Latest / Space News Today / Artemis II Reaches the Pad, Akatsuki’s Final Farewell, and China Cracks the FRB Code

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Artemis II Reaches the Pad, Akatsuki’s Final Farewell, and China Cracks the FRB Code · Space News Today

0:00
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source
0:03
for the latest news in space and
0:05
astronomy. I'm Anna.
0:07
>> And I'm Avery. We've got an absolutely
0:10
packed show for you today with some
0:12
really exciting developments happening
0:14
across the solar system and beyond.
0:17
>> That's right, Avery. NASA's Aremis 2
0:19
mission just reached a major milestone
0:22
that brings us closer to putting humans
0:24
back on the moon. We'll update you on
0:27
the impressive journey their massive
0:29
rocket just completed.
0:31
>> Plus, we're saying goodbye to a
0:33
spacecraft that refused to give up.
0:35
Japan's Aquatsuki mission to Venus has
0:38
officially ended after more than a
0:40
decade of incredible science, but not
0:43
before delivering some stunning
0:44
discoveries.
0:45
>> We've also got a fascinating story about
0:48
China's fast telescope solving a cosmic
0:51
mystery that's had astronomers
0:53
scratching their heads for years. vast
0:56
radio bursts, anyone?
0:58
>> Speaking of mysteries, there's some
1:00
concerning news about a Spanish military
1:02
satellite, and we'll explore what might
1:04
be the most comprehensive year for space
1:06
science in recent memory with missions
1:08
heading to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
1:11
And finally, astronomers have been
1:13
taking a closer look at dwarf galaxies,
1:16
and what they found is changing our
1:19
understanding of super massive black
1:21
holes across the universe. It's going to
1:24
be a great show, so let's get into it.
1:26
>> All right, Avery, let's kick things off
1:29
with some really exciting news from
1:31
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
1:33
The Aremis 2 mission just hit a huge
1:36
milestone.
1:37
>> This is big, Anna. After nearly 12 hours
1:41
of careful travel, NASA's Space Launch
1:44
System rocket and Orion spacecraft
1:46
finally reached launchpad 39B this past
1:49
Saturday evening. And when you say
1:52
careful travel, you really mean it.
1:54
We're talking about NASA's Crawler
1:56
Transporter 2 moving at a blazing
1:59
maximum speed of just82
2:02
mph.
2:04
Right. I could literally walk faster
2:06
than that. But when you're moving a
2:08
massive moon rocket, slow and steady
2:11
definitely wins the race. The journey
2:13
from the vehicle assembly building
2:15
covered about 4 miles. What I find
2:18
interesting is that they had to make a
2:20
planned pause along the way. The team
2:22
needed to reposition the crew access
2:24
arm, which is essentially a bridge that
2:27
will provide the astronauts access to
2:29
the Orion spacecraft on launch day.
2:32
That's such a critical piece of
2:33
infrastructure. Now that the rocket's at
2:35
the pad, teams are preparing for what
2:37
NASA calls a wet dress rehearsal, which
2:40
is targeted for no later than February
2:42
2nd. Can you explain what that entails
2:45
for our listeners who might not be
2:46
familiar?
2:47
>> Absolutely. During the wet dress
2:50
rehearsal, engineers will load the
2:52
rocket with its cryogenic propellants,
2:54
super cold fuel, run through the entire
2:56
countdown sequence, and then practice
2:59
safely draining all those propellants
3:01
from the rocket. It's basically a full
3:03
mission simulation without actually
3:05
launching.
3:06
>> And this is absolutely essential before
3:09
putting a crew on board. NASA wants to
3:11
make sure every system works perfectly.
3:14
>> Exactly. Now, they've noted that
3:16
additional wet dress rehearsals might be
3:19
required to ensure the vehicle is
3:21
completely ready for flight. And if
3:23
needed, they may roll the SLS and Orion
3:26
back to the vehicle assembly building
3:28
for additional work.
3:29
>> Let's talk about the crew. This is going
3:31
to be a historic mission.
3:34
>> It really is. The Aremis 2 mission will
3:37
send NASA astronauts Reed Wisman, Victor
3:40
Glover, and Christina along with
3:42
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy
3:44
Hansen on approximately 10-day journey
3:47
around the moon and back.
