Space News Today

Astronomy Daily S05E127 | Monday, June 29, 2026 Hosts: Anna & Avery | astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod In today's episode: RAD-BAARG — The Bow-and-Arrow Galaxy A citizen scientist scanning LOFAR radio telescope data spotted a galaxy like nothing seen in 25 years — RAD-BAARG stretches 1.8 million light-years and shows what may be the clearest radio signature of a giant cosmic bow shock ever observed. Published June 22 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Hayabusa2 Flyby — One Week Away Japan's Hayabusa2# spacecraft is set to fly past asteroid Torifune (2001 CC21) on July 5 at a distance of just 1–10 km — one of the closest asteroid encounters ever attempted. The spacecraft already delivered Ryugu samples to Earth in 2020. Mars Magmatic Systems — Oxford/Nature Astronomy A University of Oxford-led study published June 26 in Nature Astronomy reveals seismic evidence that Mars once hosted vast, Earth-like transcrustal magmatic systems spanning potentially thousands of kilometres — without plate tectonics. Based on NASA InSight seismic data. Skywatching — Strawberry Moon & Mercury Retrograde The full Strawberry Moon peaks at 23:58 UTC tonight in Sagittarius near the Teapot asterism. Mercury also begins retrograde motion today. Southern Hemisphere viewers have good conditions for lunar viewing in winter skies. ESA Juice & 3I/ATLAS — Five New Findings ESA has published early results from Juice's November 2025 observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Key findings: 2,000 kg of water vapour per second at perihelion; comet behaviour resembling solar system comets; novel trajectory data from NavCam; and confirmation of Juice's instrument readiness for the Jupiter mission. NASA Artemis Audit — $5.9 Billion in Cancelled Contracts A NASA Inspector General memo finds the total value of cancelled Artemis programme hardware contracts reached $5.9 billion, reflecting cost increases and timeline extensions prior to programme restructuring. Artemis III lunar landing remains targeted for 2027.





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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 77 BepiColombo mission finally reaches Mercury space After eight years of powered flight towards the planet Mercury, mission managers have finally turned off the BepiColombo spacecraft’s propulsion engines in preparation for planetary orbit insertion. Is our Sun changing A new study claims the Sun has been mysteriously changing over the last forty years. Strange new type of x-ray flare detected in deep space Astronomers have detected a mysterious never before seen new type of X-ray flare in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere. The Science Report A special report on the latest bombshell developments in the case of the COVID 19 pandemic. Our Guests This Week: Uk Space Agency Programme Manager Rosemary Young Principle Investigator MIXS Instrument Emma Bunce Leicester University Planetary Geoscientist David Rothery The open University And our regular guests: Alex Zaharov-Reutt from techadvice.life 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 to. Thank you…


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In this episode of Space Nuts, join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson as they dive into a myriad of listener questions, exploring the cosmos with curiosity and humour. From the enigma of the Big Rip and the mysteries surrounding the universe's beginnings to the fascinating dynamics of colliding neutron stars and the potential for lunar sunsets, this Q&A edition promises to enlighten and entertain. Main Topics:


- The Big Rip vs. the Big Crunch: Is the Big Crunch making a comeback in cosmological discussions? [00:00–15:00]


- Exploring the concept of 'nothing' before the Big Bang: What does it mean and why is it so perplexing? [15:01–30:00]


- The collision of neutron stars: What happens and the implications for cosmic safety? [30:01–45:00]


- Lunar sunsets: Could you witness the sun's corona from the moon, and what is the effect of lunar dust? [45:01–60:00]


- Reflections on cosmic mysteries and the future of lunar exploration. [60:01–70:00]


Resources & Links:


- Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Studies


- Research on Neutron Star Collisions


- Upcoming Lunar Exploration Missions


Connect with Professor Fred Watson:


LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredwatson/) | Twitter (https://twitter.com/ProfFredWatson)


Join us for another fascinating journey through the universe, and don’t forget to send in your questions for future episodes! Stay curious, and keep looking up!


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00:00 –This is a Q and A edition of Space Nuts. We answer audience questions


01:56 –Fred: Question comes from Martin Berman Govine about the Big Crunch


09:54 –The RIP concept is probably more favourable than the crunch concept


10:30 –Mike asks question about whether there was anything before the Big Bang


16:51 –The cosmic microwave background radiation dates 380,000 years after the Big Bang


18:23 –When two neutron stars collide, do any fragments break off into the universe


20:14 –Colin says neutron stars are formed by gravitational collapse at end of star's life


23:05 –Our final question today comes from Bill in relation to the solar eclipse


24:40 –Could you see lunar corona from the surface, Professor Fred Watson says


28:50 –Space Nuts podcast available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio


Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/34027577?utm_source=youtube

