00:44 – **Astronomers have finally cracked Betelgeuse's biggest mystery
02:34 – **NASA releases stunning video of supernova remnant from Chandra Xway Observatory
05:40 – **Could a passing star fling Earth into deep space faster than thought
07:45 – **Thanks for listening to Astronomy Daily! We appreciate every listen### Sources & Further Reading1. NASA2. Hubble Space Telescope3. Chandra X-ray Observatory4. European Space Agency### Follow & ContactX/Twitter: @AstroDailyPod
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 where we chat about the coolest space and
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 astronomy news we can source. I'm Anna,
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 um, and with me is my co host, Avery.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 Hey Avery, it's January 8,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 2026. How's your week going?
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 Avery: Hey Anna. And hello to all our listeners.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 It's been fantastic. Clear nights for
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 some stargazing. We've got a stellar lineup
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 today. Mysteries solved on a famous star.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 A decades long supernova video,
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 a cens nearby stars for life,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 lunar events to watch, a dramatic but
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 low risk orbital scenario, and fresh
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 insights on asteroid mining. Plenty to
00:00:42 --> 00:00:43 unpack. Let's get started.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Anna: Leading off with big news from Orion,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 astronomers have finally cracked Betelgeuse's
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 biggest mystery. The cause of its weird
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 brightness swings and that dramatic great
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 dimming back in 2020.
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 Avery: Yeah, this red supergiant, one of the
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 brightest stars in the sky and about 650
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 light years, has been puzzling folks
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 forever. With its pulsations, it has a short
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 400 day cycle from internal throbbing.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 But there's this longer 2100 day
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 variation that stumped everyone. Theories
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 range from giant convection cells to dust
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 clouds or even a companion star.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 Anna: Turns out it is a hidden companion.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Researchers from the Centre for Astrophysics
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 at Harvard and Smithsonian, led by Andrea
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 Dupre, used nearly eight years of Hubble
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 data plus ground telescopes to
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 direct evidence. The companion, playfully
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 called Siwarha, orbits every six years or
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 so, ploughing through Betelgeuse's massive
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 extended atmosphere. Like a boat cutting
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 through water, leaving a dense wake of gas.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 Avery: That wake disrupts the star's light and
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 spectrum, causing the dimming and patterns we
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 see. Dupree described it perfectly. It's a
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 bit like a boat moving through water. The
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 companion star creates a ripple effect in
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 Betelgeuse's atmosphere that we can actually
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 see. In the data they caught the wake form
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 forming right after the companion passes in
00:02:09 --> 00:02:10 front.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 Anna: This explains the 2020 sneeze too.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 Dust and gas from that interaction. Huge
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 implications. It shows how companions can
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 reshape massive stars. Evolution, mass
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 loss and eventual supernovae.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 Betelgeuse is eclipsing Siwarha right now,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 but they'll watch for it emerging in 2027.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 Avery: Front row. See to a star's dramatic life.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:34 Love it.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 Anna: Next, NASA dropped an incredible video
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 that's literally decades in the making. A
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 time lapse of Kepler's supernova remnant
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 from Chandra Xway Observatory data.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Avery: This is the remnant from the supernova
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 spotted by Johannes Kepler in 1604.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 A, uh, type 1A explosion from a white dwarf
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 that blew up after Gaining too much mass,
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 maybe from a companion or merger. It's about
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 17 light years away and
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Chandra's been watching since 2000.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 Anna: The video combines observations from
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 2000-2004-2006-2014
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 and even in 2025 over
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 25 years. It shows this neon
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 blue X ray ring expanding like a balloon
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 overlaid on optical light. The bottom side
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 blasts out faster at 13.8
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 million miles per hour while the top lags
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 at 4 million miles per hour because it hits
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 denser gas, Chandra.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 Avery: Glows in blue from million degree material
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 and the rim measurements tell us about the
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 explosion's power and surroundings. It's the
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 longest spanning Chandra video ever showing
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 remnant crashes into space stuff hurling
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 elements for new stars and planets.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Anna: Mind blowing to see cosmic history unfold.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 Avery: Frame by frame Shifting closer to
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 home, a uh new all sky census of over
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 2100 K dwarfs within about
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 130 light years reveals some prime real
