Space News Today

Monday SpaceTime 20261102 Series 29 Episode 131

New dwarf planet discovered beyond Pluto Astronomers have discovered a new dwarf planet in the outer reaches of the Solar System, beyond the orbit of Pluto. Planetary Defence Mission sees its target for the first time The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has now identified its target asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos achieved first light in its planetary defence mission. Russia permanently closes off part of its space station segment due to leaks Mission managers have been forced to permanently close off one of the compartments of the Russian Zvezda module on the International Space Station because of a persistent structural leak venting atmosphere into space. The Science Report Anthropic warns that AI could wipe out human existence. Rates of hospitalisations for heart problems increasing faster in states that have legalised cannabis. Atmospheric greenhouse gas levels reached record highs last year. Tehran says the Islamic republic has built the largest, most powerful conventional bomb ever made. Skeptics guide to the latest bogus cancer cure. Our Guests This Week HERA Principal Investigator Patrick Michel from ESA 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! ✌ 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…

Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/36020099?utm_source=youtube

Space Nuts: The Great Attractor, What Makes a Moon, and Life Beneath the Rings

In this listener Q&A episode of Space Nuts , Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson tackle a curious collection of cosmic questions. They explain why a crescent Moon can appear alongside the Sun in the morning sky, then explore the Great Attractor: the enormous concentration of galaxy clusters influencing the motion of our Local Group. The conversation turns to a lingering classification puzzle — what exactly makes a moon a moon, and should it have to clear its orbit? Finally, they imagine the view from a rocky world with rings, considering how the rings might look through the seasons, how sunlight would filter through them and what spectacular shadows or eclipses might occur. Join Andrew and Fred Watson for astronomy, imagination and the occasional tractor joke.

Key topics

- Why the Sun and a crescent Moon can be visible together in the morning sky.

- The Great Attractor, the Zone of Avoidance and the Laniakea Supercluster.

- Whether moons need to be spherical or clear their orbits, and the case of Pluto and Charon.

- What a ringed planet might look like from its surface, including seasonal changes, shadows and eclipses.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction and overview of listener questions

01:20 - Why the Sun and crescent Moon can appear together in the morning

06:00 - Moon phases and how sunlight illuminates the Moon

09:30 - Paul’s question about the Great Attractor

11:00 - The Zone of Avoidance and the Laniakea Supercluster

16:00 - What defines a moon, and should it clear its orbit?

20:00 - Binary planets, Pluto and Charon

23:00 - What it might look like to stand beneath a planet’s rings

26:00 - Seasonal ring illumination, shadows and possible eclipses

30:00 - Listener feedback, updates and closing remarks

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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/36018165?utm_source=youtube

Show notes

Electrons made on the wrong side of Earth's 'impenetrable barrier', a gamma-ray burst that only looked weak, the week that was, and a Halloween that is astronomically a week early. The Wall That Broke In 2014 NASA's Van Allen Probes revealed a sharp inner edge to Earth's outer radiation belt: electrons at the very highest energies never got closer than about 2.8 Earth radii. During the May 2024 superstorm — the biggest since the 2003 Halloween storms — Japan's Arase satellite saw electrons of about 3 MeV rise deep inside that 'impenetrable barrier'. A new paper led by Yoshizumi Miyoshi (Nagoya University ISEE) shows a peak in electron phase space density growing in place at L* ≈ 3, about 12,000 km up — evidence the electrons were accelerated there rather than carried in. Intense chorus waves, operating in a region emptied by a crushed plasmasphere and a negative ionospheric storm, are the likely engine. Caveats: one storm; 'consistent with' chorus acceleration; the breach itself had been reported before — the new part is the mechanism. Not Faint, Just Side-On GRB 260310A, caught by Fermi on 10 March 2026, had a feeble gamma-ray flash but one of the brightest afterglows ever seen. Yu-Han Yang (Tor Vergata) and colleagues argue we viewed a two-component jet from the side. Preprint from May; published in ApJL this month; competing models exist. The Week That Was E214 GRB 160425A, one burst with two births · E215 θ¹ Ori C, the star born twice · E216 Rubin's first dwarf-planet candidate 2026 ED138 · E217 Betelgeuse pulled out of round by Siwarha · E218 Teghaza 001, one of the oldest pieces of Mars. Plus Swift's re-entry watch, Voyager 1 at one light-day on 18 Nov, and Starship Flight 15 targeted for November. Skywatch Halloween is astronomically a week early (true cross-quarter 7 Nov). Mars, Jupiter and Regulus line up before dawn, Mars–Jupiter just over 1° apart on 16 Nov. Moon near Mars and Jupiter on the mornings of 2–3 Nov. Saturn rules the evening, best from the south. US clocks fall back 1 Nov. Solar viewing only with ISO 12312-2 certified filters. Sources · Miyoshi et al., GRL 53, e2026GL125879 (2026) — https://doi.org/10.1029/2026GL125879 · ISAS/JAXA release, 27 Oct 2026 (Japanese) — https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/topics/004417.html · Nagoya University release via phys.org — https://phys.org/news/2026-10-solar-storm-triggered-ultrarelativistic-electrons.html · Yang et al., ApJL 1011 L22 (GRB 260310A) — https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aea990 · arXiv 2605.23818 (Yang et al. preprint) — https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23818 · Gill et al., arXiv 2605.26091 (competing model) — https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.26091 · NASA: Swift mission ends ahead of re-entry — https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/10/23/nasas-swift-mission-ends-ahead-of-re-entry/