Weekend Space & Astronomy News Wrap | Saturday, June 27, 2026 It's our Saturday wrap — and what a week it's been for space and astronomy! Join Anna and Avery for two brand-new stories plus the four biggest headlines from the past five days. THIS WEEK'S STORIES 🚀 NASA's Daring Swift Rescue Mission Launches Today NASA's Swift Boost mission launched this morning, sending the LINK robotic servicing spacecraft to rescue the 22-year-old Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from orbital decay. Built in under a year by startup Katalyst Space Technologies, LINK will rendezvous with Swift, grab it with robotic arms, and boost it to a safer orbit — a historic first for commercial spacecraft servicing. 🌌 JWST Catches Six Galaxies Merging Into One of the Universe's Largest The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a 'cosmic demolition derby' — at least six galaxies in the process of merging, seen as they were 12 billion years ago. The system TGSSJ1530+1049 hosts hundreds of billions of solar masses of stars and a growing supermassive black hole, offering a rare front-row seat to galaxy and black hole formation happening simultaneously. ☄️ WEEKLY WRAP: Lucy's Peanut-Shaped Wobbling Asteroid NASA's Lucy mission has revealed that asteroid Donaldjohanson tumbles on two axes simultaneously — an unexpected discovery published in Science this week. Lucy also found evidence of ancient water interaction and traced the asteroid's violent origin to a collision 155 million years ago. A preview of what Lucy will reveal at Jupiter's Trojans. 🪨 WEEKLY WRAP: Asteroid 1997 NC1 Passes Earth Today A 1-kilometre-wide asteroid makes its closest approach to Earth today — at 1.5 million miles (about 7 times the Earth-Moon distance). Completely safe and well-tracked, it's a great telescope target for Southern Hemisphere observers this evening, drifting visibly against the background stars. 🌠 WEEKLY WRAP: Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS — Alien Chemistry Confirmed by JWST New JWST analysis confirms that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS contains methane — the first detection of methane on any interstellar object. The comet's chemical fingerprint is radically different from anything in our solar system, pointing to an extremely cold birthplace in another star system. These are our last close observations as 3I/ATLAS heads out of the solar system forever. 💫 WEEKLY WRAP: The Jellyfish Nebula's Hidden Sibling Astrophysicists have identified what appears to be the first-ever pair of sibling supernova remnants — the famous Jellyfish Nebula and a previously hidden companion concealed in its glare. The two remnants are connected by a filament of gas, suggesting they share a common stellar origin.





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In this episode of Astronomy Daily (S05E125), hosts Anna and Avery cover six major stories from the frontiers of space science and astronomy, including the most detailed image ever taken of the Milky Way's core, a Hubble discovery that solves a decades-old cosmological mystery, the oldest confirmed asteroid impact crater on Earth, a pair of impossibly light exoplanets, an impending lunar impact from a SpaceX rocket stage, and a live solar weather alert for Southern Hemisphere aurora watchers. Stories Covered Story 1 — Euclid's Record Milky Way Galactic Bulge Image: ESA's Euclid telescope releases the largest, highest-resolution visible-light image ever made of the Milky Way's central bulge, containing more than 60 million stars. The image serves as a baseline for NASA's upcoming Roman Space Telescope's microlensing survey. (ESA / NASA, June 24–25 2026) Story 2 — Hubble Catches Galaxy Clearing the Cosmic Fog: Galaxy MXDFz4.4, observed 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, has been caught emitting ionising ultraviolet light — direct evidence of how the early universe's hydrogen fog was cleared. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, June 23 2026. Story 3 — Earth's Oldest Asteroid Crater Dated to 3 Billion Years: Curtin University researchers precisely date the North Pole Dome impact structure in Western Australia's Pilbara region to 3.024 billion years ago — the oldest known impact crater on Earth, beating the next oldest by ~800 million years. Published in Geology, June 23 2026. Story 4 — Super-Puff Planets Lighter Than Cotton Candy: An Oxford-led international team confirms TOI-791 b and c — two Jupiter-sized exoplanets with densities lower than cotton candy (0.038 and 0.047 g/cm³), making them the lowest-density giant planets ever found. Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, June 26 2026. Story 5 — SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage to Impact Moon on August 5: A spent Falcon 9 upper stage from the January 2025 Blue Ghost / Hakuto-R launch is on course to strike the Moon near Einstein Crater on August 5 2026. Visibility from Earth is uncertain, but NASA's LRO will image the resulting crater. NASA SSERVI, June 2026. Skywatching — A G1 geomagnetic storm struck overnight June 25, with further unsettled conditions expected June 26–27 as coronal hole streams strengthen and new sunspot region AR4478 rotates into Earth view. Aurora possible for Tasmania, New Zealand's South Island and southern Australia tonight.





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