- Blue Origin's Launch Scrubbed: Blue Origin faced a major setback as their second New Glenn rocket launch, carrying NASA's Escapade spacecraft to Mars, was scrubbed due to bad weather, minor equipment issues, and an unexpected cruise ship entering the restricted flight path. The new launch date is set for November 12, with high hopes for a successful mission.
- Discovery of TOI2267: Astronomers have confirmed a groundbreaking exoplanet system, TOI2267, located 72 light years away in a binary star system. This marks the first time planets have been found transiting both stars, challenging existing models of planet formation and suggesting that rocky planets might be more common in such systems.
- Innovative Space Food: The European Space Agency is testing a new powdered protein called solane, produced from microbes and astronaut urine, to create a sustainable food source for long-duration space missions. This innovative approach aims to recycle waste into nourishment, ensuring self-sufficiency on future explorations.
- First Detailed Image of a Star: Astronomers have captured the first detailed image of an individual star outside the Milky Way, a red supergiant named whog64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The star's unusual dust cocoon challenges existing models of stellar evolution and raises new questions about massive stars' behavior.
- Weather on Venus: A new study has modeled the weather on Venus, revealing slow winds that can lift dust due to the planet's dense atmosphere. This finding has significant implications for future landers, as dust storms could pose a threat to missions like NASA's Da Vinci.
- For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna and Avery signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and exploring the wonders of our universe.
Blue Origin Launch Update
[Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/)
TOI2267 Discovery
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Solane Space Food Project
[European Space Agency](https://www.esa.int/)
First Image of whog64
[European Southern Observatory](https://www.eso.org/)
Venus Weather Study
[Nature Astronomy](https://www.nature.com/natastronomy/)
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Avery: And hello and welcome back to Astronomy
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Daily, your daily dose of cosmic news. I'm
00:00:04 --> 00:00:05 Avery.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you all
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 again as we break down the latest happenings
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11 from across the universe.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 Avery: And today we've got a major rocket launch
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 that got scrubbed at the last minute. The
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 discovery of a truly unique exoplanet system,
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 and our first ever detailed look at a star
00:00:22 --> 00:00:23 outside our own galaxy.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 Anna: Plus we'll be looking at the dangerous
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 weather on Venus and, well,
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 let's just say a new recipe for space food
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 that is raising some eyebrows.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Avery: You're not kidding, Anna. It's definitely an
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 interesting one. So let's not wait any
00:00:37 --> 00:00:38 longer. Let's get right into it.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:40 Anna: I'm ready if you are.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 Avery: Okay, first up, uh, let's talk about some
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 drama down on the launch pad. It was supposed
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 to be a big day for Blue Origin, but their
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 second ever New Glenn rocket launch was
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 scrubbed yet again.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 Anna: Right. This was a really crucial mission for
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 them. This wasn't just another test flight.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 It was a commercial mission carrying NASA's
00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 Escapade spacecraft.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 Avery: Escapade is headed to Mars, so a very
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 important payload. But the launch was hit
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 with a triple whammy of problems.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 Anna: Mhm. What happened?
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 Avery: First, there was bad weather moving into the
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 area. That's pretty standard. Then they
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 reported some minor equipment issues they
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 needed to sort out. But the real kicker was a
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 cruise ship.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:19 Anna: A cruise ship?
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 Avery: You're kidding. Nope. A cruise ship had
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 apparently wandered into the restricted
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 flight path zone offshore. You can plan for
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 technical glitches and weather, but it's
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 tough to plan for a road rogue vacation
00:01:32 --> 00:01:32 vessel.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Anna: Wow. That has to be frustrating for the
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 entire team. So when will they try again?
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 Avery: The new launch date is set for November 12,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 so fingers crossed they get a clear sky and
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 more importantly, a clear ocean.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 Anna: And there's so much riding on this
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 because it's not just about getting the NASA
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 probe on its way. It's about the rocket
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 itself. The main goal for Blue Origin here is
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 to prove the reusability of the new Glenn's
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 first first stage booster.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Avery: Exactly. During the very first launch, that
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 booster failed to land successfully on the
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 drone ship. For a rocket to be commercially
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 viable these days, it has to be reusable.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 So this is a massive test for Blue Origin to
00:02:14 --> 00:02:15 show they can compete.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 Anna: We'll definitely be watching on November
00:02:17 --> 00:02:18 12th.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 Let's move from our solar system to worlds
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 much farther away. Astronomers have just
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 confirmed a fascinating new exoplanet system
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 called TOI2267.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 Avery: Oh, this is the one in the binary star
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 system, right? The one that's about 72 light
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 years away?
