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In today’s episode, Anna and Avery cover a blue whale-sized asteroid making a close pass of Earth today, the imminent debut of SpaceX’s most powerful rocket yet, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft successfully completing its Mars gravity assist, fresh science arriving at the ISS, a new physics paper challenging the simulation hypothesis at its foundations, and Congress pushing back hard against proposed cuts to NASA’s science budget. Story 1 — Asteroid 2026 JH2 Newly discovered asteroid 2026 JH2 (first spotted 10 May 2026) makes a close Earth flyby today at ~90,000 km — within the orbital radius of many satellites. Estimated size: up to ~35 metres (blue whale-sized). Zero impact risk confirmed. Observable with binoculars at peak magnitude ~11.5. Live stream available via the Virtual Telescope Project. Orbital period: 3.7 years between Earth and Jupiter. Story 2 — Starship V3 / Flight 12 SpaceX targets May 19, 2026 for the debut of Starship Version 3 (Flight 12) from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. Launch window opens 6:30 PM EDT. Key upgrades: Raptor 3 engines (250 tf SL thrust, up from 230 tf), three larger grid fins, new integrated hot-stage design, updated propellant systems. No tower catch on this flight; booster splashes in Gulf of Mexico. Upper stage (Ship 39) targets Indian Ocean after 65 minutes. Payload: 22 Starlink simulator satellites. Critical step toward Artemis lunar landings. Story 3 — NASA Psyche Mars Flyby On 15 May 2026 at 3:28 PM EDT, Psyche completed its Mars gravity assist at 4,500 km altitude travelling at 12,333 mph. Passed inside the orbits of both Martian moons. Confirmed by Doppler shift monitoring. Mission: en route to metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche (arrival July 2029). Thousands of Mars observations gathered for science calibration. Story 4 — SpaceX CRS-34 SpaceX’s 34th Dragon cargo mission docked at ISS at 6:37 AM EDT on 17 May 2026, delivering ~6,500 lb of cargo for Expedition 74. Science payloads include: microgravity simulator validation study, wood-based bone scaffold (osteoporosis research), red blood cell/spleen spaceflight study. Dragon will return to Earth mid-June splashing down off California coast. Story 5 — Simulation Hypothesis Paper Paper: ‘Non-algorithmic physics and the limits of the simulation hypothesis’, published in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics. Authors: Mir Faizal (UBC Okanagan), Lawrence Krauss, Arshid Shabir, Francesco Marino. Core argument: using Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, the team argues any theory of quantum gravity would be non-algorithmic — containing truths no computation can capture. Since any simulation requires algorithms, reality cannot be fully simulated. Note: this is a theoretical paper, not an experimental result. The authors acknowledge no complete quantum gravity theory currently exists. Story 6 — NASA FY2027 Budget House Appropriations Committee approved $24.438 billion for NASA in FY2027 — matching FY2026 and rejecting the White House’s proposed $18.8 billion (a 23% cut). The proposal would have cut the Science Mission Directorate by 46%, terminating 50+ missions. Committee protects science, Habitable Worlds Observatory, and STEM education funding. Bill still needs Senate passage and reconciliation. Skywatching TONIGHT — Moon-Venus conjunction: look west after sunset for the crescent Moon close to brilliant Venus. Earthshine visible on dark lunar limb. Southern Hemisphere: look west-northwest, best in first hour after sunset. Blue Moon on 31 May (second full Moon of the month).