3:49
>> And this will be the first crude lunar
3:51
mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. We're
3:55
talking about more than 50 years.
3:58
>> That's incredible when you think about
4:00
it. And this mission is a crucial
4:02
stepping stone towards landing humans on
4:04
the moon's surface again, which will
4:06
then help us prepare for the ultimate
4:08
goal, sending astronauts to Mars.
4:11
>> The timeline is really coming together.
4:13
From roll out to wet dress rehearsal to
4:16
launch, it's all happening.
4:18
>> And every step brings us closer to
4:20
seeing humans venture beyond Earth orbit
4:23
for the first time in over half a
4:25
century. It's an exciting time for space
4:27
exploration.
4:29
>> Moving from the moon to our other
4:31
planetary neighbor, we need to talk
4:33
about the end of an era at Venus.
4:36
Japan's Akatsuki mission officially
4:38
concluded in September 2025 after an
4:42
absolutely remarkable journey.
4:44
>> This is such a bittersweet story, Anna.
4:47
Akatsuki, which was operated by Jaxa and
4:50
ISS, was Japan's first fully successful
4:53
planetary orbiter. And it went through
4:55
quite an ordeal to get there.
4:57
>> Right. Cuz the mission didn't exactly go
4:59
according to plan from the start, did
5:01
it?
5:02
>> Not at all. Akatsuki launched back in
5:04
2010 with the goal of studying Venus's
5:06
atmosphere, but it actually failed to
5:09
enter Venus orbit on its first attempt
5:11
due to a main engine malfunction. So,
5:13
the spacecraft ended up drifting around
5:15
the sun for 5 years.
5:18
>> 5 years? That must have been incredibly
5:20
frustrating for the team, but they
5:22
didn't give up.
5:23
>> They absolutely didn't. In December
5:26
2015, JAXA engineers managed a second
5:29
attempt using the spacecraft's smaller
5:31
thrusters, and this time it worked.
5:33
Akatsuki successfully entered orbit
5:36
around Venus and became the only
5:38
operational spacecraft there at the
5:40
time. So, what kind of work did it
5:42
accomplish once it finally got into
5:44
position?
5:45
>> Well, the spacecraft weighed just
5:47
over,50 lbs and carried five imaging
5:50
instruments plus a six radio system. Its
5:53
orbit was highly elliptical, ranging
5:55
from about 620 mi at its closest to
5:58
Venus all the way out to 223,700
6:02
m at its farthest point.
6:04
>> That's quite a range. I imagine that
6:07
gave them different perspectives on the
6:09
planet. Exactly. It allowed for both
6:11
wide-angle observations and detailed
6:14
close-up studies of Venus's thick toxic
6:16
cloud layers. And Akatsuki made some
6:19
really incredible discoveries during its
6:21
decade of operations.
6:23
>> Like what?
6:24
>> One of the most striking findings was a
6:26
giant stationary gravity wave about
6:29
6,200 m long. It's the largest of its
6:33
kind in the entire solar system.
6:35
>> That's enormous. What causes something
6:38
like that? These gravity waves appeared
6:41
as alternating light and dark bands in
6:43
the atmosphere, and they're created when
6:45
air is pushed upward by mountainous
6:47
terrain on Venus's surface. What's
6:49
fascinating is that how even the lower
6:51
surface can influence the upper
6:53
atmospheric layers despite the crushing
6:56
pressure.
6:57
>> Akatsuki also contributed to
6:59
understanding Venus's super rotation
7:01
phenomenon. Right.
7:03
>> That's right. Super rotation is this
7:05
bizarre phenomenon where Venus's upper
7:07
atmosphere moves significantly faster
7:10
than the planet's surface rotates.
7:12
Hakatsuki provided evidence linking this
7:14
wind acceleration to vertical momentum
7:16
transfers through waves and turbulence.
7:19
>> So, how did the mission ultimately end?
7:22
>> In late April 2024, contact with
7:24
Akatsuki was lost during a period of low
7:27
precision attitude control. Basically,
7:29
the spacecraft's orientation and antenna
7:31
positioning drifted off target. The
7:34
transmitter likely kept working, but the
7:36
radio signal could no longer reach
7:37
Earth.
7:38
>> And despite months of attempts to
7:40
reestablish communication, they couldn't
7:42
get it back.
