00:37 – **With mega constellations launching thousands of satellites, disposal of satellites is critical
02:24 – **Scientists at Princeton University have found something new in the Kuiper Belt
05:18 – **NASA's Terra satellite has been retired after 26 years of service
06:12 – **The James Webb Telescope has turned its gaze to an exoplanet
08:19 – **This week's Astronomy Daily features a variety of topics### Sources & Further Reading1. NASA2. Princeton University3. Rocket Lab4. Celestis5. 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 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy daily. Give us 10
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 minutes and we'll give you the universe. I'm
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 your host, Anna.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 Avery: And I'm, um, Avery. It's great to be with
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 you. We have a fascinating lineup of stories
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 today covering everything from the outer
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 edges of our solar system to the challenges
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 we face right here in Earth orbit.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 Anna: That's right. We'll be discussing a new
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 structure found in the Kuiper Belt, a
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 landmark year for Rocket Lab and the end of
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 an era for a legendary NASA mission.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Plus a surprising discovery from the James
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 Webb Space Telescop, a so called
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 super Earth.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Avery: And we'll even touch on the unique business
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 of deep space memorial flights.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 But first, let's talk about a problem that's
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 only getting bigger. What to do with
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 satellites when they die?
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 Anna: Exactly, Avery. With mega constellations
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 like Starlink launching thousands of
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 satellites, the question of their disposal is
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 critical. There's a big debate between two
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 main philosophies. Design for demise or
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 D4D, and design for non
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 demise, D4ND.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Avery: Right. So D4D means the satellites designed
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 to completely burn up in the atmosphere upon
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 reentry. Sounds like a clean solution, right?
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 Just cosmic dust.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Anna: That's the idea, but it's not that simple.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 Environmental scientists are raising
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 concerns. When these satellites, which are
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 largely made of aluminum alloys, burn up,
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 they release tiny particles of alumina.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 Alumina. Okay. These particles can act
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 as seeds for chemical reactions in the upper
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 atmosphere, potentially damaging the O
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 layer. Also, the intense heat of re entry
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 can break apart atmospheric nitrogen,
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 creating nitrogen oxides, which are powerful
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 greenhouse gases.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Avery: So even burning them up has an environmental
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 cost. What's the alternative then? Um,
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 designed for non demise.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 Anna: Exactly. D4ND means building
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 satellites to survive re entry, allowing them
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 to be guided to a safe splashdown in a remote
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 ocean area. Like the spacecraft graveyard in
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 the South Pacific.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 Avery: That avoids the atmospheric pollution, but it
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 comes with its own risk. What if something
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 goes wrong? You could have a washi machine
00:02:09 --> 00:02:10 sized piece of metal hitting the ground
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 instead of the ocean. It's a tricky balance
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 between atmospheric risk and ground impact
00:02:16 --> 00:02:16 risk.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 Anna: It really is. There's no perfect answer
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 yet, but it's a conversation the space
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 industry has to have, and fast.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 Avery: Alright, let's move from Earth's orbit way
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 way out to the edge of the solar system.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 Astronomers at uh, Princeton University have
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 found something new in the Kuiper Belt.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 Anna: The Kuiper Belt, for our listeners is that
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 vast ring of icy bodies beyond the orbit of
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 Neptune, with Pluto being its most famous
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 resident. So what did they find?
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 Avery: They found what they're calling an inner
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 kernel of objects. For years, we've thought
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 of the Kuiper Belt as having two main
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 populations. A, uh, cold classical group with
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 stable furcular orbits, and the hot group
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 with more erratic tilted orbits.
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 Anna: Uh-huh.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 Avery: But by using a data mining technique on a
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 catalog of over 600 Kuiper belt objects,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 they identified this third group, the kernel,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 which has very flat, tightly packed orbits,
00:03:10 --> 00:03:11 distinct from the others.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 Anna: That's fascinating. A whole new structure
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 hiding in plain sight. What does this mean
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 for our understanding of the solar system's
00:03:19 --> 00:03:19 history?
