EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
• Blue Origin announces TeraWave: A new satellite network with 6Tbps speeds for enterprise and government customers
• Historic ISS evacuation: Crew-11 returns early in NASA's first medical evacuation from space
• Buzz Aldrin celebrates 96th birthday as Artemis II crew prepares for lunar journey
• Scientists develop new method to analyze Enceladus plumes for ocean habitability
• BepiColombo discovers Mercury shares plasma wave behavior with Earth
• Solar Orbiter reveals magnetic avalanches trigger solar flares
STORY TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:15] Blue Origin's TeraWave Satellite Network
[05:42] ISS Medical Evacuation - Crew-11's Historic Return
[10:28] Buzz Aldrin's 96th Birthday & Artemis II Connections
[14:35] Enceladus Plumes May Hold Clues to Ocean Habitability
[18:20] Mercury and Earth Share Plasma Wave Behavior
[22:10] Solar Orbiter Discovers Magnetic Avalanches Power Flares
[26:45] Outro
LINKS & RESOURCES:
• Blue Origin TeraWave: https://www.blueorigin.com/terawave
• NASA Crew-11 Mission Information: https://www.nasa.gov/
• Artemis II Mission Details: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii
• BepiColombo Mission: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo
• Solar Orbiter Mission: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter
• Astronomy Daily Website: https://astronomydaily.io
CREDITS:
Hosted by Anna and Avery
Produced by Astronomy Daily
Episode S05E19 - January 22, 2026
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hey there, space fans. I'm Anna.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 Avery: And I'm Avery. Welcome to Astronomy
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 Daily, your daily dose of space and
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 astronomy News. It's Thursday, January
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 22, 2026, and boy,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 do we have a packed episode for you today.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 Anna: We really do. We're covering everything
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 from Blue Origin's ambitious new
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 satellite Internet network to an update on
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 that historic medical evacuation from the
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 International Space Station. Plus, we'll
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 celebrate a special bir for a lunar legend.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 Avery: That's right. We've also got some fascinating
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 science stories, including new insights into
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 Saturn's moon Enceladus, surprising
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 discoveries about plasma waves at Mercury,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 and groundbreaking observations of solar
00:00:47 --> 00:00:47 flares.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Anna: So buckle up, let's dive right
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 into today's space headlines.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 Avery: Alright, Anna, um, let's kick things off with
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 some major news from Blue Origin. Jeff
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Bezos Space Company just announced a new
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 satellite Internet network called TerraWave.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 And the numbers are pretty staggering.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Anna: They really are. We're talking about data
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 speeds up to 6 terabits per second.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 That's seriously impressive. How does that
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 compare to what's available now?
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 Avery: Well, for context, SpaceX's Starlink
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 currently maxes out at
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 400Mbps for consumers,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 though they're planning to upgrade to 1
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 gigabit speeds in the future. But 6
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 terabits per second, that's in a completely
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 different league.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 Anna: So this isn't really targeting the same
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 market as Starlink then?
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 Avery: Exactly. Blue Origin is very clear about
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 this. TerraWave is geared toward enterprise
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 customers, data centers and government
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 applications. It's meant to add a space based
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 layer to existing network infrastructure,
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 particularly for reaching locations that
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 traditional methods can't access.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 Anna: What's the architecture looking like? How
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 many satellites are we talking about?
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 Avery: The constellation will use a mix of
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 5 satellites in low
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 Earth orbit and 128 in
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 medium Earth orbit. The low Earth orbit
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 satellites will use RF connectivity with
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 maximum data transfer speeds of
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 144 gigabits per second,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 while the medium Earth orbit satellites will
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 use optical lengths to achieve those
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 incredible 6 terabits per second speeds.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 Anna: When can we expect to see this actually
00:02:28 --> 00:02:29 deployed?
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 Avery: Blue Origin plans to start deploying the
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 first satellites in late 2027. They
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 haven't given a timeline for the full build
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 out yet, which makes sense given the scale of
00:02:39 --> 00:02:39 the project.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 Anna: This is interesting timing too, isn't it?
