In this episode, we bid farewell to the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas as it completes its closest approach to Earth, offering a glimpse into a cosmic journey that spans billions of years. We discuss the Parker Solar Probe's remarkable 26th close approach to the Sun, where it continues to gather critical data about solar activity at a staggering speed of 430,000 miles per hour. In a more whimsical turn, we share the exciting news of a public contest to design a mascot for NASA's Artemis 2 mission, highlighting the incredible engagement from around the globe.Shifting gears, we delve into the enigma of luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs), exploring a recent discovery that suggests these cosmic explosions may arise from massive black holes tearing apart companion stars. We also examine the potential threat posed by asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a small chance of impacting the Moon in 2032, potentially scattering debris into near-Earth space. Finally, we analyze Russia's revamped plans for its future in space, as it opts to repurpose aging modules from the International Space Station into a new national space station, raising questions about safety and scientific capabilities.### Timestamps & Stories01:05 –
Story 1: Farewell to Interstellar Comet 3I/Atlas**
**Key Facts**
- Comet 3I/Atlas made its closest approach to Earth, coming within 168 million miles.
- It is only the third interstellar object detected passing through our solar system.03:20 –
**Story 2: Parker Solar Probe's Close Approach**
**Key Facts**
- The probe completed its 26th perihelion, flying just 3.8 million miles from the Sun.
- It operated autonomously while gathering crucial data about solar activity.05:45 –
**Story 3: NASA's Artemis 2 Mascot Contest**
**Key Facts**
- NASA invited the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the Artemis 2 mission.
- Thousands of submissions were received, with 25 finalists selected.08:00 –
**Story 4: Understanding LFBOTs**
**Key Facts**
- Recent findings suggest LFBOTs result from black holes shredding companion stars.
- The energy emitted during these events is significantly higher than typical supernova explosions.10:15 –
**Story 5: Potential Impact of Asteroid 2024 YR4**
**Key Facts**
- There is a 4% chance that this building-sized asteroid will hit the Moon in 2032.
- The impact could release energy equivalent to 400 times the Hiroshima bomb.12:00 –
**Story 6: Russia's Future in Space**
**Key Facts**
- Russia plans to repurpose the old ISS modules into a new national space station.
- Concerns arise regarding the safety and maintenance of aging infrastructure. ### Sources & Further Reading
1. NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/)
2. James Webb Space Telescope (https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/)
3. Space.com (https://www.space.com/)
4. European Space Agency (https://www.esa.int/)
5. NASA Solar System Exploration (https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system)
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Website: astronomydaily.io (http://astronomydaily.io)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 your source for the latest news from
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 across the cosmos. I'm Avery.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 >> And I'm Anna. It's great to have you
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 with us. Today we say goodbye to our
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 interstellar visitor and look to the
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 future of life in orbit.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 >> That's right. We'll be talking about a
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 comet from another solar system that
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 just made its closest approach to Earth.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 And we'll check in on the Parker Solar
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 Probe as it once again braves the sun's
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 fiery atmosphere. plus a fun story about
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 how you could have helped design a
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 mascot for the next mission to the moon.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 >> And later in the show, we'll dive into a
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 cosmic mystery involving incredibly
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 powerful blue explosions, a building
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 sized asteroid with a small chance of
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 hitting the moon, and Russia's
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 surprising new plans for its future in
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 space after the International Space
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Station. So, let's get started.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 >> First up, a visitor from very, very far
00:00:54 --> 00:00:58 away. On Friday, December 19th,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:02 interstellar comet 3i/Atlas
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 made its closest approach to our planet.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 >> It came within 168 million miles of
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 Earth. Now that it's passed us, it will
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 begin its long journey back out of our
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 solar system, continuing its voyage
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 through the Milky Way.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 >> And this isn't just any comet. It's only
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 the third object we've ever detected
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 passing through our solar system that
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 originated from interstellar space.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 >> Exactly. It was first spotted by NASA's
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 Atlas system on July 1st, 2025. By
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 analyzing its trajectory, scientists
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 determined it didn't come from around
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 here. In fact, its path suggests it
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 comes from a region of our galaxy that
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 might be up to 7 billion years old.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 >> 7 billion years. That means this little
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 icy wanderer is significantly older than
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 our own 4.6 billionyear-old solar
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 system. It's like a relic from a
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 completely different time and place.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 >> Mhm. A true cosmic fossil. And it gave
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 scientists a bit of a surprise. As it
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 made its closest approach to the sun,
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 the comet brightened much more than
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 expected. And the reason for that extra
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 glow is still a mystery. It's a
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 fascinating puzzle for scientists to
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 analyze as they gather the data from its
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 flyby. So, farewell, ThreeI Atlas. You