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Right now, as you listen to this, a chunk of
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 space rock the size of a blue whale is
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 hurtling past Earth at, uh, 20 miles per
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 hour,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 Avery: closer than some of our own satellites. And
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 nobody knew it existed eight days ago.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 Anna: Plus tomorrow, the most powerful
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 rocket ever built takes its biggest leap
00:00:20 --> 00:00:21 forward yet.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 Avery: And later today, we find out whether the
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 entire universe might just be a very
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 elaborate computer program.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:29 Probably not.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 Anna: Bizik says. Definitely not. That
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 conversation is coming. You're listening to
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 Astronomy Daily.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 Avery: I can hear the discussion starting now.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 Anna: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 daily guide to what's happening in space and
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 the science behind it. I'm Anna.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 Avery: And I'm, um, Avery. It is Monday, the
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 18th of May, 2026, and we
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 have a seriously packed episode for you
00:00:54 --> 00:00:54 today.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 Anna: We've got the asteroid that's buzzing our
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 planet right now, the Starship
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 V3 launch that's just hours away.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 And NASA's Psyche spacecraft, fresh
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 off a stunning, uh, Mars flyby.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 Avery: Plus new science arriving at the space
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 station, a fascinating physics challenge to
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 one of the Internet's favorite thought
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 experiments, and the latest chapter in the
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 battle over NASA's future funding.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Anna: Let's get into it.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:21 Avery: We're starting with something that is
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 happening literally right now, today.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 As you listen to this, a newly discovered
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 asteroid called 2026 JH AH2
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 is making a close pass of Earth.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Anna: And when we say close, we mean genuinely
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 close. This space rock is coming within about
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 90 kilometers of our planet. To
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 put that in perspective, the moon is roughly
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 380 kilometers away.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 We're talking about less than a quarter of
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49 the lunar distance.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 Avery: Now, before anyone starts worrying,
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 astronomers have confirmed there is
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 absolutely zero chance of impact, but the
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 proximity is remarkable. It's actually closer
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 than many of the satellites we rely on every
00:02:02 --> 00:02:02 day.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 Anna: What makes this even more striking is the
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 timeline. 2026 JH2 was
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 only first spotted on 10 May. Just
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 eight days ago. It went from discovery to
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 closest approach in under a fortnight.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 Avery: So how big is this thing? Estimates put it
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 somewhere around 35 meters across at
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 most, roughly the length of a blue whale,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:26 which is the comparison everyone's been
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 running with. And honestly, it's a pretty
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 vivid one at that size.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 Anna: Even if it were headed our way, which, again,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 it is not, it would most likely burn up in
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 the atmosphere before causing any real
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 surface damage. NASA's general rule of
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 thumb is that objects under about 25 meters
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 usually disintegrate on entry.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Avery: But this one is right at that interesting
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 threshold. And the close pass is actually
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 fantastic for science Observatories around
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 the world have been tracking it. The Virtual
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 Telescope project is running a livestream
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 today, so you can watch it in real time if
00:03:00 --> 00:03:01 you're near a computer.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 Anna: At its closest approach, 2026
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 JH2 is expected to reach a brightness of
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 around magnitude 11.5, which means
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 it's just within reach of decent amateur
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 binoculars if you know exactly where to look.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 The orbit is a looping ellipse that takes it
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 between Earth and Jupiter, swinging around
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 The sun every 3.7 years.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 Avery: It's a good reminder of just how dynamic the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 neighborhood is and how much we're still
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 finding out there.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 Anna: Absolutely, the sky is never boring.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 Avery: Now to a story that has the entire space
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 community watching. SpaceX is targeting
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 tomorrow, Tuesday the 19th of May, for the
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 debut launch of Starship version 3. This
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 is flight 12 for the Starship program, and it
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 is a genuinely major milestone.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Anna: So just how different is V3 from what we've
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 seen? Because SpaceX has been using the word
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 sweeping a lot, and in this case, I think
00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 it's earned.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Avery: It really is. Let's go through the
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 highlights. The super heavy booster has been
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 redesigned with three grid fins instead of
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 four, but each one is 50% larger and
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 significantly stronger. They've also been
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 repositioned lower on the booster to reduce
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 heat exposure during the hot staging burn.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 Anna: And the engines themselves. These are Raptor
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 3 engines. Now, the sea level variants are
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 producing 250 tons of force, up from
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 230. The vacuum variants are even more
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 impressive. And the engines have shed about
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 100kg each, with sensors and
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 controllers now integrated internally.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 Avery: What SpaceX says about all of this is that
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 the changes together, the new booster design,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 the new engines, the new pad, the new upper
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 stage improvements are intended to unlock the
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 vehicle's core functions. Full and
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 rapid reuse in space, propellant
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 transfer, starlink deployment, and
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 eventually sending people and cargo to the
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 moon and Mars.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 Anna: This flight is also the first launch from pad
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 two, which is the updated launch
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 infrastructure. And notably, SpaceX
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 will not be attempting to catch the booster
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 back at the tower this time. Given how many
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 new systems are being tested, they're opting
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 for a, uh, controlled splashdown in the Gulf
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 of Mexico, or if you prefer, the Gulf of
00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 America.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 Avery: Instead, the upper stage ship 39
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 will continue on a suborbital path and splash
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 down in the Indian Ocean about 65 minutes
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 after launch. Among its test objectives,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 deploying 22 Starlink simulator
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 satellites, a Raptor engine relight in
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 space, and heat shield assessments, including
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 some intentionally painted white tiles for
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 imaging the
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 Anna: launch window opens at 6:30pm Eastern
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 Time. That's on the 19th. That's early
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 morning Wednesday for Australian listeners.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 We'll have full coverage in tomorrow's
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 episode. Worth staying up for honestly, or
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 setting an alarm?