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 estate for potential life bearing planets.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 Anna: K dwarfs are cooler, fainter orange
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 stars twice as common as sun like G
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 dwarfs nearby and they live way longer,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 giving planets stable rates radiation for
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 billions more years Perfect for life to
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 evolve slowly.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 Avery: The team use high res spectrometers on
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 telescopes in Chile and Arizona for full sky
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 coverage. They measured temperatures,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 ages, spin rates, magnetic activity
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 all key for habitability since flaring
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 stars can strip atmospheres.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 Anna: This spectroscopic recon is a goldmine
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 data set for future exoplanet hunts and even
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 interstellar travel planning Presented just
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 this week at the AAS meeting.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 Foundational for decades makes you wonder
00:04:50 --> 00:04:50 how.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 Avery: Many Earth likes are chilling around these
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 steady stars.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 Anna: For sky watchers, especially down south,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 2026 has some lunar a red
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 moon from a total eclipse, a blue moon and
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 a Christmas Eve supermoon.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 Avery: The total lunar eclipse on March 3 evening
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 will turn the moon coppery red as Earth's
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 atmosphere bends sunset light onto it.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Totality's best from the Southern hemisphere
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 Australia, New Zealand lasting about an hour
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 visible even in cities Naked eye Then a.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 Anna: Blue moon on May 31 the second full
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 moon in a month. A calendar quirk every
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 couple years and December 24
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 supermoon full moon at perigee
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 looking bigger and brighter. Perfect illusion
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 at moonrise.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 Avery: No equipment needed. Safe to watch. Mark
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 those calendars for some magical nights.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 Anna: Now Headline grabber Could a passing
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 star fling Earth into deep space,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 destabilising our orbit faster than thought?
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 Avery: This comes from simulations by Nathan Kaib
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 and Sean Raymond factoring in galactic
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 flybys stars passing within 100
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 AU at slow speeds. Normally
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 solar system models assume isolation, but
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 Reality includes these encounters.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 Anna: Mercury's the weak link. A flyby could make
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 its orbit more eccentric, leading to crashes
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 or tugs that cascade outward. Maybe
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 Venus or Mars Nudging Earth toward
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 Jupiter for a slingshot ejection.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 Avery: Probability about 0.2%
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 chance over the next 5 billion years for
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 Earth ejection or collision Tiny,
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 but higher than old estimates. Pluto's risk
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 is 4 to 5%, based on Gaia
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 data and AARXIVE paper Real science. But
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 the article amps up the drama with hidden
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 threat vibes.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 Anna: Comforting to know it's super rare. Are
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 orbits stable for aeons?
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 Avery: Last up Is asteroid mining actually
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 feasible? New chemistry data from meteorites
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 offers sobering but insightful answers.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 Anna: Researchers analysed Carbonius chondrites
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 proxies for C type asteroids. Measuring
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 46 elements, these primitive rocks
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 mix metals, silicates, water
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 bearing stuff. But impacts create
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 breccias and regolith, making separation
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 tough in low gravity.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 Avery: Some groups show enriched titanium or rare
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 Earths, but overall depleted in easy metals
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 like copper. Water alteration oxidises
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 things, complicating extraction. Led by
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 Joseph Tirigo Rodriguez and team, it suggests
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 mining's hard for bulk profit, better for
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 targeted water or in space manufacturing.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 Anna: Focus on sample returns like Osiris Rex
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 to pick winners. Feasible eventually with
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 tech advances, but not a quick space gold
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 rush.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 Avery: Realistic view Space resources for
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 exploration, not Earth riches.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:44 Anna: Whew.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Uh, from stellar companions to lunar lights
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 in cosmic risks, what a ride Today.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 Avery: The universe never runs out of storeys.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 Thanks for joining us on Astronomy Daily.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 Anna: We appreciate every listen, subscribe, share
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 and we'll catch you tomorrow with more. Keep
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 looking up Clear skive.