Space News Today

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 95 Spectacular vortices discovered on the Sun’s surface Astronomers have for the first time observed swirling whirlpool like vortices deep in the Sun’s photosphere – its visible surface. The event horizon of merging black holes seen for the first time Astronomers have for the first time picked up gravitational waves from the event horizon during the actual merger of two black holes . Starship recovery efforts underway off Western Australia SpaceX are towing their Test 13 Starship prototype back to shore after it survived its Indian Ocean soft splash down off the Western Australian coast. The Science Report Scientists develop a new blood test to help test for signs of Alzheimer's. E-scooter riders found to be 3.5 times more likely than motorcyclists to get traumatic brain injuries. Reshaping sciences understanding of mammal evolution during the age of dinosaurs. A new study shows how wireless charging for drones could be achieved using lasers. Skeptics guide to claims Artemis II was a hoax. This Week’s Guests Professor Robert Ward from the Australian National University 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/)


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Astronomy Daily · S05E164 “Eclipse Eve” · Tuesday 11 August 2026. Sources are primary/agency where possible; aggregator dates were checked against originals. In this episode • LEAD — The 12 August total solar eclipse: the only total eclipse of 2026 and the first over mainland Europe since 1999. Totality arcs from Siberia over the North Pole to eastern Greenland, western Iceland, northern Spain and a sliver of Portugal; maximum totality ~2 min 18 s. Partial for much of North America near sunset; not visible from Australia. ESA livestreams from the Javalambre Observatory, Spain. • MIDDLE 1 — A state CASC Long March 7A exploded ~85 seconds after lifting off from Wenchang on 10 August, a total loss (payload reported as the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite). Separately, Landspace’s private Zhuque-3 was on the same-night manifest from Jiuquan for its second propulsive landing-legs recovery attempt — outcome unconfirmed at recording. China’s first orbital-booster landing (net-capture, Long March 10B) already succeeded on 10 July. • MIDDLE 2 — The Perseids peak overnight 12–13 August under a New Moon — the darkest conditions in roughly two decades. Parent comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Realistic ~30–50 meteors/hr from dark sites (nominal ~100), with a slim chance of a dust-trail boost; the next confidently forecast outburst is 2028. • MIDDLE 3 — Japan’s H3 launched Michibiki No. 7 (QZS-7) from Tanegashima, bringing the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System up to the strength Japan needs to run it as a standalone service — a regional navigation layer that keeps a satellite near the zenith over Japan/Asia-Pacific, reinforcing GPS and building navigation resilience. The satellite also hosts a US Space Force space-surveillance sensor (SACHI). • CLOSER — Both-hemispheres skywatch: eclipse viewing times (totality window ~16:58–18:34 UT, greatest ~17:46 UT) and the ISO 12312-2 eye-safety rule; Perseid how-to for the North (best 2 a.m.–dawn); and Southern-Hemisphere content — pre-dawn planets, evening Venus, Comet 10P/Tempel 2. Eye safety • A partial eclipse is never safe to view with the naked eye. Use ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses/viewers, or indirect projection (pinhole). Direct viewing is only safe during true totality, and only inside the path (Greenland, Iceland, Spain). Links • astronomydaily.io — full back-catalogue, daily news feed, listener reviews, newsletter sign-up, contact form • @AstroDailyPod on your platform of choice





