In this episode, we embark on an exciting journey through the cosmos, uncovering the latest developments that are shaping our understanding of the universe. We begin with a significant update from low Earth orbit, where Starlink plans to lower its satellite constellation altitude to enhance space safety. This proactive measure aims to mitigate risks associated with space debris, showcasing responsibility in managing our crowded orbital environment. Next, we turn our attention to the Gaia Space Telescope, which has provided unprecedented insights into the formation of planets, detecting compelling evidence of planetary birth in 31 young stellar systems. This groundbreaking observation marks a shift from theoretical models to direct evidence of how solar systems like ours may have formed. We also discuss a remarkable achievement in the study of rogue planets, as astronomers successfully weighed one for the first time using microlensing techniques. This innovative approach not only measures the mass of the rogue planet but also reveals its distance from us, opening new avenues for understanding these elusive celestial bodies. Moving on to interstellar visitors, we explore the fascinating behavior of Comet 3I ATLAS, which has been releasing substantial amounts of water as it moves through space. This discovery indicates that the building blocks of planetary systems might be more common across the galaxy than previously thought. Looking ahead, we highlight the exciting prospects for 2026, with NASA's Artemis 2 mission set to return astronauts to the Moon, alongside advancements from the commercial sector, including new space stations and lunar landers. The upcoming Nancy Chris Roman Space Telescope and China's Soontian telescope promise to revolutionize our view of the universe. Finally, we celebrate a major upgrade to the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, which will enhance its sensitivity and allow for clearer observations of the cold universe, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in cosmic history. Join us as we navigate these captivating stories and more in this episode of Astronomy Daily!00:00 – **Astronomy Daily brings you the latest happenings from across the cosmos
00:33 – **Starlink plans to adjust its satellite constellation in 2026 for space safety reasons
02:49 – **Astronomers have successfully weighed a rogue planet for the first time
03:52 – **Comet 3I ATLs is behaving similar to comets from our solar system
05:03 – **2026 is shaping up to be an absolutely massive year for space exploration
06:08 – **The Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array in Chile recently upgraded
07:25 – **Astronomy Daily thanks you for listening to today's show### Sources & Further Reading1. NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/) 2. European Space Agency (https://www.esa.int/) 3. Space.com (https://www.space.com/) ### Follow & ContactX/Twitter: @AstroDailyPod
Instagram: @astrodailypod
Email: hello@astronomydaily.io
Website: astronomydaily.io (http://astronomydaily.io/)
Clear skies and see you next time! 🌟Become a supporter of this podcast: Support Us (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) . Sponsor Details:
Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN . To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit You'll be glad you did!
Sponsor Details:
Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN . To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit You'll be glad you did!
Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click Here (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support)
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/30929324?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 [Music]
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 that brings you the latest happenings
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 from across the cosmos. I'm your host,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:08 Anna.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 >> And I'm Avery. It's great to be with
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 you. We have a packed show today
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 covering everything from newborn planets
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 and rogue worlds to a major upgrade for
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 one of Earth's most powerful telescopes.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 >> That's right, Avery. We'll also be
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 looking at what makes an interstellar
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 visitor so familiar and peering into the
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 very exciting future of spaceflight. So,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 let's get started. First up, an update
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 from low Earth orbit. Starlink has
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 announced plans to adjust its satellite
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 constellation in 2026, primarily for
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 space safety reasons.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 >> Right. This is a significant move.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 They're planning to lower the entire
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 constellation from its current altitude
00:00:51 --> 00:00:57 of about 550 km down to 480 km.
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 >> And this isn't just a random adjustment.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:01 It follows a recent incident where a
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Starlink satellite broke up, creating a
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 small but notable amount of space
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 debris. This move is a direct response
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 to mitigate future risks.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 >> Exactly. A lower orbit has a key
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 advantage. Atmospheric drag is stronger.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 So if a satellite fails, it will deorbit
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 and burn up in the atmosphere much
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 faster in a few years instead of
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 decades. This drastically reduces the
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 long-term risk of collisions.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 >> It's a proactive step towards managing
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 the increasingly crowded environments in
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 low Earth orbit. A responsible move for
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 a company with such a massive presence
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 up there. From our crowded orbital
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 backyard to the nurseries of distant
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 stars, Gaia Space Telescope has given us
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 an unprecedented look at planets in the
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 process of being born.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 >> This is incredible news. Gaia has found
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 compelling evidence of planet formation
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 in 31 different young stellar systems.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 We're talking about seeing the very
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 first stages of planetary life.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 >> It really is. And the method is just as
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 brilliant as the discovery itself. Gaia
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 isn't seeing the planets directly.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 Instead, it's detecting the tiny
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 gravitational wobble that these forming
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 planets exert on their host stars.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 >> That gravitational wobble, it's the same
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 principle behind many exoplanet
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 discoveries. But applying it to these
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 incredibly young, chaotic systems is a
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 huge breakthrough. It allows astronomers
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 to study these systems in their infancy
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 on a large scale for the first time.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 We're moving from theoretical models to
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 direct observation of how solar systems
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 like our own might have formed. It's a
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 whole new window into planetary science.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 >> Speaking of new windows, how about this?