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 Because Jeff Bezos other company Amazon,
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 just rebranded their satellite network as
00:02:47 --> 00:02:48 LEO.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 Avery: That's right. LEO will have around 3
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 satellites in low Earth orbit, offering more
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 traditional broadband speeds to consumers.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 So, taken together, Amazon's LEO and Blue
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 Origin's TerraWave could provide pretty
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 robust competition to SpaceX's Starlink
00:03:05 --> 00:03:06 across different market segments.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 Anna: It's really shaping up to be an exciting era
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 for satellite Internet. The competition
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 should drive innovation and hopefully improve
00:03:15 --> 00:03:16 service for everyone.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Avery: Absolutely. And it shows how Blue Origin is
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 evolving beyond just their space tourism
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 flights. With New Shepard, with the
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 successful launches of their new Glenn
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 rocket, landing the booster on just a second
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 attempt, and now this satellite network
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 announcement. They're really becoming a
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 multifaceted commercial space player.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 Anna: Great point.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 Alright, let's move on to some news from
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 closer to home, or at least from low Earth
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 orbit. Avery, we need to talk about the
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 unprecedented medical evacuation from the
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 International Space Station. This was a
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 historic moment and not in a way anyone
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 wanted. Well, today we have a bit of an
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 update as the astronauts have made their
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 first live appearance since returning to
00:03:59 --> 00:04:00 Earth.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 Avery: You're absolutely right, Anna. For the first
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 time in over 25 years of continuous
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 human presence on the ISS, and the first time
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 in NASA's entire history, a space
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 mission was cut short due to a medical issue.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 The four astronauts of Crew 11 splashed down
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 California on January 15, about
00:04:22 --> 00:04:23 a month earlier than planned.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 Anna: Can you tell us who was on this crew?
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 Avery: The crew included NASA astronauts Zena
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 Cardman and Mike Fenk, Japan Aerospace
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platanov.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 They'd been on the station for 167
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 days, having launched back in August 2025.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 Anna: And NASA still hasn't disclosed which crew
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 member had the medical issue or um, what the
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 condition was.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 Avery: That's correct. They're protecting the
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 astronauts medical privacy. What they have
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 said is that the crew member is stable and
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 that this wasn't an emergency situation
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 despite bringing the entire crew home early.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 Anna: How did this unfold? What were the warning
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 signs?
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 Avery: The first public indication came when NASA
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 canceled a planned spacewalk on January 8
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 due to a medical concern. Mike Fink and
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 Zena Cardman were supposed to venture outside
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 the station to work on the power system. The
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 next day, NASA made the decision to bring the
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 entire crew home early.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 Anna: That must have been a difficult decision to
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 make.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 Avery: Absolutely. NASA Administrator Jared
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 Isaacman emphasized that while they have
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 medical equipment and trained crew members
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 aboard the iss, the capability
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 to properly diagnose and treat this
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 particular condition simply doesn't exist on
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 the station. He called it, uh, a controlled
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 medical evacuation, not an emergency
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 deorbit.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Anna: What's particularly interesting to me is what
00:05:51 --> 00:05:52 the crew members said at their press
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 conference yesterday. They seemed remarkably
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 positive about the experience, they really
00:05:58 --> 00:05:58 did.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 Avery: Mike Fink, who was the ISS commander during
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 this mission, said the way the crew and
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 ground teams handled everything made him more
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 confident about human space exploration, not
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 less. He specifically mentioned this bodes
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 well for the upcoming Artemis program.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 Anna: I remember reading that they used the
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 portable ultrasound machine on the ISS during
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 this incident.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 Avery: Right. Fink mentioned that during the press
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 conference. He emphasized that while the
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 ultrasound was extremely helpful, the ISS
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 doesn't have the capacity for larger imaging
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 equipment like MRI machines. Zena Cardman
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 also pointed out that as we venture beyond
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 low Earth orbit to the Moon and eventually
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 Mars, having better diagnostic and treatment
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 tools on board will be a critical challenge
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 to solve.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 Anna: How has this affected operations on the iss?
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 Avery: Well, their departure left only three people
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 on the station, two Russian cosmonauts and
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 one NASA astronaut who'd arrived on a Soyuz
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 capsule in November. That's significantly
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 reduced from the typical crew of seven, which
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 means fewer experiments and less maintenance
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 can be performed. The next crew rotation,
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 Crew 12 is scheduled to launch no earlier
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 than February 15th.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 Anna: Despite the challenging circumstances, this
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 really demonstrates the professionalism and
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 preparedness of our space programs.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 Avery: Exactly as Cardman emphasized,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 astronauts are the eyes and ears for
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 researchers on the ground, and this
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 experience will undoubtedly inform how we
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 prepare for longer duration missions further
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 from Earth. Alright, shall we move on to a
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 much happier space story?
