Latest / Space News Today / Solar Sentinel Reaches L1, Challenger’s 40-Year Legacy, and AI’s Hubble Discoveries

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Solar Sentinel Reaches L1, Challenger’s 40-Year Legacy, and AI’s Hubble Discoveries · Space News Today

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source
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for the latest space and astronomy news.
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I'm Anna.
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>> And I'm Avery. Today is Wednesday,
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January 28th, 2026, and we've got a
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fantastic lineup of stories for you.
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>> We certainly do. We'll be covering
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Noah's new solar observatory reaching
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its destination, looking back at how
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weather played a tragic role in the
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Challenger disaster 40 years ago, and
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discovering how AI is uncovering hidden
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cosmic treasures in Hubble's archives.
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Plus, Venus might be in for a
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spectacular meteor shower this July.
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We'll explore stellar fireworks in the
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heart of our galaxy, and NASA is giving
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us a live view of the Aremis 2 moon
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rocket on the launchpad. Let's dive
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right in.
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>> Our top story today takes us about a
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million miles from Earth where Noah's
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space weather followon lrangee 1
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observatory has just arrived at its
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permanent home. Anna, this is a pretty
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significant milestone for space weather
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monitoring, isn't it?
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>> Absolutely, Avery. This observatory
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reached Lraange.1
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or L1 on January 21st after launching
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back in June 2024. Now, for our
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listeners who might not be familiar, L1
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is the special gravitational sweet spot
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between Earth and the Sun about 1.5
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million km from our planet.
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>> And what makes this location so ideal
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for watching the sun?
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>> Well, at L1, the observatory maintains a
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constant view of the sun while orbiting
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in sync with Earth. It's like having a
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cosmic early warning system. The
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satellite can detect solar storms and
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coronal mass ejections headed our way,
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giving us that crucial advanced notice,
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typically about 15 to 60 minutes before
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these events impact Earth.
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>> That advanced warning time is critical,
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isn't it? I mean, we're talking about
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protecting everything from power grids
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to satellites.
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>> Exactly right. And here's what's really
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exciting. It's not just one observatory.
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It's a constellation. Noah is planning
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four more satellites for L1, plus
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additional ones at Lraange Point 5.
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Together, they'll create this
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comprehensive solar monitoring network.
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The second satellite is already
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scheduled to launch in 2027.
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>> So, we're looking at a much more robust
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space weather forecasting capability in
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the near future.
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>> Precisely. And given how dependent our
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modern infrastructure is on satellites
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and power grids, this kind of monitoring
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becomes more important every year, the
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observatory is now beginning what Noah
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calls an extended checkout period before
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it becomes fully operational.
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>> Moving to a more somber note, January
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28th marks 40 years since the space
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shuttle Challenger disaster. Anna,
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there's been renewed focus on how
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weather and engineering decisions played
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into that tragedy. Yes, and it's a
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powerful reminder of how critical
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environmental factors are in space
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flight. You know, Avery, the night
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before that launch, temperatures at
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Kennedy Space Center dropped to just 28°
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F. That's -2 C. For Florida, that was
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exceptionally cold.
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>> And those cold temperatures were at the
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heart of the problem, weren't they?
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>> They were. Engineers from Morton Thycol,
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the company that built the solid rocket
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boosters, were deeply concerned about
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the O-rings, these critical rubber seals
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in the booster joints. They'd never been
3:25
tested below 53° F. And the engineers
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warned that the cold could make them too
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stiff to seal properly.
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>> But the launch went ahead anyway.
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>> It did. Despite the engineering
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concerns, there was enormous pressure to
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maintain the launch schedule. NASA had
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already postponed the mission several
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times, and there was this institutional
3:46
momentum to proceed. 73 seconds after
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liftoff, hot gases escaped through a
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failed O-ring seal, leading to the
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catastrophic breakup of Challenger.
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>> It's heartbreaking. Seven crew members
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lost, including Christa Malliff, who
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would have been the first teacher in
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space.
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>> The tragedy fundamentally changed how
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NASA approached decision-making. The
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Rogers Commission investigation that
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followed was incredibly thorough and it
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led to major reforms in safety culture
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and communication. One of the key
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findings was that engineering concerns
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need to override schedule pressures
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always.
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>> And those lessons still resonate today,
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don't they? I mean, we see NASA taking
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extra time with Aremis missions, being
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very methodical.
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>> Absolutely. The Challenger disaster
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taught us that in space flight, there's
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no such thing as a routine launch. Every
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mission requires the same level of
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scrutiny and respect for engineering
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limits. It's a lesson paid for with
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Seven Lives and one we must never
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forget.
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>> On a brighter note, let's talk about
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some exciting discoveries from the
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Hubble Space Telescope. Anna, artificial
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intelligence has just helped astronomers
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uncover hundreds of previously
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undetected cosmic objects in Hubble's
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vast archives.