7:44
>> Unfortunately, not. JAXA officially sent
7:47
the final command to terminate the
7:49
mission on September 18th, 2025, just
7:52
over 15 years after launch. This ensured
7:55
no uncontrolled signals would continue
7:57
broadcasting from the inactive probe.
7:59
>> What a legacy, though. Despite all the
8:02
setbacks, Akatsuki delivered remarkable
8:04
science about Venus's atmosphere and
8:07
proved that you should never count a
8:08
mission out.
8:10
>> Absolutely. It's a testament to the
8:12
ingenuity and determination of the team.
8:14
They turned what could have been a
8:16
complete failure into a highly
8:18
successful decadel long mission. From
8:21
Venus, let's turn our attention to one
8:23
of the biggest mysteries in modern
8:24
astronomy, fast radio bursts. And Avery,
8:28
Chinese astronomers have just made a
8:30
breakthrough that's reshaping our
8:32
understanding of these enigmatic
8:34
signals.
8:35
>> This is really exciting work, Anna. An
8:37
international team using China's fast
8:40
telescope, that's the 500 meter aperture
8:43
spherical telescope, also known as the
8:46
China Sky Eye, has uncovered the first
8:48
clear evidence that some fast radio
8:51
burst sources actually originate in
8:53
binary star systems.
8:55
>> Okay. So, for our listeners who might
8:57
not be familiar, can you explain what
8:59
fast radio bursts are?
9:01
>> Sure. Fast radio bursts orrbs are these
9:05
incredibly brief but energetic pulses of
9:08
radio waves from deep space. We're
9:10
talking about flashes that last less
9:12
than a thousandth of a second but can
9:15
release more energy than our sun emits
9:17
in days.
9:18
>> That's mindboggling. And most of these
9:20
are one-time events. Right.
9:23
>> Exactly. Most FRBs are one-off events
9:26
which makes them really hard to study.
9:29
But a handful repeat and those give
9:31
astronomers rare opportunities for
9:33
long-term observation. That's what made
9:36
this discovery possible.
9:37
>> So tell us about this particular burst
9:40
they were studying.
9:41
>> The team led by Professor Bing Zang from
9:44
the University of Hong Kong focus on a
9:46
repeating source called FRB 220529A
9:52
located about 2.5 billion light years
9:55
away. They monitored it for 17 months
9:58
using fast, which is the world's most
10:00
sensitive instrument for detecting these
10:02
signals.
10:03
>> And for most of that time, it seemed
10:05
pretty unremarkable.
10:07
>> That's what's so interesting. For 17
10:10
months, the signal appeared consistent
10:12
and ordinary. But then near the end of
10:15
2023, something truly exciting happened
10:18
that transformed the entire study.
10:20
>> What changed?
10:22
>> They detected what they call an RM
10:24
flare. a sudden dramatic change in the
10:27
rotation measure of the radio waves. The
10:29
rotation measure increased by more than
10:31
a factor of a 100, then rapidly declined
10:34
over 2 weeks before returning to its
10:37
previous level. Think of rotation
10:39
measure as describing how polarized
10:41
radio waves twist as they pass through
10:44
magnetic plasma. A sudden change like
10:46
this reveals shifts in the environment
10:48
surrounding therb source.
10:51
>> And what does that tell us? Well, this
10:54
flare suggested that therb's environment
10:57
was suddenly flooded by highly
10:59
magnetized plasma, likely ejected by a
11:01
nearby star. It's consistent with
11:04
coronal mass ejections, those massive
11:06
bursts of stellar material that our sun
11:09
occasionally launches.
11:10
>> So, that's the smoking gun for a binary
11:13
system.
11:14
>> Exactly. By linking this RM flare to
11:18
plasma activity from a companion star,
11:20
the team provided the strongest evidence
11:22
yet that somerbs arise in binary systems
11:26
containing a magnetar, which is a
11:28
neutron star with an extremely strong
11:30
magnetic field paired with a regular
11:33
star like our sun.
11:34
>> This contradicts the long-standing
11:36
belief that FRBs come solely from
11:39
isolated magnetars, doesn't it?
11:41
>> It does, and it's a major shift in our
11:43
understanding. The findings were
11:45
published in the journal Science and
11:47
mark a real milestone for astrophysics.
11:50
The observations were corroborated by
11:52
data from Australia's Parks telescope
11:54
which reinforces the reliability of
11:57
these findings.
