WEBVTT

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your gateway to

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the latest cosmic revelations. I'm your host,

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Anna, and today we have an episode packed

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with exciting space news. We'll kick things

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off with an unexpected launch delay that saw

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a crucial solar wind mission temporarily

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grounded. And we'll uncover the surprising

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reason behind that scrub, then prepare to

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meet an ancient interstellar visitor, Comet

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3i/Atlas Atlas, and discover how it was

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accidentally spotted even before its official

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discovery. Finally, we'll provide practical

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tips for safely observing and photographing

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our very own star, the dynamic Sun.

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Let's dive in. Let's start

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by delving into some recent launch news,

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specifically a SpaceX Falcon 9 scrub at

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Vandenberg Space Force Base that caught many

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off guard. What initially looked like a

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straightforward hold turned out to be a bit

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more complex. SpaceX was all set to

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launch tracers, NASA's latest mission to

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study solar wind and its impact on earth.

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From Vandenberg's SLC4E, the

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booster was even planning a return to launch

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site landing. Everything seemed to be going

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smoothly in the final countdown, right up

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until the hold, hold, hold call came in

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indicating the launch was paused and for

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Falcon 9, scrubbed for the day.

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The initial announcement cited FAA airspace

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concerns, which isn't entirely uncommon and

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as a range can go red if a boat or plane

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enters the exclusion zone. However, this time

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the reason was far more unusual. The Federal

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Aviation Administration or faa,

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confirmed that the airspace concerns weren't

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about a specific aircraft, but rather the air

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traffic control centre monitoring those

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aircraft. This particular centre,

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the LA artc, is responsible

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for a massive flight information region

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covering Southern California where Vandenberg

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is located, along with parts of Nevada, Utah

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and Arizona. A regional power

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outage in the Santa Barbara area caused

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communication problems for the LAR TCC.

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This meant they couldn't verify or perhaps

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even tell SpaceX whether the range was clear

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for launch. Without that crucial green light,

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SpaceX had no choice but to scrub the Falcon

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9 launch due to the unacceptable range

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configuration. While this specific launch

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faced an unexpected hurdle, another attempt

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was pencilled in for the very next day.

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Interestingly, despite this West coast snag,

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SpaceX did manage a successful launch just

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hours later from Cape Canaveral Space Force

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station in Florida. Two satellites for SES

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owned O3B networks, MPower M9 and

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MPower M10, lifted off during their second

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launch opportunity. This particular Florida

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launch had its own set of challenges as its

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first attempt the previous day was also

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scrubbed, though that was due to weather

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conditions rather than range issues. It just

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goes to show the dynamic and often

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unpredictable nature of Space operations.

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With various factors, from power outages to

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weather, playing a role in getting these

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missions off the ground.

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From one dynamic event to another, let's now

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turn our gaze to Jupiter's intriguing moon

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Europa. New observations from the James

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Webb Space Telescope are painting a vivid and

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frankly quite chaotic picture of its icy

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shell, revealing it to be a dynamic world far

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from frozen in time. For decades, scientists

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often pictured Europa's frozen surface as a

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still, silent shell. But these new findings

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are completely changing that perception.

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According to Richard Cartwright, a

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spectroscopist at Johns Hopkins University's

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Applied Physics Laboratory and lead author of

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this new study, the surface of Europa is

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likely quite porous and warm enough in

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certain areas to allow ice to rapidly

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recrystallize. This suggests a level of

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activity we hadn't fully appreciated. Even

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more exciting is what this surface activity

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reveals about Europa's subsurface ocean

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regions, known as chaos terrains. Highly

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disrupted areas where blocks of ice appear to

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have broken off, drifted and then refrozen

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are proving to be incredibly valuable. They

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act as potential windows into Europa's

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mysterious interior, hinting at ongoing

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geological processes. The study

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specifically focused on two regions in

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Europa's southern hemisphere, Tara Regio

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and Pas Regio. Tara Regio

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in particular, has emerged as one of the

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moon's most intriguing areas. The Webb

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telescope's observations detected crystalline

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ice not just on the surface, but also deeper

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below, which challenges previous assumptions

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about how ice is distributed on Europa.

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By measuring the spectral properties of these

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chaos regions using remotely sensed data,

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scientists are gaining crucial insights into

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Europa's chemistry and, significantly, its

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potential for habitability. Ujwal

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Raut, programme manager at the Southwest

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Research Institute and a co author of the

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study, emphasised that their data strongly

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suggests that what they are observing must be

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sourced from the interior, possibly from a

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vast subsurface ocean and nearly 20 miles,

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or 30 kilometres beneath Europa's thick

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icy shell. To better understand this,

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Raut and his team conducted laboratory

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experiments. They studied how water freezes

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on Europa, where the surface is constantly

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bombarded by charged particles from space.