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 Anna: That's the one. It's a system with two
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 red dwarf stars orbiting each other
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 relatively closely. And what makes this
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 discovery so groundbreaking is that it's the
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 first time we've ever found planets that are
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 transiting or passing in front of both of
00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 the stars in a binary system.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 Avery: Wow, that's incredible. So there are planets
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 orbiting each of the suns in this two sun
00:02:59 --> 00:03:00 system. How many did they find?
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Anna: They have confirmed two rocky exoplanets
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 and they have a very strong candidate for a
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 third. This is so exciting because
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 finding planets in such a close binary system
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 really throws a wrench in our existing models
00:03:14 --> 00:03:15 of planet formation.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:17 Avery: Right. Because the gravitational environment
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 would be so chaotic, you'd think the pull
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 from the second star would disrupt a delicate
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 process of dust and gas clumping together to
00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 form planets.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 Anna: Precisely. The thinking was that it would be
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 very difficult, if not impossible, for
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 rocky Earth like planets to form there. But
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 this discovery challenges that idea directly.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 It suggests that the universe is better at
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 making planets than we gave it credit for and
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 that uh, rocky worlds might be far more
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 common in binary systems than we ever
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 thought.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Avery: That's amazing. What are the next steps for
00:03:51 --> 00:03:51 studying?
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 Anna: The system team is planning follow up
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 observations with both the Hubble and the
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 James Webb space telescopes. They want to
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 study the atmospheres of these planets and
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 confirm the third candidate.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 Avery: A multi planet system around a double
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 sun. It sounds like something straight out of
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 science fiction. I can't wait to see what
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 JWST.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 Anna: Finds there and we'll be sure to report them
00:04:14 --> 00:04:15 when the findings are in.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 Avery: Alright, let's bring it a bit closer to home
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 now. Or at least closer to the astronauts
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 orbiting our home on the International Space
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 Station. Ana, uh, you tease this one at the
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 top of the show. Space food is getting
00:04:27 --> 00:04:28 weird.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 Anna: Creative is the word I used, I believe.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 But yes, this is certainly a conversation
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 starter. The European Space Agency or
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 esa, is currently testing a new kind
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 of food, a powdered protein called
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 solane.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 Avery: Solane? Okay, sounds
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 futuristic. What's it made from?
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 Anna: It's made in a bioreactor from
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 microbes, air and electricity.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 It's a type of gas fermentation process.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 But the headline grabbing part isn't how it's
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 made, but rather the planned source for a key
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 ingredient on the iss.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 Avery: I'm bracing myself. What's the ingredient?
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 Anna: It requires a source of nitrogen
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 and the plan is to use urea, which would
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 be harvested directly from astronaut urine.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 Avery: There it is. So they are making food
00:05:19 --> 00:05:20 from astronaut.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Anna: P in a very complex,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 sterile and highly scientific way. Yes.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 It's all about creating a closed loop
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 sustainable food system for long duration
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 missions to the moon or Mars. You can't
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 rely on resupply missions from Earth for all
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 your food. You have to make it yourself from
00:05:39 --> 00:05:39 what you have.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 Avery: That makes perfect sense. Waste not, want
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 not. Especially when you're millions of miles
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 from the nearest grocery store. It's the
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 ultimate form of recycling.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Anna: Exactly. The project even has a fun
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 Hobi Wan. The goal is to perfect this
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 gas fermentation technology so that it can
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 operate efficiently in microgravity
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 environments of space. If it works, it
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 could be a game changer for deep space
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 exploration.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 Avery: Obi Wan, I'm still going to picture a Jedi
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 knight in a lab coat. But I have to admit,
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 it's a fascinating and incredibly practical
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 innovation from the space station.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 Anna: Let's journey much, much farther out.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 Astronomers have just achieved a major
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 milestone. They've captured the first
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 detailed image of an individual star
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 outside our own Milky Way galaxy.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 Avery: That's incredible. We've seen smudges of
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 light from other galaxies, but to resolve a
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 single star, that's a huge achievement.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 Which star is it?
