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Cosmic Filaments, Earth 2.0, and Mayonnaise in Space · Space News Today

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  Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
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  the podcast that brings you the latest
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  news from across the cosmos. I'm your
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  host, Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
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  We've got a busy show today. From the
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  largest rotating structure ever observed
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  to man is in space.
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  >> That's right. We'll also be looking at
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  China's ambitious plans to find Earth
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  2.0, know checking in on a commander
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  swap at the International Space Station
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  and celebrating an Emmy win for NASA.
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  So, let's get started. First up, an
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  incredible discovery that's being
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  compared to a cosmic teacup ride.
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  Astronomers have found a string of 14
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  galaxies that are all spinning in the
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  same direction as the massive structure
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  they belong to.
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  >> And this isn't just any structure. It's
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  a cosmic filament, a gigantic threadlike
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  formation made of dark matter, galaxies,
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  and gas. They're the biggest things in
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  the universe, forming a kind of cosmic
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  web.
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  >> Exactly. This particular filament is
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  about 50 million light-years along and
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  is rotating at a staggering velocity of
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  110 km/s.
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  >> Wow. 110 km/s.
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  And the galaxies within it are spinning
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  along with it. That's the amazing part.
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  Researchers looked at a section of this
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  filament about 140 million lighty years
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  away. They found these 14 galaxies, all
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  rich in hydrogen gas, moving in a way
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  that suggests the whole structure is
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  rotating. And more surprisingly, many of
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  the galaxies themselves are spinning in
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  the same direction as the filament.
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  >> Right. The lead researcher, Llaya Jung,
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  used a great analogy. She said it's like
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  the teacups ride at a theme park.
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  >> Mhm. Each galaxy is a spinning teacup
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  and the whole platform, the cosmic
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  filament, is rotating too. This dual
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  motion gives us a rare insight into how
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  galaxies get their spin from the cosmic
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  web they inhabit. It suggests these
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  larger structures have a much stronger
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  influence than we previously thought.
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  >> A truly mind-bending discovery. Now,
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  let's shift our focus a bit closer to
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  home and look at the future of space
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  exploration. The China National Space
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  Agency or CNSA has outlined some very
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  ambitious plans.
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  >> That's right. In a video titled Earth
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  2.0, China's plan to find new Earth,
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  they detailed four major upcoming
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  missions scheduled for their 15th 5-year
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  plan between 2026 and 2030.
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  >> And these missions cover a huge range of
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  objectives. They're planning a
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  radioastronomy experiment for the far
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  side of the moon, a solar observatory to
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  study space weather,
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  >> duts, a space telescope to monitor black
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  holes and neutron stars, and of course,
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  the exoplanet hunting satellite that
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  will search for those Earthlike planets.
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  >> It's a clear statement of intent. China
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  is positioning itself to be at the
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  absolute forefront of space science and
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  exploration in the coming decade.
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  >> Absolutely. Now for a couple of updates
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  from the International Space Station
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  where it's been a busy few days. First
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  up, a change of leadership.
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  >> Yes, Expedition 73 is handing the reigns
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  over to Expedition 74. On Sunday,
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  veteran Rose Coast Most Cosminaut Sergey
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  Rissov will pass the symbolic station
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  key to four-time NASA astronaut Mike
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  Fininky.
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  >> And that handover marks the beginning of
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  the end of the mission for three crew
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  members. Rissov along with flight
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  engineers Alexi Zubritzky and NASA's
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  Johnny Kim are packing up for their
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  return trip to Earth inside the Soyuse
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  MS27 spacecraft.
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  >> Safe travels to them. But while the crew
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  is changing, the science never stops.
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  And our next story from the ISS is a
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  fascinating one. Anna, why are
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  scientists studying mayonnaise in space?
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  >> It sounds strange, but it's all about
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  understanding something called soft
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  matter. This includes things like gels,
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  foams, collids, and mayonnaise. These
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  substances have internal structures that
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  reorganize very slowly over time. Think
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  about how sunscreen can change in the
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  cabinet or how a cream loses
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  effectiveness.
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  >> Okay, that makes sense. And studying
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  this process on Earth is complicated by
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  gravity. Right.
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  >> Exactly. So, researchers developed an
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  experiment called Kolis, which is now
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  operating on the space station. It uses
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  sophisticated optical techniques to look
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  inside these materials without
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  disturbing them in a microgravity
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  environment.
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  >> And are there any results yet?
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  >> There are, and they're already
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  surprising. Early data shows that
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  gravity affects the structure of soft
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  matter much more dramatically than
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  anyone expected. This could have huge
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  implications for everything from food
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  production to pharmaceuticals right here
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  on Earth. Incredible what we can learn
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  from looking at everyday items in an
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  extraordinary place. Next, let's talk
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  comets. NASA's Punch mission has
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  released an incredible 40-day time lapse
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  of comet Swan.
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  >> This might be the longest, most frequent
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  observation of a comet ever recorded.
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  The spacecraft imaged Comet C 2025 R2,
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  also known as Swan, every 4 minutes from
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  late August to early October.
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  >> The video is just stunning. You can see
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  the comet gliding through space with its
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  bluish green coma and glowing tail
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  clearly visible. That glow is from the
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  sun's heat vaporizing the comet's ices,
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  a process called sublimation.
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  >> Mhm. And there was an unexpected guest
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  star in the video. The comet happened to
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  be sharing the same patch of sky with
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  the famous interstellar visitor Threei
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  Atlas, which you can just glimpse in the
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  footage. A true cosmic photo bomb.
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  >> Fantastic. And for our final story
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  today, we're switching from scientific
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  observation to television production.
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  NASA has won another Emmy award.
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  >> They have. This time it's for their
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  broadcast of the total solar eclipse
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  back on April 8th, 2024. The Academy of
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  Television Arts and Sciences recognized
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  them for excellence in production
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  technology.
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  >> And it was a massive undertaking. The
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  agency called it the most complex life
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  project they've ever produced. The
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  broadcast was 3 hours long, covered
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  seven American states in two countries,
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  and had hosts and correspondents all
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  over the path of totality.
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  >> The effort definitely paid off. The
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  broadcast pulled in nearly 40 million
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  views across all of NASA's channels,
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  including their streaming service NASA
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  Plus. From watch parties in libraries to
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  Times Square, people all over the world
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  tuned in.
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  >> A well-deserved win for a truly
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  spectacular production that brought a
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  celestial wonder to millions. And that
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  unfortunately is all the time we have
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  for today.
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  >> Thanks for joining us on Astronomy
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  Daily. If you'd like to stay on top of
• 6:41
  all the latest space news or listen to
• 6:43
  our back episodes, just visit our
• 6:45
  website at astronomydaily.io.
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  It's constantly updating so there's
• 6:50
  always something new to check out.
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  >> And that's it for today. See you Monday
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  when we do it all over again. Until
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  then, clear skies and keep looking up.
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  Stories told
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