- New Moon Discovered Around Uranus: Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of a tiny new moon orbiting Uranus, measuring just five miles in diameter. This marks the first new addition to Uranus’s moon family in over 20 years, highlighting the ongoing exploration of our solar system's outer planets. The moon, temporarily designated S 2023 U1, was spotted using the Magellan telescopes in Chile and is believed to be a captured object from the Kuiper Belt, shedding light on the dynamics of Uranus’s moon system.
- - The Enigma of Richie Planets: Revolutionary findings from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that rogue planets, previously thought to be solitary wanderers, may actually be forming their own moons. Observations in the Orion Nebula revealed discs of gas and dust surrounding these planets, indicating they could be creating mini solar systems. This challenges traditional models of planetary formation and opens up new avenues for understanding the nature of these elusive worlds.
- - Sibling Asteroids Richie and Bennu: Exciting new research confirms that the asteroids Richie and Bennu are siblings, fragments of a larger parent body that was shattered in a collision. Analysis of samples returned from both asteroids reveals a wealth of water-bearing clay minerals and organic molecules, supporting the theory that asteroids played a crucial role in delivering the ingredients for life to Earth.
- - The Devil Comet's Water Mystery: The Devil Comet, officially known as 12 P. Pons Brooks, has been found to possess water with an isotopic signature nearly identical to that of Earth's oceans. This discovery strengthens the theory that ancient comets contributed to the formation of Earth's water, suggesting a cosmic connection that links us to these icy wanderers.
- For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna and Avery signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
New Moon Discovery
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Richie Planets Research
[James Webb Space Telescope](https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/)
Richie and Bennu Analysis
[JAXA](https://www.jaxa.jp/)
Devil Comet Findings
[ALMA](https://www.almaobservatory.org/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.
Sponsor Details:
Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!
Sponsor Details:
Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!
Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click Here
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 your daily guide to the cosmos, where we.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 Avery: Explore the latest breakthroughs and biggest
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 stories from the world of space and
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 astronomy. I'm Avery.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 We have an absolutely stellar lineup for you
00:00:17 --> 00:00:18 today.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 Avery: We certainly do. We'll be visiting the
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 distant ice giant Uranus, which has a brand
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 new moon. We'll also be exploring the lonely
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 lives of rogue planets, which it turns out
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 might not be so lonely after
00:00:32 --> 00:00:32 a.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 Anna: Tale of two sibling asteroids that could hold
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 clues to the origin of life. And
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 we'll be chasing the famous Devil Comet to
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 find out if it's responsible for the water in
00:00:42 --> 00:00:43 our oceans.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 Avery: It's a packed show, so let's jump right in.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 Anna: Our first story takes us out to the seventh
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 planet from the sun. The solar system's
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 family portrait has a new addition as
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 astronomers have officially confirmed the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 discovery of a new moon orbiting Uranus.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Avery: That is fantastic news. It feels like the
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 outer planets are the final frontier of our
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 own solar system. It's amazing to think we're
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 still finding new members out there. What do
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 we know about this newcomer?
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Anna: Well, for one thing, it's incredibly small.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 Current estimates put its diameter, uh, at
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 just five miles, or about eight kilometres.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 That makes it a strong contender for the
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 title of smallest of Uranus's now 28
00:01:23 --> 00:01:24 known moons.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Avery: Five miles, that's miniscule on a planetary
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 scale. To put that in perspective, that's
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 shorter than running a 10k race. How on Earth
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 did they even spot something so tiny so far
00:01:35 --> 00:01:35 away?
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 Anna: With a very powerful telescope and
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 a lot of patience. The discovery was made
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 using the Magellan telescopes at the Las
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 Campanas Observatory in Chile. The first
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 sighting was on November 4, 2023.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 But it took further observations to confirm
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 its orbit and officially announce it on
00:01:55 --> 00:01:56 February20.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 Avery: And it's been given one of those classic
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 catchy astronomer names, I assume.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Anna: Of course, for now, it's carrying the
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 temporary designation S
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 2023 U1. It will likely
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 get a more permanent name later,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 traditionally from the works of Shakespeare
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 or Alexander Pope. In keeping with Uranus's
00:02:15 --> 00:02:16 other moons.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 Avery: I'll be waiting to see if it becomes a Juliet
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 or a Puck. I also read that its orbit is
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 huge. It takes 680 days to
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 circle Uranus. That's a long year for such a
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 tiny moon.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 Anna: It is indeed. And this find is significant
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 because it's the first new Uranian
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 moon discovered in more than 20 years. It
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 really underscores how much we still have to
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 learn about the ice Giants. They're distant,
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 dim and difficult to study from Earth.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 Avery: It makes you wonder what else is hiding out
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 there in the dark. A tiny body like this was
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 probably a captured object from the Kuiper
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 Belt, wasn't it? A visitor that got a little
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 too close and was pulled into orbit?