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 Anna: Absolutely.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 This past Tuesday, January 20th, marked
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 the 96th birthday of Buzz Aldrin,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 the second man to walk the moon and now
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 the oldest living astronaut.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 Avery: What an incredible milestone. Buzz
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 Aldrin, born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 On January 20, 1930 in Glen Rich,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 New Jersey, made history alongside Neil
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 Armstrong during the Apollo 11 landing in
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 1969. He was 39 years old
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 when he stepped onto the lunar surface.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 Anna: I love the story behind his nickname. Did you
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 know that his sister couldn't pronounce
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 brother properly and called him Buzzer, which
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 got shortened to Buzz?
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 Avery: I did. And he liked it so much he legally
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 changed his first name to buzz in
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 1988. Now, it's worth noting that this
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 past year hasn't been easy for Aldrin. He
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 lost his wife, Anka Fower, last fall after a
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 battle with cancer. They'd been married on
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 his 93rd birthday in 2023.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Anna: That's heartbreaking, but it sounds like he's
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 surrounded by family now.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 Avery: Yes, his family posted an update in late
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 December showing he's spending time with his
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 children and grandchildren in Los Angeles and
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 and they're planning to move him closer to
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 family in Southern California. Despite his
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 age and recent loss, he remains a cheerleader
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 for NASA and space exploration.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Anna: Speaking of which, the timing of his birthday
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 is pretty special with the Artemis II mission
00:08:53 --> 00:08:53 coming up.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 Avery: Absolutely. The Artemis astronauts wished him
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 a happy birthday this past weekend from
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 Kennedy Space center as their Orion, uh,
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 spacecraft atop the Space Launch System
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 rocket rolled out to launch pad 39B.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 It's the same pad that launched many Apollo
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 missions.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 Anna: The Artemis 2 crew, NASA astronauts Reid
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 could launch as early as February 6th.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 They'll be the first humans to return to the
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 vicinity of the moon since 1972.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 Avery: And they'll make history, too. Victor Glover
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 will be the first black astronaut, Christina
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 Koch the first woman, and Jeremy Hansen the
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 first non American to travel that far from
00:09:35 --> 00:09:35 Earth.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 Anna: What really struck me was how the Artemis
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 astronauts talked about their connections to
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 the Apollo program.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 Avery: Me too. Reid Wiseman shared this great story
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 about almost missing a call from Apollo 10's
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 General Tom Stafford on the day he was
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 selected for Artemis 2. He thought it was a
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 telemarketer, but Stafford called to
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 congratulate him, and Wiseman said, the
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 Apollo astronauts are just so excited that
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 we're headed back to the moon.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 Anna: Victor Glover mentioned carrying a bag of
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 wisdom quotes from Apollo 9's Rusty Schweiker
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 to the space station, and he's planning to
00:10:06 --> 00:10:07 take it to the moon as well.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 Avery: And Christina Koch talked about Fred haise
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 from Apollo 13, teasing her about breaking
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 their distance record. She said that moment
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 brought her into the Apollo camaraderie, and
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 she promised to carry that spirit forward.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 Anna: Jeremy Hansen's story is my favorite, though.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 He saw a picture of Buzz or Neil on the moon
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 as a kid, turned his treehouse into a
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 spaceship, and here he is now about to go to
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 the moon himself.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Avery: It really shows the lasting impact of the
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 Apollo program. Of the 12 men who walked on
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 the moon, only four are still alive. Buzz
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 Aldrin at 96, David Scott at
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 93, Charles Duke at 90, and
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 Harrison Schmidt at 90.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 Anna: Buzz Aldrin truly is a living legend, and his
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 enthusiasm for the future of space
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 exploration is inspiring. Happy
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 96th birthday, Buzz.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 Avery: Hear, hear. Now let's shift gears and head
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 out to Saturn's moon Enceladus. Anna.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 Uh, this next story is about one of the most
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 exciting places in our solar system when it
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 comes to the search for life. Saturn's moon
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 Enceladus.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 Anna: Oh, I love Enceladus. Those gorgeous
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 plumes shooting out from the south pole are
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 just mesmerizing. What's the new development?
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 Avery: A team of Japanese scientists has Developed a
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 new method for analyzing those plumes that
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 could help us determine whether Enceladus
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 subsurface ocean is habitable. They're
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 proposing to use Rayman spectroscopy To
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 estimate the ph levels of the water Being
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 ejected from the moon.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 Anna: Rayman spectroscopy, can you explain what
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 that is for our listeners?
