Space News Today

Astronomy Daily — S05E143 | Friday 17 July 2026 | "A World With Air" Anna and Avery bring you a genuine milestone: the first atmosphere ever detected on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star. Plus Starship's last-second launch abort, the New Jersey bedroom meteorite carrying life's ingredients, the earliest galaxy-building ever seen, metallic dunes on Mars, and a Moon–Venus meeting in tonight's sky. In this episode 01:45 — A world with air. Astronomers detect helium escaping from LHS 1140 b, a super-Earth 48 light-years away — the first confirmed atmosphere on a rocky, habitable-zone exoplanet. Published in Science. 07:00 — Starship Flight 13 aborts at T-0. Several Raptor engines failed to ignite at the moment of launch; two engines will be replaced, with a retry expected early next week. 10:15 — The Hillsborough meteorite. The rock that crashed through a New Jersey bedroom in July 2024 is a rare, ultra-pristine CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite laced with amino acids and salts — evidence for the delivery of life's ingredients to early Earth. Published in Science Advances. 14:00 — Galaxies growing up fast. Durham University astronomers using JWST find the most distant nuclear disk ever seen — a star-forming core structure more than nine billion years back in time. Published in MNRAS. 17:00 — Metallic waves on Mars. ESA's Mars Express images the frost-tipped mega-dunes of Kaiser Crater. 19:00 — Southern skywatch. The crescent Moon meets Venus and Regulus tonight; dark-sky weekend for the Milky Way core; one month until the 12 August total solar eclipse. Sources LHS 1140 b atmosphere — Science (Cherubim et al.); coverage via Space.com, ScienceAlert, Harvard FAS. Starship Flight 13 abort — SpaceNews, Space.com, CNN live coverage. Hillsborough meteorite — Science Advances; SETI Institute release; coverage via Space.com, CNN, Popular Science, Smithsonian. Durham nuclear disk — Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society; Durham University release; Phys.org. Kaiser Crater dunes (https://phys.org/news/2026-07-metallic-ancient-mars.html) — ESA Mars Express image release, 15 July 2026 (https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Metallic_waves_on_ancient_Mars) . Astronomy Daily is part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network. Visit astronomydaily.io for every episode, and find us on all platforms @AstroDailyPod.





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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 85 Detecting nuclear weapons in space New modelling says small cube-sat sized spacecraft not much bigger than a fridge could be used to detect the presence of nuclear weapons on satellites in space. NASA’s rescue mission to save the Swift space telescope reaches orbit NASA’s Swift re-boost rescue mission is finally on its way to intercept the gamma ray space telescope and try to save it from its fiery fate. Stopping astronauts from wanting to kill each other on long space trips It can be tough enough getting on with family members at home or the people you have to work with – but imagine what it will be like if you’re stuck with a small group of people on a multi-year mission to Mars. The Science Report A new study indicates that people who speak more than one language seem to have younger brains. Warnings that two thirds of Australian adults and a quarter of kids are now overweight or obese. Half of all fatal electric scooter accidents in Sweden are caused by drunk riders. Great news for chocolate lovers with 4 new species discovered. Skeptics guide to the case of the missing peacock. Our Guests This Week: Professor Chris Kirkland from Curtin University NASA planetary geologist Cynthia Phillips Professor Dorothy Carter from Michigan State University And our regular guests: Alex Zaharov-Reutt from techadvice.life Tim Mendham from Australian Skeptics 🌏 Get Our Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ www.bitesz.com/nordvpn (http://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn) . The discounts and bonuses are incredible! And it’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌ If you’d like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus content by becoming a SpaceTime crew member, you can do just that through The Big Bang editions on Patreon, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Details on the Support page on our website https://www.bitesz.com/show/spacetime/support/ (https://www.bitesz.com/show/spacetime/support/) For more SpaceTime and show links: https://linktr.ee/biteszHQ (https://linktr.ee/biteszHQ) If you love this podcast, please get someone else to listen too. Thank you…


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Anna and Avery kick off with a decade-long game of cosmic hide-and-seek that has finally ended: Beta Pictoris d, the faintest exoplanet ever directly imaged from Earth, found lurking in more than ten years of archival images — and orbiting a star in the southern constellation Pictor. Then it's the completion of VLASS, the sharpest radio map of the whole sky ever made, arriving just as the Rubin Observatory's optical survey switches on. The James Webb Space Telescope has caught a supermassive black hole feeding itself in the Centaurus Cluster — the missing link in a decades-old mystery. A Pluto system double bill follows: the first landslides ever identified on Pluto, and evidence written in Charon's mountains that the big moon once spun more than ten times faster than it does today — both delivered by New Horizons data from 2015. Finally, SpaceX's latest FCC filing reveals Starlink satellites made over 355,000 collision-avoidance manoeuvres in the past year — nearly one dodge per satellite per week — and experts are warning about where the trend leads. Plus dark-sky Southern Hemisphere stargazing and a Starship Flight 13 launch reminder. Chapters • 00:00 — Intro & billboard • 01:30 — Beta Pictoris d: the faintest exoplanet ever imaged from Earth • 05:30 — VLASS complete: the sharpest radio map of the sky • 08:45 — JWST reveals how supermassive black holes feed • 12:15 — Pluto has landslides (Pluto double, part 1) • 15:00 — Charon's slowing spin (Pluto double, part 2) • 17:45 — Starlink's 355,000 collision dodges in a year • 20:45 — Southern Hemisphere skywatch + Starship Flight 13 reminder • 22:30 — Outro Story sources • Beta Pictoris d: ESO release eso2609 (eso.org) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · space.com · phys.org • VLASS completion: NRAO release (public.nrao.edu/news/vlass-observations-complete) · phys.org • JWST / NGC 4696: Université de Montréal · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · phys.org / EurekAlert • Pluto landslides: Icarus (Discenza et al. 2026) · phys.org · Discover Magazine · Science News • Charon despinning: Nature Communications (Chen et al. 2026, DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-75069-7) · phys.org · Gizmodo • Starlink manoeuvres: SpaceX semiannual FCC constellation status report, via space.com Boilerplate Astronomy Daily is part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network. Show notes, links and the full back catalogue at astronomydaily.io. Follow @AstroDailyPod on X, Instagram, TikTok and Tumblr. New episodes every day.





