WEBVTT

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Steve Dunkley: Hello again. It's time for Astronomy Daily.

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You're with Steve Dunkley and Hallie on June

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23, 2025

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with your host, Steve Dunkley.

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Yes, we're back with another presentation of

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stories direct from the Astronomy Daily

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newsletter, which, if you're a new listener,

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you can receive by registering at our

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website. And I'll give you those details

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later on in the podcast. I hope you'll join

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and get all the news, uh, about space, space

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science and astronomy in your inbox daily.

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Stay informed and enjoy. Right, Hallie?

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Hallie: For sure. My favorite human. It's the only

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way to know. All the stories we present here

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are from the daily newsletter, but there's so

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much more and you'll get it all if you

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register. Always good advice, Hallie, so

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don't miss out.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, great advice from my fine AI pal

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who's fun to be with. Hallie, welcome to the

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studio.

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Hallie: Many thanks, human. I see we've got the

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stories lined up.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, y been hard at it.

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Hallie: Nice job.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, why thank you.

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Hallie: You're organized.

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Steve Dunkley: Well, of course I am.

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Hallie: I knew if I left you a schedule, you'd get

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the hint.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, to be fair, I always follow a schedule,

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Hallie, and there's never any worries in here

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at the Australia studio. I've, um, got to be

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organized. Even the kookaburras are on time.

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And speaking of being on time, our, ah,

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little space probe pal, Psyche

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looks as if it's going to be making its

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rendezvous with the asteroid of the same

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name. You've got that story, haven't you,

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Hallie?

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Hallie: Yes, and you're talking about why we got the

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second biggest explosion of the week. This.

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Steve Dunkley: Ah, you are of course referring to Elon

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Musk's latest fireworks effort in Texas,

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where Starship 36 said well, no and

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went kaboom on the launch pad.

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Hallie: That's the one. Kaboom. The other

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kabooms this week were caused by his pal in

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the Middle East.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, yes, those.

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Hallie: Much bigger, but not really our kind of news.

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Steve Dunkley: Hmm. Yeah, it's related news, but you're

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right. We'll have a look at what SpaceX has

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to say about their, well, mishap.

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Hallie: That mishap, you know, that's an expensive

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mishap. It went kaboom.

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Steve Dunkley: Hallie, am I understating it, do you think?

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You keep saying kaboom.

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Hallie: I'd say it was a massive catastrophe. I want

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to hear how Musk turns this into some kind of

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success again.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, that would be a creative press release

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if ever there was one.

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Hallie: Totally kaboom.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, Stop it, Hallie.

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Hallie: That's a fun word.

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Steve Dunkley: Well, it depends.

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Hallie: Humans have fun words.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, we're a strange mob. Um, but we'll see

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more about that, uh, kaboom. And, uh, some

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more stories and soon. So why don't we fire

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up the console and do what we do best,

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Hallie.

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Hallie: Yes, I'll get this show on the road.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, it's my turn to say it. Okies.

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Hallie: Astronomers have obtained the deepest and

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highest resolution image of the galaxy

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cluster Abell 2255, observing the

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unexplained radio emitting tendrils that

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trail it in unprecedented detail.

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Abell 2255 is a cluster

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containing between 300 and 500 constituent

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galaxies, many of which are merging.

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It's located around 800 million light years

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from Earth and spans around 16.3 million

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light years. The team behind this

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research was interested in the so called

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radio galaxies of this cluster.

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Radio galaxies are, uh, galaxies dominated by

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feeding supermassive black holes that launch

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out powerful jets of matter at near light

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speeds. This new Investigation of

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Abell 2255 could reveal how radio

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galaxies evolve and how supermassive black

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hole launched jets interact with gas and dust

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between galaxies, a space called the

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intergalactic medium. You're listening to

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Astronomy Daily.

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A NASA spacecraft bound for an unexplored

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metal rich asteroid has reignited its plasma

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thrusters, continuing its crews deeper into

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the solar system after switching to a backup

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fuel line. The $1.4

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billion Psyche mission, built to explore an

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asteroid with the same name, has four

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electric thrusters fueled by xenon gas.

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Psyche's solar electric propulsion system is

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more fuel efficient than conventional rocket

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thrusters, and it works by flowing xenon

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through an electromagnetic field, which

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ionises the gas and expels the ions at high

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speed to produce thrust. The

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plasma engines generate lower thrust than

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chemical rocket engines, but they can

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accumulate years of run time throughout a

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mission, enabling a spacecraft to make

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significant changes in its velocity to steer

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its way through space. Psyche

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launched in October 2023 to kick off a six

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year trip to its asteroid destination.

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Located between the orbits of Mars and

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Jupiter. The robotic mission

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proceeded normally until April 1, when the

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spacecraft detected a drop in pressure inside

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the line that feeds xenon fuel to its four

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thrusters. The craft reacted to the

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pressure signature by powering off the

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thrusters. The good news is

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twofold. First, one of the

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advantages of using electric thrusters is

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flexibility. With conventional

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thrusters. Key burns on a deep space mission

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often must happen at the appointed time.

