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Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Avery, and

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as always, I'm joined by my co host, Anna.

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We're here to bring you the latest and most

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fascinating news from the cosmos. Breaking

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down complex discoveries into conversations

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you'd have with your space obsessed friends

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over coffee.

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Anna: Hey, everyone, I'm Anna. And wow, do

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we have an incredible lineup for you today.

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We're talking about not one, but two amazing

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comets making headlines right now. Plus some

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groundbreaking observations from the James

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Webb Space Telescope that are helping us

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understand what it's like on pot. Potentially

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habitable worlds beyond our solar system.

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Avery: That's right. And what makes today's, uh,

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episode especially exciting is that we're

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covering some truly rare cosmic visitors.

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Anna, when I first read about our first story

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today about interstellar comet

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3I ATLAS, I had to

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do a double take. We're talking about only

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the third known comet from outside

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our solar system.

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Anna: I know, right? It's absolutely mind blowing.

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Let's dive right into this because the Gemini

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South Telescope just captured some stunning

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new images of three I ATLAS. And what they're

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showing us is fascinating. This interstellar

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visitor was discovered on July 1,

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2025 by the Atlas survey in Chile. And

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it's becoming increasingly active as it

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travels through our inner solar system.

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Avery: So, Anna, help me understand this. When we

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say it's becoming more active, what exactly

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are we seeing?

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Anna: Great question. The latest Observations show

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that 3i ATLAS is developing a

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prominent tail and a glowing coma.

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That's the fuzzy atmosphere around the

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comet's nucleus. As it gets closer to our

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sun, the solar radiation is heating up the

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comet's surface, causing dust and ice to

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sublimate and create this beautiful glowing

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display. What's really remarkable is that the

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composition appears to be very similar to

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comets from our own solar system.

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Avery: That similarity in composition is what really

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gets me excited because it suggests that

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comet formation processes might be remarkably

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consistent across different star systems.

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I mean, think about it. This object formed

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around a, uh, completely different star,

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potentially billions of years ago, yet it's

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made of the same basic materials as comets we

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see regularly in our own neighborhood.

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Anna: Exactly. And speaking of age, Avery, here's

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something that blew my mind. Scientists think

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this could be the oldest comet we've ever

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observed. We're potentially looking at a

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relic from the very early universe, a time

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capsule that's been wandering through

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interstellar space for eons before finally

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making its way into our solar system.

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Avery: That's incredible. And it's not just passing

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through either. 3i ATLAS is going to make

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close passes by The Sun, Earth, Mars, and

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Jupiter. This gives astronomers an

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unprecedented opportunity to study an

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interstellar object up close as it interacts

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with our solar system.

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Anna: Those close approaches are going to provide

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us with so much valuable data. Every time we

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get a chance to study one of these

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interstellar visitors, we learn something new

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about how planetary systems form and evolve

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throughout the galaxy.

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Now, speaking of comets making news, we have

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another fascinating visitor to talk about.

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And this one might actually be visible to the

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naked eye.

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Avery: Oh, yes. Comet C 2025

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A6, also known as Comet

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LEMMON And this is the kind of story that

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gets amateur astronomers really excited,

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because there's a chance chance that people

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might be able to step outside in October and

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see this comet with their own eyes.

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Anna: That's right. This comet was discovered by

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the Mount Lemmon survey in Arizona, and it's

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approaching Earth right now. The closest

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approach will be on October 20th, when it'll

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pass by at about 55.41 million

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miles away. Now, that might sound far, but

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in cosmic terms, that's practically next

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door.

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Avery: And here's where it gets interesting for

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skywatchers. The comet will reach perihelion,

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its closest point to the sun, on November.

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But the brightness predictions are all over

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the place, which honestly makes this even

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more exciting because we're not quite sure

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what we're going to get exactly.

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Anna: Some predictions suggest it could reach

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magnitude 4 to + 5,

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which would make it easily visible to the

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naked eye, even from moderately light

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polluted areas. But other estimates

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put it at magnitude 7.3,

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which would require binoculars or a small

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telescope to see clearly.