11:58
>> Do these results fit into any broader
12:00
theories about
12:02
>> actually yes. They align with a unified
12:05
model recently proposed by Professor
12:07
Zang and colleagues, suggesting that
12:09
allrs originate from magnetars, but
12:12
those within binary systems have
12:14
specific geometries and environments
12:17
that make them repeat more frequently.
12:19
>> So, we're starting to piece together the
12:21
puzzle of why somerbs repeat and others
12:24
don't.
12:25
>> Exactly. And this discovery was only
12:28
possible because of persevering
12:30
observations using the world's best
12:33
telescopes and the tireless work of
12:35
dedicated research teams. It's astronomy
12:37
at its finest.
12:39
>> All right, now let's look ahead because
12:41
2026 is shaping up to be an absolutely
12:44
incredible year for space science.
12:47
Avery, where should we even begin?
12:49
>> There's so much happening, Anna. Let's
12:52
start with lunar missions because we're
12:53
seeing a real renaissance in moon
12:55
exploration. Multiple commercial landers
12:58
and government missions are on the
13:00
schedule.
13:01
>> And we learned some valuable lessons
13:02
from 2025's lunar landing attempts,
13:05
didn't we?
13:06
>> We certainly did. In early 2025, three
13:10
commercial landers attempted moon
13:11
landings, but only one, Firefly
13:14
Aerospace's Blue Ghost, succeeded. That
13:17
was a major milestone as the first fully
13:19
successful commercial lunar landing.
13:22
>> Blue ghost touched down near Mons latril
13:25
in Mar Chrysum and operated for several
13:27
days before shutting down during the
13:29
lunar night.
13:30
>> Right. And Firefly isn't resting on
13:33
their laurels. They're planning Blue
13:34
Ghost mission 2 for November 2026,
13:38
launching aboard a Falcon 9. This
13:40
mission will carry some really
13:42
interesting payloads, including NASA's
13:44
Lucy Knight experiment. That's the lunar
13:47
surface electromagnetic experiment at
13:49
night. And it's particularly exciting
13:52
because it'll become the first
13:53
operational radio telescope on the moon
13:56
operating through the lunar night.
13:58
>> Also flying on that mission is the
14:00
United Arab Emirates Rasheed Rover 2.
14:03
But what makes this launch even more
14:05
interesting is that it'll debut
14:06
Fireflyy's elytra dark space tug, which
14:09
will boost Blue Ghost to the moon and
14:11
insert ESA's lunar pathfinder
14:14
communication satellite into lunar
14:16
orbit.
14:16
>> There are other commercial missions
14:18
planned, too. Right.
14:20
>> Absolutely. Intuitive Machines is
14:22
planning its IM3 mission in the second
14:24
half of the year with another Nova
14:26
Sealander and Blue Origin will attempt
14:28
its first lunar landing with the Blue
14:30
Moon Mark1 Pathfinder mission testing
14:33
systems for future crude missions.
14:35
>> What about the Griffin lander?
14:37
>> Astrobotics Griffin lander is scheduled
14:39
for July 2026 and it'll carry Astrolab's
14:43
LIIP rover, a prototype for their larger
14:46
X rover being pitched for NASA's Aremis
14:49
program. And China's getting in on the
14:51
action, too.
14:52
>> They are. Chong A7 is planned to launch
14:55
this year and attempt a landing on the
14:57
rim of Shackleton Crater near the South
14:59
Pole. It's a comprehensive mission with
15:02
an orbiter, lander, rover, and even a
15:05
small hopping probe.
15:06
>> Let's shift to Mars. What's happening
15:08
there?
15:09
>> Well, 2026 marks another Mars transfer
15:12
window, so we'll see new missions
15:14
heading to the red planet. NASA's twin
15:16
escapade satellites called blue and gold
15:19
actually launched in November 2025 and
15:22
are waiting at the sun earth lrangee
15:24
point2 until the transfer window opens
15:26
in November.
15:27
>> What will they study?
15:29
>> They'll investigate how the solar wind
15:30
has been stripping away at Mars'
15:32
atmosphere over time. And Japan's MMX
15:35
mission, the Martian moon's exploration
15:37
mission, will also launch during this
15:39
window to study Phobos and Deemos and
15:42
even attempt to collect a sample from
15:44
Phobos. There's also the ongoing
15:46
situation with NASA's Maven satellite,
15:48
isn't there?