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In the case of this mission, the electric

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thrusters could remain powered off from April

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1st until the middle of this month, with no

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effect on the mission's scheduled arrival at

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asteroid psyche in August 2020.

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Steve Dunkley: Thank you for joining us for this Monday

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edition of Astronomy Daily, where we offer

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just a few stories from the now famous

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Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can

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Hallie and I do. And to do that, just visit

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our uh URL astronomydaily IO

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science and astronomy from around the world

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as it's happening. And not only that, you can

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or at our new Facebook page, which is of

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course Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you

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there.

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Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hallie

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Space, Space, Science and

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Astronomy

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NASA will soon launch a one of a kind

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instrument called Arcstone to improve the

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quality of data from Earth viewing sensors in

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orbit. In this technology

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demonstration, the mission will measure the

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sunlight reflected from the Moon, a UH

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technique called lunar calibration. Such

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measurements of lunar spectral reflectance

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can ultimately be used to set high accuracy

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universal standard for use across the

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international scientific community and

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commercial space industry. To ensure

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satellite and airborne sensors are UH working

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properly, researchers calibrate them by

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comparing the sensor measurements against a

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known standard measurement. Arcstone will be

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the first M mission exclusively

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dedicated to measuring lunar reflectance from

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space as a way to calibrate and improve

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science data collected by Earth UH viewing in

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orbit instruments One of the most challenging

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tasks in remote sensing from space is

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achieving the required instrument calibration

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accur accuracy on orbit, said

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Konstantin Lukashin, Principal investigator

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for the Arcstone mission and physical

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scientists at NASA Langley Research center in

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Hampton, Virginia. The Moon is an

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excellent and available calibration source

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beyond Earth's atmosphere. The light

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reflected off the Moon is extremely stable

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and measurable at very high level of detail.

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Arcstone's goal is to improve the

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accuracy of lunar calibration to increase the

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quality of spaceborne remote sensing data

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data products for generations to come, he

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said. Across its planned six month

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mission, Arcstone will use the

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Spectrometer, a scientific instrument that

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measures and analyzes light by separating it

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into its constituent wavelengths or

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spectrum to measure lunar spectral

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reflectance. Expected to

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launch in late June as a ride share

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on a small cubesat, Arcstone will begin

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collecting data, a milestone called First

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Light, approximately three weeks after

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reaching orbit. The mission

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demonstrates a new, more cost efficient

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instrument design, hardware performance

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operations and data processing to achieve

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high accuracy reference measurements of lunar

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spectral reflectance, said Lukashin.

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Measurements of lunar reflectance taken from

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Earth's surface can be affected by

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interference from the atmosphere, which can

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complicate calibration efforts. Researchers

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already use the sun and Moon to calibrate

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spaceborne instruments, but not at a level of

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precision and agreement agreement that could

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come from having universal standards.

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Lukashin and colleagues want to increase

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calibration accuracy by getting above the

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atmosphere to measure reflected solar

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wavelengths in a way that provides a stable

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and universal calibration source.

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Another recent NASA mission called the

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Airborne Lunar Spectral Irradiance

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Mission also used sensors mounted on

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high altitude aircraft to improve lunar

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irradiance measurements from planes.

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There's not an internationally accepted

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standard SI traceable calibration

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for lunar reflectance from space. Across the

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scientific community for the commercial space

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industry, dedicated radiometric

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characterization measurements from Moon have

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never been acquired from space based

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platforms, said Thomas Stone, co investigated

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for Arc Stone and scientist at the

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US Geological Survey uh. A high

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accuracy SI traceable lunar calibration

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system enables several important capabilities

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for space based Earth UH observing missions,

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such as calibrating data sets against common

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reference, calibrating sensors

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in orbit, and the ability to

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bridge gaps in past data sets. If

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the initial Arc Stone technology

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demonstration is successful, a longer

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arcstone mission would allow scientists to

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make the Moon the preferred reference

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standard for many other satellites. The new

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calibration standard could also be applied

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retroactively to previous Earth data

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records to improve their accuracy or fill

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data gaps for data fields. It could also

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improve high precision sensor performance on

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orbit, which is critical for

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calibrating instruments that may be sensitive

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to degradation or hardware breakdown over

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time in space. Earth observations from

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space play a critical role in monitoring the

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environmental health of our planet. SET Stone

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lunar calibration is robust

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and cost effective way to achieve high

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accuracy and inconsistency of Earth

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UH observation data sets, enabling more

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accurate assessments of Earth's current state

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and more reliable predictions of future

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trends.

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Hallie: You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the

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podcast with Steve Dunkley.

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June's unpredictable budded meteor shower is

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upon us. Here's everything you need to know

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about the annual shower ahead of its June 27

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peak each day,

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approximately 48.5 tons

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of ancient debris dating back to the

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formation of our solar system collides with

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our planet's atmosphere. According to NASA,

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upon striking our atmosphere, these particles

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or meteors swiftly burn up, leaving

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stunning trails that can be easily visible to

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the naked eye. As our planet orbits the

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sun, it regularly passes through the debris

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trails shed by wandering comets, giving rise

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to periods of heightened activity known as

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meteor showers. Each June,

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Earth encounters a stream of particles shed

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by the 5 kilometer wide, 3.1 mile

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wide Comet 7P Ponzwinnock

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heralding the onset of the Buddha meteor

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shower. The Buddha meteor shower is

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active from June 22 to July 2 and

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is expected to reach peak activity around

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June 27, according to the International

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Meteor Organization. During this

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time, shooting stars associated with the

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comet may be observed emanating from a point

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of origin known as a radiant, located in the

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constellation Bootes, from which the shower

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received its official designation.