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Unlike Earth, where ice naturally forms a

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hexagonal crystal structure, Europa's intense

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radiation disrupts this, causing it to become

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amorphous ice, a disordered non

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crystalline form. These experiments were

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vital in demonstrating how the ice changes

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over time, offering clues about the Moon's

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surface dynamics. When combined with Webb's

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fresh data, these findings add to the

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mounting evidence of a vast hidden liquid

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ocean beneath Europa's icy crust.

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Cartwright pointed out that in these same

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fascinating regions, they've also found

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strong indications of Sodium chloride,

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essentially table salt likely originating

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from that interior ocean. Furthermore,

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they've seen some of the strongest evidence

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for carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on

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Europa. The chemistry in these specific

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locations is truly bizarre and incredibly

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exciting. These fractured surface features

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strongly suggest geologic activity is pushing

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material up from beneath Europa's icy shell.

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Webb's Near Spec instrument is particularly

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well suited for studying Europa's surface

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because it can detect key chemical signatures

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across a wide range of infrared wavelengths.

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This includes features associated with

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crystalline water ice and a specific form of

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carbon dioxide called 13 CO2.

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This is significant for understanding the

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moon's geological and chemical processes.

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The team detected higher levels of carbon

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dioxide in these areas compared to

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surrounding regions, leading them to conclude

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that it most likely originates from the

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subsurface ocean rather than external sources

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like meteorites, which would result in a more

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even distribution given that carbon

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dioxide is unstable under Europa's intense

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radiation environment. These deposits are

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thought to be relatively recent and directly

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linked to ongoing geological processes.

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The evidence for a liquid ocean underneath

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Europa's icy shell continues to grow, making

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this an incredibly thrilling time for

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planetary science. The discovery of carbon

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13, an isotope of carbon, further deepens

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the mystery. As Cartwright noted, it's hard

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to explain its presence, but every road leads

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back to an internal origin. This aligns with

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other hypotheses about the origin of carbon

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dioxide detected in Tara Regio. This new

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study also comes at a perfect time, as NASA's

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Europa Clipper mission is currently en route

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to the Jovian moon with an expected arrival

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in April 2030. The spacecraft will perform

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dozens of close flybys, gathering critical

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data about the hidden ocean, building upon

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the incredible insights from the James Webb

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Space Telescope.

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Now let's shift our focus from the icy moon

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Europa to an even more distant and Ancient

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Comet, 3i/Atlas This celestial object

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holds a special place in astronomical

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history, as it is only the third interstellar

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object humanity has ever observed entering

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our solar system. The previous two 1i

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Oumuamua in 2017 and 2i

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Borisov in 2019 have already made their

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grand exits. But 3i/Atlas is still giving us

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plenty to talk about. What makes this comet

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particularly captivating isn't just its

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interstellar origin, but also the

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serendipitous way its earliest high

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resolution images were captured. Get this.

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The Vera C Rubin Observatory, a

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powerful new facility designed to scan the

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universe, actually took pictures of 3i/Atlas

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before it was even officially discovered.

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During its science validation phase, the

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Rubin Observatory just happened to be

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pointing at the right part of the sky where

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3i/Atlas was located. Unbeknownst to the

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operators, it snapped images of the comet

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between June 21 and July 7, even

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a few days before the telescope officially

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released its first look images to the public.

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These observations are incredibly important

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because they represent the earliest, highest

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resolution images we have of this rare

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interstellar visitor. At that time, the

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observatory's 8.4-metre Simui Survey

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Telescope, combined with its 3.2-gigapixel

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Legacy Survey of Space and Time camera

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provided unparalleled detail. Adding to

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the excitement, the Hubble Space Telescope

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also caught its first glimpse of Comet

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3i/Atlas. These Hubble images confirm the

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comet's puffy coma, a cloud of gas and dust

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surrounding its nucleus. The arrival of

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3i/Atlas Atlas has really ignited a period of

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intense study for astronomers, with many

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instruments now attempting to get a good look

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at it. Since its initial spotting on July 1,

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2025 by the Atlas Survey Telescope,

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recent research suggests that 3i/Atlas could

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be even more exciting than initially thought.

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Its trajectory through our solar system

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indicates it comes from a region of the Milky

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Way that is older than our own 4.6 billion

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year old solar system. With an estimated

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age of 7 billion years, 3i/Atlas

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Atlas holds the title of the oldest comet

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we've ever seen, offering a potential

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window into the earliest days of planetary

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systems far beyond our own.

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The images captured, especially those from

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Rubin, reveal a comet that largely behaved as

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expected, confirming its cometary nature with

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a clear coma of gas and dust.

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Interestingly, the apparent size of its coma

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grew by about 58% during the observation

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period as it continued to approach the Sun.

