It's Episode 50 of Season 5 of Astronomy Daily, and the universe has delivered a lineup worthy of the occasion. From a star that may be dying in real time to a blood moon just four days away, here's everything Anna and Avery covered on today's show.
WOH G64: One of the Universe's Largest Stars Is Transforming
Deep in the Large Magellanic Cloud — a dwarf galaxy some 160,000 light-years away — one of the biggest stars ever discovered appears to be changing its very nature. WOH G64, a red supergiant with a radius roughly 1,540 times that of our Sun, has been showing signs since 2014 that it is transitioning into an extremely rare yellow hypergiant.
Research published in Nature Astronomy, led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, confirms what astronomers have been watching unfold: WOH G64 appears to have shed its outer layers and heated up — the hallmark of a yellow hypergiant transition. These objects are so rare precisely because they represent a brief, unstable phase before a massive star's final death. The star is also confirmed to have a binary companion, which may be accelerating the process.
Not all astronomers are in full agreement — a separate team at Keele University found molecular signatures suggesting the star's red supergiant atmosphere may persist. But the scientific consensus is that something extraordinary is happening. WOH G64 may eventually explode as a supernova, offering humanity an unprecedented close-up view of a well-studied stellar death.
SpaceX CRS-33 Completes Historic ISS Reboost Mission
Yesterday (February 26), SpaceX's CRS-33 Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station after a 185-day stay — its longest yet. While the mission delivered around 5,000 pounds of supplies and scientific hardware when it arrived in August 2025, what made CRS-33 truly historic was its role as an orbital tug.
For the first time, a Dragon capsule used a newly developed independent reboost capability to raise the ISS's orbit — performing six boosts in total. As American-Russian space cooperation continues to evolve, the ability for a US spacecraft to maintain the station's altitude independently is a genuinely meaningful strategic milestone. Dragon is scheduled to splash down off California this morning.
Webb Reveals the Haunting 'Exposed Cranium' Nebula
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has turned its powerful gaze on nebula PMR 1 — and the results are stunning. Dubbed the 'Exposed Cranium Nebula,' PMR 1 resembles a transparent human skull with a brain-like interior of glowing gas clouds. Webb captured the object with both its NIRCam near-infrared and MIRI mid-infrared instruments, revealing distinct structural layers that earlier telescopes couldn't resolve.
The outer 'skull' shell is composed primarily of hydrogen expelled in an earlier phase of the central star's death. A dark vertical lane splits the interior into two 'hemispheres' — possibly carved by polar jets. Scientists are still uncertain about the central star's mass, which determines whether its death will produce a supernova or a quiet white dwarf. Either way, Webb has delivered another masterpiece of cosmic imaging.
Blood Moon This Tuesday: Total Lunar Eclipse, March 3
Skywatchers across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Oceania have a spectacular treat waiting on Tuesday, March 3: a total lunar eclipse. Totality — when the Moon turns its characteristic blood red — will last 58 minutes (11:04–12:02 UTC), with maximum eclipse at 11:33 UTC.
Best viewing locations include western North America, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Asia. Europe and Africa will miss out this time around. No equipment needed: the blood moon is completely safe to view with the naked eye. Mark it in your diary — the next total lunar eclipse after this is on New Year's Eve 2028.
Jupiter's Moons Were Born With Life's Building Blocks
Two new studies published in The Planetary Science Journal and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reveal that Jupiter's icy Galilean moons — including the habitability candidate Europa — may have formed with complex organic molecules already embedded in their icy composition. These molecules are the precursors to amino acids, proteins, and DNA.
The international research team, including scientists from the Southwest Research Institute, modelled how icy grains carrying organic molecules formed in the solar system's early disks and were incorporated into the growing moons billions of years ago. In some simulations, nearly half of the particles retained their organic cargo. Lead researcher Dr. Olivier Mousis summarised the finding: Jupiter's moons did not form as chemically pristine worlds. Combined with their subsurface oceans, this pushes Europa firmly towards the top of the solar system's habitability candidates — a key focus for both NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUICE missions.
NASA Shakes Up Human Spaceflight Leadership After Starliner Report
NASA made sweeping leadership changes on February 26, one week after an independent report retroactively classified the 2024 Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test as a 'Type A mishap' — NASA's most serious incident classification. Ken Bowersox, head of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, is retiring effective March 6. Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich has also stepped down from that role. Their deputies, Joel Montalbano and Dana Hutcherson, assume leadership with immediate effect.
The report's language was striking: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called the 'most troubling failure' not hardware, but 'decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight.' Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent 286 days aboard the ISS after Starliner's thruster failures rendered the vehicle unfit to return them safely — ultimately flying home on SpaceX Crew Dragon. Starliner will not carry crew again until propulsion issues are fully resolved. An uncrewed cargo test is planned for April.
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