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 put on quite a show for us.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 >> Speaking of getting close to the sun,
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been doing
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 just that again.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 >> That's right. On December 13th, the
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 probe completed its 26th close approach
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 or perihelion. And it wasn't just
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 another flyby. It matched its own
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 incredible records.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 >> And what records they are, it flew just
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 3.8 million miles from the solar
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 surface. To put that in perspective,
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 Earth is about 93 million miles away and
00:02:48 --> 00:02:52 its speed a blistering 430
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 mph.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 >> It's almost impossible to comprehend
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 that velocity. During this close
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 approach, the spacecraft was completely
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 out of contact with Earth, operating
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 fully autonomously as its instruments
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 gathered data from right inside the
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 sun's atmosphere, the corona.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 >> Mhm. And the timing is perfect. This is
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 all happening while the sun is in a very
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 active phase of its 11-year cycle.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 >> That's the key. These observations are
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 critical for helping us understand our
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 star and the space weather events it
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 produces like solar flares and coronal
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 mass ejections. That data is vital for
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 protecting our astronauts and technology
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 both in orbit and here on Earth. All
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 right, from the intense heat of the sun
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 to something a little more whimsical,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 NASA recently gave the public a very
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 unique opportunity. The chance to design
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 a mascot for the Aremis 2 mission. This
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 is such a great story. In collaboration
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 with the platform Freelancer, NASA held
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 a contest for a zeroravity indicator.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 These are small, usually plush items
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 that the crew takes with them. When they
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 start to float, it's a simple visual cue
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 that they've reached the microgravity of
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 space,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 >> right? It's a long-standing tradition in
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 human space flight, but this is the very
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 first time the public has been invited
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 to create the crew's mascot. Artemis 2
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 is the mission that will send four
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 astronauts on a trip around the moon in
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 early 2026. So, this is a historic
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 flight.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 >> The response was overwhelming. The
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 contest received thousands of
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 submissions from over 50 countries.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 They've now narrowed it down to 25
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 finalists and the winning design will be
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 fabricated by NASA's own thermal blanket
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 lab and will fly with the astronauts on
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 their journey.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 >> I love that. We won't know the winner
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 until closer to the launch date, but
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 it's fantastic to see this level of
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 public engagement with such a landmark
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 mission. It really connects people to
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 the adventure of space exploration.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 >> Now for a deep space mystery. For years,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 astronomers have been puzzled by
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 extremely powerful and bright blue
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 cosmic explosions. They're called
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 luminous fast blue optical transients or
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 LFBOs for short. And we may finally know
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 what causes them.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 >> LFBO TS. The name itself is a mouthful.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 What's the leading theory here? Well, a
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 recently detected signal designated
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 AT-2024
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 WPPP has provided a major clue. It
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 suggests that LFBOTS are the result of
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 an extreme version of something called a
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 title disruption event or TDE.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 >> That's when a black hole tears a star
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 apart. Right.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 >> Exactly. But in this case, we're talking
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 about a black hole with a mass up to 100
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 times that of our sun, completely
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 shredding its companion star in a matter
00:05:42 --> 00:05:47 of days. This particular event, AT-2024
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 WPP, emitted about 100 times more energy
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 than an average supernova explosion.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 >> Wow. So, what makes it so much more
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 powerful than a typical TTE?
