The FCC has cleared the first commercial space mirror for launch — and astronomers are calling it an existential threat. Anna and Avery break down Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1 and the proposed 50,000-satellite mirror constellation, plus the invisible debris minefield just discovered in the geostationary belt (with an Aussie assist from Siding Spring Observatory), the Manhattan lab experiment that recreated black hole energy extraction, the first-ever rotation of the Extremely Large Telescope, how the Square Kilometre Array will use fast radio bursts to map the invisible universe, a Starship Flight 13 schedule update, and Avi Loeb's new job running the White House UAP Science Advisory Council. We close with a skywatch for tonight's super new Moon.
Chapters
• 00:00 — Welcome & lineup
• 01:20 — FCC approves the first space mirror: Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1
• 04:50 — A "minefield" of invisible debris in geosynchronous orbit
• 07:50 — Black hole energy extraction recreated in a lab (Penrose superradiance)
• 10:50 — "And yet it moves": the ELT's first full rotation
• 13:20 — How the SKA will use fast radio bursts to decode the universe
• 16:20 — Starship Flight 13 update: NET Thursday 16 July
• 17:40 — Avi Loeb to chair the White House UAP Science Advisory Council
• 20:40 — Skywatch: super new Moon, Venus, Saturn & Mars
• 22:20 — Outro
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#space #astronomy #spacenews #ReflectOrbital #spacedebris #blackholes #ELT #SKA #Starship #UAP