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Astronomy Daily · S05E163 · “The Long Way Home” · Monday 10 August 2026. Sources verified against primary / institutional outlets. Starship “lost at sea” (Flight 13) • Flight 13 launched 24 July 2026 from Starbase, South Texas; the upper stage (“Ship,” Ship 40, ~52 m) made the softest Starship water landing yet in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia — and, in a program first, survived intact and afloat. • SpaceX had not planned to recover it. Musk confirmed the salvage attempt on 28 July (“We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship”); recovery ship Go Australis was joined by Norwegian tugs Normand Ranger and Skimmer Tide, with a tow line to the nose. • On 7 August, Musk said recovery is “not looking good right now” in rough seas — but the team had already obtained close-up photos of critical heat-shield and engine regions for future upgrades. A saltwater-soaked Ship was never going to be reflown. • Heat shield: on SpaceX’s first quarterly earnings call (4 August) Musk said he’d “consider the heat-shield problem solved,” long the biggest hurdle to full reuse. • The flight also deployed 20 next-gen Starlink V3 satellites; the Super Heavy booster had engine trouble and was lost in the Gulf of Mexico. Stacked, Starship stands ~124 m. Flight 14 is targeted for late August — its first attempt at operational orbit with production Starlink. • Sources: SpaceX / @elonmusk on X (7 Aug); Space.com (Mike Wall, 7 Aug); CNN (3 Aug). Landspace Zhuque-3, second landing attempt • Landspace (private, Beijing, founded 2015) targets liftoff ~7:45 p.m. EDT Mon 10 Aug (23:45 UTC / ≈9:45 a.m. AEST Tue 11 Aug) from Jiuquan, aiming for a propulsive first-stage recovery on legs (Falcon 9-style), landing downrange in Gansu. • The methalox, stainless-steel Zhuque-3 (~66 m) is broadly a Falcon 9 rival. Its Dec 2025 maiden flight reached orbit but the first stage failed its landing burn and crashed. • Accuracy note: this is China’s fourth orbital-class recovery attempt. A Long March 10B already landed via net-capture on 10 July (China became the 2nd nation to land an orbital booster) — so tonight would make Landspace the first Chinese company to attempt a propulsive/landing-legs recovery, not “China’s first.” • Sources: Space.com (7 Aug); Yahoo/Space (7 Aug); launch trackers (NOTAM-based). Uranus’s “breathing” bow shock • New multifluid-MHD modelling shows Uranus’s bow shock expands and contracts over a single ~17-hour Uranian day — driven by the planet’s own extreme rotation and tilted, offset magnetic field, not by changes in the solar wind. • The model is constrained by Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby — still the only direct measurements ever taken inside the Uranian system (a nice callback to E159’s Voyager 2 “Big Bang” lead). • Implications for future ice-giant missions and for the many ice-giant exoplanets now being found. Cao et al., AGU Advances; surfaced via an Eos research spotlight this week. (Framed as newly-spotlighted rather than newly-published.) • Sources: AGU Advances (Cao et al.); Eos research spotlight; phys.org (7 Aug). Total solar eclipse — 12 August 2026 • The only total solar eclipse of 2026. Unusual over-the-pole path: Arctic Siberia → eastern Greenland → western Iceland → northern Spain (clipping NE Portugal) → the Balearics at sunset. • Greatest eclipse ≈17:46 UTC; max totality 2 min 18 s just off Iceland’s west coast, with the Sun only ~26° high. Iceland’s first total eclipse since 1954 (Reykjavik’s first in 593 years); Spain’s first since 1905. • North America sees a partial across the northern tier (Alaska to North Carolina) and most of Canada — deepest in the far north, a shallow bite (10%) from the US Northeast, late morning to early afternoon local. NASA livestream from 1:15 p.m. EDT at nasa.gov/live. • Not visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Sources: NASA eclipse pages; national eclipse guides. Skywatch — both hemispheres • Perseids peak the night of 12–13 August under a new Moon — excellent for the Northern Hemisphere (up to ~50–100/hr from dark sites, best pre-dawn 13 Aug); modest and low for the Southern Hemisphere. • Southern-Hemisphere targets: a pre-dawn planet spread; brilliant evening Venus (brightest ~22 Sep); Comet 10P/Tempel 2 low in the pre-dawn south (binoculars/small scope, dark site). • Aurora watch: a G2 storm produced auroras 7–9 Aug; more activity is possible around 11–12 Aug for high-latitude watchers. • Eye safety: certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses required for all partial phases; never view the Sun through an unfiltered camera, binoculars or telescope.





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In this engaging Q&A episode of Space Nuts, join host Andrew Dunkley and astronomer Fred Watson Watson as they tackle a variety of fascinating questions from listeners. From the peculiarities of Martian days to the mysteries of black holes and the galactic centre, this episode is filled with enlightening discussions that are sure to spark curiosity about the cosmos.


In this episode:


- John asks about the implications of Mars' longer day length on human biology and potential adaptations for future colonists.


- Dan inquires about the growth of black holes, exploring how quickly they can develop into supermassive entities and what happens when there’s nothing left to consume.


- Young Thomas, just 11 years old, poses several intriguing questions about the galactic centre, including whether it can swallow all stars and planets in the galaxy, and the limits of a black hole's gravitational reach.


- Paul reflects on historical discoveries in astronomy, specifically how Harlow Shapley determined our Sun's position within the Milky Way, challenging the long-held belief that it was at the centre.


Join Andrew and Fred Watson as they explore these thought-provoking questions and more, encouraging listeners to continue their journey of exploration and discovery in the universe.


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(00:00) This is a Q and A edition where we take audience questions


(02:16) When and if Mars is populated with humans, how would we work with longer day


(08:50) Andrew: How astronauts deal with gravity when they land on Earth


(11:47) Dan from the Gold coast has some questions about black holes


(12:51) Fred: How fast do black holes grow? Dan asks fundamental astrophysics question


(18:17) Fred asks five questions about black holes from Thomas Reid, 11


(22:03) Thomas asks if black holes can swallow up all stars and planets


(24:31) Final question comes from Paul from Las Vegas


(26:42) It was actually 1919 when that discovery was made


(34:24) We continue to receive great questions from great listeners and long may it continue


Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/34693771?utm_source=youtube

This weekend on Astronomy Daily: the Inouye Solar Telescope reveals whirlpools on the Sun’s surface for the first time, a Falcon 9 upper stage carves a fresh crater on the Moon, Voyager 2 pulls off a daring "Big Bang" power swap 21 billion kilometres away, and the LINK spacecraft wins its de-spin battle in the race to save NASA’s Swift. Plus your both-hemispheres guide to the 12 August total solar eclipse and the moonless Perseid peak. In this episode ● (01:20) LEAD — First-ever sighting of Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices on the Sun (Nature, 5 Aug; Inouye Solar Telescope / NSO / MPS) ● (09:00) Falcon 9 upper stage 2025-010D impacts the Moon near Einstein Crater ● (12:15) Voyager 2’s "Big Bang" power swap buys another year of interstellar science ● (15:30) LINK spins down from 9°/s to 1.47°/s — software update next in the Swift rescue ● (18:45) Skywatch: 12 Aug total solar eclipse + Perseid peak — both hemispheres, with eye-safety Links & sources ● Nature: Kuridze et al., "Ubiquitous Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities driving plasma mixing on the Sun" (5 Aug 2026) ● NSO / NSF and Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research press releases (5 Aug 2026) ● NASA/JPL Voyager blog: "NASA Engineers Help Prolong Voyager 2’s Science Mission" (4 Aug 2026) ● NASA Science Swift blog: LINK stabilisation update; ESA & NASA eclipse pages for 12 Aug 2026





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