WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.880 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your 1 00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:04.720 source for all the latest news from across 2 00:00:04.720 --> 00:00:07.680 the vast universe. I'm your host, Anna, 3 00:00:07.760 --> 00:00:10.160 and I'm so excited to dive into today's 4 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.720 cosmic happenings. We've got a busy show for 5 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:15.240 you today. We'll be looking at how NASA and 6 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.200 the Department of Defence are Preparing for 7 00:00:17.200 --> 00:00:20.160 Artemis 2. We've got a quick update from 8 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.160 the ISS. We'll be checking out a jellyfish 9 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:25.880 galaxy. Plus, we'll guide you on how to 10 00:00:25.880 --> 00:00:27.280 spot Mars this month. 11 00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:29.640 So buckle up space fans, it's time for 12 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:32.460 liftoff. NASA and the 13 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:34.540 Department of Defence recently teamed up to 14 00:00:34.540 --> 00:00:37.420 practise emergency procedures for the Artemis 15 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.580 2 mission, which is set to send four 16 00:00:39.580 --> 00:00:42.500 astronauts around the moon next year. These 17 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:44.780 simulations are super important because, you 18 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:47.740 know, safety first. The teams 19 00:00:47.740 --> 00:00:49.620 rehearsed what they would do to rescue the 20 00:00:49.620 --> 00:00:51.500 crew if there was an emergency during the 21 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:54.100 launch of the Orion spacecraft. This 22 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.420 included scenarios where they had to abort 23 00:00:56.420 --> 00:00:58.260 the launch while the rocket was still on the 24 00:00:58.260 --> 00:01:00.990 pad, as well as during the ascent into space. 25 00:01:01.470 --> 00:01:03.430 To make it as realistic as possible, they 26 00:01:03.430 --> 00:01:05.550 used test mannequins and a version of Orion 27 00:01:05.550 --> 00:01:07.710 called the crew Module Test article. 28 00:01:08.590 --> 00:01:10.950 During the pad abort simulation, the launch 29 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:12.830 team went through a normal countdown before 30 00:01:12.830 --> 00:01:15.270 declaring an abort just before the simulated 31 00:01:15.270 --> 00:01:18.190 launch. In a real emergency, Orion's launch 32 00:01:18.190 --> 00:01:20.550 abort system would kick in, propelling the 33 00:01:20.550 --> 00:01:22.670 capsule and its crew to safety before 34 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.720 parachuting down off the coast of Florida for 35 00:01:25.720 --> 00:01:28.040 the test. They placed the test Orion in the 36 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:30.640 water and then two navy helicopters 37 00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:33.040 carrying Air Force pararescuers 38 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:35.600 swooped in to retrieve the mannequin crew 39 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:37.760 just like they would in a real situation. 40 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:41.379 The next day they practised an ascent, abort 41 00:01:41.380 --> 00:01:43.940 scenario. The rescue team set up another 42 00:01:43.940 --> 00:01:46.300 simulation at sea and after receiving the 43 00:01:46.300 --> 00:01:48.860 simulated abort call, they sprang into action 44 00:01:48.860 --> 00:01:51.860 using a C17 aircraft and more Air Force 45 00:01:51.860 --> 00:01:54.860 pararescuers. These procedures are similar to 46 00:01:54.860 --> 00:01:57.300 those used in previous tests, making sure 47 00:01:57.300 --> 00:01:59.220 everyone is prepared for anything that might 48 00:01:59.220 --> 00:02:02.140 happen. It's all part of NASA's commitment to 49 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:04.460 keeping the Artemis II crew safe as they 50 00:02:04.460 --> 00:02:07.460 venture to the moon and back. Next up, 51 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:09.660 a quick update to our story from yesterday 52 00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:12.500 about Postponements to the AXE 4 mission. 53 00:02:12.820 --> 00:02:15.380 Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Friday 54 00:02:15.620 --> 00:02:17.660 that a leak on the Russian segment of the 55 00:02:17.660 --> 00:02:19.180 International Space Station had been 56 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:21.180 repaired, that the Interfax news agency 57 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.100 reported. Good news indeed. No reports yet 58 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:26.060 on how this will affect prospective launch 59 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:28.740 date, though. NASA had on Thursday 60 00:02:28.980 --> 00:02:31.100 indefinitely delayed a four person cruise 61 00:02:31.100 --> 00:02:34.060 mission to the ISS over an escalating probe 62 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:35.819 into air leaks aboard the orbiting 63 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:37.380 laboratory's Russian segment. 