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 Anna: That's the leading theory. Its distant
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 eccentric orbit suggests it wasn't formed
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 from the same disc of material as Uranus's
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 larger inner moons. It's a relic from the
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 early solar system, now a permanent part of
00:03:10 --> 00:03:11 Uranus's family.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 Avery: Well, from a captured moon to entire
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 systems without a sun.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 Our next story is a real mind bender. It's
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 about rogue planets and the astonishing
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 possibility that they can form their own
00:03:22 --> 00:03:22 moons.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 Anna: This is truly a revolutionary idea,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 backed by some stunning observations from the
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 James Webb Space Telescope. For our
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 listeners. Rogue planets, or as
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 they're officially called, free floating
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 planetary mass objects, are worlds that
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 drift through interstellar space completely
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 untethered from any star.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 Avery: We used to imagine them as cold, dark and
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 solitary objects, but this new research
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 suggests that they might be the centre of
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 their own little solar systems. JWST
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 observed eight of these rogue planets in the
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 nearby Orion Nebula.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 Anna: And it didn't just see the planets
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 themselves. It saw that they were surrounded
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 by discs of gas and dust. What's
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 more, the telescope's instruments detected
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 the chemical signature of crystalline
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 silicates within these discs.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:13 Avery: And that's important because.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Anna: Because that's the very same material we
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 see in the protoplanetary discs around
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 young stars. It's the raw material that
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 clumps together to form planets, moons
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 and asteroids. Finding it around a
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 rogue planet is a huge surprise.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Avery: Uh, so you're saying these starless planets
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 have their own proto moon discs,
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 that they're basically acting like miniature
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 suns, gravitationally gathering material
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 to build their own satellite systems?
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Anna: That's exactly what the evidence points to.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 These discs could and likely will
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 coalesce into moons and perhaps even
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 ring systems, all orbiting a planet
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 that has no star. It creates a whole
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 new class of celestial object, a
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 rogue planetary system.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 Avery: Wow. That fundamentally challenges our
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 models of system formation. We've always put
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 a star at the heart of that process. The
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 star's gravity and energy were thought to be
00:05:15 --> 00:05:15 essential.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 Anna: It seems the fundamental physics of accretion
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 might be more universal than we thought.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 Gravity is the key ingredient and it
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 seems a, uh, planet sized object has enough
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 of it to start building a family of its own.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 The galaxy could be teeming with these dark
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 wandering systems, completely
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 invisible to us until now.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 Avery: From lonely wanderers. Let's come Back closer
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 to home for a story about family.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 Two of the most famous asteroids in recent
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 memory, Ryugu and Bennu, have been
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 confirmed to be siblings.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 Anna: This is the payoff for two of the most
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 ambitious sample return missions ever
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 attempted. Japan's Hayabusa 2
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 mission visited Ryugu and NASA's
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 Osiris Rex mission visited Bennu. Both
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 successfully brought back pristine samples.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 And now we're seeing the incredible result.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 Avery: Uh, and the results are conclusive. By
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 analysing the composition of the return
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 samples, scientists have confirmed that both
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 of these carbon rich top shaped
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 asteroids are fragments of the same
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 much larger parent body.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 Anna: So somewhere long ago, a, uh, giant
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 asteroid got hit by something else in a
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 catastrophic collision and shattered. And
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 Ryugu and Bennu are two of the pieces that
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 went flying.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 Avery: Precisely. The mineralogy and chemical
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 makeup are just too similar for it to be a
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 coincidence. But what's really exciting
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 isn't just that they're related, but what
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 they're made of. This is where it gets really
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 interesting for us here on Earth, right?