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Avery: The uncertainty is part of what

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makes comet watching so thrilling. Comets

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are notoriously unpredictable. They can

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suddenly brighten dramatically, or

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sometimes they just fizzle out. For Comet

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Lemmon, the best viewing opportunities look

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like they'll be in early October. And

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starting October 12, it should be visible in

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the evening sky.

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Anna: And here's a fun detail for anyone planning

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to observe it. Comet LEMMON is expected

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to display a greenish color, which is

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likely caused by dicarbon molecules in its

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coma. That green glow is actually a

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pretty common feature in comets, and it

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creates this beautiful, otherworldly

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appearance against the night sky.

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Avery: What I find fascinating about this comet

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is its orbital period. It's

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approximately

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1,350 years.

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But here's the kicker. That period has

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actually been shortened due to an encounter

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with Jupiter. It's yet another

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example of how the giant planets in our solar

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system act as gravitational shepherds,

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influencing the paths of these cosmic

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wanderers.

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Anna: Jupiter really is the heavyweight champion of

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our solar system when it Comes to altering

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orbits.

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Now let's shift gears from these relatively

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nearby visitors to something much

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distant but equally fascinating. The

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the James Webb Space Telescope has been

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studying Trappist1e, an earth

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sized planet in the habitable zone around a

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red dwarf star about 40 light years

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away.

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Avery: The Trappist 1 system has been on

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everyone's radar since its discovery because

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it has seven Earth sized planets and

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several of them orbit in the habitable zone

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where liquid water could potentially exist on

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the surface. Trappist1e

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is particularly interesting because it's

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right in the middle of that Goldilocks zone.

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Anna: Right. And what JWST has been doing

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is observing transits, basically

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watching as the planet passes in front of its

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host star. From our perspective, based on the

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first four transit observations, the results

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are both revealing and somewhat

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disappointing for those hoping for signs of a

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thick, potentially life supporting

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atmosphere.

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Avery: So what did they find, Anna? Uh, I, um, know

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the results suggest the planet likely lost

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its primary atmosphere, but can you break

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that down for us?

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Anna: Sure. The main finding is that

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Trappist1e has probably lost its primary

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atmosphere due to stellar flaring from its

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red dwarf host star. Red dwarfs are

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notorious for being very active, especially

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when they're young, producing intense

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radiation and particle bombardment that can

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strip away planetary atmospheres.

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JWST didn't detect the thick

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hydrogen atmosphere that some models might

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have predicted was present.

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Avery: But here's the thing, and this is why

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I love science. The results don't completely

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rule out the possibility of a secondary

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atmosphere. Right. There could still be an

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atmosphere that formed after the primary one

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was stripped away.

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Anna: Absolutely. And in fact, there are some

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intriguing hints in the data. The

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observations suggest there might be trace

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amounts of methane in what could be a, uh,

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nitrogen rich atmosphere. Now,

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methane in an atmosphere is particularly

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interesting because it can be produced by

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both geological and biological

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processes, Though we.

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Avery: Have to be careful not to get too excited

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about the biological implications just yet.

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The challenge with these observations is that

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they're complicated by stellar contamination

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from the red dwarf's flaring activity. When

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the star flares, it can create signals that,

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uh, mimic or mask atmospheric

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features.

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Anna: Exactly. And that's why the

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JWST team has developed a really

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clever technique to deal with this problem.

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They're planning 15 more observations

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and they're going to compare Trappist 1e to,

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with its neighboring planet, Trappist 1b,

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to filter out those stellar artifacts.

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By observing both planets, they can better

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separate the star's contribution from the

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actual planetary atmospheric signals.

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Avery: That's brilliant. It's like having A control

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group in the Same star system, Trappist 1b,

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orbits much closer to the star, so it's

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definitely had its atmosphere stripped away,

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making it the perfect reference point for

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understanding what signals are coming from

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the star versus the planet we're actually

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interested in.

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Anna: And this technique could revolutionize how

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we study exoplanet atmospheres around active

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stars. Red dwarfs make up about

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75% of all stars in our

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galaxy, and many potentially habitable

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exoplanets orbit these stars. So

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figuring out how to reliably detect

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atmospheres around them is crucial for

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understanding habitability throughout the

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cosmos.