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/36010396?utm_source=youtube

Embark on an interplanetary journey with SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 59, where we unravel the enigmatic atmosphere of Venus and its waterless environment. Discover the startling new study that suggests Venus lost its water reserves to space, leaving it with a mere fraction of Earth's water despite their similar origins. The episode dives into the complex chemical reactions in Venus's atmosphere that may have turned a once Earth-like planet into a scorching, inhospitable world.

Next, we explore the innovative ideas NASA is considering for future lunar logistics, including a magnetic railroad system designed to transport materials across the Moon's surface. This system could revolutionize the way we build and sustain lunar bases, pushing the boundaries of off-world construction and resource utilization.

The episode then shifts to the launch of a cutting-edge satellite from the International Space Station. This new eye in the sky aims to provide early warnings of volcanic eruptions by detecting trace gases, a game-changer for disaster preparedness and environmental monitoring.

Join us as we delve into these cosmic developments and more, including the implications of AI biases and the latest in tech from Apple.

Tune into SpaceTime with Stuart Gary for a deep dive into the latest astronomical insights and technological advancements.

(00:00) This is spacetime series 27, episode 59, for broadcast on 15 May 2024

(00:42) Study claims Venus loses twice as much water every day through dissociative recombination

(06:16) NASA is looking at building a railway on the moon to transport freight

(16:23) Ultra processed junk foods associated with higher risk of premature death, study finds

(18:52) Apple has formally released its new Apple Air and Apple Pro iPads

(24:15) Spacetime is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple podcasts

Support the show and access ad-free episodes at https://www.spreaker.com/show/spacetime (https://www.spreaker.com/show/spacetime) . Follow our cosmic conversations on Twitter @stuartgary, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of the universe, one episode at a time.

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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/20734923?utm_source=youtube

Join us for SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 69, where we uncover the latest cosmic revelations and scientific advancements.

First, we delve into a groundbreaking discovery by the Webb Space Telescope, which has identified the most distant galaxy ever observed. Located a staggering 290 million years after the Big Bang, this galaxy offers unprecedented insights into the universe's infancy and the formation of its earliest stars and galaxies. We explore the methods and implications of this discovery, including the galaxy's surprising brightness and the presence of dust and ionized gas.

Next, we discuss the announcement of a massive new collection of exoplanet discoveries. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has confirmed 120 new exoplanets and identified six new candidates, bringing the total number of known exoplanets to over 6000. These findings offer a rich database for studying planetary properties and environments, particularly those that may harbor life.

Finally, we highlight new X-ray observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Telescope, revealing dramatic changes in two famous supernova remnants: the Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A. These observations provide stunning visualizations and valuable data on the dynamic processes occurring in these remnants.

Follow our cosmic conversations on X @stuartgary , Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of the universe, one episode at a time.

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