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 Avery: Sure. Rayman spectroscopy is a technique that
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 uses laser light to identify the molecular
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 composition of materials. It's been used on
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 several planetary missions, including on, um,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 the perseverance rover currently on Mars. The
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 technique can identify different chemical
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 compounds and in this case, different ph
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 levels.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Anna: And why is ph so important for habitability?
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 Avery: Well, the ph level tells us how acidic or
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 alkaline the water is, which is crucial for
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 understanding whether life as we know it
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 could potentially exist there. Scientists
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 have estimated that Enceladus plumes Likely
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 have a ph somewhere between 8 and 12,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 which is weakly to strongly alkaline.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 Anna: So how did they test this method?
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 Avery: The researchers conducted laboratory
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 experiments Using carbonate salty fluid
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 samples at different ph levels. They
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 placed these samples in a vacuum chamber to
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 simulate Enceladus surface conditions,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 Letting the fluid evaporate and freeze,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 Leaving only the salt deposits behind. Then
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 they used Raman spectroscopy instruments
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 Configured to simulate how they'd work On a
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 future space mission.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 Anna: And were they successful?
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 Avery: They were. The Raman spectroscopy
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 Successfully identified the different ph
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 levels in each of the salt deposit samples.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 The researchers concluded that this technique
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 could identify Carbonate minerals On
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Enceladus surface and potentially estimate
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 the ph of the subsurface ocean.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 Anna: This is particularly clever because it means
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 we wouldn't necessarily need to drill through
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 the ice to sample the ocean directly.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 Avery: Exactly. The plumes are constantly
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 depositing material on the surface, so a
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 lander could analyze these deposits and learn
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 about the ocean below. It's a much more
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 accessible approach Than trying to penetrate
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 kilometers of ice.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 Anna: Remind me, what do we already know about
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 enceladus from the Cassini mission?
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 Avery: Well, Cassini discovered the plumes back in
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 the mid 2000s and even flew through them.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 The mission found mostly water ice, but also
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 salt rich ice grains, Organic
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 molecules, Hydrogen gas, and evidence of
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 heat, all indicative of active geology
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 and a warm subsurface ocean.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 Anna: And the presence of hydrogen gas Was
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 particularly exciting because it could be
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 produced by hydrothermal vents on the ocean
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 floor, right?
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 Avery: Exactly. That could provide A source of
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 chemical energy for potential microbial life,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Similar to what we see around hydrothermal
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 vents in earth's deep oceans. Being able to
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 measure the ph more accurately Would be
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 another crucial piece of the habitability
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 puzzle.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 Anna: This really makes me excited for future
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 missions to enceladus hopefully we'll see a
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 dedicated mission there in the coming
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 decades.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 Avery: Absolutely. The technology is there. We just
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 need the mission.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 Alright, let's head to Mercury for our next
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 story.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 Anna: Avery, this next story reveals some
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 surprising connections between Mercury and
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 Earth. It turns out these two very different
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 planets have more in common than we thought
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 when it comes to their magnetospheres.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 Avery: That's right, Anna. Um. An international team
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 of researchers has discovered that natural
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 electromagnetic waves, called chorus
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 emissions occur in Mercury's magnetosphere
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 with strikingly similar characteristics to
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 those found around Earth, despite Mercury
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 having a magnetic field only about 100th
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 as strong.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 Anna: Chorus waves. That's such an evocative name.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Can you explain what these are?
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 Avery: Sure. Chorus waves are plasma waves that
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 sound like birdsong when converted to audio
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 frequencies. They're created when electrons
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 in a planet's magnetosphere interact with
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 electromagnetic waves, producing these
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 characteristic rising and falling tones.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 Anna: And why do we care about these waves on
00:15:18 --> 00:15:18 Earth?
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 Avery: They play a crucial role in the Van Allen
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 radiation belts. They can both accelerate
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 particles to create the belts and also cause
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 particles to rain down into the atmosphere,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 depleting them. Understanding these waves is
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 important for space weather forecasting and
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 protecting satellites from radiation.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 Anna: So how did researchers make this discovery at
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 Mercury?
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 Avery: They used data from the BepiColombo mission's
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 magnetospheric orbiter, called MEO,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 during six flybys of Mercury between
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 2021 and 2025. They
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 combined this with decades of data from
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 Earth's Geotail satellite, which operated
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 from 1992 to 2022.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 Anna: Why was Geotail particularly useful for
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 comparison?