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 >> The theory is that this wasn't just a
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 one-time event. The black hole was
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 likely parasitically feeding from its
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 companion star for a long time, which
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 created a huge shell of material around
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 the pair. When the star finally spiraled
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 close enough to be completely shredded,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 the new stellar material slammed into
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 that pre-existing shell. That massive
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 collision is what generated the immense
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 light and energy that we observe as an
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 LFB S.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 >> So, it's a cosmic twunch knockout. The
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 star gets torn apart and then its
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 remains crash into a wall of its own
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 lost material. That's an incredible
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 level of cosmic violence.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 >> It certainly is. Now, bringing the
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 cosmic violence a little closer to home,
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 let's talk about an asteroid named 2024
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 YR4.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 >> Right. This is a building size asteroid
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 roughly 60 m wide. And scientists have
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 calculated that there's about a 4%
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 chance that it will hit the moon in the
00:06:57 --> 00:07:01 year 2032. A 4% chance isn't huge, but
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 it's certainly not zero, and the
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 potential consequences are significant.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 If it does hit the moon, the impact
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 could release energy equivalent to 400
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 times the Hiroshima bomb.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 >> And it gets a bit more concerning.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 There's also a 1% chance that the impact
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 could scatter meteorites into near Earth
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 space. That debris cloud could pose a
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 real threat to our satellites and any
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 astronauts in orbit.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 >> So, what can be done? Is there a plan to
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 deflect it?
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 >> At the moment, a deflection mission
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 isn't practical. However, some options
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 like intentionally breaking it up into
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 smaller, less harmful pieces are being
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 considered. The most immediate step is
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 to gather more data.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 >> Mhm. And NASA's James Web Space
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 Telescope might give us the clear view
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 we need. There's a potential observation
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 window in February 2026 that could help
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 scientists refine the asteroid's orbit
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 and get a much better handle on the
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 actual odds of a lunar impact.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 >> For our final story today, we're looking
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 at a major shift in the future of human
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 space flight. Russia has significantly
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 altered its plans for what comes after
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 the International Space Station.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 >> That's right. The original plan was to
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 build an entirely new station, the
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 Russian Orbital Station or ROS. But now
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 the plan has changed. The core of this
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 new station will actually be the old
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 Russian segment of the ISS.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 >> So in 2030, when the US segment of the
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 ISS is scheduled to be de-orbited and
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 burned up in the atmosphere, the Russian
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 segment will just detach and become its
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 own station.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 >> Essentially, yes. This decision is
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 widely seen as a money-saving move for
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 Russia's warstrapped economy. However,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 it means their new national space
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 station will be based on modules that
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 are already over 30 years old.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 >> That raises some pretty serious
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 concerns. Using hardware that old brings
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 up major questions about safety,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 long-term maintenance, and the station's
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 future scientific capabilities.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 >> It does, and it places Russia's program
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 in stark contrast with other nations at
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 a time when China is operating its new
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 Tangong space station. and India is
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 developing its own. Russia is choosing
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 to repurpose aging infrastructure. It's
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 a significant moment that could reshape
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 the geopolitical landscape of human
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 activity in low Earth orbit.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 >> And that is all the time we have for
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 today. From interstellar visitors to the
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 shifting future of space stations, it's
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 been another busy day in the world of
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 astronomy.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 >> We hope you enjoyed our tour of the
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 latest headlines from the cosmos.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 >> Thank you for tuning in to Astronomy
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 Daily. I'm Avery.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 >> And I'm Anna. We'll be back on Monday
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 with more updates. Until then, keep
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 looking up.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:56 >> Stories told
00:09:56 --> 00:10:00 stories told.