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 Astronomers have successfully weighed a
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 rogue planet for the first time. And for
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 our listeners, a rogue planet is one
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 that drifts through space untethered to
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 any star. They're incredibly difficult
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 to find, let alone study.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 >> Exactly. This one is about the size of
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 Saturn, and it was likely ejected from
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 its home solar system billions of years
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 ago. Using a technique called
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 microlensing, scientists were able to
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 measure not just its mass, but its
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 distance from us as well.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 >> And the secret ingredient here was
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 parallax. They observed the microl
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 lensing event where the rogue planet's
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 gravity bends the light of a background
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 star from two places at once. Earth and
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 the Gaia Space Telescope, which is about
00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 a million miles away.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 >> Mhm. That different perspective gave
00:03:42 --> 00:03:43 them the data they needed to calculate
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 the planet's properties. It's a
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 fantastic proof of concept for a new way
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 to study these isolated wandering
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 worlds. It makes you wonder how many are
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 out there. From wandering worlds to
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 interstellar visitors, our third
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 confirmed guest from another star
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 system, comet 3i/ATLS,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 has been revealing some more fascinating
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 secrets.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 >> It certainly has. As the comet was
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 moving away from the sun, the SOHO
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 spacecraft observed it producing an
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 absolutely massive amount of water.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 >> Right. The solar wind was breaking down
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 that water vapor into hydrogen and
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 oxygen. SOHO's SWAN instrument, which is
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 designed to look for hydrogen, detected
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 this huge hydrogen glow surrounding the
00:04:27 --> 00:04:28 comet.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 >> And what's so significant about that?
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 >> Well, it means this interstellar comet
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 is behaving in a way that's very similar
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 to comets from our own solar system.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 They also release large amounts of water
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 as they are heated by the sun.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 >> So, it's a piece of another solar
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 system, but it's made of the same stuff
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 as ours. That's a profoundly important
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 clue about the composition of planetary
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 systems beyond our own. It suggests the
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 building blocks for worlds like Earth
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 could be quite common across the galaxy.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 >> That it does, and it shows the threeey
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 atlas has untold stories to tell us as
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 it heads on out of our solar system.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 >> Let's shift our gaze from the distant
00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 past to the very near future. 2026 is
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 shaping up to be an absolutely massive
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 year for space exploration.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 >> Oh, I am so excited for this. The
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 headline mission, of course, is NASA's
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 Aremis 2. We're finally sending
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 astronauts back to the moon, or at least
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 on a trip around it. It will be the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 first time humans have been in deep
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 space since the Apollo program.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 >> A huge milestone. But it's not just
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 NASA. The commercial sector is also
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 making big moves. We're expecting the
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 debut of new commercial space stations
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 and the next generation of private lunar
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 landers.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 >> And we'll be getting new eyes on the
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 universe, too. The Nancy Grace Roman
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 Space Telescope is scheduled to launch.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 Its wide field view will be
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 revolutionary for studying dark energy
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 and finding exoplanets.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 >> That's right. And not to be outdone,
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 China's launching its own powerful space
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 telescope, Sununin, which will have a
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 field of view 300 times larger than
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 Hubble's. It's going to be a year of
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 incredible advancements across the
00:06:07 --> 00:06:08 board.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 >> Finally, let's come back down to Earth
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 for our last story. The Audacama
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 largem/s submillimem array in Chile,
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 better known as ALMA, has just completed
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 a major upgrade.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 >> ALMA is already one of the most powerful
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 radio telescopes on the planet. What did
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 this upgrade involve?
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 >> Engineers installed 145 brand new
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 low-noise amplifiers across the array of
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 antennas. In simple terms, this will
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 massively increase the telescope's
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 sensitivity. It's like giving a giant
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 ear a state-of-the-art hearing aid.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 >> Wow. So, it will be able to pick up even
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 fainter signals from space. What kind of
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 science will that enable?
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 >> It's going to give us a much clearer
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 view of the cold universe. ALMA excels
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 at observing things like the dusty discs
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 where planets are forming, the cold gas
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 of the interstellar medium, and even
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 complex organic molecules in distant
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 galaxies. With this upgrade, those views
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 will be sharper and deeper than ever
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 before.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 >> I love all this new science we have to
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 look forward to.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 >> It's a powerful testament to how this
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 new telescope is not just confirming old
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 theories, but actively rewriting the
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 first chapters of cosmic history right
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 before our eyes. It's a true revolution
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 in our understanding of the early
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 universe.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 >> And that's a wrap for our news today.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 From managing our orbital highways to
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 discovering newborn planets and gearing
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 up for humanity's return to deep space,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 it's been an incredible tour of the
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 cosmos.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 >> It certainly has. Thanks so much for
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 tuning in to Astronomy Daily. We hope
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 you'll join us next time for another
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 look at the universe around us.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 >> For more space and astronomy news,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 follow us on social media. Just search
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 for Astro Daily Pod on all the major
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 platforms. And if you visit our YouTube
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 channel, please give us a thumbs up and
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 a follow. It really helps with the
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 algorithm recommending us to other space
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 enthusiasts.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:05 >> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:13 >> Stories told
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 stories told.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:24 [Music]