15:49
>> Unfortunately, yes. Maven lost contact
15:52
in early December when it failed to
15:54
check in after passing behind Mars. A
15:56
small fragment of telemetry suggests the
15:59
spacecraft might be rotating and its
16:01
orbit may have changed. NASA had to
16:03
pause recovery efforts during the Mars
16:05
Solar Conjunction, but they plan to
16:07
start trying again over the weekend. No
16:09
word yet on how that's going, but
16:11
fingers are crossed. Indeed, fingers
16:13
crossed for Maven. Now, what about space
16:16
telescopes? We've got some major
16:18
launches coming up.
16:19
>> Three new space telescopes are launching
16:21
in 2026. First up is ESA's Smile mission
16:25
in April aboard a Vega C rocket. It'll
16:28
study Earth's magnetosphere interacting
16:30
with solar wind using soft X-ray and
16:33
ultraviolet observations.
16:35
>> Then we have the Nancy Grace Roman Space
16:37
Telescope in October.
16:39
>> That's the big one. Roman will launch on
16:41
a Falcon 9 and features a 288 megapixel
16:45
camera that will perform sky surveys
16:47
with Hubble quality resolution, but
16:50
producing images nearly 200 times
16:52
larger. Construction was completed in
16:54
November and it's currently in final
16:56
testing.
16:57
>> And ESA's Plato mission rounds out the
16:59
year.
17:00
>> Exactly. Plato launches in December
17:02
aboard an Aron 62 and will search for
17:05
Earthlike exoplanets in their stars
17:07
habitable zones. It'll study up to 1
17:10
million stars.
17:12
>> There are also some exciting arrivals
17:14
this year, right?
17:16
>> Yes. ESA's Hera mission arrives at the
17:19
DDOS binary asteroid system in November,
17:22
a month ahead of schedule thanks to
17:24
excellent spacecraft performance. It'll
17:26
study the crater left by NASA's Dart
17:28
Impact.
17:29
>> And don't forget Bey Columbo,
17:31
>> right? The joint ESA Jackson mission
17:35
enters Mercury orbit on November 6th
17:37
after an 8-year journey. It will deploy
17:40
two orbiters that begin science
17:42
operations in early 2027.
17:45
>> This really is going to be an incredible
17:47
year for space science.
17:49
>> Without a doubt, from the moon to Mars,
17:52
from nearby asteroids to distant
17:54
galaxies, 2026 promises discoveries that
17:57
will advance our understanding of the
17:59
cosmos. Now, we need to talk about a
18:02
concerning development in Earth orbit.
18:05
Bhain's Hisdat company has confirmed
18:07
that one of their military communication
18:09
satellites has sustained what they're
18:11
calling nonreoverable damage.
18:14
>> This is a significant loss, Anna. We're
18:17
talking about the Spain NG2 satellite,
18:20
which was struck by what's being
18:21
described as a space particle. And
18:24
despite the relatively small size of
18:26
this particle, the damage is total.
18:28
Let's give our listeners some context.
18:31
This satellite was brand new, wasn't it?
18:34
>> Very new. It launched aboard a SpaceX
18:37
Falcon 9 just this past October 2025.
18:40
Spain NG2 was one of a pair of
18:43
satellites built by Airbus to provide
18:45
secure communications for Spain's armed
18:47
forces.
18:48
>> So what exactly happened? On January
18:51
16th, Histat released details explaining
18:54
that while the space particle was
18:56
estimated to be only millimeters in size
18:59
and weighing just a few grams, it's
19:01
extremely high velocity combined with
19:03
the location of the impact caused
19:05
catastrophic non-reoverable damage.
19:08
>> That really highlights the danger of
19:10
space debris and micrometeorites,
19:12
doesn't it?
19:13
>> Absolutely. Even something tiny can be
19:16
devastating when it's traveling at
19:17
orbital velocities. The company did note
19:20
that because a satellite is in a highly
19:22
eccentric orbit, it doesn't pose any
19:25
risk or interference to existing or
19:27
future space missions.
19:29
>> What are the financial implications?
