00:34 – **Danish team gets green light from esa for first lunar mission
01:56 – **SpaceX launches Italian Earth observing satellite Cosmoskymet on January 2
04:24 – **Canadian astronomers used JWST data to piece together Milky Way's turbulent past
07:02 – **After years of dealing with leak in Russian segment, it's stopped
08:00 – **This week's Astronomy Daily includes: New missions, launches and more### Sources & Further Reading1. European Space Agency2. SpaceX3. NASA4. Hubble Space Telescope### Follow & ContactX/Twitter: @AstroDailyPod
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to spot
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 for the latest in space and astronomy news.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 I'm Anna, here with my co host and good
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 friend Avery. Hey Avery. Happy January 3rd.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 Hope everyone's recovering from the New Year
00:00:13 --> 00:00:13 festivities.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Avery: Hey Anna. And hello to all our listeners out
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 there in the cosmos. Absolutely.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 2026 is off to a flying start,
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 literally with some launches and sky events
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 already. We've got six great, great storeys
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 today from lunar missions to vanishing
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 planets. And some good news up on the iss.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 Let's dive right in, shall we?
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 Anna: Starting with something exciting for our
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 European friends. Denmark just got the
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 green light from esa, uh, for its very first
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 mission to the moon. The mission's called
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Mani, named after the Norse
00:00:47 --> 00:00:48 personification of the moon.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 Avery: Yeah, this is huge. It's the largest Danish
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 satellite mission ever and the first time
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 Denmark is leading an ESA mission. The
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 spacecraft is built by SpaceInventor, a
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 company based in Aalborg. With a budget of
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 about 130 million Danish kroners,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 or around 17 million euros. The
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 goal is high resolution mapping of the lunar
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 surface to help identify the best spots for
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 future crewed landings and even habitats for
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 long term human presence.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Anna: It's part of ESA's push for small cost
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 effective lunar missions capped at 50
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 million euros development cost and ready to
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 launch within four and a half years. This one
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 got selected after a competitive process that
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 started back in 2023. Launch
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 is eyed for 2029 led by the
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 University of Copenhagen. Jens
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 Freidenbang, the mission leader said it's
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 about to get exciting now that the journey
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46 truly begins.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 Avery: Totally. It's awesome to see m more countries
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 getting involved in lunar exploration. This
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 kind of scouting data will be invaluable for
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 Artemis and beyond.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 Anna: Speaking of launches, SpaceX kicked off
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 2026 with a bang, literally their
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 first mission of the year. On January 2
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 they launched an Italian Earth observing
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 satellite called Cosmoskymet, second
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 generation from Vandenberg Space Force
00:02:13 --> 00:02:14 Base in California.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 Avery: Launch was at 9:09pm Eastern Time on a
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 Falcon 9 deploying the satellite into low
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 Earth orbit just 4.5 minutes later.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 This bird uses synthetic aperture radar to
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 image or night in any weather from
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 about 385 miles up. It's
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 for everything from emergency prevention and
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 risk management to defence, maritime
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 surveillance, agriculture, you name it.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 Anna: It's operated by the Italian Space
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 Agency and Ministry of Defence and this
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 is now the third in the second generation
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 Constellation. The mission went smoothly with
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 the booster landing as expected. Coming off
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 SpaceX's record 165 launches
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 in 2025, it's a strong start
00:02:59 --> 00:03:00 year.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 Avery: Always impressive how reliable these Falcon
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 9s have become. Earth observation tech like
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 this is crucial for monitoring our planet in
00:03:08 --> 00:03:08 real time.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 Anna: Shifting to exoplanets now a bit of a
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 mystery solved. Remember Fomalhaut B?