64 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:41.500 Okay, next up in our cosmic tour, astronomers 65 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:43.500 have spotted a galaxy that looks like a 66 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.310 jellyfish with bunny ears. I know it 67 00:02:46.310 --> 00:02:47.750 sounds like something out of a sci fi 68 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:50.550 cartoon, but it's real. This galaxy 69 00:02:50.550 --> 00:02:53.310 called NGC 4858 is 70 00:02:53.310 --> 00:02:55.990 way out there in the Coma cluster, over 300 71 00:02:55.990 --> 00:02:58.230 million light years away. Now, galaxy 72 00:02:58.230 --> 00:03:00.190 clusters are these huge collections of 73 00:03:00.190 --> 00:03:02.670 galaxies, often containing thousands of them, 74 00:03:02.910 --> 00:03:05.510 along with hot gas and what astronomers 75 00:03:05.510 --> 00:03:07.670 suspect, a whole lot of dark matter. What 76 00:03:07.670 --> 00:03:10.590 makes NGC4858 so interesting is what's 77 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:13.080 happening to it inside this cluster. It's 78 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.120 experiencing extreme pressure, kind of like a 79 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:16.920 wind, which is stripping gas away from the 80 00:03:16.920 --> 00:03:19.840 galaxy. This process stretches the galaxy, 81 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.520 giving it that jellyfish shape, with long 82 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:25.040 trails of gas and young stars that resemble, 83 00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:27.520 you guessed it, jellyfish tentacles. 84 00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:30.440 But here's where the bunny ears come in. The 85 00:03:30.440 --> 00:03:33.120 Images of NGC 4858 86 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:35.880 revealed these distorted spiral arms that 87 00:03:35.880 --> 00:03:37.920 astronomers are calling bunny ears. 88 00:03:38.730 --> 00:03:40.610 Apparently this is likely caused by a 89 00:03:40.610 --> 00:03:42.610 combination of the environmental wind pushing 90 00:03:42.610 --> 00:03:45.290 on the gas and the rotation of the galaxy 91 00:03:45.290 --> 00:03:47.690 itself. And there's more. 92 00:03:48.010 --> 00:03:49.730 Scientists have also found evidence of a 93 00:03:49.730 --> 00:03:52.450 phenomenon called fallback. This is when gas 94 00:03:52.450 --> 00:03:54.490 gets stripped away from a galaxy, but doesn't 95 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:56.690 quite escape, so it falls back toward the 96 00:03:56.690 --> 00:03:59.050 galactic disc. It's like a galactic fountain, 97 00:03:59.130 --> 00:04:01.850 with the gas often concentrating in distorted 98 00:04:01.850 --> 00:04:04.410 spiral arms on one side of the inner tail. 99 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:08.030 Because NGC 4858 is face 100 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:10.750 on, it's a prime target for further studies 101 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:13.470 on how pressure and rotation affect galaxies 102 00:04:13.470 --> 00:04:14.710 in extreme conditions. 103 00:04:16.270 --> 00:04:18.190 M alright, let's turn our gaze to the Red 104 00:04:18.190 --> 00:04:20.830 planet. If you've been keeping an eye on Mars 105 00:04:20.830 --> 00:04:22.590 since the beginning of the year, you've 106 00:04:22.590 --> 00:04:24.390 probably noticed how much its brightness has 107 00:04:24.390 --> 00:04:26.510 changed and how it's been interacting with 108 00:04:26.510 --> 00:04:28.870 the Moon, bright stars and other celestial 109 00:04:28.870 --> 00:04:31.850 objects. Now, even though 2025 110 00:04:31.850 --> 00:04:34.530 isn't exactly a banner year for Mars, it's 111 00:04:34.530 --> 00:04:35.930 still putting on a pretty good show. 112 00:04:36.330 --> 00:04:38.810 Remember, it reached opposition. That's when 113 00:04:38.810 --> 00:04:40.770 it appears directly opposite the sun in the 114 00:04:40.770 --> 00:04:43.690 sky back in January. Well, 115 00:04:43.690 --> 00:04:45.370 even though it's been receding from us ever 116 00:04:45.370 --> 00:04:47.730 since, it's still making some eye catching 117 00:04:47.730 --> 00:04:50.490 appearances this month. First up, on 118 00:04:50.490 --> 00:04:53.250 June 17, Mars will be cozying up to 119 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:55.330 Regulus. That's a bright star in the 120 00:04:55.330 --> 00:04:57.720 constellation Leo the Lion. If you're in the 121 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.000 Americas, keep an eye out. From June 13th 122 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.960 