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 Avery: This is the rocket that's going to take
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 people to the moon under Artemis 3.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 Tomorrow's test matters enormously.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 Anna: Let's check in with one of our favorite
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 spacecraft on a very long journey. NASA
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 Psyche probe has just completed a critical
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 gravity assist maneuver at Mars and the
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 results are in. It went perfectly.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Avery: On May 15th. At around 3:28
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 in the afternoon Eastern time, Psyche
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 reached its closest point to Mars. Just
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 4 kilometers above the surface.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 It was traveling over 12 miles per
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 hour relative to the planet.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 Anna: To put that proximity in perspective, Psyche
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 flew closer to Mars than either of its two
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 moons, Phobos and Deimos. It threaded right
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 through the inner Martian neighborhood.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 Avery: And why does this matter so much? The entire
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 six year mission trajectory was designed
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 around this single gravitational exchange.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 Mars orbital velocity did something the
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 spacecraft's ion thruster simply couldn't do
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 alone. It tilted Psyche's orbital plane
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 and boosted it towards the main asteroid belt
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 where its target, the metal asteroid 16
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 Psyche, is waiting.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 Anna: Mission controllers confirmed the success by
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 monitoring the Doppler shift in Psyche's
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 radio signals. Changes in frequency that
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 revealed changes in speed. Everything matched
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 the predictions precisely.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 Avery: The spacecraft was also busy doing science.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 During the flyby, the team used Psyche's
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 multispectral imager to gather thousands of
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 observations of Mars, their first real
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 calibration opportunity with something larger
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 than a few pixels. Those images will be
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 processed in the coming weeks.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 Anna: There was also a watch for a faint dusty ring
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 thought to orbit Mars, produced by tiny
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 micrometeorite impacts on Phobos and Deimos.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 We'll be watching for those results.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 Avery: Psyche is now on a direct confirmed
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 course for arrival at 16 Psyche in
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 July 2029. The asteroid is
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 thought to be an ancient planetary core
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 stripped of its rocky outer layers by
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 billions of years of coll. Giving us a rare
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 window into what the interior of a rocky
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 planet actually looks like. It's going to be
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 extraordinary.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 Anna: Three years and counting. Great to see it on
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 track. And it's time now for a quick sponsor
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 mention. When you're ready to secure your
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 online life, make sure you get NORDVPN
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 just like we did. And make sure you use our
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 special money saving link. That way you get
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 the best in online protection for much less
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 and help support the show. Uh, a win win I
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 would say. Check out the link in the show
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 notes for the details.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 Avery: Alright, back to today's space and astronomy
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 news. Closer to home than our last story, or
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 at least closer to Earth's orbit.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 SpaceX's CRS 34 Dragon cargo
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 capsule docked successfully at the
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 International Space Station Yesterday
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 morning, Sunday the 17th of May.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Anna: This was the 34th Dragon mission under
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 NASA's Commercial Resupply Contract and it
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 delivered nearly 6 pounds of science
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 equipment and supplies to the Expedition
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 74 crew.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Avery: The Dragon docked autonomously to the Harmony
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 Module's forward port at, uh, just after
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 6:30 in the morning Eastern, with NASA
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 astronaut Jack Hathaway and ESA astronaut
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 Sophie Adenot monitoring the arrival from the
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 cupola.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 Anna: So what's in the cargo hold? Science wise,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 there are some genuinely interesting
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 experiments. One project looks at how well
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Earth based microgravity simulators actually
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 replicate conditions in space, important
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 for developing experiments before we launch
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 them.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 Avery: There's also a bone scaffold made from wood.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 Yes, wood that researchers hope could lead
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 to new treatments for fragile bone conditions
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 like osteoporosis. The idea is that the
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 natural porous structure of wood creates a
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 useful scaffold for bone tissue regeneration
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 in microgravity.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 Anna: And equipment to study how red blood cells
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 and the spleen change during spaceflight,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 which is important for the longer missions
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 we're planning. We know space does
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 interesting and not always pleasant things to
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 human physiology. The more we understand it,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 the better prepared we'll be.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 Avery: Dragon will stay attached to the station for
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 about a month, then return to Earth in mid
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 June, splashing down off the coast of
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 California, bringing back time sensitive
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 research results. It's worth remembering that
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 Dragon is currently the only cargo ship that
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 can bring significant mass back down from the
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 station.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 Anna: Routine mission by the numbers, but the
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 science inside is anything but routine.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 Avery: Now here's a question for you, Anna. Um, are
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 we living in a simulation?
