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Today on Astronomy Daily: A weather-delayed rocket launch gets a second chance — Dragon is heading to the ISS tonight. The most powerful rocket ever built is fuelled and ready, with Starship V3 Flight 12 targeting as early as May 19. NASA's Psyche spacecraft is days away from a dramatic Mars slingshot. A startup wants to beam electricity to satellites using lasers. Physicists may have cracked one of science's greatest puzzles. And Juno delivers the closest-ever view of a mysterious moon of Jupiter. All this — plus a Southern Hemisphere skywatching guide and space trivia — on Episode 101. Chapter Timestamps 00:00 — Cold Open & Introduction 01:15 — Story 1: SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon cargo launch — weather scrub resolved 05:00 — Story 2: Starship V3 Flight 12 — launch as early as May 19 09:00 — Story 3: NASA Psyche spacecraft Mars flyby — this Friday 13:00 — Story 4: Star Catcher Industries raises $65M for space power grid 17:00 — Story 5: Brown University solves the cosmological constant problem 21:00 — Story 6: Juno's closest-ever image of Jupiter's moon Thebe 25:00 — Southern Hemisphere Skywatching Guide 26:30 — Space Trivia: What is asteroid Psyche made of? 27:30 — Outro & Sign-off Stories Covered Today • SpaceX CRS-34 mission launches tonight from Cape Canaveral after Tuesday weather scrub • Starship V3 completes wet dress rehearsal — Flight 12 targeting May 19 • NASA Psyche spacecraft performs Mars gravity assist flyby on May 15 • Star Catcher Industries raises $65 million for world's first orbital power grid • Brown University proposes topology solution to the cosmological constant problem • NASA Juno captures closest-ever image of Jupiter's inner moon Thebe Find us at astronomydaily.io | Follow @AstroDailyPod | Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 A rocket that got grounded by the
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 weather. It's back on the pad and ready
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 to fly tonight.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 >> And the most powerful rocket ever built
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 is fueled, stacked, and just waiting for
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 a green light. Flight 12 could happen
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 any day now.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 >> Plus, a spacecraft is about to use Mars
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 as a slingshot. And someone has figured
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 out how to beam electricity to
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 satellites using lasers.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 >> Big day in space. Let's get into it.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 This is Astronomy Daily.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 >> Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 your daily guide to the universe and
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 everything in it. I'm Anna.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 >> And I'm Avery. It's Wednesday, the 13th
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 of May, 2026, and this is season 5,
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 episode 101.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 >> Episode 101. We've officially passed the
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 century mark. Thank you as always to
00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 everyone listening from Europe to
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 Australia across the southern hemisphere
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 through the Americas and all of the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:57 northern hemisphere and around the
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 world.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 >> Big program today. Six stories, some
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 real science, a sky watching update, and
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 a trivia question to keep your brain
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 ticking.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:08 >> Let's start with the launch that almost
00:01:08 --> 00:01:12 wasn't, but very much is. If you were
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 with us yesterday, you might remember we
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 mentioned that the SpaceX Dragon cargo
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 launch was looking a little shaky.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Weather was a concern. And sure enough,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 NASA and SpaceX called off the Tuesday
00:01:23 --> 00:01:24 evening attempt.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 >> And here we are. It is back on. The
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 CRS34
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 mission. Dragon's 34th cargo run to the
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 International Space Station is scheduled
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 to lift off today, Wednesday the 13th of
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 May at 6:50 in the evening Eastern time.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:45 That's 8:50 a.m. Thursday morning for us
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 here in Australia. The Falcon 9 launches
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 Canaveral Space Force Station in
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 Florida. on board about 6 pounds,
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 roughly 2950 kg of supplies, hardware,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 and scientific experiments bound for the
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 ISS. And there are some genuinely
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 interesting experiments in that cargo
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 hold. There's a project looking at how
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 well Earth-based simulators actually
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 replicate microgravity conditions, which
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 matters enormously for preparing future
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 astronauts.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 >> There's also a bone scaffold made from
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 wood. Yes, wood. that could eventually
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 lead to new treatments for conditions
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 like osteoporosis and equipment to study
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 how red blood cells and the spleen adapt
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 to the space environment with an eye on
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 protecting future long duration crews.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 >> What makes this mission particularly
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 special though is the Dragon capsule
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 itself. This is the sixth flight for the
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 specific vehicle, setting a new record
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 for a Space X cargo craft.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 >> Six flights for one capsule. That
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 reusability story just keeps getting
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 more impressive. If all goes to plan,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 Dragon will dock with the Harmony
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 modules forward port at around 7:35 in
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 the morning EDT on Thursday the 14th.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 >> We'll keep an eye on that one, RCS 34,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 the comeback launch.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 >> While one rocket is heading to the ISS
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 today, another one is sitting on the pad
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 in South Texas, generating enormous
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 anticipation. SpaceX's Starship V3
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 flight 12 could launch as soon as May
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 19th. And the milestone from this week
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 that has engineers buzzing, the fully
