Space News Today

Astronomy Daily S05E159 — Wednesday, 5 August 2026. In this episode: a power-saving “Big Bang” keeps Voyager 2 doing science, direct-to-phone satellites reach orbit, Curiosity finds a vast honeycomb field on its 14th Martian anniversary, and NASA’s Aspera prepares to hunt the universe’s missing gas. ① Voyager 2’s “Big Bang” power save • JPL engineers freed up power by simultaneously switching off certain devices and substituting lower-power alternatives, while keeping the spacecraft warm enough to operate. • The Voyagers run on radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and lose ~4 watts per year as their plutonium decays; after nearly 50 years, power margins are razor-thin. • The move keeps three instruments — magnetometer, plasma wave subsystem and cosmic ray subsystem — running at least a year longer; the same swap is planned for Voyager 1. • Voyager 2 crossed the heliopause in Nov 2018 and is now 13 billion miles (21 billion km) from Earth; its southerly path means it is commanded via the Canberra Deep Space Network dish. Source: NASA/JPL Voyager blog, 4 Aug 2026 · science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager ② AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 11–13 • Three next-generation direct-to-smartphone satellites launched on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral (liftoff targeted 3:42 a.m. EDT, 5 Aug; backup 5:10 a.m.). • Their phased-array antennas span ~2,400 sq ft — the largest commercial arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit — and connect to standard, unmodified phones. • They deliver nearly double the peak download speed of the first-generation BlueBirds (which hit ~98.9 Mbps to a phone); the company targets beta service later in 2026. Source: AST SpaceMobile / Space.com, Aug 2026 · confirm deployment before publish ③ Curiosity’s “sea of polygons” + 14 years • Curiosity found its largest-ever field of honeycomb-like polygonal fractures (each ~4–8 cm across) in a valley nicknamed “Valle Grande” on Mount Sharp. • The 360° panorama was captured on 19–20 June from 340 images; the polygons wrap around a ~6 m butte nicknamed “Miraflores.” • Such patterns point to ancient water — drying mud, wet–dry cycles, or compaction — consistent with lakes and streams once present on Mount Sharp’s foothills. • Today, 5 August, is Curiosity’s 14th landing anniversary (landed 5 Aug 2012). Source: NASA/JPL, announced ~29 Jul 2026 · jpl.nasa.gov ④ NASA’s Aspera (mission preview) • Aspera is a shoebox-sized NASA Pioneers smallsat launching NET 15 Aug on a Rocket Lab Electron from Mahia, New Zealand. • It is the first NASA astrophysics mission to map the circumgalactic medium — hot gas around galaxies — in ultraviolet light, tracing the “missing baryons.” • Led by Carlos Vargas at the University of Arizona, one of the youngest principal investigators in NASA history. Source: NASA Pioneers / Rocket Lab, 2026 · rocketlabcorp.com ⑤ Skywatch • Tonight (5 Aug): Last Quarter Moon; Mars forms a triangle with Elnath and cluster M35 (binoculars help). • 12 Aug: total solar eclipse (Arctic–Greenland–Iceland–northern Spain; partial for parts of the US) — not visible from Australia; use ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses. • 12–13 Aug: Perseid peak under a New Moon (NH-favoured); plus a six-planet pre-dawn alignment. • SH targets: eta-Eridanids peak 7 Aug; Sagittarius star fields; deep partial lunar eclipse 27–28 Aug (Americas + parts of Europe/Africa). Source: NASA Skywatching “What’s Up” Aug 2026; Sky & Telescope; timeanddate.com





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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 93 The strongest evidence yet that Betelgeuse is not alone Astronomers have finally demonstrated that the red supergiant star Betelgeuse has a binary companion star about two to three times the mass of the Sun. Is the mighty Andromeda galaxy dying A new study has found that star formation is winding down in our nearest big neighbouring galaxy Andromeda. The most volcanically active world in the Solar System NASA's Juno spacecraft has provided the first measurements of the temperature below the surface of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. The Science Report A new study warns that mining is now a threat to over 12,000 species across the globe. Claims taking faecal capsules could help people with insomnia get a good night's sleep. The link between air pollution exposure and ending up with lung and heart issues. People who spend an excessive amount of time online tend be more stressed. Alex on Tech Telstra Starlink expanding.