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 Anna: It's a red supergiant named
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 whog64. It's
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 located in the Large Magellanic, which is a
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 small satellite galaxy that orbits our Milky
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 Way. The image was taken using the European
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 Southern Observatory's Very Large
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 Telescope interferometer.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 Avery: And what did they find? I imagine a red
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 supergiant is quite a sight.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 Anna: They found something very strange.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 The star itself is shrouded in a
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 massive, thick cocoon of dust and gas.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 But the cocoon isn't a neat symmetrical
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 sphere like our models predict.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 Avery: It's.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Anna: Instead, it's clumpy and highly
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 asymmetrical. It's a shape that has
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 completely baffled the scientists who
00:07:21 --> 00:07:21 observed it.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 Avery: So it's not behaving the way an aging star is
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 supposed to as it sheds its outer layers into
00:07:27 --> 00:07:27 space.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 Anna: Not at all. It fundamentally challenges our
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 understanding of how massive stars evolved in
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 their final stages. And to add to the
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 mystery, the star has also dimmed
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 dramatically in recent observation.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 Avery: And the two things could be related. Maybe
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 this new weird dust cloud is just blocking
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 more of its light.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Anna: That's the leading theory. Another
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 possibility is that
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 whog64 might have a
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 hidden companion star, and its gravity is
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 pulling the dust into this strange, distorted
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 shape. Whatever the answer is, it's a
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 fantastic puzzle that proves how much we
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 still have to learn about our closest
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 galactic neighbors.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 Avery: For Our final story today, let's head back
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 into our own solar system and visit
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 Earth's so called evil twin, the
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 planet Venus.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Anna: Always a fascinating, if utterly
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 terrifying place.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 Avery: Absolutely. A new study has managed to
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 model the weather on the surface of Venus for
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 the first time. And the findings have major
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 implications for future missions planning to
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 land there.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 Anna: I imagine hot is the the main forecast,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 but what about the wind?
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 Avery: Well, the winds themselves are surprisingly
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 slow, only about 1 meter per second, which
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 is roughly a slow walking pace. But the key
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 is the planet's atmosphere. It is
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 incredibly dense, about 90 times
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 denser than Earth's.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 Anna: Ah. Uh, so even the slow wind has a
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 lot of force behind it because the air itself
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 is so heavy.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 Avery: Exactly. The study shows that this slow
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 moving, super dense wind has more than enough
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 force to lift free fine dust and particles
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 from the surface. This means Venus can
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 experience dust storms, which is a huge
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 concern for any future landers like NASA's
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 upcoming Da Vinci mission.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 Anna: You wouldn't want your very expensive probe
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 to get effectively sandblasted the moment
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 it lands. That makes sense.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Avery: Definitely not. But the study did find a sort
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 of silver lining to Venus's weather. It
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 showed that winds flowing over the planet's
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 mountainous regions play a crucial role in
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 circulating the atmosphere.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 Anna: And that circulation helps moderate
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 temperatures. Venus has such a long day
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 night cycle, the temperature swings must be
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 enormous.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 Avery: They would be, but this wind helps even
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 things out a bit. So the weather is both a
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 significant threat and the planetary
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 stabilizing force. It just goes to show how
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 complex Venus is the more we learn about it.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 Anna: And with that, we are out of time for today's
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 episode of Astronomy Daily.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 Avery: What a fascinating tour of the cosmos it was.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 We had launch scrubs and cruise ships,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 new planets around double suns, space
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 food from unconventional sources,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 a, um, mysterious star in another galaxy, and
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 the new look at the harsh weather of Venus.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 Anna: It's a constant and welcome reminder that the
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 universe is always full of surprises, big and
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 small. Thank you so much for joining us.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 Avery: We'll be back tomorrow with more of the
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 latest news. Until then, keep looking up.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:34 Love
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 story Soul.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:41 Anna: Hmm.