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>> This is fascinating stuff, Avery. So,
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researchers have developed this AI
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algorithm that can sift through decades
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of Hubble observations, and it's finding
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things that human astronomers missed.
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>> Exactly. The algorithm focuses on
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something called gravitational lensing.
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when a massive object like a galaxy
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cluster bends light from more distant
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objects behind it. Einstein predicted
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this effect and it's like having a
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natural cosmic magnifier.
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>> And these lensed objects can tell us a
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lot about the early universe. Right.
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>> They can. The AI has identified hundreds
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of gravitational lens candidates
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including some exceptionally distant
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galaxies from when the universe was very
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young. What's really clever about this
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approach is that the algorithm was
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trained on existing verified
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gravitational lenses. So, it knows what
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to look for.
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>> So, it's not just finding more of the
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same. It's finding rare and unusual
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examples, too.
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>> That's what makes this so exciting. The
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AI is uncovering exotic lensing
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configurations that would be extremely
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timeconuming for humans to find
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manually. We're talking about complex
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multi-image systems, arclike structures,
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even Einstein rings where the background
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object is perfectly aligned.
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>> And Hubble has been collecting data for
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over 30 years now. So there's this
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enormous archive to mine,
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>> right? It's like having a treasure trove
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that we're only now learning how to
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properly search. These discoveries will
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help us understand dark matter
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distribution in galaxy clusters, study
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extremely distant galaxies that would
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otherwise be too faint to detect, and
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refine our models of cosmic evolution.
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It really shows how AI and human
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astronomers can work together. The AI
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does the heavy lifting of searching
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through millions of images and then
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human experts verify and study the most
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interesting candidates.
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>> Exactly. It's not replacing astronomers.
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It's amplifying what they can achieve.
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And as these AI tools get more
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sophisticated, who knows what other
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cosmic secrets might be hiding in plain
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sight in our archives.
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>> Now, for something you don't hear every
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day. Venus might be getting a meteor
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shower. Avery, tell us about this cosmic
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event coming this July.
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>> This is a really cool story, Anna.
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Astronomers have determined that Venus
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could experience a significant meteor
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shower in July 2026. And it all traces
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back to an asteroid breakup that
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happened long ago. We're talking about
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debris from asteroid 20002
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VT37.
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>> Though an asteroid broke apart and now
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its debris is going to hit Venus.
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>> Essentially, yes. When asteroids collide
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or break apart, they create streams of
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debris that continue orbiting the sun.
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Earth regularly passes through these
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debris streams. That's what causes our
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meteor showers like the Perciads or the
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Geminites.
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>> But we don't usually think about other
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planets having meteor showers.
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>> We don't. And that's partly because we
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can't observe them as easily. But
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mathematical modeling shows that Venus's
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orbit will take it through this
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particular debris stream in July. The
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timing and geometry appear to line up
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for a genuine meteor shower event.
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>> What would that look like? I mean, Venus
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has that incredibly thick atmosphere,
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right?
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>> It does. Venus's atmosphere is about 90
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times denser than Earth's and is mostly
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carbon dioxide. Any meteors entering
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that atmosphere would experience
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tremendous heating and friction. They'd
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likely burn up at much higher altitudes
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than meteors do on Earth, creating
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bright streaks across the Venian sky.
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>> Though, I suppose nobody's going to be
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on the surface watching this light show.
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Now, surface conditions on Venus are
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pretty inhospitable. We're talking
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temperatures hot enough to melt lead and
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crushing atmospheric pressure, but
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spacecraft in orbit around Venus or even
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Earthbased observations with certain
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wavelength might be able to detect
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evidence of the meteor shower.
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>> Could this tell us anything
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scientifically valuable?
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>> Absolutely. Studying how meteor showers
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interact with Venus's unique atmosphere
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could give us insights into atmosphere
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chemistry and dynamics. Plus, it helps
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us understand the distribution of debris
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throughout the inner solar system. And
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it's just a reminder that these dramatic
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cosmic events aren't exclusive to Earth.
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>> Speaking of dramatic cosmic events,
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let's head to the center of our own
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galaxy. Avery, astronomers have been
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observing what they're calling stellar
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fireworks at the heart of the Milky Way.
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>> The galactic center is such a wild
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place, isn't it? I mean, we've got that
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super massive black hole, Sagittarius
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Aar, and all sorts of extreme physics
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going on there.
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>> It really is cosmic chaos in the best
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way possible. The region around
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Sagittarius Aar is incredibly dense with
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stars, gas, and dust. And what
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astronomers are seeing is a spectacular
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display of stellar activity. Massive
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stars being born, living out their brief
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but brilliant lives, and dying in
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supernova explosions.
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>> And all of this is happening in a
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relatively small region of space. Right.
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>> Exactly. The galactic center is an
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incredibly compact environment. You've
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got stellar densities that are millions
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of times higher than what we see in our
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solar neighborhood. Stars are packed so
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tightly that gravitational interactions
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are common and the radiation environment
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is intense.
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>> What kind of observations are revealing
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these fireworks?