19:31
>> Well, his dad says the satellite was
19:34
fully insured against this type of
19:35
incident, so there won't be any direct
19:37
economic damage to the company. However,
19:40
here's the thing. While the insurance
19:42
covers the loss, a claim this large will
19:45
almost certainly drive up insurance
19:47
premiums for future satellites.
19:49
>> How much are we talking about?
19:52
>> The total Spain NG program cost is
19:54
around €2 billion according to Spain's
19:57
official foreign investment promotion
19:59
agency. So, this single satellite claim
20:02
is likely in the hundreds of millions of
20:04
euros.
20:05
>> That's going to have ripple effects
20:07
across the insurance market.
20:09
>> It will. And there's another concern,
20:11
the replacement timeline. Airbus secured
20:14
the contract to build the first two
20:15
Spain sat NG satellites back in May
20:18
2019, and the first one launched in
20:20
January 2025. That's more than 5 years
20:24
from contract to launch.
20:25
>> So if we're looking at a similar
20:27
timeline for Spain NG3, we might not see
20:31
a replacement until around 2030.
20:34
>> That's the concern. In fact, Hisdat has
20:37
already initiated a request for
20:39
quotation for the replacement satellite.
20:41
In the meantime, they'll continue
20:43
providing secure communications for
20:44
Spain's armed forces using Spain NG1 and
20:48
the original Spanat satellite.
20:51
>> Wait, the original SpanSat from 2006?
20:55
>> Exactly. That satellite launched aboard
20:58
an Aryan 5 in 2006 with a 15-year design
21:02
life. And here we are almost 20 years
21:04
later still relying on it. That's
21:07
actually a testament to good engineering
21:09
and design.
21:10
>> But surely it can't be operating at full
21:12
capacity after all this time.
21:15
>> You'd expect some degradation. Yes, it's
21:17
remarkable that it's still functional.
21:19
But this incident really underscores the
21:22
vulnerability of our space assets and
21:24
the importance of having redundancy.
21:26
>> This also raises questions about space
21:29
debris tracking and mitigation, doesn't
21:31
it? Absolutely. If a particle just
21:35
millimeters in size can cause total loss
21:37
of a satellite worth hundreds of
21:39
millions of euros, we really need to
21:42
think seriously about the growing debris
21:44
problem in Earth orbit and around it.
21:46
>> For our final story, let's venture into
21:49
the distant universe to talk about some
21:51
fascinating new research on dwarf
21:53
galaxies and the black holes at their
21:56
centers. Avery, this is challenging some
21:59
long-held assumptions. It really is,
22:01
Anna. Astronomers from the Harvard and
22:04
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and
22:06
the University of North Carolina at
22:08
Chapel Hill presented what they're
22:10
calling the most comprehensive senses of
22:13
active galactic nuclei in dwarf galaxies
22:16
to date.
22:17
>> Now, for listeners who might need a
22:19
refresher, can you explain what an
22:21
active galactic nucleus is?
22:23
>> Sure. Active galactic nuclei or AGN,
22:27
sometimes called quazars, are the
22:29
incredibly bright core regions of
22:31
galaxies. They're so luminous that they
22:34
can temporarily outshine all the stars
22:36
in the entire galaxy combined.
22:39
>> And that's because of the super massive
22:41
black holes at the center.
22:43
>> Exactly. These super massive black holes
22:46
accelerate infalling gas and dust and
22:48
their accretion discs to near the speed
22:50
of light, producing intense radiation
22:53
across the electromagnetic spectrum.
22:55
Everything from visible light and
22:57
infrared to microwaves and X-rays.
23:00
>> For decades, we've known that many
23:02
massive galaxies have super massive
23:04
black holes at their centers. And we
23:06
assumed the same was true for dwarf
23:08
galaxies, right?
23:10
>> That was the assumption. But scientists
23:12
have since learned that many dwarf
23:14
galaxies actually don't have these
23:16
central black holes. That's why this new
23:18
census was so important.
23:20
>> So what did they do?
23:22
>> The team reassessed over 8,000 nearby
23:25
galaxies for signs of active black hole
23:27
activity. They grouped these galaxies by
23:29
mass and analyzed the latest optical,
23:32
infrared, and x-ray observations to
23:35
detect even the faintest signs of AGN
23:37
activity.