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S05E158 — “The Crater Makers” · Tuesday 4 August 2026. Four stories on cosmic impacts — and a new map of the X-ray sky — plus a both-hemispheres skywatch. ① A dead Falcon 9 is about to crater the Moon ● A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage (catalogued 2025-010D) is predicted to strike the Moon near Einstein Crater on 5 Aug 2026 at ~06:35 UTC — the second documented uncontrolled rocket impact on the Moon. ● The stage launched Firefly’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience landers in Jan 2025, then was stranded in a chaotic Earth orbit for ~18 months. Impact speed ~2.4 km/s (~5,400 mph); expected crater ~17–27 m across. ● Prediction by Bill Gray (Project Pluto). NASA’s LRO can image the site before and after; a ~two-dozen-author campaign is coordinating observers to chase the ejecta plume. ● Governance angle: no international framework governs cislunar debris — a growing hazard as lunar traffic increases (callback to E154’s distant-retrograde-orbit debris study). Sources: Space.com / Forbes / Reuters (Cris Tolomia) — impact preview, 31 Jul–3 Aug 2026 · Project Pluto (Bill Gray) — 2025-010D impact page · ZME Science — impact timing, 3 Aug 2026 ② Neptune’s inner moons: shrapnel of a shattered world ● JWST NIRSpec spectroscopy of Neptune’s inner moons Larissa, Galatea and Proteus (Caltech; lead author Ryleigh Davis, Mike Brown’s group) detected magnesium-rich phyllosilicates — clay minerals that require liquid water and had never been seen beyond Jupiter. ● The clays imply the material came from much larger, water-bearing worlds — evidence that Neptune’s original regular moon system was destroyed when Triton (a captured Kuiper Belt object) arrived. ● Proteus, the largest of the three, lacks the clays — possibly re-heated and reprocessed after re-forming, hiding its history. Sources: Davis et al., Science Advances, 29 July 2026 · Caltech / phys.org press coverage, 29 Jul–3 Aug 2026 · Space.com (Charles Q. Choi), 3 Aug 2026 ③ “Charbroiled within hours”: impact dust and the dinosaurs ● New modelling (Brandon Johnson et al., Purdue) argues ultrafine impact dust from Chicxulub acted as an insulating blanket, raising surface heating ~3.5× above the spherule-only estimate — enough to ignite global wildfires and kill exposed animals within hours. ● The same dust then blocked sunlight for years — so the model adds a ferocious opening act to the established “impact winter,” rather than replacing it. Sheltering underground or underwater aided survival. ● Caveat: the strongest physical wildfire evidence is so far confined to North America (per UCL’s Alfio Chiarenza, not involved in the study); a truly global fire record remains unconfirmed. Sources: Johnson, Johnson, Wakita & Robertson, JGR: Biogeosciences, 2026 · Popular Science / Space.com / ZME Science, 28 Jul–2 Aug 2026 ④ eROSITA DR2 — the X-ray sky doubles ● The eROSITA telescope (SRG mission) released its second data set (DR2) on 31 July 2026: ~1.9 million pointlike and ~64,000 extended X-ray sources from the first three all-sky scans — nearly doubling the previously released eROSITA catalogue. ● For scale: ROSAT catalogued ~130,000 sources in the 1990s and was the benchmark for 30 years. Lead author: Miriam Ramos-Ceja (MPE). ● DR2 delivers the first direct census of cataclysmic-variable binaries sufficient to explain the decades-old Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission. It coincides with SDSS DR20 (Black Hole Mapper), enabling 3D mapping of active black holes. Sources: Ramos-Ceja et al. (eROSITA-DE), arXiv:2607.27772; DR2 release · Max Planck Society press release, 29 July 2026 · phys.org, 31 Jul 2026 Skywatch — both hemispheres ● Falcon 9 impact (5 Aug, ~06:35 UTC): not naked-eye; ejecta plume a long shot for advanced amateurs in the Americas near the western limb (~2:35 a.m. EDT). Sydney: Moon below horizon — watch for LRO after-images. ● Comet 10P/Tempel 2: perihelion 2 Aug, closest to Earth 3 Aug (~0.41 AU); ~mag 8–9 near M30 in Capricornus. Best return of the century; Southern-Hemisphere-favoured; Northern viewers low on the southern horizon. Darkest window ~7–8 Aug. ● This evening: Venus threads between Regulus (Leo) and Spica (Virgo) in the west — both hemispheres, no equipment. Mercury at its best morning showing (greatest western elongation 2 Aug), low in the pre-dawn east. ● Diary — 12 Aug: total solar eclipse (Greenland/Iceland/Spain), moonless Perseid peak, six-planet alignment. Always use certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses / solar filters except during totality.