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 Avery: Great question. Geotail observed Earth's
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 Magnetotail from about 10 Earth radii
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 away, conditions that actually resemble
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 Mercury's much smaller, more compact
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 magnetosphere. This made it an excellent
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 benchmark for comparison.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 Anna: What exactly did they find?
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 Avery: The team identified rapid rising and
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 falling frequency sweeps at Mercury,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 indicating the same kind of nonlinear
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 coupling between electrons and waves that we
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 see at Earth. They also found that the
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 emissions were concentrated in the dawn side
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 sector, just like at Earth, where
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 energetic electrons preferentially stream
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 through the magnetosphere.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 Anna: What surprised me about this is that Mercury
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 has almost no atmosphere. I would have
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 thought that would make a big difference.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 Avery: That's what scientists expected, too.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 Earlier theories suggested that Mercury
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 wouldn't have the cold or low energy
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 electrons necessary to generate chorus
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 waves. But this discovery confirms
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 predictions from 2025 that these
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 electrons do exist around Merc.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 Anna: So what does this tell us about how universal
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 these plasma processes are?
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 Avery: It demonstrates that the mechanisms
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 responsible for generating chorus emissions
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 can operate across vastly different
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 Planetary environments. From Earth with its
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 strong magnetic field and thick atmosphere,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 to Mercury with its weak field and virtually
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 no atmosphere. It's a universal
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 plasma process.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 Anna: This has implications for other planets too,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 doesn't it?
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 Avery: Absolutely. The researchers mentioned that
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 this opens up systematic comparative studies
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 of auroral and radiation processes at
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 multiple planets, including Mars, Jupiter
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 and Saturn. By understanding how these
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 emissions work across different planetary
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 systems, we can build a more complete picture
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 of plasma physics throughout the solar
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 system.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 Anna: And Mio is scheduled to enter Mercury orbit
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 in late 2026, right?
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 Avery: That's correct. Once in orbit, Mio will be
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 able to make much more detailed observations
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 of how these emissions vary with location and
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 how they interact with electron populations
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 around Mercury. We should learn a lot more in
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 the coming years.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 Anna: It's amazing how studying one planet helps us
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 understand others. Alright, let's wrap up
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 with some solar.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 Avery: Science for our final story today. Anna,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 uh, we're heading to the sun to talk about
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 some remarkable new insights into how
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 solar flares actually work, courtesy of
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 Anna: Solar flares are one of those phenomena that
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 everyone's heard of and are certainly in the
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 news this week, but I think many people don't
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 really understand what's happening. What did
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 Solar Orbiter discover?
00:18:49 --> 00:18:52 Avery: Well, researchers found that solar flares
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 start with what they're calling a magnetic
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 avalanche. Just like a, uh, snow avalanche
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 starts with a small amount of snow movement
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 and then cascades into something much larger.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 And solar flares begin with initially
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 weak magnetic disturbances that rapidly
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 become more violent.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 Anna: That's a great analogy. How are they able to
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 observe this?
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 Avery: Solar Orbiter captured one of its most
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 detailed views of a large solar flare during
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 its September 30, 2024 close
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 approach to the Sun. What made this
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 observation special was the combination of
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 four different instruments working together.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager, along with
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 spice sticks and phi.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 Anna: What kind of detail are we talking about?
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 Avery: The high resolution imagery from the EUI
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 instrument zoomed in to features just a
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 few hundred kilometers across in the Sun's
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 corona, capturing changes every two
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 seconds. And the team was able to watch the
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 buildup to the flare for about 40 minutes
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 before it erupted.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 Anna: That's incredibly fortunate timing.
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 Avery: It really was. Pradeep Cheetah from the Max
00:20:00 --> 00:20:03 Planck Institute for Solar System Research,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 who led the study, said they were very lucky
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 to witness the precursor events in such
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 beautiful detail. These kinds of high cadence
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 observations take up enormous amounts of
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 memory on spacecraft, so they can't do them
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 all the time.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 Anna: So what actually happens during this magnetic
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 avalanche?
