WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.360 Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast 1 00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:05.720 that brings the cosmos down to Earth. I'm 2 00:00:05.720 --> 00:00:08.640 avery. Give us 10 minutes and we'll give you 3 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:09.360 the universe. 4 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.040 Anna: And I'm Anna. And in the show today, Avery, 5 00:00:13.040 --> 00:00:16.000 we've got everything from missions to Mars 6 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:18.820 facing off with solar storms to a, uh, 7 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.800 historic first glimpse of space weather on 8 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:22.640 a distant star. 9 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.120 Avery: It's going to be a journey. We'll also be 10 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.000 updating you on our interstellar visitor and 11 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.700 uncovering the hidden family history. One of 12 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:34.540 the most famous star clusters in our night 13 00:00:34.540 --> 00:00:36.940 sky. So let's get right into it. 14 00:00:37.180 --> 00:00:39.860 First up, Blue Origin's big day at the launch 15 00:00:39.860 --> 00:00:42.700 pad has been eventful. 16 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:46.100 Anna: That's one way to put it. They're trying to 17 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:48.299 get their new Glenn rocket off the ground. 18 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:51.020 Carrying a pretty important payload for NASA. 19 00:00:51.580 --> 00:00:54.500 Avery: Exactly. This isn't just any launch. It's 20 00:00:54.500 --> 00:00:56.980 carrying the two Escapade mission satellites 21 00:00:56.980 --> 00:00:59.580 which are headed to Mars to study its 22 00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:02.100 magnetosphere. This is a huge deal for Blue 23 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:04.440 Origin. It's their first major science 24 00:01:04.440 --> 00:01:06.800 mission for a paying customer. And that 25 00:01:06.800 --> 00:01:08.280 customer is NASA. 26 00:01:08.600 --> 00:01:10.280 Anna: No small amount of pressure, then? 27 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:13.360 Avery: None at all. But the universe had other 28 00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:16.040 plans. First, they were delayed by cloudy 29 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:18.840 skies, which is pretty standard. But then 30 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.320 they got hit by the fallout from that recent 31 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.040 really severe geomagnetic storm. 32 00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:27.560 Anna: Right. And that storm was a story in itself. 33 00:01:27.880 --> 00:01:30.040 It was responsible for those incredible 34 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.720 auroras that were seen as far south as Texas 35 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:35.710 and Florida. A beautiful but powerful remote 36 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:37.140 reminder of the sun's influence. 37 00:01:37.460 --> 00:01:40.380 Avery: It really was. And there's a certain irony 38 00:01:40.380 --> 00:01:42.580 in a mission designed to study space weather 39 00:01:42.580 --> 00:01:45.380 on, uh, Mars being delayed by space weather 40 00:01:45.380 --> 00:01:46.340 here on Earth. 41 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:49.700 Anna: There absolutely is. Once they get there, 42 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:51.899 though, the Escapade satellites have a 43 00:01:51.899 --> 00:01:54.540 fascinating job. They're going to orbit Mars 44 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:57.020 and study how solar particles, the solar 45 00:01:57.020 --> 00:01:59.860 wind, interact with what's left of Mars's 46 00:01:59.860 --> 00:02:02.300 magnetic field. The goal is to better 47 00:02:02.300 --> 00:02:04.900 understand how Mars lost most of its 48 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:06.900 atmosphere over billions of years. 49 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.220 Avery: Mm mhm. A planetary autopsy of sorts. 50 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.820 So we're wishing them clear skies and calm 51 00:02:12.820 --> 00:02:14.620 space weather for their next attempt. 