Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your
source for the latest developments in space
science and astronomy. I'm your host, Anna.
And today we've got a fascinating lineup of
cosmic news to share with you. We'll start
with a surprising revelation about our
galactic neighbourhood. Then we'll look at
how robots could revolutionise space based
solar power with breakthrough technology that
might soon beam, constant clean energy back
to Earth. We'll also examine why June's
upcoming Full Moon will be sitting unusually
low in the northern sky, a rare celestial
event. And finally, we'll catch up on the
Latest launches from SpaceX and Rocket Lab,
including historic milestones for human
spaceflight. So stay with us as we journey
through today's cosmic headlines on Astronomy
Daily. Let's kick things off today
with a story that might help you sleep easier
at night.
For what seems like billions of years,
astronomers have been telling us that our
Milky Way galaxy is on an inevitable
collision course with our nearest large
galactic neighbourhood, Andromeda. This
cosmic crash was thought to be about 4 to 5
billion years in our future, with the merger
eventually creating what scientists had
already named Milcomeda. But now
this long held belief is being challenged by
new research. A paper published in Nature
Astronomy suggests that this galactic
collision might not be as certain as we once
thought. Scientists have analysed the latest
and most accurate observations from both the
Gaia and Hubble space telescopes, combined
with recent mass estimates to recalculate the
possible future scenarios for our Local Group
of galaxies over the next 10 billion years.
The Milky Way's path through the universe
isn't just influenced by Andromeda. It's
actually affected by the gravitational pull
of several objects in our cosmic
neighbourhood, including the smaller
Triangulum Galaxy, also known as
Messier33, along with the Large and
Small Magellanic Clouds and various
superclusters. What's particularly
interesting is how these other cosmic bodies
play a significant role in determining
whether the Milky Way and Andromeda will
actually collide. The research shows that
while the Triangulum Galaxy increases the
merger probability, the Large Magellanic
Cloud's orbit runs perpendicular to the Milky
Way Andromeda path, which actually makes
their merger less likely. The most striking
finding from these new simulations is that
there's nearly a 50% chance that the Milky
Way and Andromeda won't collide at all within
the next 10 billion years. That's a dramatic
shift from what was previously considered
almost inevitable. The researchers do
acknowledge some uncertainties in their
model. They assumed, for example, that the
mass distributions within the galaxies remain
constant over the next 10 billion years,
which may not be entirely accurate, but their
updated simulations using the latest
observational data and physics cast
considerable doubt on whether this cosmic
collision will ever occur. Interestingly,
the study suggests there's a higher chance
that the Milky Way will actually collide with
the Large Magellanic cloud in about 2 billion
years. Of course, none of us will be around
to witness any of these potential cosmic
crashes, but it's fascinating how our
understanding of even the largest scale
events in our cosmic neighbourhood continues
to evolve.
Next today, and I assure this is real and not
some fancy sci fi dream. In a breakthrough
that could revolutionise clean energy
production, the UK Atomic Energy Agency has
demonstrated that remotely operated robots
can successfully build gigawatt scale solar
power satellites without human intervention.
This development, part of the Albatross
project in collaboration with clean tech firm
Space Solar, marks a significant step toward
achieving round the clock renewable energy
from space. The project, based at the
UKEAEA's Cullam campus in Oxfordshire,
utilised dual arm robotic manipulators to
construct satellite components designed to be
several kilometres long and about 20 metres
wide. This robotic approach offers both
cost advantages and safety benefits by
reducing the need for astronaut involvement
in the assembly, maintenance and eventual
decommissioning of these massive structures.
What makes this concept particularly
promising is the intensity of solar energy
available in space. According to the
European Space Agency, sunlight at the top
of Earth's atmosphere is more than 10 times
stronger than at ground level. These orbital
solar collectors would capture this
uninterrupted energy source and beam it back
to Earth as microwaves, which could then be
converted into electricity by ground based
antennas. The robotic technology being
developed at UKEAEA's remote applications in
Challenging Environment Centre isn't just for
space applications. These same innovations
support fusion energy production on Earth,
highlighting the synergy between terrestrial
and space based energy solutions.
Space solar is moving quickly with this
technology, expecting to Commission its first
30 megawatt demonstrator system by
2029 and reach full gigawatt
scale capac within the following decade,
potentially providing a continuous stream of
clean energy from the limitless solar
resources available in orbit.
If you've been watching the night sky, you
might notice something unusual happening this
June. The Full Moon on June 11,
2025 will appear remarkably low in
the sky for Northern Hemisphere observers.
In fact, it will be the lowest full moon
we've seen in decades. This isn't random
chance or an astronomical anomaly. It's
actually part of a fascinating 18.6
year cycle that affects how we see our lunar
companion Unlike what many people
assume, the Moon's orbit isn't aligned with
Earth's equator or even with Earth's path
around the Sun. The Moon's orbit is actually
tilted by about 5.15 degrees relative
to the ecliptic. That's the plane of Earth's
orbit around the Sun. This tilt,
combined with Earth's own 23.5 degree
axial tilt, creates some interesting effects
that play out over long time periods. Because
of these combined tilts, the Moon can appear
anywhere from 28.65 degrees south
to 28.65 degrees north in our sky.