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 Avery: About 40 minutes before the main Flare. The
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 instruments observed a dark filament of
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 twisted magnetic fields connected to a cross
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 shaped structure of progressively brightening
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 magnetic field lines. New magnetic field
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 strands appeared every two seconds or less,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 each one magnetically contained and becoming
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 twisted like ropes.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 Anna: And then everything becomes unstable.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 Avery: Exactly. Just like in a typical avalanche,
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 the region becomes unstable. The
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 twisted strands begin to break and reconnect
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 in what's called magnetic reconnection.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 This rapidly triggers a cascade of further
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 destabilizations, creating progressively
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 stronger reconnection events and outflows of
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 energy visible as increasing brightness in
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 the imagery.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 Anna: This is different from how scientists
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 previously thought flares work.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 Avery: Scientists had proposed a simple avalanche
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 model for explaining the collective behavior
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 of thousands of flares on the sun and other
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21 stars. But it wasn't clear whether a single
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 large flare could be described this way.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 Anna: Mhm.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 Avery: This result shows that a flare isn't
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 necessarily one coherent eruption, but can
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 be a cascade of many interacting
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 reconnection events.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 Anna: I read something about raining plasma blobs
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 in this study.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 Avery: Yes, that's one of the most fascinating
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 parts. The team observed ribbon like
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 features moving extremely quickly down
00:21:44 --> 00:21:47 through the Sun's atmosphere even before the
00:21:47 --> 00:21:50 main episode of the flare. These streams of
00:21:50 --> 00:21:53 what they called raining plasma blobs are
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 signatures of energy deposition. They get
00:21:55 --> 00:21:58 stronger as the flare progresses and continue
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 even after the flare subsides.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:03 Anna: And they detected some seriously high energy
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 particles too, right?
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 Avery: They did. The STIX instrument
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 measured X ray emission that rose
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 dramatically during the flare. As
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 reconnection events increased, particles were
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17 accelerated to speeds of 40 to 50% the
00:22:17 --> 00:22:20 speed of light. That's about 430 to
00:22:20 --> 00:22:23 540 kilometers per hour.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 Anna: Those high energy particles can be dangerous
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 for satellites and astronauts, can't they?
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 Avery: Absolutely. They can escape into
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 interplanetary space and pose radiation
00:22:32 --> 00:22:35 hazards to satellites, astronauts and even
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 Earth based technologies. That's why
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 understanding this process is essential for
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 forecasting space weather.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 Anna: What surprised the researchers most about
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 this discovery?
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 Avery: Cheetah said they didn't expect the avalanche
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 process could lead to such high energy
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 particles. They're excited to explore this
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 further. But he mentioned they'd need even
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 higher resolution X ray imagery from future
00:22:57 --> 00:23:00 missions to really untangle all the details.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 Anna: What does this mean for our understanding of
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 flares on other stars?
00:23:04 --> 00:23:07 Avery: That's a great question. Miho Janvier,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 ESO Solar Orbiter Co project scientist,
00:23:09 --> 00:23:12 called this one of the most exciting results
00:23:12 --> 00:23:15 from Solar Orbiter so far. She said an
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 interesting prospect is whether this
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 avalanche mechanism happens in all, uh,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:21 flares and on other flaring stars as well.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:24 It really highlights how much we still have
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 to learn about our own sun, even as we
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 explore the far reaches of the solar system.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 Anna: Absolutely. And that's the beauty of space
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 science. There's always new mysteries to
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 unravel.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:37 Avery: Well, that wraps up another packed episode of
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 Astronomy Daily. We've covered everything
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 from cutting edge satellite technology
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 to historic medical operations in
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 from birthday celebrations to groundbreaking
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 scientific discoveries.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 Anna: What a journey through the cosmos. From Blue
00:23:53 --> 00:23:56 Origin's ambitious Terra Wave network to
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 the first medical evacuation in ISS history,
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 from Buzz Aldrin's 96th birthday to
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 Enceladus potentially habitable ocean,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 from Mercury's plasma waves to the Sun's
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 magnetic avalanches, there's never a dull
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 moment in space exploration.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 Avery: If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to
00:24:14 --> 00:24:17 subscribe to Astronomy Daily wherever you get
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 your podcasts. We bring you the latest space
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 and astronomy news every single day.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 Anna: And don't forget to follow us on social media
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 for updates, bonus content, and to join our
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 community of space enthusiasts. You can find
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 all our episodes and more at
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 astronomydaily.IO thanks for joining us.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 Avery: On this cosmic journey.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 Anna: Keep looking up clear skies, everyone.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 Avery: This has been Astronomy Daily. We'll see you
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 tomorrow.