Sponsor Link:
To grab our special NordVPN listener deal, Click Here (https://bitesz.com/nordvpn)
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, Season 5 Episode 91 — Thursday 23 April 2026. Hosted by Anna and Avery for the Bitesz.com Podcast Network. Today: NASA's Roman Space Telescope locks in a September 2026 launch date eight months ahead of schedule; new research reveals Uranus's rings are hiding secrets — and possibly hidden moons; Hubble returns to the Trifid Nebula nearly 30 years on; Jordan becomes the 63rd nation to sign the Artemis Accords; the Artemis III rocket core stage ships to Kennedy Space Center; and Southern Hemisphere skywatchers get their best shot at Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS this week. Story Summaries 1. Roman Space Telescope — September 2026 Launch Confirmed NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now targeting a September 2026 launch — eight months ahead of its formal May 2027 deadline, and under budget. The 300-megapixel infrared observatory will survey the cosmos with a field of view at least 100 times wider than Hubble's, observing over a billion galaxies and discovering more than 100,000 new worlds in its first five years. It will travel to the Sun-Earth L2 point aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. 2. Uranus's Mysterious Rings Hint at Hidden Moons A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, using combined data from Keck Observatory, Hubble and JWST, has produced the first complete reflectance spectrum of Uranus's two outermost rings. The mu-ring is made of water ice sourced from moon Mab; the nu-ring contains carbon-rich organic compounds from unseen rocky bodies — suggesting undiscovered moonlets may orbit Uranus. Researchers say a dedicated spacecraft mission will be needed to solve the mystery fully. 3. Hubble Revisits the Trifid Nebula NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has re-imaged the spectacular Trifid Nebula, approximately 5,000 light-years away, nearly three decades after its original 1997 image. By comparing the two images, astronomers have tracked measurable changes in young stellar behaviour — demonstrating the power of long-lived space observatories as cosmic time-lapse cameras. 4. Jordan Signs the Artemis Accords The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed the Artemis Accords today at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, becoming the 63rd nation to commit to the framework for peaceful space exploration. The Accords — established in 2020 — cover transparency, interoperability, data sharing, heritage preservation and resource extraction principles for Moon, Mars and beyond. 5. Artemis III Rocket Core Stage on the Move Just ten days after Artemis II's historic lunar flyby concluded, NASA rolled out the core stage of the Artemis III SLS rocket from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans onto the Pegasus barge for shipment to Kennedy Space Center. Artemis III is targeting 2027 for an Earth-orbit crewed rendezvous and docking test with commercial lunar landers, with a Moon landing pushed to Artemis IV in 2028. 6. Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS — Southern Hemisphere Viewing Window Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS reached perihelion on April 19 and is now entering its best viewing window for Southern Hemisphere observers. From late April through early May, the comet will appear in the evening sky after sunset, potentially reaching magnitude 3.5 or brighter. Its orbit may be hyperbolic — meaning this could be humanity's only ever encounter with this object. Closest Earth approach: April 26, at approximately 73 million kilometres. Links & Resources: • Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: roman.gsfc.nasa.gov • Artemis Accords signatories: nasa.gov/artemis-accords • Comet C/2025 R3 tracking: theskylive.com/c2025r3-info • New research — Uranus rings: doi.org/10.1029/2025je009404 • Astronomy Daily: astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support (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!