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 Anna: I mean, I've definitely had moments where the
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 algorithm seemed a little too on the nose,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 but I'm guessing you're about to tell me that
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 physics has something to say about this.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 Avery: Physics has quite a lot to say, as it turns
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 out. A new paper published in the Journal of
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 Holography Applications in Physics, co
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 authored by physicists Mir Faisal at AH UBC
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 Okanagan and Lawrence Krauss. Yes,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 that Lawrence Krauss argues that the universe
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 fundamentally cannot be simulated. Not
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 it would be very hard to simulate. It cannot.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 Anna: That's a strong claim. What's the argument?
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 Avery: It goes back to the foundations of
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 mathematics. In the 1930s, the logician
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 Kurt Godel proved something genuinely strange
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 about formal that Any
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 mathematical framework rich enough to include
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 basic arithmetic will contain true
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 statements that can never be proven from
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 within that system. There are truths that are
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 real but unreachable by proof.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 Anna: Which is already a bit of a mind bender on
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 its own.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 Avery: It is. And Feisal and his co authors apply
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 that same logic to quantum gravity, the
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 long sought theory that would unite
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 Einstein's general relativity with quantum
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 mechanics. They argue that any such
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 theory by its nature would need to
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 satisfy the conditions that trigger Godel's
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 incompleteness theorems, which means it would
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 inevitably leave some physical truths out.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 Anna: So the universe contains facts that no
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 algorithm can ever fully capture.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Avery: Exactly. And, and here's where the simulation
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 hypothesis comes in. Any simulation
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 runs on algorithms. If reality is
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 fundamentally non algorithmic, if truths
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 built into the fabric of the universe that no
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 computation can reproduce, then a simulation
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 by definition could never be complete.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 It would always be missing something real.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 Anna: Lawrence Krauss puts it pretty starkly in the
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 paper, doesn't he?
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 Avery: He does. He says the fundamental laws of
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 physics don't exist inside space and time,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 they create it. And any simulation would have
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 to run within a computational framework,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 which means it could never express the true
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 structure of reality. The laws would always
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 be outside the box you're trying to put them
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 in.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 Anna: There's also an interesting thread in the
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 paper about consciousness, isn't there?
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 Echoing Roger Penrose.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 Avery: Right. The authors do gesture toward the idea
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 that human thought itself might be non
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 algorithmic in some sense. That perhaps
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 our ability to recognize certain truths goes
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 beyond what formal computation can do.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 That part is more speculative, and the
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 authors themselves flag it as such.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 Anna: So how solid is this as a debunking?