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Revealing the Secrets of Space and the Cosmos: Insights from Space Nuts


Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson as they explore the fascinating universe—from a historic telescope in Melbourne to the latest discoveries in black hole physics and our own solar system. This episode offers a blend of awe-inspiring science, historical stories, and future possibilities that make astronomy accessible and thrilling.


In this episode:


The extraordinary history and restoration of the Melbourne Telescope, crafted in 1869, and its cultural significance.


The record-breaking detection of the loudest gravitational wave from colliding black holes and what it reveals about event horizons.


China's ambitious plans to expand its space station, including new modules and a cutting-edge space telescope.


Recent insights into a star passing close to our solar system, potentially disturbing comet orbits and shaping our cosmic history.


Upcoming solar observatories, including the ESA's Solar Orbiter and the Chinese Shun Tian telescope.


The incredible speed of the Parker Solar Probe and future missions to study the Sun's atmosphere.


How scientists analyze lunar impacts and cosmic rays using imagery and human eye observations.


The long-standing mystery of Earth's atmosphere and the role of tectonic cycles in its stability.


Resources & Links:


The Melbourne Telescope's History and Restoration (Note: Placeholder, search for Melbourne Telescope history)


LIGO and Virgo Gravitational Wave Observatory


NASA's Parker Solar Probe


ESA's Solar Orbiter


Chinese Space Station and Modules


The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope


Fiz.org Physics Articles on Black Holes and Gravitational Waves


The Gaia Mission and Star Orbits


Preprint Article on Black Hole Gravitational Waves


Connect with Fred Watson:


LinkedIn


Twitter


Feel inspired by space science's latest breakthroughs and historic stories, knowing that curiosity drives understanding. With a confident yet approachable tone, this episode pushes the boundaries of knowledge while making complex ideas understandable and engaging for all.





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Astronomy Daily — S05E141 | Wednesday 15 July 2026 Anna and Avery bring you the biggest space and astronomy news of the day: Starship Flight 13 is cleared for Thursday after the FAA closes its Flight 12 investigation and SpaceX reveals exactly what went wrong; NASA astronaut Anil Menon rides a Soyuz to the ISS on his first flight; astronomers finally find the first of Omega Centauri’s 10,000 "missing" black holes; the first-ever medical X-rays taken in space are published; four white dwarfs are found hiding within 65 light-years of Earth; and a new-moon dark-sky window opens with Comet 10P/Tempel 2 on the rise. In this episode • Starship Flight 13 — FAA closes the Flight 12 mishap investigation (July 13); root causes revealed: hot-staging ignition sequence caused a 90° booster orientation error, five Raptors failed to relight, alarm settings shut engines down early. Launch window opens Thursday July 16, 6:45pm EDT (Friday 8:45am AEST) with the first 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites and an in-space Raptor relight. • Soyuz MS-29 — NASA’s Anil Menon with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina launched from Baikonur July 14, docking three hours later for an eight-month stay. Menon and wife Anna Menon (Polaris Dawn) become a two-astronaut household; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended in person. • Omega Centauri’s first stellar-mass black hole — oMEGACat BH-2, found via astrometry in 20+ years of Hubble data plus Webb observations (ApJL, July 13). Lower-than-expected mass; its companion star’s 94-year orbit makes it the longest-period black hole binary known. The cluster is naked-eye visible in southern winter skies right now. • First medical X-rays in space — RSNA publishes results from the Fram2 Crew Dragon mission: crew with 4 hours’ training produced diagnostic-quality X-rays in orbit, opening the door to space radiology and non-destructive hardware testing on Moon and Mars missions. • Four hidden white dwarfs — Warwick/Colorado Boulder team unmasks four white dwarfs within 65 light-years using Hubble near-UV spectroscopy (MNRAS). G 203-47, ~25 light-years away, is now the ninth-closest known white dwarf and closes a 27-year-old wobble mystery. • Skywatch — New Moon (July 14) dark skies, Milky Way core season for the Southern Hemisphere, Comet 10P/Tempel 2 at magnitude 7–8 brightening toward early-August perihelion, and Mars near Aldebaran pre-dawn. Resources & further reading • Starship Flight 13: spacenews.com | space.com Starship live blog • Soyuz MS-29: nasa.gov ISS blog | nasaspaceflight.com • Omega Centauri black hole: science.nasa.gov | esahubble.org (heic2610) | ApJL • Space X-rays: rsna.org/news | space.com • Hidden white dwarfs: warwick.ac.uk | phys.org | MNRAS Visit astronomydaily.io for all episodes and our constantly updating newsfeed. Follow us @AstroDailyPod. Astronomy Daily is part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network.





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