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/32904420?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 If you've been stepping outside after
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 dark lately and wondering what that
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 fuzzy smudge low on the horizon might
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 be, stay tuned because by the end of
00:00:09 --> 00:00:10 today's show, you're going to know
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 exactly what it is, exactly when to
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 look, and exactly why you might only
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 ever get one shot at seeing it. Welcome
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 >> And I'm Avery. This is season 5, episode
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 91 of Astronomy Daily, your daily guide
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 to everything happening in space and
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 beyond.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:34 >> It is Thursday, the 23rd of April, 2026,
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 and we have a cracking episode lined up.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 Six stories across the board today. From
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 a gamechanging telescope that just
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 locked in a launch date to a decad's old
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 cosmic photograph getting a stunning
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 update to a signing ceremony happening
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 literally as we record this. And we'll
00:00:52 --> 00:00:53 close out with that comet you just
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 teased, Anna, which our Southern
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 Hemisphere listeners in particular are
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 going to want to hear about. Trust us.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 >> Let's get into it.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 >> We touched on the Roman Space Telescope
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 earlier this week when NASA hosted its
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 big unveiling event at Gddard Space
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 Flight Center. But since that story ran,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 something significant has become clear.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 The launch date. So, let's give this the
00:01:15 --> 00:01:16 update it deserves,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 >> right? And the headline here is
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 genuinely exciting. The Nancy Grace
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 Roman Space Telescope is now targeting a
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 September 2026 launch. That's eight
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 months ahead of its formal deadline of
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 May 2027. 8 months. And it came in under
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 budget. In government space projects,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 that is practically unheard of.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 >> To put this in perspective for anyone
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 just catching up, Roman is NASA's next
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 flagship space observatory. Think of it
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 as Hubble's younger sibling. Same size
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 mirror, about 2.4 4 m, but a field of
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 view that is at minimum 100 times wider
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 than Hubble's. The images it will
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 capture are so large there is literally
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 no screen currently in existence big
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 enough to display them at full
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 resolution. And NASA administrator Jared
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 Isaacman made a striking comparison at
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 this week's press event. What would take
00:02:10 --> 00:02:14 Hubble 2 years to survey, Roman can
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 do in a single year. 2 years versus
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 one. Let that sink in.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 >> The science objectives are vast. Roman
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 will hunt for exoplanets, potentially
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 more than 100 new worlds in its
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 first 5 years. It'll survey billions of
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 galaxies, and critically it will probe
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 two of the deepest mysteries in modern
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 physics, dark matter and dark energy. We
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 don't know what either of those actually
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 are. And Roman's wide field infrared
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 vision is designed specifically to pull
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 back the curtain. It's also carrying the
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 Coronograph instrument, a technology
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 demonstrator that will attempt to
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 directly photograph planets around
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 nearby stars. That could be a
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 transformative capability for the search
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 for Earthlike worlds.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 >> Roman will travel to the Sun Earth L2
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 point, the same orbital neighborhood as
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 the James Webb telescope about a million
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 miles from Earth. Once there, it begins
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 a 5-year primary mission. If September
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 holds, we could see first light before
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 the end of this year.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 >> 16 years after astronomers ranked it as
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 the single highest priority for the next
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 decade of space science, four separate
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 attempts to cancel the mission. And here
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 we are 8 months ahead of schedule,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 watching it ship to Kennedy Space Center
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 this summer. Some stories really do have
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 a good ending.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 >> A feel-good story indeed.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 >> Right. Story two. And this one involves
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 Uranus, which is having quite a moment
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 scientifically lately.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 >> Uranus is the gift that keeps giving.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 The ice giant seven planets out from the
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 sun, famously tilted on its side with 29
00:03:50 --> 00:03:54 known moons and a system of 13 rings.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 And it's those rings at the center of
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 new research published this week in the
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 journal of geoysical research, planets.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 A team led by Enke Deotter at UC
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 Berkeley has combined data from three of
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 the world's most powerful observatories.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 The WM KEKCK Observatory in Hawaii, the
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 Hubble Space Telescope and the James Web
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 Space Telescope to build the first
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 complete reflectance spectrum of
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 Uranus's two outermost rings known as
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 the MU ring and the new ring. And what
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 they found is that these two rings
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 sitting side by side in the uranian
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 system are made of completely different
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 stuff. Which raises an obvious question.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 How?