23:38
>> And what did they find? Previous surveys
23:41
generally found about 10 AGN's per 1,000
23:44
dwarf galaxies. That's just 1%. But this
23:47
new census yielded values of about 20 to
23:50
50 per 1,000 or 2 to 5%.
23:54
>> So they're finding AGNs are 2 to five
23:56
times more common than we thought.
23:58
>> In dwarf galaxies, yes. Now, this is
24:01
still significantly less than what we
24:03
observe in medium-sized galaxies at 16
24:06
to 27% or large galaxies at 20 to 48%.
24:10
But it's a substantial increase from
24:12
previous estimates.
24:14
>> What's causing this discrepancy with
24:15
earlier surveys?
24:17
>> A big part of it was suppressing the
24:19
glare from star formation, which had
24:21
been obscuring emissions from accreting
24:23
black holes. The team developed better
24:25
detection methods to cut through that
24:27
glare. So what does this tell us about
24:29
how black holes relate to galaxy mass?
24:32
>> Well, the results suggest that AGN
24:34
frequency is mass dependent and
24:37
increases sharply among galaxies with
24:39
mass similar to our Milky Way. As lead
24:42
author Magda Polyra explained, there's
24:44
an intense jump in AGN activity between
24:47
dwarf galaxies and midsize galaxies.
24:50
>> That's a significant finding. What might
24:52
explain it? It could indicate a
24:55
fundamental shift in the galaxies
24:56
themselves as they grow. Or it might
24:59
mean we're still not catching everything
25:01
into smaller galaxies and need even
25:03
better detection methods. Either way,
25:05
it's an important clue.
25:07
>> How does this relate to galaxy
25:08
formation?
25:10
>> Well, as co-author Professor Sheila
25:12
Canopan pointed out, we believe the
25:14
Milky Way formed from many smaller
25:16
galaxies that merged together. So the
25:19
massive black holes in those dwarf
25:21
galaxies should have merged to form the
25:23
Milky Ways super massive black hole.
25:26
>> So understanding these dwarf galaxy
25:28
black holes helps us understand our own
25:30
galaxy's history.
25:32
>> Exactly. These results are essential to
25:34
test models of black hole origins and
25:37
their role in shaping galaxies over
25:39
cosmic time. Are there still
25:41
uncertainties in the census? Yes,
25:43
there's still a margin of uncertainty
25:45
where fainter accreting black holes are
25:47
involved. So, these percentages are
25:50
approximate. Future observations with
25:52
more sensitive instruments will likely
25:54
refine these numbers.
25:55
>> But this gives astronomers a much
25:58
clearer picture than we had before.
26:00
>> Absolutely. It provides the clearest
26:02
picture yet of how likely galaxies of
26:05
different sizes are to host active black
26:07
holes. and it demonstrates how cutting
26:09
through the glare of star formation can
26:12
reveal what's really happening at the
26:13
centers of nearby galaxies.
26:15
>> And the team is releasing their data for
26:17
other researchers to verify and expand
26:19
on.
26:19
>> That's right. They're making their
26:21
processed measurements available so
26:23
other astronomers can confirm and build
26:25
on these results. That's good science in
26:28
action.
26:28
>> Well, that brings us to the end of
26:30
another packed episode of Astronomy
26:32
Daily. From the Aremis 2 rocket reaching
26:35
the launch pad to new discoveries about
26:37
black holes in dwarf galaxies, it's been
26:40
quite a journey through the cosmos
26:42
today.
26:42
>> It really has, Anna. We covered
26:44
everything from the moon to Venus to
26:46
distant galaxies. And every story
26:49
reminds us just how active and exciting
26:51
space exploration and astronomy are
26:53
right now.
26:53
>> Before we go, a quick reminder that you
26:55
can find more space and astronomy news
26:57
on our website at astronomydaily.io.
27:00
We've got detailed articles, images, and
27:03
lots more content for space enthusiasts.
27:05
>> And if you enjoyed today's episode,
27:07
please subscribe to Astronomy Daily
27:09
wherever you get your podcasts. We're
27:11
here every day bringing you the latest
27:13
news from across the universe.
27:14
>> Thanks so much for listening everyone.
27:16
I'm Anna
27:17
>> and I'm Avery. Keep looking up and we'll
27:19
see you next time on Astronomy Daily.
27:21
>> Clear skies.
27:26
Oh,
27:33
stories told.