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 stacked V3 vehicle successfully
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 completed its wet dress rehearsal. That
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 means it was fueled up for the first
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 time ever. More than 5 metric tons
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 of propellant. That's a number so large
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 it barely sounds real. Standing 124 m
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 tall, that's taller than a 40story
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 building, the V3 is a complete redesign
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 of the Starship system. It features
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 upgraded Raptor 3 engines, a new lattice
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 structure for hot staging, and massively
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 increased payload capacity. We're
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 talking 100 metric tons to low Earth
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 orbit in a fully reusable configuration.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 The previous version managed around 35.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 >> Flight 12 will be a suborbital test.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 SpaceX is deliberately taking a step
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 back in ambition to validate the new V3
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 architecture before pushing for the
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 booster catch milestones we saw in
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 flight 11. Both the booster and the ship
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 are targeting splashdown on this one.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 >> What's at stake? Quite a lot. SpaceX's
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 has a reported IPO on the horizon.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 NASA's Aremis program needs a
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 functioning Starship lunar lander, and
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 the company's banking on this vehicle to
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 grow Starlink and eventually launch AI
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 data centers into orbit.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 >> The wet dress rehearsal is done. The
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 static fires are done. All they need now
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 is an FAA launch license. And that
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 apparently is close. Watch this space.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 Quite literally.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:51 >> If you want a front row seat to some
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 incredible orbital mechanics, this
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 Friday, May 15th, is your moment. NASA's
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 Psyche spacecraft is about to use Mars
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 as a gravitational slingshot.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 >> Psyche launched back in October 2023 and
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 has been on a long fuelefficient journey
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 toward the asteroid belt where it's
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 heading for a metalrich asteroid, also
00:05:11 --> 00:05:15 named Psyche, arriving in 2029. But to
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 get there, it needs a speed boost. And
00:05:17 --> 00:05:18 Mars is about to provide one.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 >> At about 12
00:05:21 --> 00:05:25 mph, that's nearly 20 kmh. The
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 spacecraft will pass just 2 miles or
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 about 4 kilometers from the Martian
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 surface. The planet's gravity will
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 effectively grab Psyche, swing it
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 around, accelerate it, and redirect its
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 trajectory towards the asteroid belt.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 >> This is called a gravity assist, and
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 it's one of the most elegant techniques
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 in all of space exploration. Instead of
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 burning precious fuel, you borrow energy
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 from a planet's orbital motion. It's
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 been used on missions dating back to
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 Voyager. But this byllight isn't just
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 about speed. It's a rare opportunity to
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 calibrate Psyche science instruments
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 while there's something large enough to
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 actually observe. The imager will get
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 its first proper workout. The
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 magnetometer may detect Mars's magnetic
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 field. And scientists are intrigued by
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 the possibility that the spacecraft
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 might catch glimpses of a faint dust
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 ring or Taurus surrounding Mars, created
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 by micrometeorites striking the surfaces
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 of its two moons, Phobos and Deemos.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 >> Several existing Mars missions,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 including the Curiosity and Perseverance
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 rovers and NASA's orbiters, will also be
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 watching and contributing data during
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 the encounter.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 >> Friday the 15th, mark it in your
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 calendar. Psyche and Mars, an encounter
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 2.8 8 billion km in the making.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 >> Just before I take us into our next
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 story, a quick reminder to check out the
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 great deal our sponsor NordVPN has put
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 together for you. Get top grade online
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 security for a fraction of the price.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 You can check the details out via the
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 link in the show notes. All right,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 moving on. Here's a story that sounds
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 almost like science fiction, but it is
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 very much real and very much happening
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 right now. A Florida based startup
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 called Starcatcher Industries has just
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 raised $65 million to build what it
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 describes as the world's first power
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 grid in space.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 >> The concept is called optical power
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 beaming. Starcatcher plans to launch a
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 constellation of satellites that will
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 focus sunlight in the form of laser
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 light onto other solar panels of other
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 satellites that need more power. No
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 hardware modifications to the receiving