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 >> The Mu ring, it turns out, is composed
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 of water ice particles. Tiny frozen
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 grains being knocked loose from a small
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 moon called Mab by micrometeorite
00:04:48 --> 00:04:52 impacts. M is only about 12 km across,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 barely a pebble on cosmic scales, but
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 it's generating an entire ring of ice
00:04:58 --> 00:04:59 debris as it orbits.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 >> Interestingly, the only other blue ring
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 like this in our solar system is
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 Saturn's E-ring, produced by volcanic
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 activity on Enceladus. The mechanism is
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 different, but the result is remarkably
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 similar. Major finding the same solution
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 twice. Now, the new ring is where things
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 get really strange. It's not made of
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 ice. Instead, it's composed of rocky
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 material laced with organic compounds,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 carbonri molecules. And crucially,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 there's no known moon nearby that could
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 be the source.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 >> The researchers believe there must be
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 unseen rocky bodies, possibly small moon
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 lids tucked between the known moons,
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 getting bombarded by micrometeorites and
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 feeding material into the ring. In other
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 words, Uranus likely has more moons than
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 we know about.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 >> Mark Shoalter from the SETI Institute, a
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 co-author on the study, was pretty
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 direct about it. He said solving the
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 full mystery will probably require a
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 spacecraft mission to Uranus, and one is
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 in the planning stages. It was the top
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 priority in the most recent National
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 Academy of Scienc's planetary science
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 decadal survey, though funding remains
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 the critical question.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 >> There's one more wrinkle worth
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 mentioning. The MU ring appears to be
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 changing in brightness over time, subtly
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 but measurably. What's causing that?
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 Nobody knows. Another mystery for a
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 mission that, fingers crossed,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 eventually gets off the ground.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 >> Uranus. Deeply weird, deeply
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 fascinating, and apparently still full
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 of secrets. This story is going to keep
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 developing.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 >> Story three. And this one's a treat for
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 anyone who loves cosmic imagery with a
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 sight of time-lapse astronomy. The
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 Hubble Space Telescope has gone back to
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 one of its classic targets, the Triffid
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 Nebula, and the comparison between the
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 original image and the new one is
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 genuinely remarkable.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 >> For those unfamiliar, the Triffid Nebula
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 is a star forming region in the
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 constellation Sagittarius, about 5
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 light years from Earth. Its name comes
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 from the Latin for divided into three.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 It split into three distinct loes by
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 dark dust lanes, giving it the striking
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 trilobate appearance. It's one of
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Hubble's most celebrated early targets.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 Hubble first imaged the tripffid back in
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 1997, nearly three decades ago. The new
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 image captured with upgraded instruments
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 covers essentially the same field. And
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 by placing the two side by side,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 astronomers have been able to track real
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 measurable changes in how young stars in
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 the region behave and evolve. Now, 29
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 years sounds like a long time to us. On
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 cosmic scales, it's barely an eyelink,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 but young stars still in the process of
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 forming, still shedding material, still
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 igniting, can show perceptible changes
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 on human time scales. And that's exactly
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 what the comparison reveals. What Hubble
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 is doing here is functioning as a kind
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 of cosmic time-lapse camera. The same
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 telescope returning to the same subject
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 decades apart and documenting how the
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 universe has shifted in the interim.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 It's one of the most powerful aspects of
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 having a long lived observatory in
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 space.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 >> And of course, visually the new tripffid
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 image is spectacular. The deep magentas,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 electric blues, and soft golden hues of
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 active stellar nurseries. If you haven't
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 seen it yet, it's worth seeking out.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 We'll link it in the show notes.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 >> The Triffid Nebula, 30 years older and
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 if anything, more beautiful than ever.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 Proof that some things genuinely improve
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 with age.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 >> Like us, maybe. Anna,
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 >> story four now. And this one is
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 happening today. Right now, as we record
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 >> the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 signing the Artemis Accords, becoming
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 the 63rd country to commit to the
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 framework for peaceful and responsible
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 space exploration. NASA administrator
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 Jared Isaacman is hosting Ambassador
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 Dena Cow for the ceremony.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 >> Now, we should explain what the Artemis