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In this enlightening Q&A episode of Space Nuts, join host Andrew Dunkley and astronomer Fred Watson Watson as they field a range of intriguing questions from listeners. From the hypothetical concept of dark matter stars to the mysteries of dormant comets and the mechanics of gravitational slingshots, this episode is packed with engaging discussions that spark curiosity in the cosmos.


In this episode:


- An exploration of dark matter stars: What are they, and how could they hypothetically shine without fusion?


- Understanding dormant comets: What defines them, and how can we identify these ancient celestial bodies?


- The mechanics behind gravitational slingshots: How do spacecraft gain speed from planetary gravity, and what role does the planet's rotation play?


- The rise of smart telescopes: Are these automated devices a boon for budding astronomers, or do they undermine traditional astrophotography?


- Personal experiences with smart telescopes and their impact on learning and engagement in astronomy.





Resources & Links:


- [Dark Matter and Dark Energy Overview]( NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/dark-energy-and-dark-matter) ) - Insights into these elusive components of the universe.


- [NASA's Comet Research]( NASA Comet Missions (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/comets/index.html) ) - Discoveries and ongoing studies of comets in our solar system.


- [Gravitational Slingshots Explained]( NASA's Gravitational Assist (https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/679/gravitational-assist/) ) - How spacecraft use gravity to navigate the solar system efficiently.





Join Andrew and Fred Watson as they unravel the complexities of space science, encouraging listeners to explore the universe and engage with the wonders of astronomy. Don't forget to submit your questions for future episodes!





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(00:00) This is Space Nuts and we've got questions from our audience


(01:57) Frederick: Greens Goddess started following me some time ago


(02:47) Casey from Colorado says dark matter stars could be incredibly bright


(09:13) Our next question comes from Michael about dark matter


(10:27) What's a dormant comet and how do you detect them


(16:28) Just wondering if you could explain the orbital mechanics behind Slingshots


(22:32) Smart telescopes allow beginners to dive straight into astrophotography


(28:56) Jason: Is there a privacy infringement there? Maybe, yeah


(30:03) Astronomer Fred Watson answers your Space Nuts questions


(32:16) Space Nick Nuts podcast available at Apple Podcasts and Spotify


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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 92 The monster that’s been let out of its cage Astronomers have for the first time discovered a monstrous supermassive black hole wandering unseen near the edge of a galaxy. Counting down to next week’s solar eclipse Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Greenland Russia and the arctic are about to experience a total solar eclipse as the Moon’s shadow sweeps across the surface of the Earth. The Swift Space Telescope rescue mission suffers a major setback NASA’s Link mission to save the Swift Space Telescope has suffered a few problems with a sudden loss of attitude control putting the spacecraft into an uncontrollable spin. The Science Report Former Biden administration chief health advisor Anthony Fauci pleads the fifth on everything. Antimicrobial resistance in children on the rise globally. The footprints of an ancient civilisation discovered in the Amazon. Discovery of fossils of a giant mosasaur eating an ichthyosaur that ate a pterosaur. Skeptics guide to the 2026 Bent Spoon Awards. This Week’s Guests NASA WB-57 pilot Tom Parent NASA WB-57 Sensor Equipment Operator Cary Klemm Nation Wide Eclipse Ballooning Project Principal Investigator Dr Angela Des Jardins from Montana State University. Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio Texas Juno Launch Director Omar Baez NASA Juno Mission Manager John Calvert NASA Our regular guests: Alex Zaharov-Reutt from techadvice.life Tim Mendham from Australian Skeptics And Senior science writer and Sky and Telescope magazine contributor Jonathan Nally 🌏 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! ✌





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