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>> Astronomers are using multiple
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wavelengths, infrared, x-ray, and radio
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observations to peer through the thick
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dust that obscures the galactic center
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in visible light. What they're seeing
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are energetic outbursts, shock waves
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from supernova remnants, and evidence of
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stars being torn apart by intense tidal
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forces near the black hole.
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>> That sounds pretty dramatic. Stars being
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torn apart.
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>> Yes, there's this phenomenon called
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tidal disruption where a star that
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ventures too close to Sagittarius a star
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gets stretched by gravitational forces.
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Sort of like cosmic spaghettification.
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The star literally gets pulled apart and
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some of that material falls into the
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black hole while the rest is ejected at
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tremendous speeds.
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>> And we're also seeing new stars forming
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in this extreme environment.
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>> We are. Despite the harsh conditions, or
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perhaps because of them, there are
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regions of intense star formation. The
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gravitational compression from all that
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mass can trigger the collapse of gas
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clouds leading to new stellar births.
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These tend to be very massive, hot stars
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that burn bright and die young.
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>> It's almost like the galactic center is
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this constant cycle of creation and
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destruction.
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>> That's a perfect way to describe it. And
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studying this region helps us understand
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how galaxies evolve, how super massive
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black holes influence their
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surroundings, and what conditions were
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like in the early universe when star
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formation was much more vigorous
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everywhere.
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>> For our final story, let's come back
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closer to home. NASA has launched a
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24-hour live stream showing the Aremis 2
12:22
moon rocket on the launchpad at Kennedy
12:24
Space Center.
12:25
>> This is pretty exciting for space
12:27
enthusiasts. A savory. The space launch
12:29
system rocket with the Orion spacecraft
12:32
is now stacked and standing on launchpad
12:34
39B and anyone can watch it live
12:37
whenever they want.
12:39
>> This is the mission that will send
12:40
astronauts around the moon. Right. The
12:42
first crude lunar mission since Apollo
12:44
17.
12:45
>> That's right. Artemis 2 will carry four
12:48
astronauts, NASA astronauts Reed Wisman,
12:51
Victor Glover, Christina and CSA
12:54
astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a journey
12:56
around the moon. They won't land, but
12:59
they'll perform a lunar flyby before
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returning to Earth.
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>> And having the rocket on the pad now,
13:05
that means we're getting close to
13:06
launch.
13:07
>> Well, the current target is no earlier
13:09
than April 2026, though space missions
13:12
often face schedule adjustments. Right
13:15
now, the rocket is on the pad for
13:16
integrated testing, making sure all the
13:19
systems work together properly before
13:21
committing to a launch attempt.
13:23
>> What kind of testing are they doing?
13:25
>> They're running through what's called a
13:27
wet dress rehearsal, which involves
13:29
loading the rocket with propellants and
13:31
going through the countdown sequence,
13:33
stopping just short of ignition. It's
13:35
essentially a full launch simulation to
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verify that all systems, ground
13:40
equipment, and procedures work as
13:42
planned. And the live stream lets us
13:44
watch all this happening in real time.
13:47
>> Exactly. It's a continuous feed, so you
13:50
can check in at any time, day or night,
13:53
and see the rocket standing there on the
13:55
pad. Sometimes you'll catch technicians
13:57
working. Other times, you might see
13:59
weather rolling through. It's a unique
14:01
behindthescenes look at the preparation
14:03
for this historic mission. I have to say
14:07
there's something all inspiring about
14:09
seeing that massive rocket just standing
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there ready to take humans beyond Earth
14:13
orbit for the first time in over 50
14:16
years.
14:17
>> There really is. And it represents years
14:20
of work by thousands of people. After
14:22
Artemis 2's lunar flyby, Artemis 3 will
14:25
attempt the first crude lunar landing
14:27
since 1972,
14:30
including landing the first woman and
14:32
first person of color on the moon. It's
14:34
a new chapter in lunar exploration and
14:36
we're watching it unfold in real time,
14:39
literally. We'll put a link in the show
14:41
notes if you'd like to check it out. And
14:43
that wraps up today's episode of
14:45
Astronomy Daily. From solar
14:47
observatories reaching their cosmic
14:49
outposts to remembering hard-learned
14:51
lessons from AI discoveries and
14:53
telescope archives to potential meteor
14:56
showers on Venus, stellar fireworks at
14:58
our galactic center and moon rockets on
15:01
the launchpad. It's been quite a journey
15:03
through the cosmos today. It certainly
15:05
has. If you want to stay uptodate with
15:08
all the latest space and astronomy news,
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make sure you're subscribed to Astronomy
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Daily. You can find us on your favorite
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>> and don't forget to visit our website at
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15:19
for additional content, show notes, and
15:22
links to all the stories we covered
15:23
today.
15:24
>> You can also connect with us on social
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15:30
>> Until next time, keep looking up.
15:32
>> Clear skies everyone.
15:38
Oh,
15:45
stories told.