make any sense? 08:13 Can black holes have atmospheres? 11:05 Why are craters circular not elliptical? 12:41 Will Starship refuel in orbit in 2025? 12:52 Is there evidence for primordial black holes? 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/MaKWptXAxC8 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Space Docks are everywhere in science fiction. It's the most logical way to build big constructions in space. So, NASA funded a futuristic project that studies the possibility of assembling structures in space. 🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 🚀 NIAC 2024 playlist 🚀 NIAC 2023 playlist 🟣 Guest: Dr Vojtech Holub https://thinkorbital.com/ 🚀 NIAC award, Construction Assembly Destination: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/construction-assembly-destination/ 00:00 Intro 01:26 Welding in space experiment 08:03 The NIAC award 27:39 Current obsessions 30:01 Final thoughts and more interviews 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/3BHNz68krNM 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

The MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover showed that creating oxygen on other planets is possible. Now, we can apply the same logic to Venus. This could allow the creation of constantly floating balloons, leading to cloud cities in the future. 🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Intro 02:03 MOXIE experiment on Perseverance 08:17 Exploring Venus with Electrolysis 22:18 Protecting the balloon 25:10 Efficiency 34:23 More interviews 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/IYD5DIVgDGo 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Venus is closer than Mars. It's more Earth-like. We can bring back samples from it. But it's chronically underexlored. This is why we need a Venus Exploration Program! 👉 Watch the bonus part about Mars Sample Return: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday 🟣 Guest: Dr Paul Byrne https://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.06830 00:00 Intro 01:35 Current state of Venus exploration 08:08 Venus Exploration Program 16:41 Technological advancements 23:32 Venus Sample Return 27:05 Why Venus at all 38:36 Big scientific question 57:07 Current obsessions 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/qshaDSStFPY 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

The building blocks of life have been found in asteroid samples, the most volcanic activity ever seen on Io, astronauts are searching for bacteria on the outside of the space station, and Ingenuity found surprisingly fast wind speeds on Mars. 🚀 Watch our videos with no ads: https://www.patreon.com/c/universetoday/posts 👉 TRAPPIST-1 Interview https://youtu.be/B8H4EnbKkgU?si=yx3T0c04AC2fRg8c 00:00 Intro 00:19 Building blocks for life in OSIRIS-REx samples https://www.universetoday.com/170693/the-building-blocks-for-life-found-in-asteroid-bennu-samples/ 03:08 First launch for an asteroid mining company https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/01/astroforge-selects-target-for-high-risk-seat-of-the-pants-asteroid-mission/ 05:47 Record-breaking volcanic activity on Io https://www.universetoday.com/170655/juno-sees-a-massive-hotspot-of-volcanic-activity-on-io/ 07:08 2 planets 1 star https://www.universetoday.com/170673/massive-gas-giant-planets-locked-in-a-gravitational-struggle/ 08:39 Microbes outside the ISS https://www.universetoday.com/170658/astronauts-are-going-to-check-if-there-are-microbes-on-the-outside-of-the-station/ 10:31 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/community 11:04 Ingenuity and wind speeds https://www.universetoday.com/170619/ingenuity-measured-windspeeds-on-mars-during-its-flights/ 12:43 M87 changing over time https://www.universetoday.com/170642/watching-the-changing-m87-black-hole-event-horizon/ 14:45 Predicting solar flares with AI https://www.universetoday.com/170687/machine-learning-could-have-predicted-the-powerful-solar-storms-in-2024/ 17:02 More space news 17:42 Flood of interviews 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/heXfIiyl0GU 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

How big can a space crowbar be? Why does the Sun look bigger near the horizon? How do we measure temperature on the Moon? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show. 👉 Watch the extended Overtime Q&A: https://patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Start 00:23 How do we measure temperature on the Moon or in space? 03:51 Can you see more of the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere? 06:07 What is metallic hydrogen? 10:16 Is the Sun bigger near the horizon? 12:45 What's Gaia's role in the distance ladder? 15:45 How big can a crowbar be in space? 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/aMrsKgJPnxA 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

NASA is launching a new telescope this year called Pandora. It'll be specifically inspecting atmospheres of exoplanets. It even uses spare parts from JWST. Learning more about the Pandora telescope in this interview. 🟣 Guest: Dr Ben Hord https://pandorasat.com/ 🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 00:00 Intro 01:31 What is the Pandora mission 07:37 Target selection 13:38 Spare detector from JWST 16:59 Fighting stellar contamination 26:32 An alternative for TRAPPIST-1 28:57 What's next for Pandora 35:05 Current obsessions 38:18 Final thoughts 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/96Ee8Z-sbSU 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast