00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 your go-to podcast for the latest
00:00:04 --> 00:00:05 discoveries and developments in the
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 cosmos. I'm your host, Anna, and we've
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 got a great lineup of space news for you
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 today. Coming up, we'll blast off with
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 details of Blue Origin's latest
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 achievement. Then, prepare to have your
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 mind blown as we dive into
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 groundbreaking black hole images that
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 are the sharpest ever captured from
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 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.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 And finally, we'll journey to the
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 mysterious world of Titan as we look
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 ahead to NASA's fascinating Dragonfly
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 mission. So, strap in and prepare for
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 liftoff as we explore today's top
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 stories from across the
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 universe. Blue Origin has once again
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 reached for the stars with their New
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 Shepard vehicle, successfully completing
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 their 12th crude suborbital mission.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 The spacecraft carried a full complement
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 of space tourists to the edge of our
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 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
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 weightlessness. This latest flight
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 represents another milestone for Jeff
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Bezos's space company as they continue
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 to establish themselves as leaders in
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 the commercial space tourism industry.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 The new Shepard vehicle, named after
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, follows
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 a fully autonomous flight profile,
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 carrying passengers in a capsule that
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 detaches from its booster rocket before
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 both components return separately to
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 Earth. The reusable nature of New
00:01:30 --> 00:01:31 Shepard continues to demonstrate Blue
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 Origin's commitment to more sustainable
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 space travel with the booster making a
00:01:36 --> 00:01:37 controlled powered landing while the
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 passenger capsule gently descends under
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 parachutes. This mission further
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 cementss Blue Origin's growing track
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 record of reliable suborbital flights,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 providing more civilians the rare
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 opportunity to experience the overview
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 effect, that profound shift in
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 perspective that astronauts describe
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 when seeing Earth from space for the
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57 first
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 time. Now, this next story is pretty
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 cool. In a major breakthrough for
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 astronomy, scientists using the Event
00:02:04 --> 00:02:05 Horizon Telescope have captured the
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 sharpest images ever of distant black
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 holes from Earth. These remarkable new
00:02:10 --> 00:02:11 observations employed light at a
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 frequency of 345 gigahertz, allowing
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 researchers to peer deeper into the
00:02:17 --> 00:02:18 regions surrounding black holes with
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 unprecedented clarity. This achievement
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 represents a significant leap forward
00:02:23 --> 00:02:27 from their previous work at 230 GHz with
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 the shorter wavelength providing
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 approximately 50% sharper resolution
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 around 14 microarch seconds.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 To put this in perspective, that's like
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 being able to see a donut on the surface
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 of the moon from Earth. The Event
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 Horizon Telescope isn't a single
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 instrument, but rather a global network
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 of radio telescopes working in perfect
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 synchronization. Using a powerful
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 technique called very long baseline
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 interferometry, scientists effectively
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 created a virtual telescope the size of
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 our planet. By combining signals from
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 observatories scattered across Earth,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 they've achieved imaging capabilities
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 far beyond what any single telescope
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 could accomplish. Among the most studied
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 targets are the super massive black hole
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 at the center of galaxy M87 and
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 Sagittarius A star, the black hole at
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 the heart of our own Milky Way. With
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 this enhanced resolution, researchers
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 can now observe how light bends near
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 these cosmic giants with remarkable
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 detail, potentially revealing subtle
00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 behaviors that were previously
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 invisible. The technical challenges
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 involved were immense. At 345 GHz,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 atmospheric water vapor heavily absorbs
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 radio waves, significantly weakening
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 signals from distant black holes. To
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 overcome this, the EHT team expanded
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 their bandwidth and carefully selected
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 high altitude observation sites like the
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 Atakama largem submillimeter array in
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 Chile and the submillimeter array in
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 Hawaii where atmospheric interference is
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 minimized.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 This advancement opens exciting new
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 possibilities. Scientists can now study
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 polarized light around black holes with
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 greater precision, providing insights
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 into their magnetic environments. The
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 reduced effects of Faraday rotation, a
00:04:08 --> 00:04:09 phenomenon that alters light's electric
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 field orientation, allows for clearer
00:04:12 --> 00:04:13 observations of magnetic field
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 structures. Perhaps most thrilling is
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 the potential to create time-lapse
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 movies of black hole environments
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 showing material moving around the event
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 horizon in near real time. For
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 Sagittarius, a star, which has a dynamic
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 time scale of about 200 seconds.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 Simultaneous observations at multiple
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 wavelengths could soon allow scientists
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 to watch the cosmic dance of matter as
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 it spirals toward the point of no
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 return. This groundbreaking advancement
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 in black hole imaging technology is set
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 to revolutionize our understanding of
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 these cosmic giants. With the successful
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 345 gigahertz observations, scientists
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 are now on the cusp of creating
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 something truly remarkable. Time-lapse
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 movies of black hole environments that
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 would show us the dynamic nature of
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 these extreme regions in unprecedented
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 detail. For M7's black hole, which
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 evolves over a longer period of about 3
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 days, researchers could combine images
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 collected over consecutive observation
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 sessions to construct detailed
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 visualizations of its active
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 surroundings. These time-lapse sequences
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 would reveal how matter behaves as it
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 approaches the event horizon,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 potentially showing the formation and
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 evolution of jets that extend thousands
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 of light years into space. Beyond the
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 well-known black holes at M87 and
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 Sagittarius A star, the improved
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 resolution enables detailed studies of
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 active galactic nuclei jets with
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 unprecedented precision. Researchers can
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 now investigate phenomena like limb
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 brightening, where jets appear brighter
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 near their edges, and study how these
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 massive energy beams form and accelerate
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 across vast cosmic distances. Perhaps
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 most exciting is the potential for
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 multi-frequency synthesis, a technique
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 that combines data from different
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 frequencies to map black hole
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 environments in exquisite detail over
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 time. For our galaxy's central black
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 hole, this could provide real-time
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 glimpses into its turbulent
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 surroundings, capturing momentby-moment
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 changes near the event
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 horizon. Did you happen to see this?
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Earth has been putting on quite a show
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 lately. A powerful coronal mass ejection
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 struck our planet headon in the early
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 hours of June 1, triggering one of the
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 most spectacular aurora displays in
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 recent memory. The CME originated from
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 an M8.2 class solar flare that erupted
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 on May 30 and raced toward Earth at a
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 staggering speed of nearly
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 1
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 km/s. That's about 4.3 million
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 mph. When this massive burst of solar
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 energy collided with Earth's magnetic
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 field, it triggered what scientists
00:06:46 --> 00:06:50 classify as a severe G4 geomagnetic
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 storm. This intense disturbance in our
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 planet's magneettosphere created
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 breathtaking auroras that were visible
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 much farther south than usual,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 delighting skygazers across North
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 America. The severity of this particular
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 storm meant that aurora chasers were
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 treated to spectacular displays even in
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 regions where such sightings are
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 extremely rare. Terry Griffin captured
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 beautiful aurora pillars in St. George,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 Kansas, noting that the white pillars
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 were strikingly visible to the naked
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 eye. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, sky watchers
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 reported brilliant curtains of green and
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 purple light dancing across the night
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 sky. Perhaps most remarkable were the
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 sightings from places like Farmington,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 New Mexico, where photographer Derek
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 Wilson captured a stunning timelapse of
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 the northern lights. Wilson explained
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 that visible auroras this far south are
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 such a rare occurrence that he knew he
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 had to get far from city lights when he
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 saw the solar storm data. Most
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 astonishingly, the light show was
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 confirmed as visible on webcams as far
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 south as San Diego, California. An
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 extremely unusual occurrence that
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 highlights just how powerful this
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 GeForce storm truly was. The Southern
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 Hemisphere wasn't left out of this
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 extraordinary light show. Sky Watchers
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 in New Zealand were treated to
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 spectacular displays of the Aurora
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 Australas with vibrant red and pink hues
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 illuminating night skies. The crimson
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 and magenta hues that dominated many
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 southern hemisphere sightings created an
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 almost otherworldly atmosphere
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 distinctly different from the
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 predominantly green curtains often seen
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 in the north. In Australia, the Aurora
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 Australas made a dramatic appearance
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 over Victoria. The aurora was
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 particularly impressive over Tasmania
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 with observers in Queenstown reporting
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 some of the most vibrant displays. The
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 rugged landscape provided a striking
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 foreground to the cosmic light show with
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 red and pink aurora reflections visible
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 in the still waters of lakes and bays
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 across the region. What makes these
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 sightings especially remarkable is their
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 rarity. While northern lights are
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 occasionally visible in the northern
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 United States, seeing auroras from
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 places like San Diego or central
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 Australia is extraordinarily uncommon,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 requiring exceptionally powerful
00:09:05 --> 00:09:09 geomagnetic storms like this G4
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 event. Now, let's turn our attention to
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 a mission that will take us to one of
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 the most fascinating worlds in our solar
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 system.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 NASA is preparing to launch the
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan
00:09:20 --> 00:09:25 in July 2028 using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 rocket to send this revolutionary
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 spacecraft on its six-year journey.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 Titan is unlike any world we've explored
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 before. It's the only moon in our solar
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 system with a thick atmosphere, and its
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 surface is dotted with methane rivers,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 lakes, and seas. This methane rich
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 environment has scientists excited
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 because they believe Titan resembles
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 what Earth may have looked like billions
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 of years ago before life transformed our
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 planet's chemistry. What makes Dragonfly
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 truly revolutionary is its design.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 Rather than a traditional rover, NASA
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 has created a nuclearpowered roercraft,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 essentially a science drone that can fly
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 from location to location across Titan's
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 surface. This mobility will allow it to
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 cover hundreds of kilometers during its
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 mission, exploring diverse landscapes
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 that would be impossible to reach with a
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 wheeled vehicle. The principal
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 investigator, Zibby Turtle from John's
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 explains that Dragonfly isn't searching
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 for current life on Titan. Instead, it's
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 investigating the chemical processes
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 that might have preceded life on Earth.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 Since Titan is so cold, about 144
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 degrees C below zero, any chemical
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 reactions occur much more slowly than
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 they would on Earth, effectively
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 preserving evidence of prebiotic
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 chemistry. One of Dragonflyy's prime
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 destinations is Sulk Crater, a massive
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 90 km wide impact site. Scientists
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 believe this ancient asteroid impact may
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 have temporarily melted Titan's icy
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 crust, creating a warm pool of liquid
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 water mixed with organic compounds,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 essentially a prebiotic soup, similar to
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 what might have spawned life on early
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 Earth. By studying Titan, scientists
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 hope to answer fundamental questions
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 about how life begins. Is the path from
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 chemistry to biology universal,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 following the same pattern everywhere?
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 Or was Earth's development of life a
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 cosmic coincidence?
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 It's essentially a longunning chemical
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 experiment, explains Sarah H, a
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 Dragonfly co-investigator. That's why
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 Titan is exciting. It's a natural
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 version of our origin of life
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 experiments, except it's been running
00:11:29 --> 00:11:33 much longer and on a planetary
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 scale. Well, what an incredible journey
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 around our cosmic neighborhood we've
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 taken today. From witnessing Blue
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 Origin's continued progress in
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 commercial space flight to marveling at
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 the sharpest black hole images ever
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 captured from Earth.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 This has been Anna hosting Astronomy
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 Daily. If you'd like to keep up with all
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 the latest space and astronomy news,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 visit our website at
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 astronomydaily.io where our newsfeed
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 updates constantly. You can also follow
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 us on social media by searching for
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 Astro Daily Pod on Facebook X, YouTube,
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00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 Tik Tok. Until next time, keep looking
00:12:07 --> 00:12:17 up.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 Oh, the stories were told.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:27 [Music]