52 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:18.060 But speaking of that geomagnetic storm, 53 00:02:18.140 --> 00:02:20.740 it was caused by some seriously intense 54 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:21.980 activity from our star. 55 00:02:22.540 --> 00:02:25.180 Anna: That's our next big story. Just recently, 56 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:28.100 the sun unleashed the most powerful solar 57 00:02:28.100 --> 00:02:30.700 flare we've seen. In 2025, it was 58 00:02:30.700 --> 00:02:33.620 categorized as an X 5.1 class 59 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:35.130 flare. Wow. 60 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:38.170 Avery: For our listeners, X class flares are the 61 00:02:38.170 --> 00:02:41.130 biggest category, and X 5.1 is 62 00:02:41.130 --> 00:02:43.650 a monster. That's the most intense flare 63 00:02:43.650 --> 00:02:46.090 since back in October 2024. 64 00:02:46.730 --> 00:02:49.570 Anna: It is. And it had immediate effects here on 65 00:02:49.570 --> 00:02:51.850 Earth. The Blast of radiation caused 66 00:02:51.850 --> 00:02:54.690 significant radio blackouts across Africa and 67 00:02:54.690 --> 00:02:57.290 Europe on the sun facing side of the planet. 68 00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:00.090 Avery: So that affects things like high frequency 69 00:03:00.090 --> 00:03:02.850 radio communications used by airlines and 70 00:03:02.850 --> 00:03:03.770 mariners, right? 71 00:03:04.410 --> 00:03:07.170 Anna: Precisely. The bigger concern now is whether 72 00:03:07.170 --> 00:03:09.690 a coronal mass ejection or cme 73 00:03:10.090 --> 00:03:12.530 was associated with the flare and is heading 74 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.210 our way. NOAA is keeping a close watch. 75 00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:18.250 If a significant CME does impact Earth, 76 00:03:18.410 --> 00:03:21.290 they might issue a, ah, G4 geomagnetic storm 77 00:03:21.290 --> 00:03:21.610 watch. 78 00:03:22.250 --> 00:03:25.170 Avery: And the G4 is serious business. We're not 79 00:03:25.170 --> 00:03:27.250 just talking about pretty auroras then that 80 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:29.370 can cause widespread problems with electrical 81 00:03:29.370 --> 00:03:31.370 grids and communication satellites. 82 00:03:31.920 --> 00:03:34.480 Anna: Exactly. It's a powerful reminder that we 83 00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:36.960 live in the atmosphere of a very active star. 84 00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:39.680 But what's really amazing is that we're now 85 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.720 able to see this kind of weather happening on 86 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:42.720 other stars too. 87 00:03:42.880 --> 00:03:45.440 Avery: That's right. So while on the subject of 88 00:03:45.440 --> 00:03:47.880 cmes, it's not just here in our 89 00:03:47.880 --> 00:03:48.560 backyard. 90 00:03:48.880 --> 00:03:51.600 This next story is a groundbreaking one. 91 00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:54.760 For the very first time, astronomers have 92 00:03:54.760 --> 00:03:57.160 directly observed a coronal mass 93 00:03:57.160 --> 00:04:00.080 ejection from a star that isn't our Sun. 94 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:02.680 Anna: It's just incredible. We've theorized it 95 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.460 happens, but do to actually see it is a huge 96 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:07.180 leap. So what did they see? 97 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:09.740 Avery: They were looking at a red dwarf star, which 98 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.340 is about 40 light years away. They used two 99 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:15.060 different observatories, the XMM M M Newton 100 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.500 Space Observatory to watch for the initial 101 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:20.220 flare in X rays, and then the LOFAR 102 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.940 radio telescope to detect the blob of ejected 103 00:04:22.940 --> 00:04:23.420 material. 104 00:04:23.760 --> 00:04:26.460 Anna: Mhm. So they caught the flash and 105 00:04:26.460 --> 00:04:28.460 then the cannonball, so to speak. 106 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.220 Avery: That's a great way to describe it. And this 107 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:33.660 isn't just a cool astronomical first. 