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 This candidate planet around the star
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 Fomalhaut, about 25 light years away
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 that was spotted by Hubble back in 2008.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 Avery: Yeah, it was hailed as one of the first
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 directly imaged exoplanets. But new Hubble
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 images from 2023 show its light field fading
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 and then completely disappearing. Turns out
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 it wasn't a planet at all. It was an
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 expanding cloud of debris. From a massive
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 collision between two asteroid sized bodies.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 Anna: Exactly. These collisions are rare.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 Maybe once every a hundred thousand years or
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 more. And the dust cloud was glowing and
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 reflecting light, mimicking a planet.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 There's even a second bright object now
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 called CS2 from the same event.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 Four independent analyses confirmed this.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 It's a reminder of how dynamic
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 protoplanetary systems can be.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 Avery: And a cautionary tale for exoplanet
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 debris. Clouds can fake planet signals in
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 reflected light. JWST's Nircam M
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 will take a closer look at CS2 for
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 composition, temperature, maybe even signs
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 of ice or water. This reshapes how we think
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 about planetary formation around young stars.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 Anna: Next up, uh, some deep insights into our own
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 galaxy's history, thanks to the James Webb
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 Space Telescope. A team of Canadian
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 astronomers led by Dr. Vivian Tan from
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 York University used JWST
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 data to piece together the Milky Way's
00:04:41 --> 00:04:42 turbulent past.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 Avery: They studied 877 distant
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 galaxies that are twins to what the Milky Way
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 would have looked like billions of years ago,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 when the Universe was between 1.5 and 10
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 billion years old. Combining
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 JWST's near infrared views with
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 Hubble's visible light, they map stars and
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 star formation rates across these
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 evolutionary stages.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 Anna: The early progenitors were chaotic, full
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 of mergers, asymmetric shapes and
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 intense starbursts triggered by collisions.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 Then around 3 to 4 billion years after
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 the Big Bang, they started growing inside
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 out dense cores first, then building
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 extended discs and spirals through more
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 mergers and accretions.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 Avery: It's wild. Our galaxy had a much more violent
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 youth than some models predicted. Simulations
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 match some of this, but struggle with the
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 rapid outer growth or super central early
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 phases. This is tightening up theories on
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 feedback processes, merger rates and how
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 discs stabilise.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 Anna: Future JWST work with gravitational
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 lensing could push this back even further to
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 when the Milky Way was just 3% of its current
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 age. Love how we're using the Universe as.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 Avery: A time machine like this, absolutely
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 mind blowing. And for something you can see
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 right now. No telescope needed, though
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 binoculars help. Jupiter is putting on its
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 brightest show of the year this January.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 Anna: Opposition hits on the night of January
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 10th, when Earth is right between the sun and
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 Jupiter, making it shine big and bright
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 all night long. It's up from dusk to dawn
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 throughout the month, glowing steadily, easy
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 to spot even in cities.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Avery: On January 4th, it's in conjunction with the
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 Full Moon super close in the sky. Look high
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 up near Gemini, surrounded by winter
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 favourites like Orion, Taurus with the
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 Pleiades and Aldebaran. Binoculars will show
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 the four big moons, IO, Europa,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 Ganymede and Callisto.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 Anna: The Quadrantids meteor shower is peaking
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 around now too. Up to 10 or even
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 more streaks per hour. Though the Full Moon
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 might wash some out, some still watch for
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 bright fireballsperfect month for getting
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 outside and stargazing.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 Avery: Definitely grab a blanket, look up and enjoy
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 the show. Jupiter's at its best. No
00:07:01 --> 00:07:01 excuses.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 Anna: Finally, some relief for the International
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 Space Station crew. After years of dealing
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 with a persistent leak in the Russian
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 segment, it's finally stopped.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 Avery: The leak was in the PRK transfer compartment
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 attached to the Zesta module. Microscopic
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 cracks that started showing up in 2019 and
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 worsens over time, even doubling at rate
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 in 2024.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 Anna: Russian cosmonauts have been methodically
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 sealing cracks with a special sealant called
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 Girmetal 1, closing hatches to
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 isolate and monitor pressure. After
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 repeated inspections and applications over
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 half a decade, the pressure is now holding
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 steady.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 Avery: NASA confirmed it, calling it a, uh, stable
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 configuration, though they'll keep watching
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 for any changes. It was a high risk issue for
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 both agencies, so this is genuinely good news
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 for ongoing ISS operations.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 Anna: Whew. Yeah. Maintaining a spacecraft in
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 orbit for decades isn't easy. Glad they've
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 plugged it. Literally.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 Avery: What a roundup today. New missions,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 launches, cosmic mysteries, galactic history,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 skywatching tips, and station fixes. The
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 universe keeps delivering.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 Anna: It really does. Thanks so much for joining us
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 on Astronomy Daily. If you're enjoying the
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 show, tell a friend or leave us a review. It
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 helps us reach more space.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 Avery: Fans Will be back Monday with more
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 fresh news. Until then, clear
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 skies and keep wondering.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 Anna: And keep looking up. Bye for now.