00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 go to podcast for the latest discoveries and
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 developments in the cosmos. I'm your host,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 Anna, and we've got a great lineup of space
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 news for you today. Coming up, we'll blast
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 off with details of Blue Origin's latest
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 achievement, then prepare to have your mind
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 blown as we dive into groundbreaking black
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 hole images that are the sharpest ever
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 captured from Earth. We'll also explore the
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 spectacular aurora displays that lit up
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 skies across North America and beyond. And
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 finally, we'll journey to the mysterious
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 world of Titan as we look ahead to NASA's
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 fascinating Dragonfly mission. So strap
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 in and prepare for liftoff as we explore
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 today's top stories from across the universe.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Blue Origin has once again reached for the
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 stars with their New Shepard vehicle
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 successfully completing their 12th crewed
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 suborbital mission. The spacecraft carried a
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 full complement of space tourists to the edge
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 of our atmosphere, where they experienced the
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 breathtaking views of our planet and the
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 unforgettable sensation of weightlessness.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 This latest flight represents another
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 milestone for Jeff Bezos's space company as
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 they continue to establish themselves as
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 leaders in the commercial space tourism
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 industry. The New Shepard vehicle, named
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, follows
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 a fully autonomous flight profile, carrying
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 passengers in a capsule that detaches from
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 its booster rocket before both components
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 return separately to Earth. The reusable
00:01:29 --> 00:01:30 nature of New Shepard continues to
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 demonstrate Blue Origin's commitment to more
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 sustainable space travel, with the booster
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 making a controlled, powered landing while
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 the passenger capsule gently descends under
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 parachutes. This mission further cements
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Blue Origin's growing track record of
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 reliable suborbital flights, providing more
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 civilians the rare opportunity to experience
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 the overview effect, that profound shift in
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 perspective that astronauts describe when
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 seeing Earth from space for the first time.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 Now, this next story is pretty cool. In a
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 major breakthrough for astronomy, scientists
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 using the Event Horizon Telescope have
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 captured the sharpest images ever of distant
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 black holes from Earth. These remarkable new
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 observations employed light at a frequency of
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 345 gigahertz, allowing
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 researchers to peer deeper into the regions
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 surrounding black holes with unprecedented
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 clarity. This achievement represents a
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 significant leap forward from their previous
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 work at 230 GHz,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 with the shorter wavelength providing
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 approximately 50% sharper resolution
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 around 14 microarc seconds.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 To put this in perspective, that's like being
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 able to see a donut on the surface of the
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 Moon from Earth. The Event Horizon
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 Telescope isn't a single instrument, but
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 rather a global network of radio telescopes
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 working in perfect synchronisation using
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 a powerful technique called very long
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 baseline interferometry scientists
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 effectively created a virtual telescope the
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 size of our planet. By combining signals from
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 observatories scattered across Earth, they've
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 achieved imaging capabilities far beyond what
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 any single telescope could accomplish.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 Among the most studied targets are the
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 supermassive black hole at the centre of
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 Galaxy M, M87 and Sagittarius A,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 the black hole at the heart of our own Milky
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 Way. With this enhanced resolution,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 researchers can now observe how light bends
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 near these cosmic giants with remarkable
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 detail, potentially revealing subtle
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 behaviours that were previously invisible.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 The technical challenges involved were
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 immense. At 345
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 GHz, atmospheric water vapour
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 heavily absorbs radio waves, significantly
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 weakening signals from distant black holes.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 To overcome this, the EHT team expanded their
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 bandwidth and carefully selected high
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 altitude observation sites like the Atacama
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 Large Millimetre Submillimeter Array in Chile
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 and the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, where
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 atmospheric interference is minimised.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 This advancement opens exciting new
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 possibilities. Scientists can now study
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 polarised light around black holes with
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 greater precision, providing insights into
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 their magnetic environments. The reduced
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 effects of Faraday rotation, a phenomenon
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 that alters light's electric field
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 orientation, allows for clearer observations
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 of magnetic field structures. Perhaps most
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 thrilling is the potential to create time
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 lapse movies of black hole environments
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 showing material moving around the event
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 horizon in near real time. For
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 Sagittarius a star, which has a dynamic
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 timescale of about 200 seconds,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 simultaneous observations at multiple
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 wavelengths could soon allow scientists to
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 watch the cosmic dance of matter as it
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 spirals toward the point of no return.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 This groundbreaking advancement in black hole
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 imaging technology is set to revolutionise
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 our understanding of these cosmic giants.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 With m, the successful 345 GHz
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 observations, scientists are now on the cusp
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 of creating something truly remarkable.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 Time lapse movies of black hole environments
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 that would show us the dynamic nature of
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 these extreme regions in unprecedented
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 detail. For Matey 7's black hole, which
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 evolves over a longer period of about three
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 days, researchers could combine images
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 collected over consecutive observation
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 sessions to construct detailed
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 visualisations of its active surroundings.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 These time lapse sequences would reveal how
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 matter behaves as it approaches the event
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 horizon, potentially showing the formation
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 and evolution of jets that extend thousands
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 of light years into space. Beyond the well
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 known black holes at M, M87 and Sagittarius
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 A, the improved resolution enables
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 detailed studies of active galactic nuclei
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 jets with unprecedented precision.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 Researchers can now investigate phenomena
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 like limb brightening, where jets appear
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 brighter near their edges, and study how
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 these massive energy beams form and
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 accelerate across vast cosmic distances.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 Perhaps most exciting is the potential for
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 Multi Frequency Synthesis, a technique that
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 combines data from different frequencies to