108 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:36.040 It has major implications, implications for 109 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:37.960 the search for extraterrestrial life. 110 00:04:38.520 --> 00:04:40.960 Anna: Because red dwarfs are the most common type 111 00:04:40.960 --> 00:04:43.160 of star, and we've found many 112 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.160 exoplanets orbiting them, um, in the 113 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:46.280 habitable zone. 114 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:49.680 Avery: Exactly. But red dwarfs are also known for 115 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.040 being extremely volatile, especially when 116 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.440 they're young. If they are constantly 117 00:04:54.440 --> 00:04:56.400 blasting their orbiting planets with these 118 00:04:56.400 --> 00:04:59.320 powerful CMEs, it could strip away their 119 00:04:59.320 --> 00:05:01.200 atmospheres and make them completely 120 00:05:01.200 --> 00:05:03.720 uninhabitable, even if they're at the right 121 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.160 temperature for liquid water. 122 00:05:05.640 --> 00:05:07.920 Anna: So finding life might be less about the 123 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:10.800 address and more about how stormy the 124 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:13.240 neighborhood is. It really refines our 125 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:13.640 search. 126 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.120 Avery: It certainly does. And it's not just 127 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.560 energy reaching us from other star systems. 128 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:22.280 Sometimes we get physical visitors. 129 00:05:22.760 --> 00:05:25.080 Anna: Let's talk about our latest interstelli 130 00:05:25.080 --> 00:05:27.960 guest, Comet 3I Atlas. 131 00:05:28.280 --> 00:05:30.520 A new image has come in, and it's looking 132 00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:32.280 more spectacular than ever. 133 00:05:32.990 --> 00:05:35.430 Avery: This is only the Third confirmed interstellar 134 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:37.990 object we've ever detected. Right after the 135 00:05:37.990 --> 00:05:40.590 mysterious Oumuamua and the more 136 00:05:40.590 --> 00:05:42.030 comet like Borisov. 137 00:05:42.270 --> 00:05:44.790 Anna: That's right. And this new image shows that 138 00:05:44.790 --> 00:05:47.390 its ion tail has grown significantly 139 00:05:47.390 --> 00:05:50.190 longer and has much more defined structure. 140 00:05:50.430 --> 00:05:52.270 It's really starting to put on a show. 141 00:05:52.510 --> 00:05:54.310 Avery: And that, uh, growing tail means it's 142 00:05:54.310 --> 00:05:55.470 becoming more active. 143 00:05:55.790 --> 00:05:58.590 Anna: Exactly. As it gets closer to our sun, 144 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.480 it's heating up. This causes volatile 145 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:04.480 materials on its surface, things like frozen 146 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.400 carbon dioxide to sublimate, turning 147 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:10.280 directly from a solid ice into a gas. 148 00:06:10.760 --> 00:06:13.680 That gas and dust is what creates the tail we 149 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:15.120 see, which gives us. 150 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:16.920 Avery: A chance to study its composition. 151 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:20.200 Anna: Mhm. By analyzing the light from that tail, 152 00:06:20.440 --> 00:06:23.120 we can figure out what it's made of. This is 153 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:26.080 an incredibly rare opportunity. It's like 154 00:06:26.080 --> 00:06:28.560 getting a sample delivered directly from a 155 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.960 distant, unknown planetary system, 156 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.320 telling us about the conditions where it 157 00:06:33.320 --> 00:06:35.840 formed millions or billions of years ago. 158 00:06:36.320 --> 00:06:38.720 A, uh, true cosmic time capsule. 159 00:06:38.960 --> 00:06:41.840 Avery: From a single visitor from afar to a 160 00:06:41.840 --> 00:06:44.560 massive family reunion right in our own 161 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:45.280 backyard. 162 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.560 Our last story today completely reframes 163 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.920 one of the most recognizable patterns in the 164 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:51.520 night sky. 165 00:06:51.960 --> 00:06:54.240 Anna: You're talking about the Pleiades. The seven 166 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:54.840 Sisters? 