00:16 – **Blue Origin has hired Tory Bruno to head up its national security group
01:07 – **New theory suggests dark matter could be made of giant star sized objects
02:21 – **Asteroid Apophis will pass by Earth in 2029
03:18 – **Big Bang theory predicts a certain amount of normal matter in the universe
04:48 – **Researchers at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory have created a roadmap for lunar navigation
05:52 – **Total solar eclipse in 2026 is expected to be spectacular### Sources & Further Reading1. Blue Origin2. NASA3. European Space Agency4. JAXA5. Space.com### Follow & ContactX/Twitter: @AstroDailyPod
Instagram: @astrodailypod
Email: hello@astronomydaily.io
Website: astronomydaily.io
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 brings you the universe, one story at a time.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:06 I'm Avery.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 We've got a packed episode today, from major
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 moves in the space industry to a potential
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 solution for one of the biggest mysteries in
00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 cosmology.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 Avery: Let's start with that industry news. It's a
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 big one. Blue Origin has just hired Tory
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 Bruno, the former president and CEO of
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 United Launch alliance, or ula.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Anna: That's a major headline. Bruno is a giant in
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 the industry. He's going to be heading up
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 Blue Origin's new national Security group.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 Avery: Exactly. And it makes so much sense when you
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 think about it. Bruno was instrumental in
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 transitioning ULA to its new Vulcan rocket.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 And what engines does the Vulcan rocket use?
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Anna: Blue Origin's BE4 engines. It's all
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 connected. This move signals that Blue Origin
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 is getting very serious about competing for
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 those lucrative national security launch
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 contracts. Especially with their new Glenn
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 Heavy Heavy Lift rocket on the horizon.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Avery: It's a strategic chess move. Bringing in
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 someone with Bruno's experience and
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 connections is a clear sign of their ambition
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 in that sector.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Anna: Speaking of ambitions, let's shift from the
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 business of space to one of its greatest.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 Dark matter. A, uh, new study is proposing a
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 fascinating, if somewhat exotic idea.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 Avery: I'm always ready for a new dark matter
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 theory. What's this one?
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 Anna: Well, instead of tiny undiscovered particles,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 this theory suggests dark matter could be
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 made of giant star sized objects that don't
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 emit light. They're calling them exotic
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 Astrophysical dark objects, or
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 IADs.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 Avery: IADs. I like it. So what would these
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 objects be?
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 Anna: Things like boson stars or cue balls.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 Very dense theoretical objects. The really
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 cool part is how we might find them. If One
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 of these IADs passes in front of a distant
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 star, its immense gravity would bend the
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 starlight in a very specific way.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 Avery: Right. Gravitational lensing.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 Anna: Exactly. But a very specific kind.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 Instead of just brightening, the star's
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 apparent position in the sky would seem to
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 jump suddenly. It's a unique signal. And
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 researchers think they can hunt for these
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 jumps in the massive data set from the Gaia
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 Space Telescope. It's a long shot, but it's a
00:02:15 --> 00:02:16 testable hypothesis.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 Avery: From hunting for invisible objects to
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 tracking a very visible one.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Let's talk about Asteroid Apophis.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 Anna: Ah, yes, everyone's favorite God of chaos,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 asteroid. It's making a very close pass by
00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 Earth in 2029.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 Avery: An incredibly close pass just
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 32km away. Which is closer than
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 some of our satellites. And to take advantage
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 of this rare opportunity, the European Space
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 Agency and Japan's JAXA are teaming up for a
00:02:44 --> 00:02:45 new mission called Ramses.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:47 Anna: So what's the goal of Ramses?
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 Avery: The mission will get up close to the 375
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 meter wide asteroid to study how Earth's
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 gravity affects it. During the fly, expect
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 our planet's gravity to cause changes in
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 apophisis spin, maybe even trigger some
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 landslides or quakes on its surface.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 Anna: And understanding those gravitational effects
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 is crucial for planetary defense. If we ever
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 need to nudge an asteroid out of the way, we
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 need to know precisely how it will behave.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 This kind of international cooperation is
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 exactly what we need for ensuring space
00:03:17 --> 00:03:17 safety.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:18 Avery: That's right.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 And speaking of understanding the cosmos on a
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 grand scale, let's talk about all the stuff
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 that isn't in asteroids or even galaxies.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 I'm talking about normal matter, the stuff
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 that makes up you, me and the stars. It turns
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 out we've been missing most of it.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 Anna: This is one of my favorite cosmological
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 problems. The Big Bang theory predicts a
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 certain amount of normal matter in the
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 universe. But when we add up all the stars
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 and galaxies we can see, we only find about
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 10% of it. So where's the other
00:03:48 --> 00:03:49 90%?