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But here's where it gets truly unique. It had

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a sunward pointing tail. This unusual

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phenomenon, explained by what's called

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anisotropic dust emission, is relatively

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rare, but has been observed in other comets.

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It could be due to the slow ejection of large

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particles that aren't pushed back as quickly

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by the Sun's radiation pressure or perhaps a

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rotational axis that nearly aligns with its

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orbital plane. While 3i/Atlas

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hasn't shown any signs of non gravitational

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acceleration. Unlike 1i

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Oumuamua, astronomers will be watching

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closely as it approaches its perihelion in

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October, though it will unfortunately be

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blocked by the sun from September through

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December and won't be visible during that

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crucial period. Nevertheless, the data from

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3i/Atlas is already incredibly rich.

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Optical and near infrared spectroscopy

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has revealed that it's an active interstellar

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comet containing abundant water ice with a

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dust composition similar to D type asteroids,

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space rocks rich in organic molecules,

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silicates and carbon. This kind of detailed

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Insight helps us paint a more intimate

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picture of planetary systems beyond our own.

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The Vera C Rubin Observatory, which

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inadvertently gave us these early views, is

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expected to discover between 5 and 50 more

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interstellar objects as they zip through our

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solar system over its decade long survey,

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promising a future filled with even more

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cosmic surprises.

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From ancient comets to cutting edge

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observatories, space. Space constantly offers

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us new wonders to explore. But sometimes

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the most extraordinary cosmic sights are

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right here in our own solar system, if you

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know how to look for them. For our final

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segment today, let's turn our attention to

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our very own star, the sun, and

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unlock the secrets to safely and effectively

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photographing its intricate details.

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Most of us have probably taken a picture of

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the rising or setting sun, but those images

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typically show an overexposed ball of light.

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That's because even with the lowest camera

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settings, the sun's surface is simply too

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bright for standard photography gear to

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resolve any detail. To truly capture our

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dynamic local star, you need specialised

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equipment and a deep understanding of safety.

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First and foremost, safety is paramount.

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Never look directly at the sun without

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certified solar eclipse glasses, as even

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brief exposure can cause permanent eye damage

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when photographing. If your camera has an

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optical viewfinder, avoid looking through it.

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Always use the digital display as uh. Some

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filters designed for cameras aren't safe for

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direct eye observation. To successfully

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photograph the sun, you must significantly

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reduce its effective brightness. The

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primary tool for this is a neutral density

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filter which attaches to the end of your

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camera lens. These aren't your everyday

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filters. You need one specifically designed

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for solar photography, capable of blocking

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out an immense amount of light, over

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99.9% in fact. These

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specialised filters ensure you can resolve

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details while protecting your camera sensor.

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Different filters allow you to capture

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different layers and features of the sun.

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A white light filter reduces intensity across

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all wavelengths, revealing the sun's surface

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known as the photosphere. With this, you can

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clearly see sunspots, which are cooler,

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darker regions caused by intense magnetic

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fields. For even more detail, particularly of

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features in the sun's atmosphere above the

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photosphere, you'll want to use specialised

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filters like H Alpha or kk. H

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Alpha filters, for instance, capture light

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emitted by hydrogen plasma, making the sun

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appear red and revealing structures like

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filaments and prominences. Filaments are

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twisted magnetic structures seen against the

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sun's disc, while prominences are the same

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structures seen dramatically arcing out from

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the sun's edge against the dark backdrop of

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space. CK filters, on the other hand,

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filter light from calcium plasma, showing a

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different perspective of the chromosphere. If

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you're feeling ambitious. You can even

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photograph the sun with a telescope, either

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by mounting your camera to it or using a

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dedicated solar telescope. These setups often

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come with internal filter systems designed

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for detailed solar observation. By

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experimenting with these various filters and

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understanding their unique capabilities, you

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can move beyond the simple overexposed disc

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and capture the true, ever changing nature of

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our star, revealing its fascinating sunspots,

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fiery prominences, and intricate filaments.

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Again, a final reminder always think safety

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first and never look directly at the Sun.

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And that brings us to the end of another

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fascinating journey through the cosmos on

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Astronomy Daily. Thank you for joining me,

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Anna, as we explored everything from

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unexpected launch scrubs and the hidden

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depths of Europa to ancient interstellar

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comets and the art of photographing our own

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Sun. If you enjoyed today's episode and want

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to delve deeper into the wonders of the

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universe, be sure to visit our

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website at astronomydaily.IO.

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there you can listen to all our back episodes

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and become a true astronomy completionist.

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And don't forget to subscribe to Astronomy

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Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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YouTube, or wherever you get your

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podcasts, so you never miss an update.

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Until tomorrow, keep looking up.