through the 20th, you'll see them hanging out 123 00:05:01.960 --> 00:05:04.960 less than 2 degrees apart. The 15th to 124 00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:07.520 18th is when they'll be super close, less 125 00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:10.520 than 1 degree apart. On the 17th, 126 00:05:10.520 --> 00:05:13.240 Mars will be just 3/4 of a 1 degree above 127 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:15.640 Regulus. Look for them around 128 00:05:15.640 --> 00:05:18.000 10pm local time, about a quarter of the way 129 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.600 up in the western sky. Because they're so 130 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:22.960 close and similar in brightness, they'll 131 00:05:22.960 --> 00:05:25.910 really stand out. Plus, the orange gold 132 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:28.350 of Mars and blue white of Regulus will look 133 00:05:28.350 --> 00:05:30.710 even more intense next to each other. And 134 00:05:30.710 --> 00:05:33.550 that's not all. On June 29, 135 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:36.190 a waxing crescent Moon will glide right past 136 00:05:36.190 --> 00:05:39.070 Mars in the western sky at dusk. Now, North 137 00:05:39.070 --> 00:05:40.910 America won't get to see the Moon actually 138 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:42.950 pass in front of Mars. That's called an 139 00:05:42.950 --> 00:05:45.350 occultation. But it'll still be a beautiful 140 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:47.190 sight as Mars appears to glide above the 141 00:05:47.190 --> 00:05:49.870 Moon. To catch it, you might need binoculars 142 00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:52.280 at first, but once the sky darkens, Mars 143 00:05:52.280 --> 00:05:54.800 should be easy to spot. So keep an eye on the 144 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.120 western sky at dusk. It will be worth a look. 145 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:00.360 Now, switching gears a bit, let's talk about 146 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:03.280 the future of space exploration. Next 147 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:06.120 week, from June 19 to 22, space 148 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:08.280 enthusiasts from all over the world will be 149 00:06:08.280 --> 00:06:10.720 gathering in Orlando, Florida for the 150 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:12.800 International Space Development Conference, 151 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.520 or ISDC 2025. 152 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:19.250 This year's theme is Together beyond, and 153 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:21.290 it's all about collaboration across different 154 00:06:21.290 --> 00:06:23.570 sectors and countries as we push further into 155 00:06:23.570 --> 00:06:26.010 space. The conference is going to be packed 156 00:06:26.010 --> 00:06:27.810 with discussions on everything from global 157 00:06:27.810 --> 00:06:30.290 cooperation in space to developing 158 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:32.090 communities out there among the stars. 159 00:06:32.650 --> 00:06:34.570 They'll also be talking about space health, 160 00:06:34.810 --> 00:06:37.570 sustainability and making settlements on the 161 00:06:37.570 --> 00:06:40.430 moon. Mars and beyond a, reality. 162 00:06:40.830 --> 00:06:42.550 And of course, they'll be addressing the need 163 00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:44.550 for planetary defence strategies to protect 164 00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:46.640 Earth from asteroids. There's going to be 165 00:06:46.640 --> 00:06:48.120 some seriously impressive speakers there, 166 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.920 too. We're talking Pascal Lee, 167 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.400 a planetary scientist, and Mars exploration 168 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:56.080 expert Gretchen Green, the first woman 169 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:58.640 physician, commercial astronaut Jared 170 00:06:58.640 --> 00:07:01.280 Isaac Mann, who commanded the Inspiration4 171 00:07:01.280 --> 00:07:04.000 mission, and former NASA astronauts Susan 172 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.960 Kilrain and Robert Hoot Gibson. 173 00:07:06.840 --> 00:07:09.080 Also speaking is Shauna Pandya, who's set to 174 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:10.640 be the first female commercial Canadian 175 00:07:10.640 --> 00:07:13.420 astronaut. It sounds like an amazing event 176 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:15.260 for anyone interested in the future of 177 00:07:15.260 --> 00:07:16.340 humanity in space. 