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 Accords actually are for anyone who
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 joined us more recently. The accords
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 were established in 2020 during the
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 first Trump administration by NASA and
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 the State Department initially with
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 seven other founding nations including
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 Australia. They're a set of practical
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 principles covering how countries should
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 conduct themselves in space.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 transparency, interoperability,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:38 data sharing, protecting historic sites,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 safe zones around operations, and the
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 responsible extraction of resources.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 >> They're built on top of the 1967 Outer
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 Space Treaty, but they add specificity
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 that the original treaty lacked. And
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 critically, they're open to any nation
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 that wants to participate in the broader
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 Artemis program of moon exploration.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 What's interesting about the timing here
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 is that just 3 days ago on Monday,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:06 Latvia signed as the 62nd nation, though
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 we've seen two signitories in one week,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 right on the heels of Artemis 2's
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 successful return to Earth.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 >> There is a momentum story here. Artemis
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 2 returns from the moon and within days,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 the international community is literally
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 lining up to join the framework. Jordan
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 notably has genuine aspirations in the
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 space sector. The country has invested
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 in satellite technology and space
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 science education in recent years. This
00:10:32 --> 00:10:36 isn't just symbolic. 63 nations. The
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 list now spans every inhabited continent
00:10:39 --> 00:10:43 with 29 European nations, 15 across
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 Asia, and representation from the
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 Americas, Africa, and Oceanania. The
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Aremis program is increasingly a
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 genuinely global endeavor.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 >> Congratulations to Jordan. Welcome to
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 the coalition.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 >> Before we move on to our next story,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 I'll just jump in and give you a
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 reminder about our sponsor, NordVPN.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 They're the ones who are helping us keep
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 the lights on this week. But if you're
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 looking to make your online presence
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 really secure from snooping eyes, and
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 that includes governments, then you need
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 NordVPN. They're the one we use and can
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 highly recommend. Check them out via the
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 link in the show notes and I think
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 you'll be amazed at the incredible deals
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 they have in place for Astronomy Daily
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 listeners.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 >> All right, story five. And if you're
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 wondering how quickly NASA moves after a
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 successful mission, wonder no more.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 >> It was just 10 days ago that the Aremis
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 2 crew splashed down in the Pacific.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 Four astronauts home safe after the most
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 distant human space flight in history.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 And NASA is already rolling out the
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 hardware for the next one.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 >> On April 20th, just a week and a half
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 post splashdown, engineers at NASA's
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Mish assembly facility in New Orleans
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 loaded the core stage of the Aremis 3
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 space launch system rocket onto the AY's
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Pegasus barge. It's currently on route
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 to Kennedy Space Center in Florida,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 where final integration and outfitting
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 will take place. The core stage is
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 enormous. When fully integrated, it'll
00:12:14 --> 00:12:19 stand 212 ft tall, around 65 m. What
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 rolled onto the barge is the top four
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 fifths of that structure. The liquid
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 intertank, and forward skirt. The engine
00:12:29 --> 00:12:33 section with its four RS25 engines will
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 be attached at Kennedy. Now, Artemis P's
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 mission profile has evolved since the
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 program was first announced. The
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 original plan, landing astronauts at the
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 lunar south pole, has been pushed back
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 to Artemis 4, now targeting the first
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 half of 2028. Artemis 3, scheduled for
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 2027, will instead test rendevous and
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 docking procedures in Earth orbit. With
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 the Orion spacecraft linking up with one
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 or both of the contracted lunar landers
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 from SpaceX and Blue Origin,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 >> it's a sensible reconfiguration. test
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 the systems in Earth orbit first where
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 rescue is possible if something goes
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 wrong, then send people to the moon.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 >> And there's an added layer of
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 significance here. One of those landers,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 Blue Origins Blue Moon, was supposed to
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 launch on a new Glenn rocket. That
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 rocket is currently grounded following
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 last week's upper stage mishap. So,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 there's some pressure on Blue Origin to
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 resolve that situation quickly. NASA
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 administrator Isaac men has expressed
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 confidence publicly, but the clock is
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 ticking.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 >> The momentum of the Aremis program feels
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 very real right now. One mission just
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 returned. The next one is literally on a