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 satellite required, just extra
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 electricity on demand. The company says
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 its system can deliver up to 10 times
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 more power to client satellites than
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 they could generate on their own. And
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 its CEO, Andrew Rush, made an analogy
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 that I think really captures why this
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 matters. He said, and I'm paraphrasing,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 that every satellite is essentially on
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 camping trip. It carries its own power
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 and at some point it runs low.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 >> Starcatcher wants to change that. The
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 same way the terrestrial power grid
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 enabled revolutions in communications,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 computing, and industry here on Earth,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 an orbital power grid could unlock the
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 next generation of capabilities in
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 space. Things like persistent Earth
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 observation, real-time data processing,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 and advanced communications
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 infrastructure. The series A round was
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 overs subscribed, meaning more investors
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 wanted in than there were shares
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 available and was led by B Capital with
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 Shield Capital and Cberus Ventures also
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 co-leading. Notably, General Jay
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 Raymond, the first chief of space
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 operations of the US Space Force, is
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 joining the board. Darcatcher already
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 holds the world record for optical power
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 beaming on the ground and has completed
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 an onorbit subsystem demonstration. Now
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 it's moving from validated technology to
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 scalable infrastructure. An inspace
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 demonstration is planned for later this
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 year.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 >> Lasers in space charging your
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 satellites. The future is something
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 else.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 >> All right, now we're going deep. This
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 one is for everyone who's ever stared at
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 the night sky and thought, "Why is any
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 of this here? And why does it work the
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 way it does?" Physicists at Brown
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 University in Rhode Island have
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 published a paper in Physical Review
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 Letters proposing a potential solution
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 to one of the most vexing problems in
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 all of science, the cosmological
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 constant problem. Let's unpack that. The
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 cosmological constant is the
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 mathematical term that describes the
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 energy driving the accelerating
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 expansion of the universe. Einstein
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 introduced it, famously called it his
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 greatest blunder, and then died not
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 knowing he'd actually been right about
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 it. Observations in the 1990s confirmed
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 the universe's expansion is indeed
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 accelerating. Here's the problem.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 Quantum field theory, one of the most
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 successful and rigorously tested
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 frameworks in physics, predicts that
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 vacuum energy, the energy inherent in
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 empty space, should make the
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 cosmological constant enormous,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 practically infinite. But what we
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 actually observe, a tiny tiny fraction
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 of that prediction. The discrepancy is
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 around 120 orders of magnitude. That's a
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 one followed by 120 zeros. It is without
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 exaggeration the worst prediction in the
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 history of physics. And the Brown
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 University team thinks they may have
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 found a way to explain it. Their insight
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 draws an analogy with something called
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 the quantum hall effect. an exotic
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 phenomenon in condensed matter physics
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 where electrical conductance in certain
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 materials is held perfectly steady
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 regardless of imperfections because of
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 the topology the mathematical shape of
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 the quantum state. The researchers found
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 that the simplest formulation of quantum
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 gravity has a mathematically analogous
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 structure something called the churn
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 Simon's kodama state and in that
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 framework the cosmological constant
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 becomes essentially locked in place.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 It's protected by topology. The quantum
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 fluctuations that should be
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 destabilizing it are simply too small or
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 improbable to shift it.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 >> Which if it holds up would explain why
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 the constant has the value it does. Not
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 because of some extraordinary
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 fine-tuning, but because the universe's
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 geometry protects it.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 >> The authors are the first to acknowledge
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 this is a beginning, not an ending.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 There's a lot of detailed work still to
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 do, but it's a genuinely new idea in one