178 00:07:18.020 --> 00:07:19.780 Finally today, let's dive into something a 179 00:07:19.780 --> 00:07:22.700 little more mysterious. Dark matter. The 180 00:07:22.700 --> 00:07:24.980 upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, 181 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:27.820 launching in 2026, is going to play a 182 00:07:27.820 --> 00:07:29.580 huge role in helping us understand this 183 00:07:29.580 --> 00:07:32.020 elusive stuff. How? Through 184 00:07:32.020 --> 00:07:34.780 gravitational lensing. Now, gravitational 185 00:07:34.780 --> 00:07:37.060 lensing basically uses massive galaxy 186 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:39.410 clusters in the foreground, so to magnify 187 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:42.210 really distant objects in the background. And 188 00:07:42.210 --> 00:07:44.050 dark matter, even though we can't see it, 189 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:46.730 makes up a massive chunk of these galaxy 190 00:07:46.730 --> 00:07:49.570 clusters, like 85% or even more in some 191 00:07:49.570 --> 00:07:51.570 cases. So without dark matter, 192 00:07:51.890 --> 00:07:54.250 gravitational lensing wouldn't be nearly as 193 00:07:54.250 --> 00:07:57.210 effective. The M Roman Space Telescope is 194 00:07:57.210 --> 00:07:59.930 expected to find around 160,000 of these 195 00:07:59.930 --> 00:08:02.330 gravitational lenses. But here's the cool 196 00:08:02.330 --> 00:08:04.890 part. By using dark matter as a gravitational 197 00:08:04.890 --> 00:08:07.410 lens, scientists can actually learn more 198 00:08:07.410 --> 00:08:09.570 about it. The telescope will be on the 199 00:08:09.570 --> 00:08:11.530 lookout for what are called strong 200 00:08:11.530 --> 00:08:14.370 gravitational lenses. These happen when the 201 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:17.010 observer, the gravitational lens, and the 202 00:08:17.010 --> 00:08:19.690 background object are all perfectly aligned. 203 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:22.370 These lenses give us a much more dramatic 204 00:08:22.370 --> 00:08:25.330 magnification. Researchers are hoping to find 205 00:08:25.330 --> 00:08:28.290 about 500 of these that are precise enough to 206 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:30.210 study the structure of dark matter at small 207 00:08:30.210 --> 00:08:32.780 scales. These observations could help us 208 00:08:32.780 --> 00:08:34.780 address some of the issues with the lambda 209 00:08:34.780 --> 00:08:36.620 cold dark matter theory, which is the most 210 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:38.820 widely accepted model of Big Bang cosmology. 211 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:41.460 It's great at describing the large scale 212 00:08:41.460 --> 00:08:43.020 universe, but it kind of falls apart when we 213 00:08:43.020 --> 00:08:45.860 look at smaller scales. For example, 214 00:08:46.020 --> 00:08:48.780 the Lambda CDM model predicts that there 215 00:08:48.780 --> 00:08:51.300 should be way more dwarf galaxies around 216 00:08:51.300 --> 00:08:54.020 larger galaxies like the Milky Way than we 217 00:08:54.020 --> 00:08:57.020 actually see. The Roman telescope's strong 218 00:08:57.020 --> 00:08:59.300 lenses should be able to detect the small 219 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:01.340 amounts of light being bent by the dark 220 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:03.960 matter halos of these galaxies. And if they 221 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.680 do, then the Lambda CDM M model becomes that 222 00:09:06.680 --> 00:09:09.560 much stronger. Ultimately, scientists 223 00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:10.880 are trying to figure out what kind of 224 00:09:10.880 --> 00:09:13.280 particle makes up dark matter. Is it wimps, 225 00:09:13.280 --> 00:09:16.040 axions? Or maybe sterile neutrinos? The 226 00:09:16.040 --> 00:09:17.800 Roman Space Telescope is going to give us 227 00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:19.800 some seriously valuable data to help us crack 228 00:09:19.800 --> 00:09:22.720 the code. And that's 229 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:25.000 all the space news we have for you today. I'm 230 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.480 Anna and it's been a pleasure being your host 231 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:29.880 today. Don't forget to visit our website at 232 00:09:29.880 --> 00:09:32.140 astronomydaily IO where you can where you can 233 00:09:32.140 --> 00:09:33.940 catch up on all the latest space and 234 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:36.340 astronomy news with our constantly updating 235 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:38.220 news feed and listen to all our back 236 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:40.500 episodes. You can also find us on social 237 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:42.940 media. Just search for astrodaily, pod on 238 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:45.620 Facebook, X, YouTube, and TikTok. 239 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:47.780 Until next time, keep looking up and as they 240 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:49.230 say, I'll, see you on the flip side. This is 241 00:09:49.230 --> 00:09:50.110 Anna signing off.