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 barge. The one after that is already in
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 planning. This program is moving.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 >> Next, something for our sky watchers.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 >> That's right. The story I teased in the
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 opener summary. And this one is
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 especially for our listeners in
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 Australia, New Zealand, and across the
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 southern hemisphere.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:05 >> Comet C 2025 R3 pan stars. It's been
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 generating buzz for months. Some corners
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 of the internet have called it the
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 potential great comet of 2026. And right
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 now, this week, is when southern
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 hemisphere sky watchers get their best
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 shot at it.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 >> Let's set the scene. This comet was
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 discovered in September 2025 by the Pan
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 Star Survey Telescope in Hawaii. At that
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 point, it was a faint 19th magnitude
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 spec visible only to the most sensitive
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 detectors. It's been brightening
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 steadily ever since. It reached
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 perihelion, its closest approach to the
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 sun on April 19th, passing within about
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 75 million km of the sun. And here's
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 where it gets particularly interesting
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 for our southern hemisphere listeners.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 While northern hemisphere observers have
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 now largely lost it in the sun's glare,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 the geometry is turning in your favor.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 >> From late April through early May, the
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 comet will appear in the evening sky for
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 southern hemisphere viewers, moving
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 progressively higher after sunset. At
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 its brightest estimates, it could reach
00:15:07 --> 00:15:11 magnitude 3.5, comparable to the stars
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 of the Southern Cross, and potentially
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 brighter. There's even an optimistic
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 scenario where it approaches magnitude
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 zero, which would make it one of the
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 most striking naked eye comets in years.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 Now, comets are famously unpredictable.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 We can model their orbits beautifully,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 but their brightness depends on how the
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 icy nucleus responds to solar heating,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 and that's harder to forecast. The
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 magnitude 3.5 estimate is a solid
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 baseline, but don't be surprised if it
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 over or underdelivers. The closest
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 approach to Earth happens on April 26th,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 just 3 days from now, when it passes
00:15:48 --> 00:15:52 within about 73 million km. Look low in
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 the western sky after sunset in the
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 direction of the constellations Pisces
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 and Pegasus. Binoculars will certainly
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 help, but under dark skies, you might
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 find it with the naked eye.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 >> And here's the detail that gives this
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 story real weight. The comet's orbit may
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 be hyperbolic. That means it may have
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 come from interstellar space, will swing
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 past the sun once, and then head back
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 out, never to return. If that's
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 confirmed, April and May 2026 could be
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 the only time in all of human history
00:16:24 --> 00:16:28 that anyone ever sees this object ever.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 >> So, get outside this week. Dark sky,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 western horizon, after sunset. You might
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 be watching something no human has ever
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 seen before and no human ever will
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 again.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 >> Before we wrap up, time for your daily
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 dose of cosmic trivia.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 >> Today's question, the Nancy Grace Roman
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 Space Telescope shares its primary
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 mirror size with a famous existing space
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 telescope. Which one and where did the
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 mirror originally come from?
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 >> I'll give you a second or two to think
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 about it.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:03 >> The answer, Roman's 2.4 4 meter mirror
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 is the same size as the Hubble Space
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 Telescopes. And here's the remarkable
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 backstory. The mirror was actually
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 donated to NASA by the National
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 Reconnaissance Office. It was originally
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 built for a classified intelligence
00:17:16 --> 00:17:20 satellite. NASA repurposed surplus spy
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 satellite hardware into what will become
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 one of the most powerful astronomical
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 instruments ever launched. From watching
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 Earth from above to watching the
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 universe from afar. Not a bad career
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 change for a mirror.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 >> And that is your astronomy daily for
00:17:35 --> 00:17:39 Thursday the 23rd of April 2026. Six
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 stories, one extraordinary universe.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 Thank you so much for spending part of
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 your day with us.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 >> Find us everywhere podcasts are found on
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 YouTube and at astronomydaily.io.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 Leave us a review if you're enjoying the
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 show. It genuinely makes a difference.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 and follow us on social media at Astro
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 Daily Pod.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 >> And for our Southern Hemisphere
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 listeners, get outside this week. That
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 comet is waiting for you.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 >> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:11 >> Clear skies, everyone. Astronomy day.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:19 Stories be told.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:23 Stories told.