167 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.160 Avery: I am. But it turns out that famous, 168 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.040 tightly packed little cluster is just the 169 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.800 bright, shiny core of something immensely 170 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.320 bigger. Researchers have discovered what 171 00:07:06.320 --> 00:07:09.160 they're calling the Greater Pleiades Complex. 172 00:07:09.640 --> 00:07:12.640 Anna: That sounds impressive. How much greater are 173 00:07:12.640 --> 00:07:13.160 we talking? 174 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.280 Avery: It's staggering. This stellar network 175 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:18.760 stretches 2,000 light years across. 176 00:07:19.640 --> 00:07:21.800 It contains thousands of stars that were all 177 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:24.520 born from the same stellar Nursery about 178 00:07:24.520 --> 00:07:27.440 120 million years ago, along 179 00:07:27.440 --> 00:07:29.240 with the main Pleiades cluster. 180 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.400 Anna: So how did they find them? These sibling 181 00:07:32.400 --> 00:07:34.680 stars are scattered all across the sky. 182 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:37.320 Avery: Now, it was some brilliant detective work. 183 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.200 They combined massive Data sets from three 184 00:07:40.200 --> 00:07:42.880 sources. NASA's Tess, ESA's 185 00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:45.800 Gaia, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. 186 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:49.020 Gaia tracked stellar motion with incredible 187 00:07:49.020 --> 00:07:51.820 precision so they could find stars moving in 188 00:07:51.820 --> 00:07:53.380 the same general direction. 189 00:07:53.700 --> 00:07:55.700 Anna: Okay, so they're traveling together. 190 00:07:56.260 --> 00:07:59.180 Avery: Right. Then they used test data to measure 191 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.059 the star's rotation periods. The speed 192 00:08:02.059 --> 00:08:04.540 a star spins is a really good indicator of 193 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.140 its age. Younger stars spin faster. 194 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:09.660 This allowed them to find stars that were the 195 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:12.510 same age as the Pleiades. And 196 00:08:12.510 --> 00:08:14.910 finally, they confirmed it by checking their 197 00:08:14.910 --> 00:08:17.910 chemical composition. Siblings have the 198 00:08:17.910 --> 00:08:19.790 same stellar DNA, so to speak. 199 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:23.030 Anna: That is fascinating. So when we look up at 200 00:08:23.030 --> 00:08:25.670 the sky, we're not just seeing random points 201 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:28.110 of light. We're looking at these vast, 202 00:08:28.190 --> 00:08:30.390 dispersed families drifting through the 203 00:08:30.390 --> 00:08:30.990 galaxy. 204 00:08:31.390 --> 00:08:34.190 Avery: That's the takeaway. It completely changes 205 00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:37.110 our map of the night sky. And this new 206 00:08:37.110 --> 00:08:39.430 method could be used to trace the origins of 207 00:08:39.430 --> 00:08:42.190 other star families. Perhaps one day 208 00:08:42.270 --> 00:08:45.090 we could find the lost siblings of our own 209 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:45.490 sun. Um. 210 00:08:45.930 --> 00:08:48.850 Anna: What a thought to end on. From solar 211 00:08:48.850 --> 00:08:51.810 flares affecting us right here to finding 212 00:08:51.810 --> 00:08:54.770 the Sun's family tree. That's all the time 213 00:08:54.770 --> 00:08:56.810 we have for today's Astronomy Daily. 214 00:08:57.450 --> 00:09:00.250 Avery: We covered a lot of ground and a lot of 215 00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:02.930 space. We hope you enjoyed the journey. Join 216 00:09:02.930 --> 00:09:05.250 us next time as we continue to explore the 217 00:09:05.250 --> 00:09:07.810 latest news from across the universe. I'm 218 00:09:07.810 --> 00:09:08.410 Avery. 219 00:09:08.650 --> 00:09:11.610 Anna: And I'm Anna. Thanks for listening, Clear 220 00:09:11.610 --> 00:09:14.480 skies. And of course, keep looking 221 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:14.840 up.