00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 podcast that brings you the latest news from
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 across the cosmos. I'm your host, Avery.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 We've got a busy show today. From the largest
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 rotating structure ever observed to. Man is
00:00:16 --> 00:00:16 in space.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 Avery: That's right. We'll also be looking at
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 China's ambitious plans to find Earth
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 2.0, checking in on a commander
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 swap at the International Space Station, and
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 celebrating an Emmy win for NASA. So
00:00:30 --> 00:00:31 let's get started.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 Anna: First up, an incredible discovery that's
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 being compared to a cosmic teacup ride.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 Astronomers have found a string of 14
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 galaxies that are all spinning in the same
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 direction as the massive structure they
00:00:44 --> 00:00:45 belong to.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Avery: And this isn't just any structure. It's a
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 cosmic filament. A gigantic thread
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 like formation made of dark matter, galaxies
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 and gas. They're the biggest things in the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 universe, forming a kind of cosmic web.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Anna: Exactly. This particular filament is about
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 50 million light years long and is rotating
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 at a staggering velocity of 110
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 kilometers per second.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Avery: Wow, 110 kilometers per
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 second. And the galaxies within it are
00:01:15 --> 00:01:16 spinning along with it.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 Anna: That's the amazing part. Researchers looked
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 at a section of this filament about 140
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 million light years away. They found these 14
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 galaxies, all rich in hydrogen gas,
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 moving in a way that suggests the whole
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 structure is rotating. And more
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 surprisingly, many of the galaxies themselves
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 are spinning in the same direction as the
00:01:36 --> 00:01:37 filament.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 Avery: Right. The lead researcher, Lila Zhang,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 used a great analogy. She said it's like the
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 teacups ride at a theme park.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 Anna: Mhm. Each galaxy is a spinning teacup
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 and the whole platform, the cosmic filament,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 is rotating too. This dual motion
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 gives us a rare insight into how galaxies get
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 their spin from the cosmic web they inhabit.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 It suggests these larger structures have a
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 much stronger influence than we previously
00:02:03 --> 00:02:03 thought.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 Avery: A truly mind bending discovery.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 Now let's shift our focus a bit closer to
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 home and look at the future of space
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 exploration. The China National Space
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 Agency, or cnsa, has
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 outlined some very ambitious plans.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 Anna: That's right. In a video titled Earth 2.0.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 Um, China's plan to find New Earth. They
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 detailed four major upcoming missions
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 scheduled for their 15th five year plan
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 between 2026 and 2030.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 Avery: And these missions cover a huge range of
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 objectives. They're planning a radio
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 astronomy experiment for the far side of the
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 moon, a solar observatory to study space
00:02:41 --> 00:02:42 weather, duts.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 Anna: A space telescope to monitor black holes and
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 neutron stars, and of course, the
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 exoplanet hunting satellite that will search
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 for Those Earth like planets.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 Avery: It's a clear statement of intent. China is
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 positioning itself to be at, uh, the absolute
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 forefront of space science and exploration in
00:02:59 --> 00:02:59 the coming decade.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:00 Anna: Absolutely.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Now for a couple of updates from the
00:03:03 --> 00:03:04 International Space Station, where it's been
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 a busy few days. First up, a change of
00:03:07 --> 00:03:08 leadership.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 Avery: Yes, Expedition 73 is handing the reins
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 over to Expedition 74. On
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 Sunday, veteran Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 Rysakov will pass the symbolic stat key
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 to four time NASA astronaut Mike Finke.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 Anna: And that handover marks the beginning of the
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 end of the mission for three crew members.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 Risakov, along with flight engineers Alexei
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 Zubritsky and NASA's Johnny Kim, are packing
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 up for their return trip to Earth inside the
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 Soyuz MS.27 spacecraft.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 Avery: Safe travels to them. But while the crew is
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 changing, the science never stops. And our
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 next story from the ISS is a fascinating one.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 Anna, uh, why are scientists studying
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 mayonnaise in space?
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Anna: It sounds strange, but it's all about
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 understanding something called soft matter.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 This includes things like gels, foams,
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 colloids, and mayonnaise. These
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 substances have internal structures that
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 reorganize very slowly over time.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 Think about how sunscreen can change in the
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 cabinet or how a cream loses effectiveness.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 Avery: Okay, that makes sense. And studying this
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 process on Earth is complicated by gravity,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:14 right?
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 Anna: Exactly. So researchers developed an
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 experiment called Colis, which is now
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 operating on the space station. It uses
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 sophisticated optical techniques to look
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 inside these materials without disturbing
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 them in a microgravity environment.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 Avery: And are there any results yet?
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 Anna: There are, and they're already surprising.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 Early data shows that gravity affects the
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 structure of soft matter much more
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 dramatically than anyone expected. This could
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 have huge implications for everything from
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 food production to pharmaceuticals right here
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 on Earth.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 Avery: Incredible. What we can learn from looking at
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 everyday items in an extraordinary place.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 Next, let's talk comets. NASA's Punch mission
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 has released an incredible 40 day timelapse
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 of Comet Swann.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 Anna: This might be the longest, most frequent
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 observation of a comet ever recorded. The
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Spacecraft imaged Comet C 2025
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 R2, also known as Swann, every
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 four minutes from late August to early
00:05:11 --> 00:05:11 October.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 Avery: The video is just stunning. You can see the
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 comet gliding through space with its bluish
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 green coma and glowing tail. Clear visible.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 That glow is from the sun's heat vaporizing
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 the comet's ices, a process called
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 sublimation. Mhm.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 Anna: And there was an unexpected guest star in the
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 video. The comet happened to be sharing the
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 same patch of sky with the famous
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 Interstellar Visitor 3i Atlas,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 which you can just glimpse in the footage. A
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 true cosmic photobomb Fantastic.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 Avery: And for our final story today, we're
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 switching from scientific observation to
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 television production. NASA has won another
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 Emmy award.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 Anna: They have. This time it's for their broadcast
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 of the total solar eclipse back on April 8,
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 2024. The Academy of Television Arts and
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 Sciences recognized them for excellence in
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 production technology.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 Avery: And it was a massive undertaking. The agency
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 called it the most complex life project
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 they've ever produced. The broadcast was
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 three hours long, covered seven American
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 states in two countries, and had hosts and
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 correspondents all over the path of totality.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 Anna: The effort definitely paid off. The broadcast
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 pulled in nearly 40 million views across all
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 of NASA's channels, including their streaming
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 service, NASA. From watch parties in
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 libraries to Times Square, people all over
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 the world tuned in.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 Avery: A well deserved win for a truly spectacular
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 production that brought a celestial wonder to
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 millions. And that, unfortunately, is all the
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 time we have for today.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 Anna: Thanks for joining us on Astronomy Daily. If
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 you'd like to stay on top of all the latest
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 space news or listen to our back episodes,
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 join us just visit our
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 website@astronomydaily.IO.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 it's constantly updating, so there's always
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 something new to check out.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 Avery: And that's it for today. See uh you Monday
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 when we do it all over again. Until then,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 clear skies and keep looking up.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:21 Sam.