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 Anna: Absolutely. Both samples are rich
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 in water bearing clay minerals. That tells us
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 their parent body once had a lot of water
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 ice. And even more importantly, they
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 are packed with a wide variety of organic
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 molecules.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 Avery: Amino, um, acids, the building blocks of
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 proteins. The very stuff of life.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 Anna: Exactly. This discovery provides
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 powerful support for the hypothesis that
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 asteroids and comets acted as a
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 cosmic delivery service for the early Earth.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 They could have delivered both the water for
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 our oceans and the complex organic
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 compounds necessary to kickstart life.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 Avery: So when we look at these two sibling
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 asteroids, we could be looking at the same
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 type of object that gave Earth its
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 starter kit for life. It's like finding the
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 delivery truck that brought the ingredients
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 for the first ever cake.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Anna: That's a great analogy. It
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 reinforces the idea that the ingredients for
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 life aren't necessarily rare or unique
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 to Earth, but are widespread throughout the
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 solar system, just waiting for the right
00:07:58 --> 00:07:58 conditions.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 Avery: Well, speaking of that cosmic delivery
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 service, our final story today zooms
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 in on one very specific delivery
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 truck, the Devil Comet. And it's
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 carrying a very precious cargo.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 Anna: Yes, the Comet, officially named 12
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 P. Pons Brooks, has been putting
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 on quite a show for astrophotographers.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 But for planetary scientists, the real show
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 is what's inside the water vapour it's
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 releasing as it nears the sun.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 Avery: Using incredibly sensitive instruments like
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 the Atacama Large Millimetre Sub Millimetre
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 Array, or ALMA, and
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 researchers have been able to analyse that
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 water. And they found what many have been
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 searching for for decades.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 Anna: They have the water in Comet
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 Pons Brooks has an isotopic
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 signature that is a near perfect
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 match for the water here on Earth.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Avery: Okay, let's break that down. An
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 isotopic signature is like a chemical
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 fingerprint. Right. It's about the different
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 flavours of hydrogen atoms in the water
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 molecules.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 Anna: That's a good way to put it. Specifically,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 scientists measure the ratio of
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 deuterium, a heavy version of hydrogen,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 to normal hydrogen. This is
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 known as the D to H ratio.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 For a long time, the comets we were able to
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 measure had much higher D to H AH
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 ratio than Earth's oceans, which made
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 the cometary delivery theory a bit
00:09:34 --> 00:09:34 shaky.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 Avery: Right. The fingerprints didn't match, so
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 scientists started looking more towards
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 asteroids as the primary water source.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 Anna: Exactly. But this new measurement from
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 Pons Brooks changes the story. It's a
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 Halley type comet originating from the
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 icy Oort Cloud. And. And its water is
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 virtually indistinguishable from ours.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 The fingerprint is a match.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 Avery: So this single comet provides the strongest
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 evidence yet that its ancient relatives are
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 the reason we have oceans. Billions of years
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 ago, a relentless bombardment of comets like
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 Pons Brooks could have painted our dry,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 rocky planet blue.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 Anna: It makes the cometary origin of Earth's
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 water a leading theory. Once again, it
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 doesn't mean asteroids didn't contribute.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 It was likely a combination of both.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 But this is a huge piece of the puzzle.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 Avery: It's incredible to think about. Every time
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 you have a glass of water, you might be
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 drinking the remnants of ancient comets that
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 travelled for billions of years across the
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 solar system. That's a, uh, truly cosmic
00:10:43 --> 00:10:43 connection.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 Anna: And what a profound thought to end on.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 That's all the time we have for today on
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 Astronomy Daily. We've journeyed from a
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 new moon around Uranus to the very
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 origins of the water on our own
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 planet.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 Avery: It's been another day of incredible
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 discoveries that remind us just how dynamic
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 and interconnected the universe is. Thank you
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 so much for joining us.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 Anna: For more details on all today's stories and
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 links to the original research, be sure
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 to visit our
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 website@astronomydaily.IO
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 we'll be back tomorrow with more of the
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 latest news from across the cosmos.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 Until then, I'm Anna.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 Avery: And I'm Avery. Keep looking up