00:32 – **In 2025, SpaceX successfully completed 165 orbital flights
01:39 – **Researchers at Colorado Boulder are developing a tractor beam to clean up space junk
02:54 – **Astronomers conducted a highly sensitive radio search on an interstellar visitor
04:09 – **There's a growing and increasingly urgent international race to mine the moon
05:36 – **There's plenty to see in the night sky as we head into 2019
06:43 – **Astronomers finally solve puzzle of supernova remnant known as PA30
08:42 – **Until tomorrow, this has been Avery and Anna telling stories### Sources & Further Reading1. SpaceX2. University of Colorado Boulder3. NASA4. 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 --> 00:00:05 brings you the universe one story at a time.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:06 I'm Avery.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Today we'll be looking at SpaceX's
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 absolutely staggering launch record. A
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 real life tractor beam for cleaning up space
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 junk and the latest search for alien
00:00:19 --> 00:00:20 signals.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 Avery: Plus we'll dive into the new gold rush or
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 maybe m water rush on the moon. Tell you
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 what to look for in the night sky and solve a
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 celestial mystery nearly a thousand years in
00:00:31 --> 00:00:31 the making.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 Let's get started with our top story.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 Anna: And it's a big one. SpaceX has once
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 again completely shattered their own launch
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 record. In 2025, the company
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 successfully completed
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 165 orbital flight.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 Avery: Wow, 165. That
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 averages out to a launch every 2.2 days.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 That pace is just incredible.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 Anna: It really is. And the workhorse behind this
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 feat was the Falcon 9 rocket, which handled
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 almost all of those missions. To put it in
00:01:02 --> 00:01:03 perspective, this number represents
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 represents a huge increase over their
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 previous years and absolutely dominates the
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 global launch landscape.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 Avery: Right, and I'm guessing a huge chunk of those
00:01:13 --> 00:01:14 launches were for their own project.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 Anna: Exactly. The vast majority were dedicated
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 to building out the Starlink Internet
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 constellation. But it wasn't just about the
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 Falcon 9. The company also made significant
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 strides with its next generation starship
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 vehicle, completing several successful test
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 flights that bring a fully reusable heavy
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 lift rocket closer to reality.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 Avery: It's clear they're not just leading, they're
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 creating a whole new league.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 But all those satellites do bring up the ever
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 growing issue of space junk. And it seems
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 like every week we have some new idea on how
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 to deal with it. Well, here's a novel new
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 Some scientists are turning to science
00:01:51 --> 00:01:52 fiction for a solution.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 Anna: That's right. Researchers at the University
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 of Colorado Boulder are developing what
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 they're calling a tractor beam to help clean
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 up orbital debris.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 Avery: A tractor beam, like in Star Trek?
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 Anna: That's the inspiration. But the physics is
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 very real. It's a non contact system.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 It would use a focused electrostatic beam to
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 attract and move pieces of space junk without
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 ever physically touching them.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 Avery: And that's the key part, isn't it? The non
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 contact aspect. Using nets or
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 harpoons to grab the bree runs the risk of
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 hitting it wrong and accidentally creating
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 even smaller, harder to track pieces of junk
00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 precisely.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 Anna: This electrostatic method would gently pull
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 the object, allowing a cleanup satellite to
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 guide it into a decaying orbit where it can
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 safely burn up in the atmosphere. The concept
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 is currently being tested in labs, but it's a
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 Very promising approach to a serious problem.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Avery: It's great to see that kind of innovative
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 thinking. From cleaning up our orbital
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 neighborhood to looking for signs of other
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 civilizations out there.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 Our next story takes us far beyond Earth's
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 orbit to our recent interstellar
00:03:00 --> 00:03:00 visitor.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 Anna: Yes, astronomers, uh, conducted a highly
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 sensitive radio search on 3i
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 Atlas as it traveled through our
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 neighborhood. This was an interstellar
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 object, meaning it originated from outside
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 our solar system and was just passing
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 through. The team was looking for what are.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 Avery: Called technosignatures, basically
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 signals that would indicate the presence of
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 alien technology. A, uh, transmission, a
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 beacon. Anything that isn't produced by
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 natural. Natural cosmic phenomena. So what
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 did they find?