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 It does feel like strong headline language
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 for a theoretical paper.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 Avery: That's a fair point and worth flagging for
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 our listeners. This is a theoretical
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 argument, not an experimental result. The
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 authors themselves acknowledge that no
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 complete theory of quantum gravity even
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 exists. Yet what they've shown is that if
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 such a theory exists and has certain
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 properties, which seems very likely, then it
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 cannot be purely algorithmic, rhythmic.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Anna: So it's less we've proven the universe
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 isn't a simulation and more we've
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 shown that the conditions for, uh, a complete
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 simulation can never be met.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 Avery: In principle, that's probably the most
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 accurate framing. Fiesel himself puts it
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 beautifully. He says that understanding these
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 limits doesn't end science, it gives it a new
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 direction. Nature, he says, is larger than
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 any equation.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 Anna: I love that. And honestly, whether or not the
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 simulation hypothesis is your thing, the
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 underlying ideas could Goddell's
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 incompleteness, the limits of formal systems,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 what it even means for something to be true
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 in physics. That's genuinely fascinating
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 territory.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 Avery: Drop your thoughts on this one in the
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 comments. We have a feeling people will have
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 opinions.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 Anna: And finally, back to the ongoing Saga of, uh,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 NASA's budget. If you've been following this
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 story, the headline is Congress has done it
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 again.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 Avery: The White House's proposed budget for fiscal
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 year 2027 asked for $18.8
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 billion for NASA, a 23%
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 cut from current funding. The House
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 Appropriations Committee has now responded by
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 approving 24.4 billion instead,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 the same level as FY2026.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 Anna: This is essentially an exact replay of what
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 happened last year when the administration
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 proposed similarly deep cuts and Congress
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 rejected them.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 Avery: The proposed cuts would have been
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 particularly severe for NASA's science
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 dimensional, facing a, uh, 46%
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 reduction that the Planetary Society
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 described as. And um, I'm paraphrasing here,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 an extinction level event for space Science.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 More than 50 missions could have been
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 terminated.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 Anna: Congress, though, seems to have a different
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 view. The House bill specifically protects
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 science funding, mandates continued support
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 for the Habitable Worlds Observatory and
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 pushes back on the proposed elimination of
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 NASA's STEM education office, which received
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 bipartisan criticism across the aisle.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 Avery: Now, to be clear, this is the House
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 appropriations markup. It still needs to go
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 through the Senate and ultimately be
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 reconciled and signed into law. And so this
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 is a positive signal, not a done deal.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 Anna: But it does suggest that the political
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 Appetite to gut NASA's science programs is
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 not there, at least in Congress. Human
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 exploration, Artemis Moon missions, the
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 Mars trajectory has strong support on both
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 sides. The science programs appear to have
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 strong support as well.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 Avery: Well, keep watching this one. The decisions
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 made in the next few months will shape the
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 scientific agenda for the rest of this
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 decade.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 Anna: Before we go, a uh, quick look up at the sky
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 because tonight is genuinely worth stepping
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 outside for.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 Avery: Tonight, Monday the 18th of May, look
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 west just after sunset and you'll find a
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 beautiful pairing. A slim crescent moon
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 sitting very close to brilliant Venus in the
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 sky.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Anna: Venus is one of the brightest objects visible
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 to the naked eye, often the first star you
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 see after the sun goes down. Tonight, the
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 crescent Moon is acting as a natural pointer,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 making Venus very easy to find. Even if
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 you're new to sky watching
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 Avery: through binoculars, the view should be
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 especially striking. Look for earthshine.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 That's the faint glow on the dark portion of
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 the Moon's disk caused by sunlight reflecting
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 off Earth onto the lunar surface. It gives to
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 crescent a beautiful three dimensional look.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 Anna: For our listeners in Australia and New
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 Zealand, look to the west northwest shortly
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 after local sunset, the pair will be
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 relatively low on the horizon, so you'll want
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 a clear western view. Best viewing window is
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 probably the first hour after sunset before
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 they drop too low.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 Avery: A great night to grab the binoculars or just
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 step outside with a cup of tea.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 Anna: That is Astronomy Daily for Monday 18
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 May 2026 what a lineup. An
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 asteroid flyby, a rocket on the pad, a
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 spacecraft slung around Mars, and a genuine
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 philosophical challenge from the world of
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 physics.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 Avery: Make sure you're back tomorrow. Starship
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 V3 is targeting its launch window
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 Tuesday evening US time, which means
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 Wednesday morning for many of our Southern
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 Hemisphere listeners. We'll have the updates
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 and let us
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 Anna: know what you think about the simulation
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 hypothesis discussion. Find us on socials,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 leave a comment or leave us a review.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 Wherever you listen, we genuinely love
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 hearing your take.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 Avery: Until tomorrow, keep looking up clear skies
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 everyone. Astronomy Day
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 Stories we told
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 Love.