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Avery: For a long time, the theory has been that
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 it's hiding in the vast spaces between
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 galaxies in a hot, thin soup of
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 gas called the intergalactic med. It's often
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 called the cosmic web. But it's so
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 diffuse that it's been nearly impossible to
00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 detect directly.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 Anna: Until now. Right. This is where fast radio
00:04:08 --> 00:04:09 bursts come in.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 Avery: Precisely. A new study used these
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 powerful millisecond long blasts of radio
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 waves from distant galaxies as probes. As
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 an FRB signal travels across billions of
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 light years, it gets slightly dispersed by
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 the gas it passes through. By measuring how
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 much the signal is smeared out, astronomers
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 can calculate how much matter it encountered.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 Anna: And the results confirmed the theory.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 Avery: They did. The numbers match perfectly.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 The missing matter was in the cosmic web all
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 along. It's a huge victory for cosmology.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 We've finally completed the census of normal
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 matter in the universe.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 Anna: That is incredible.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 From the cosmic web, let's zoom back in. Much
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 closer to home, the chaotic space between the
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55 Earth and the Moon.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 Avery: It's an area that's about to get a lot busier
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 with programs like Artemis and the Lunar
00:05:00 --> 00:05:00 Gateway.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 Anna: Right. And navigating that space is
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 notoriously difficult because of the complex
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 shifting gravitational pulls of the Earth,
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 Moon and Sun. It's the classic three body
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 problem. So to help future missions,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 researchers at ah, Lawrence Livermore
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 Laboratory have done something amazing.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 Avery: What's that?
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 Anna: They've created and released an open source
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 Data set mapping 1 million different stable
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 trajectories in that cis lunar space,
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 being called a gold standard map that
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 companies and space agencies can use to
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 validate their navigation software.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 Avery: So it's essentially a comprehensive roadmap
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 for the Earth Moon system that's invaluable.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 It helps identify stable regions like the
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 Lagrange Points, where we could place future
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 infrastructure like the Lunar Gateway. It's a
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 foundational piece of work for the next era
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 of lunar exploration.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 Anna: Absolutely.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 And before we go today, let's take a brief
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 look at some of the major astronomical events
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 to look out for in 2026 is just around
00:05:59 --> 00:06:00 the corner.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 Avery: I love these previews. What's the biggest
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 highlight?
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 Anna: Without a doubt, the total solar eclipse. On
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 August 12, the path of totality will cross
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 over Greenland, Iceland and parts of Spain.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 It's going to be a major event for
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 skywatchers in Europe and for those.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 Avery: Of us in North America. We get a treat a few
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 months earlier, a total lunar eclipse on
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 March 3, 2026.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Anna: There's more, too. Jupiter's moons will enter
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 a mutual eclipse season, meaning we can watch
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 them pass in front of and behind another. And
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 both the Perseid and Gemini meteor showers
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 are expected to have excellent viewing
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 conditions with no bright moon to wash them
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 out.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 Avery: Plus, solar activity will still be high as we
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 come down from the peak of solar cycle 25, so
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 there's a good chance for more impressive
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 aurora displays. 2026 is shaping
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 up to be a fantastic year for astronomy.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 Anna: It certainly is. And that's all the time we
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 have for today. We've gone from corporate
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 boardrooms to the edge of the visible
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 universe and back.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 Avery: To our own lunar backyar joining us on
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Astronomy Daily. If you'd like even more
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 space news, just visit our
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 website@astronomydaily.IO or look out for
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 us on social media. Just search for
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 AstroDailyPod Daily Pod on all the major
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 platforms. I'm Avery.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 Anna: And I'm Anna. Join us next time as we
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 continue to explore the cosmos. Clear Skies.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 Stories.