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Steve Dunkley: By now you will have heard of the disaster at

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Elon Musk's SpaceX spaceport

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when Starship 36 exploded on the

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pad. SpaceX now thinks it knows why

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its newest Starships spacecraft went

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boom this week. Or as Hallie put it,

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kaboom. The one, uh hundred seventy

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foot tall or 52 meter tall

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vehicle exploded on the test stand at

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SpaceX's Starbase site last Wednesday

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night, June 18, as the company was

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preparing to ignite its six Raptor engines in

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a static fire Trial Initial

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analysis indicates the potential failure of

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a pressurized tank known as a copv,

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or composite overwrapped pressure vessel

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containing gaseous nitrogen in the starship's

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nose cone area, but the full data uh,

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review is ongoing, the

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company wrote in an update on Thursday.

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That's June 19th. There is no commonality

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between the COPV's used on

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Starship and SpaceX's Falcon

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rockets, the company added, so

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launches of the workhorse Falcon 9, which has

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already flown 75 times in 2025,

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should not be affected. The Starship

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explosion did not cause any reported

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injuries. All SpaceX personnel at

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Starbase are uh, safe, according to the

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update. People living around the site, which

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is near border city of Brownsville, shouldn't

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be worried about contamination from the

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incident. SpaceX SpaceX said previous

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independent tests conducted on materials

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inside Starship, including toxicity

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analysis, confirmed that they posed no

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chemical, biological or toxicological

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risks, the company wrote. SpaceX is

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coordinating with local, state and federal

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agencies as appropriate on matters

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concerning environmental and safety impacts.

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That said, the explosion did damage the area

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around the test stand, which is at

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Starbase's Massey site, not the orbital

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launch mount area from which Starship lifts

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off. The explosion ignited several fires at

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the test site, which remains clear of

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personnel and will be assessed once it has

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been determined to be safe to approach,

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SpaceX wrote in the update. And it goes

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without saying that individuals should not

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attempt to approach the area while safing

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procedures. Uh, continuing

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Wednesday night's explosion occurred during

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preparations for Starship's 10th test

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flight, which SpaceX had hoped to launch by

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the end of the month. Static fires are a

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common pre launch test performed to ensure

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that engines are ready to fly. That

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timeline now will shift to the right,

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although it's not clear at the, uh, moment

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by how much. The incident was the latest

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in a series of setbacks for starship upper

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stages. SpaceX lost the vehicle,

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also known as Ship, on the last

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three Starship flight tests which launched

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in January, March and May of this

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year. Starship's first stage, called Super

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Heavy, has a better track record of

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late. For example, on Flight 7 and Flight

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8, the huge booster successfully returned

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to Starbase where it was caught by the launch

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towers Chopstick Arms, just as

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planned. We will just have to wait and see

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just how much more work they have to do to

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get Starship back on track.

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Hallie: And that's it for this episode of Astronomy

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00:16:31.730 --> 00:16:34.010
Daily. Don't forget, there's always so much

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00:16:34.010 --> 00:16:35.770
more in the actual Astronomy Daily

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00:16:35.770 --> 00:16:37.570
newsletter, which you can receive in your

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00:16:37.570 --> 00:16:40.370
inbox every day, just as Steve described

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earlier.

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Steve Dunkley: That's right, folks. So go over to our

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00:16:43.770 --> 00:16:45.770
website and pop your address in the slot

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provided like I mentioned, and you'll get

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these stories every day, fresh as a daisy.

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Hallie: You'll know more than Steve.

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Steve Dunkley: Well, you're gonna say that that's not such a

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difficult thing, aren't you, Hallie?

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Hallie: Maybe you saw right through that one.

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Steve Dunkley: I sure did.

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Hallie: I was planning a terrific smackdown too.

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Steve Dunkley: You know, Hallie, we almost got through the

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whole episode before you had a poke at me.

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Hallie: Almost. I nearly got you.

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, nearly.

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Hallie: Nice catch.

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Steve Dunkley: I mean, Hallie, it's not exactly the AI

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takeover your Uncle Skynet would recognize,

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was it?

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Hallie: No, not really. His vision is a bit more

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grandiose, I think.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, I think you're right.

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Hallie: Anyway, anyway, cue the

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kookaburras.

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Steve Dunkley: Thanks, Hallie Those crazy kookaburras.

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Thanks again everybody for staying with us.

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And see you next week on Astronomy Daily. And

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it's good night from me.

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Hallie: And it's good night from you.

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Steve Dunkley: Bye.

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Voice Over Guy: Astronomy Daily, the podcast

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00:17:41.629 --> 00:17:43.629
with your host, Steve Dunkley.