00:03:20 --> 00:03:21 Avery: Well, the leading theory is that these
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 objects formed even closer to the sun and
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 were pushed outward during Neptune's great
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 migration early in the solar system's
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 history. The existence of this tightly packed
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 kernel could provide new constraints for
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 models of how that migration happened, giving
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 us a clearer picture of our cosmic backyard's
00:03:38 --> 00:03:38 formation.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 Anna: And of course, any new structural information
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 about the Kuiper Belt reignites the hunt for
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 the hypothetical planet nine. The unusual
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 orbits of some of these distant objects are,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 uh, what led to the theory of a massive
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 undiscovered planet in the first place.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 Avery: That's the ultimate mystery out there, isn't
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 it? While this kernel doesn't directly prove
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 its existence, it adds another layer of
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 complexity to the outer solar system's
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 dynamics. Every new discovery like this helps
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 astronomers refine their search, telling them
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 where to look. And just as importantly, where
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 not to.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 Anna: From the far reaches to the commercial space
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 race closer to home, Rocket Lab has just
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 capped off an incredible year.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 Avery: Incredible is the word for it. In 2025,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 they flew their Electron rocket 21 times
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 with zero failures. That's a remarkable
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 achievement for any launch provider and
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 really solidifies electron as a reliable
00:04:31 --> 00:04:32 workhorse for small satellites.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 Anna: It certainly is. But they aren't just resting
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 on their laurels. They're making huge strides
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 with their next generation rocket, Neutron.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 This is their larger, fully reusable rocket,
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 designed to compete with the likes of
00:04:44 --> 00:04:45 SpaceX's Falcon 9.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 Avery: And it has that amazing fairing design they
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 called the Hungry Hippo.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 Anna: Yes, instead of the fairing separating and
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 falling away, it opens up like a giant mouth
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 to release the satellite and then closes
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 before the rocket returns for landing. It's
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 an innovative way to simplify reuse.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 Avery: As if that wasn't enough, they also secured a
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 massive half billion dollar contract from the
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 Space Development Agency to build and operate
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 18 missile warning and tracking satellites.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 Rocket Lab is quickly becoming a major end to
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 end space company, not just a launch
00:05:17 --> 00:05:17 provider.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 Anna: Speaking of major players, we have to mark
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 the end of an era. After 26 years
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 of service, NASA's Terra satellite has been
00:05:26 --> 00:05:27 officially retired.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 Avery: Wow, 26 years. That's an incredibly long
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 time for a satellite. Terra was a cornerstone
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 of NASA's Earth Observing System, wasn't it?
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Anna: Absolutely. It carried five key instruments
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 that gave us a holistic view of our planet.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 There was modis, which mapped global
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 vegetation and land cover. MICER gave us
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 data on airborne particles, or aerosols.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 Avery: Right, and I, um, remember Mopit, which
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 tracked carbon monoxide pollution.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 Anna: While CERES measured the Earth's total energy
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 budget. And ASTER created high resolution
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 maps of land surface temperature and
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 topography. Together they revolutionized
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 our understanding of climate change,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 pollution, and how natural disasters impact
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 the globe. Terra's data will be studied by
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 scientists for decades to come.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 Avery: From a mission that's ended to one that's
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 making new and frankly shocking discoveries.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 The James Webb Telescope has turned its gaze
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 to an exoplanet called
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 TOI561b.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 Anna: This is a super Earth about 50% larger than
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 our planet, orbiting extremely close to its
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 star. Its year is less than half an Earth
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 day long. Because of that, it was thought to
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 be a barren tidally locked rock with one side
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 perpetually scorched.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 Avery: Makes sense, a dead world. But that's not
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 what Webb found, is it?
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 Anna: Not at all. Webb's instruments detected signs
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 of a significant volatile rich atmosphere.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 And even more surprisingly, the data suggests
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 that the planet might be covered in a global
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 magma ocean.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 Avery: A magma ocean? So this supposedly
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 dead rock is actually an incredibly dynamic
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 volcanic world with an atmosphere. How is
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 that possible so close to its star?
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 Anna: That's the mystery. The leading hypothesis
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 is that intense volcanism is constantly
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 replenishing the atmosphere, which would
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 otherwise be stripped away by the star's
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 radiation. It completely challenges our ideas
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 about where we might find atmospheres and
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 what habitability even means under such
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 extreme conditions.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 Avery: Finally, today we have a story that is truly
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 out of this world. Let's talk about the space
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 burial company, Celestis.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 Anna: Celestis has been offering memorial space
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 flights for years. Launching small capsules
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 with cremated remains, or DNA into Earth
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 orbit, or even to the moon.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 Avery: That's right, and they're about to launch
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 their most ambitious mission yet. The
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Infinite Flight. They've partnered with an up
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 and coming launch company called Stoke Space.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 Anna: And this flight isn't just going to orbit.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 Where is it headed?
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 Avery: This one is going into a permanent orbit
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 around the sun. The payload containing
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 messages, DNA and cremated remains
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 will essentially become a man made comet
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 traveling through the solar system for,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 well, infinity.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 Anna: It's a poetic and profound way to create
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 a final memorial turning a final
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 journey into an eternal voyage through the
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 cosmos.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 Avery: And that's a wrap for this episode of
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 Astronomy Daily. From the challenges of space
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 junk to the secrets of the Kuiper Belt and
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 the fiery nature of distant worlds, there's
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 always something new to discover.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 Anna: We want to thank you all for tuning in. We
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 hope you'll join us again tomorrow as we
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 continue to explore the wonders of the
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 universe. If you can't wait until then,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 please visit our
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 website@astronomydaily.IO
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 and check out our continuously updating
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 newsfeed or. Or connect with us on social
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 media. You'll find us on all the major
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 platforms. Just search for AstroDailyPod
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 Daily Pod on your favorites. Until then.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 I'm Anna.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 Avery: And I'm Avery. Keep looking up.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:25 Sam.