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 Anna: Well, after sifting through the data, and
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 despite a few initial candidate signals that
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 caused some excitement, all of them were
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 eventually determined to be false positives.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 Human generated interference from Earth. So
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 no alien transmissions were found. Ah, ah, I
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 have the shame. It might seem so, but the
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 project was far from a failure. The search
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 was actually the most sensitive of its kind
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 ever conducted on an interstellar object.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 It sets a new standard and a powerful new
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 benchmark for how to conduct these searches
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 in the future when the next interstellar
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 visitor comes calling.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 Avery: That makes sense. We learn and refine the
00:04:08 --> 00:04:09 process with each attempt.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 And while we're searching the far reaches of
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 space for others, there's a new kind of space
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 race heating up much, much closer to home.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 Anna: That's right, Avery. There's a growing and
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 increasingly urgent international race to
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 mine the moon. Various countries and private
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 companies are actively developing the
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 technology needed to extract valu lunar
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 resources.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 Avery: And we're not just talking about rocks. The
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 big prizes are resources like water ice,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 which is critical for life support and can be
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 broken down into hydrogen and oxygen for
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 rocket fuel, and an isotope called helium
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 3, which is rare on Earth, but could be a
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 fuel for future fusion reactors. Mhm.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 Anna: And the list of players is growing. We have
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 space agencies and Companies from the U.S.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 china, Australia, Japan and Europe,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 all working on lunar excavation and resource
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 extraction technologies.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 Avery: But there's a major hurdle, and it's not a
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 technical one.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Anna: Exactly. The international legal framework
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 for this is dangerously outdated. The Outer
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 Space Treaty of 1967 forbids
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 any nation from claiming sovereignty over a
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 celestial body. But it's completely silent on
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 the issue of commercial resource extraction.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Avery: So it's a bit like the Wild west on the final
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 frontier. There are urgent calls from legal
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 experts and diplomats to establish clear
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 modern international rules to prevent
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 conflict and ensure that lunar mining is done
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 responsibly. Responsibly and sustainably.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 Anna: It's a Conversation that needs to happen
00:05:36 --> 00:05:36 quickly.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Well, while nations plan their lunar futures,
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 the rest of us can look up and enjoy some
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 amazing celestial events right from our own
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 backyards. Avery, what should we be looking
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 for in the night sky?
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 Avery: There's plenty to see as we head into the new
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 year, particularly for our Northern
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 Hemisphere listeners. For starters, on
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 January 1, the brightest star in our night
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 sky, Sirius, will be at its highest point in
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 the sky around midnight, making it a
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 brilliant sight.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 Anna: And what about the moon?
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 Avery: We'll have three full moons before the spring
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 equinox, and the third one on March 3rd is
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 special. It will feature a total lunar
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 eclipse, which will be at least partially
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 visible across most of the United States. So
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16 mark your calendars for that.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 Anna: Ooh, I will. Any planets putting on a show?
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 Avery: Absolutely. The giant of our solar system,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 Jupiter, is at opposition. That means Earth
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 is passing directly between Jupiter and the
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 Sun. So the planet will be visible all night
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 long and at its brightest for the year. And
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 for the early evening skywatchers, Venus is
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 making its return as the brilliant evening
00:06:36 --> 00:06:36 star.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 Anna: Wonderful. Plenty to look forward to. It's
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 amazing to look up and see these events
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 happening now.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 But our final story today, Avery, is about
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 solving a cosmic mystery that's almost a
00:06:48 --> 00:06:49 thousand years old.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 Avery: That's right. Astronomers believe they
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 finally figured out the puzzle of a supernova
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 remnant known as PA30. Historical
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 records from Chinese and Japanese astronomers
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 in the year 1181 noted a new guest
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 star in the sky that was visible for six
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 months. Scientists have long suspected PA30
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 was the leftover cloud from that event.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 Anna: And now they know what caused it. It turns
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 out this was an extremely rare type of
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 stellar explosion. What they call A failed
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 type 1ax supernova.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 Avery: A failed supernova. So the star didn't
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 completely blow itself to bits?
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 Anna: Exactly. The explosion wasn't powerful enough
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 to completely obliterate the star. Instead,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 a surviving white dwarf star behind
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 at the center of the remnant. And this
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 survivor is doing something incredible.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 Avery: Mhm. And that explains the remnant's weird
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 shape, Right? Most supernova remnants are
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 chaotic, messy clouds of gas and dust.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 Pay 30 is different. It has these strange
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 almost straight filaments.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 Anna: That's the key. The surviving white dwarf
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 at the center is emitting an extremely fast
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 stellar wind. Material flowing outwards at
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 the thousands of kilometers per second. It's
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 this incredibly fast, powerful wind that
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 is shaping the nebula, creating those unique
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 straight line filaments. It's a fantastic
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 piece of cosmic detective work.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 Avery: And that's a wrap on another star studded
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 collection of stories for today from record
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 breaking launches to thousand year old
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 stellar mysteries. The universe never fails
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 to fascinate.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 Anna: It certainly doesn't. A uh, huge thank you to
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 all of you for tuning in to Astronomy Daily.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 We hope you'll join us again next time for
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 another journey through the cosmos. And we
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 hope you'll visit our website at
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 astronomydaily IO for even more
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 space news and our full catalog of back
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 episodes.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 Avery: Until tomorrow, this has been Avery and.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Anna: Anna reminding you to always keep looking
00:08:48 --> 00:08:48 up.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 The stories.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:08 We told.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:12 Avery: M.