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 of the oldest unsolved problems in
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 physics, and that deserves a moment.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 >> We end today in the Jovian system, and
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 with an image that has had planetary
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41 scientists genuinely excited. On the 1st
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 of May, NASA's Juno spacecraft completed
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 a close flyby of Theeb, the second
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 largest of Jupiter's inner moons. And
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 when we say close, we mean it. Juno
00:11:52 --> 00:11:56 passed within just 3 m or 5 km
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 of thieves surface. The resulting image
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 captures detail at a resolution of about
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05 1.9 m per pixel, the sharpest view we
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 have ever had of this world.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 Theeb sits at the outer edge of
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 Jupiter's faint ring system. And that
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 position is no coincidence. Scientists
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 believe Theeb plays an active role in
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 shaping one of Jupiter's most delicate
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 structures, the so-called Gossamer ring.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 Dust shed from Theeb's surface gets
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 swept into the ring, helping maintain
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 it. The image was captured using Juno's
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 stellar reference unit, an instrument
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 whose primary job is navigation, imaging
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 starfields to keep the spacecraft
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 oriented. But its exceptional
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 sensitivity in low light conditions has
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 made it a surprisingly powerful
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 secondary science instrument. It's
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 previously discovered shallow lightning
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 in Jupiter's atmosphere and revealed the
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 structure of Jupiter's ring system. And
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 now it's given us thieve up close. A
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 small, irregular world, heavily
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 cratered, ancient, playing a quiet but
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 essential role in the dynamics of the
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 solar system's largest planet.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 >> Juno continues to surprise us even this
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 deep into its extended mission. What a
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 spacecraft.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 >> Before we go, let's take a look at the
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 sky above you this week, Southern
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 Hemisphere listeners. This morning, if
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 you were up early enough, you may have
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 caught Saturn in a slender crescent moon
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 sharing the sky in the east, just a few
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 degrees apart in Pisces. Saturn's ring
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 system is tilted towards us again after
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 years at stherly declinations, so
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 conditions are improving every month.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 >> Also, in the pre-dawn sky, Neptune is in
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 the area, though you'll need binoculars
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 or a telescope for that one.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 >> Tomorrow morning, Thursday the 14th,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 Mars makes its own crescent moon
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 pairing. a thin sliver of moon sitting
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 about 4° from the red planet. Both
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 visible to the naked eye under a
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 reasonably dark sky.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 >> And looking ahead, the flower moon,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 May's full moon, arrives on May 31st,
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 and it will be a blue moon. That's the
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 second full moon in a single calendar
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 month. It won't actually look blue, but
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 it's a lovely thing to know.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 >> Clear skies to all of you out there.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 Now, trivia time.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 >> Today's trivia question ties into our
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 Psyche mission story. The asteroid 16
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 psyche is thought to be the exposed
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 metallic core of an ancient protolanet.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 Scientists believe it may be composed
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 primarily of two elements. What are
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 they?
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 >> Oh, I know that one. The answer, nickel
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 and iron. Dyke is thought to be a
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 remnant planetary core. The building
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 blocks of rocky worlds stripped bare
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 billions of years of collisions.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 Studying it from orbit could give us the
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 closest thing we'll ever have to a look
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 inside the Earth itself,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 >> which is remarkable when you think about
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 it. We can't drill to our own planet's
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 core, but we might be able to fly around
00:14:45 --> 00:14:45 one.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 >> That is everything for today's episode
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 of Astronomy Daily, episode 101. Thank
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 you for spending part of your day with
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 us.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 >> If you enjoyed the show, please
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 subscribe, leave a review, and tell a
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 space curious friend. Every listener
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 matters.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 >> You can find us at astronomydaily.io.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 io and across all major podcast
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 platforms. And you can follow us on
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 social media at Astro Daily Pod.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 >> We'll be back tomorrow with the latest
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 from the universe. Until then, keep
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 looking up
00:15:15 --> 00:15:15 >> from Anna
00:15:16 --> 00:15:21 >> and Avery. Clear skies. Astronomy Day.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:29 Stories to tell.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:33 Stories told.