This means that over time, the Moon seems to
wander north and south against the background
stars. Astronomers call the extreme points
in this cycle lunar standstills.
The last major lunar standstill occurred in
2006, and now we're approaching another
one. During this period, the Moon's path
swings to its maximum extremes, making it
appear exceptionally high in winter and
exceptionally low in summer for Northern
Hemisphere observers. That's why this June's
Full Moon will barely skim the treetops for
many North American and European viewers.
And if you're in places like Alaska or
Iceland, the Moon might not rise at all.
Meanwhile, observers in the Southern
hemisphere will experience the opposite
effect. They'll see what's essentially their
own long night's Moon riding remarkably high
in their June skies. This
gradual shifting of the Moon's path
happens because the Moon's orbital plane is
slowly being dragged around once every 18.6
years, primarily due to the gravitational
pull of the Sun. Astronomers call
this the nodal precession. What's
particularly fascinating is that ancient
peoples recognised and tracked these lunar
cycles at the Callanish stones in
Scotland, erected during the bronze age over
4000 years ago. Archaeoastronomers have
discovered alignments that mark the rising
and setting positions of the Moon at its
extreme standstills. These
ancient stone circles served as astronomical
calendars, helping people track longer
periods of time than the regular monthly
lunar cycle. So when you look at this
unusually low full Moon in June, remember
you're witnessing the same celestial
mechanics that our ancestors observed and
celebrated thousands of years ago. A living
connection to humanity's earliest attempts to
understand the rhythms of the cosmos.
Let's switch gears now and look at what's
happening in space. Launches this week.
SpaceX continues to dominate the launch
schedule, with an impressive five missions
packed into just one week. Rocket Lab
kicked things off with their 65th Electron
launch, nicknamed Full Stream, ahead just
before June 3rd ended in New Zealand time.
They successfully deployed a BlackSky
Generation 3 satellite into orbit. This marks
Rocket Lab's 10th launch for BlackSky
technology, making them the most frequent
launch provider for this constellation. The
Gen 3 satellites are quite impressive,
capable of producing images with 50
centimetre resolution and equipped with
shortwave infrared sensors. SpaceX
has been even busier with multiple Starlink
deployments across different launch sites.
From Cape Canaveral in Florida, they launched
Starlink Group 1219, carrying
23 Starlink V2 mini satellites,
13 of which feature the new direct to cell
capabilities. This mission used booster
B1077, making its
remarkable 21st flight. The very
same day, SpaceX conducted another Starlink
launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in
California, delivering 27 more
satellites to, a different orbital
inclination. And if that wasn't enough,
they scheduled yet another StarLink mission
for June 8 from Vandenberg, adding 26 more
satellites to their rapidly growing
constellation. Beyond Starlink, SpaceX
is launching the SXM10 satellite for SiriusXM
on June 7. This third generation satellite
weighs over 6,000 kilogrammes and will
replace older satellites in the constellation
that have been in service since 2005 and
2006. SiriusXM currently serves
over 33 million subscribers, highlighting how
space technology directly impacts everyday
services many of us use. Perhaps most
exciting is the Axiom 4 crewed mission
launching June 9th. Commander Peggy Whitson
will lead a diverse international crew,
including Shubanshu Shukla from India,
Slavosh Usnanski from Poland and
Tibor Kapu from Hungary, each representing
only the second astronaut from their
respective countries to reach space. They'll
spend up to two weeks aboard the
International Space Station, conducting 60
scientific experiments, setting a record for
the most research activities during an Axiom
mission. The Dragon capsule for this mission
is brand new, making its first flight, While
the Falcon 9 booster is flying for just its
second time, having been used only 41 days
earlier for a Starlink mission. These
milestones highlight how commercial space
missions are now creating opportunities for
nations that don't have their own human
spaceflight programmes to send their citizens
to orbit. It's democratising access to
space in ways we couldn't have imagined even
a decade ago.
Well, what an incredible journey through
space we've taken today. From reconsidering
the collision course of galaxies to robots
building solar satellites in orbit. From the
moon's fascinating dance across our skies to
the remarkable diversity of launches carrying
humans and technology beyond our atmosphere.
I'm Anna and I want to thank you for joining
me on this episode of Astronomy Daily. If you
enjoyed today's Cosmic Update, please visit
astronomydaily IO where you can sign up for
our free daily newsletter delivering the
latest space news right to your inbox.
Don't miss future episodes by subscribing to
the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Your support helps us continue bringing the
wonders of the universe down to Earth.
Until next time, keep looking up. There's
always something fascinating happening in our
cosmic neighbourhood.