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 map black hole environments in exquisite
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 detail over time. For our galaxy's
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 central black hole, this could provide real
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 time glimpses into its turbulent
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 surroundings, capturing moment by moment
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 changes near the event horizon.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 Did you happen to see this? Earth has been
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 putting on quite a show lately. A powerful
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 coronal mass ejection struck our planet head
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 on in the early hours of June 1, triggering
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 one of the most spectacular aurora displays
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 in recent memory. The CME originated from an
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 M M8.2 class solar flare that erupted
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 on May 30 and raced toward Earth at a
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 staggering speed of nearly
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 1 kilometres per second.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 That's about 4.3 million miles per hour.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 When this massive burst of solar energy
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 collided with Earth's magnetic field, it, it
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 triggered what scientists classify as a
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 severe G4 geomagnetic storm.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 This intense disturbance in our planet's
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 magnetosphere created breathtaking
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 auroras that were visible much farther south
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 than usual, delighting skygazers across North
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 America. The severity of this particular
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 storm meant that aurora chasers were treated
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 to spectacular displays, even in regions
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 where such sightings are extremely rare.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 Terry Gryphon captured beautiful aurora
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 pillars in St. George, Kansas, noting that
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 the white pillars were strikingly visible to
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 the naked eye. In Cheyenne, Wyoming,
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 skywatchers reported brilliant curtains of
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 green and purple light dancing across the
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 night sky. Perhaps most remarkable were the
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 sightings from places like Farmington, New
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 Mexico, where photographer Derek Wilson
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 captured a, stunning timelapse of the
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 northern lights. Wilson explained that
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 visible auroras this far south are such a
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 rare occurrence that he knew he had to get
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 far from city lights when he saw the solar
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 storm data. Most astonishingly, the
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 light show was confirmed as visible on
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 webcams as far south as San Diego,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 California, an extremely unusual occurrence
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 that highlights just how powerful this G
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 force storm truly was. The Southern
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 hemisphere wasn't left out of this
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 extraordinary light show. Sky watchers in New
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 Zealand were treated to spectacular displays
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 of the Aurora Australis with vibrant red
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 and pink hues illuminating night skies. The
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 crimson and magenta hues that dominated many
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 Southern Hemisphere sightings created an
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 almost otherworldly atmosphere, distinctly
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 different from the predominantly green
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 curtains often seen in the north.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 In Australia, the Aurora Australis made a
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 dramatic appearance over Victoria. The aurora
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 was particularly impressive over Tasmania,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 with observers in Queenstown reporting some
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 of the most vibrant displays. The rugged
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 landscape provided a striking foreground to
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 the cosmic light show, with red and pink
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 aurora reflections visible in the still
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 waters of lakes and bays across the region.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 What makes these sightings especially
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 remarkable is their rarity. While
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 northern lights are occasionally visible in
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 the northern United States, seeing auroras
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 from places like San Diego or central
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 Australia is extraordinarily uncommon,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 requiring exceptionally powerful
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 geomagnetic storms, like this G4
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 event.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 Now let's turn our attention to a mission
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 that will take us to one of the most
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 fascinating worlds in our solar system.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 NASA is preparing to launch the Dragonfly
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 mission to Saturn's moon Titan in July
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 2028, using a SpaceX
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Falcon Heavy rocket to send this
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 revolutionary spacecraft on its six year
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 journey. Titan is unlike any world
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 we've explored before. It's the only moon in
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 our solar system with a thick atmosphere and
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 its surface is dotted with methane rivers,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 lakes and seas. This methane rich
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 environment has scientists excited because
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 they believe Titan resembles what Earth may
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 have looked like billions of years ago,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 before life transformed our planet's
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 chemistry. What makes Dragonfly truly
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 revolutionary is its design. Rather than a
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 traditional rover, NASA has created a nuclear
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 powered rotorcraft, essentially a science
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 drone that can fly from location to location
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 across Titan's surface. This mobility
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 will allow it to cover hundreds of kilometres
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 during its mission, exploring diverse
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 landscapes that would be impossible to reach
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 with a wheeled vehicle. The principal
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 investigator, Zibby Turtle from Johns Hopkins
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 Applied Physics Laboratory, explains that
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 Dragonfly isn't searching for current life on
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 Titan. Instead, it's investigating the
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 chemical processes that might have preceded
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 life on Earth. Since Titan is so cold,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 about 144 degrees Celsius below zero,
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 any chemical reactions occur much more slowly
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 than they would on Earth, effectively
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 preserving evidence of prebiotic chemistry.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 One of Dragonfly's prime destinations is Selk
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 Crater, a, massive 90 kilometre wide impact
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 site. Scientists believe this ancient
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 asteroid impact may have temporarily melted
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 Titan's icy crust, creating a warm pool of
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 liquid water mixed with organic compounds,
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 essentially a, prebiotic soup, similar to
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 what might have spawned life on early Earth.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 By studying Titan, scientists hope to answer
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 fundamental questions about how life begins.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 Is the path from chemistry to biology
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 universal? Following the same pattern
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 everywhere? Or was Earth's development of
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 life a cosmic coincidence? It's
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 essentially a long running chemical
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 experiment, explains Sarah Horst, a
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 Dragonfly co investigator. That's why Titan
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 is exciting. It's a natural version of our
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 origin of life experiments. Except it's been
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 running much longer and on a planetary scale.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 Well, what an incredible journey around our
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 cosmic neighbourhood. We've taken today from
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 witnessing blue origin's continued progress
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 in commercial spaceflight to marvelling at
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 the sharpest black hole images ever captured
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 from Earth. This has been Anna hosting
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 Astronomy Daily if you'd like to keep up with
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 all the latest space and astronomy news,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 visit our website@astronomydaily.IO,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 where our newsfeed updates constantly. You
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 can also follow us on social media by
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