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Avery: Speaking of keeping our eyes on space

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activity, Anna, um, we should definitely tell

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our listeners about this weekend's launch

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activity. There's a really interesting SpaceX

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mission coming up that I think will be worth

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watching.

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Anna: Oh, yes, the CRS

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NG23 mission. This one's

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launching on Sunday, September 14th at

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exactly 8 hours, 11 minutes and 49 seconds PM

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Eastern Time from Cape Canaveral. What makes

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this launch particularly interesting is that

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it's using a Northrop Grumman style Cygnus

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XL spacecraft. That's the stretched

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version with significantly more cargo

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capacity.

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Avery: Right. And that XL designation isn't just

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marketing. We're talking about a spacecraft

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that can carry up to 1,300kg more mass

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than the previous Cygnus versions. That's a

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substantial increase in capability, which

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means more supplies, experiments, and

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equipment heading to the International Space

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Station crew.

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Anna: And there's actually a bit of a story behind

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this mission. Avery to this Cygnus is

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stepping in to replace the NG22

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spacecraft that was damaged in transit.

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The space industry really shows its

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resilience in moments like these. When one

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spacecraft can't make it, there's always a

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backup plan. This particular Cygnus

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will be named after William Willie C.

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McCool, the naval aviator and

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astronaut.

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Avery: What I find fascinating about this mission is

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the booster story. SpaceX is using

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B1094 and this will be its fourth flight.

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Another example of how routine booster reuse

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has become. But here's what makes it even

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more interesting for viewers. This booster is

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going to perform a return to launch site

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landing at landing zone 2. Which means if

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you're watching the launch, you might

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actually get to see the landing burns and

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touchdown as well.

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Anna: I love those double features. Launch

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and landing. And speaking of international

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collaboration, it's worth mentioning that

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this Cygnus was built by Thalis Alenia

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Space, with facilities in both France and

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Italy. It's always amazing to see how these

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cargo missions represent this incredible

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global effort to keep the International Space

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Station supplied and operational.

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Avery: So if you're free Sunday evening around

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8:11pm Eastern, it's definitely worth

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stepping outside or tuning in to the

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livestream. There's something special about

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watching these routine supply missions. They

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remind us that we literally have people

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living and working in space right now, and

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missions like this keep that incredible

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achievement going. You know Anna, what

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strikes me about all of these stories is how

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they represent different scales of

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exploration. From interstellar visitors in

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our own solar system to naked eye comets we

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can observe from our backyards to detailed

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atmospheric analysis of worlds dozens of

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light years away, it's this incredible range

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of astronomical discovery happening all at

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once.

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Anna: That's such a great point. And what I love is

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how each discovery builds on our

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understanding of the bigger picture. Whether

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it's learning that interstellar comets have

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similar compositions to our local ones,

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or figuring out how to detect atmospheres

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around distant worlds, every observation

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helps us understand our place in the universe

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a little bit better.

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Avery: And for our listeners who might be inspired

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by today's comet stories, October is

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shaping up to be a fantastic month for

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skywatching. Whether Comet LEMMON reaches

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naked eye, visibility or requires

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binoculars, it's going to be worth looking

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for. There's something magical about seeing

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these ancient wanderers with your own eyes.

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Anna: Absolutely. And remember, even if you need

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binoculars to see Comet LEMMON clearly,

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you'll still be looking at something that

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last visited our inner solar system over a

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thousand years ago ago. That's perspective

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that never gets old.

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Avery: Thanks for joining us on today's Journey

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through the Cosmos, everyone. I'm Avery

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alongside Anna, and we'll be back soon with

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more fascinating discoveries from the

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universe. Until then, keep looking up. And

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remember, every clear night is an opportunity

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to connect with the cosmos.

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Anna: Thanks for listening to Astronomy Daily.

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Whether you're planning to hunt for Comet

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Lemmon in October, or just marveling at the

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fact that we can study the atmospheres of

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worlds light years away from, remember that

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we're living in an incredible age of cosmic

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discovery. Clear skies everyone, and keep

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looking up.