- Rogue Planet's Dazzling Auroras: The James Webb Space Telescope has made an astonishing discovery of intense auroral displays on the rogue planet SIMP-0136, which drifts through interstellar space without a star. Researchers found that these auroras, likely generated by an unseen moon, contribute to heating the planet's upper atmosphere, with temperatures soaring over 1500 degrees Celsius and clouds composed of silicate grains.
- Astrosat Celebrates a Decade: India's first dedicated space astronomy observatory, Astrosat, marks ten years of operations, far exceeding its initial five-year mission. Launched in 2015, Astrosat has provided groundbreaking insights across various wavelengths, studying phenomena from black holes to distant galaxies, and celebrating its significant contributions to astrophysics.
- Innovative Plasma Engines for Mars: Russian engineers have unveiled new plasma engines designed for deep space exploration, showcasing advancements in Hall Effect thrusters. These engines promise to revolutionize space travel, potentially reducing the journey to Mars to just a month and a half, significantly improving mission logistics and astronaut safety.
- International Observe the Moon Night: Join NASA's International Observe the Moon Night on October 4, an exciting global event celebrating our connection with the Moon. With the Moon in a waxing gibbous phase, it's a perfect opportunity for stargazers to appreciate lunar features and participate in various activities, as millions around the world look up together. To register to take part visit: https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/
- 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.
Richie Planet Discovery
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Astrosat Milestone
[ISRO](https://www.isro.gov.in/)
Plasma Engine Innovations
[Keldish Research Center](https://www.keldysh.ru/)
Observe the Moon Night
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Astronomy Daily
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Avery: Welcome back to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 that brings the cosmos down to Earth. I'm
00:00:05 --> 00:00:06 your host, Avery.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 We've got a packed show today, Avery. We'll
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 be looking at a dazzling cosmic light show on
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 a rogue planet. Celebrating a decade
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 of discovery for India's first space
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 observatory. Checking out some new plasma
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 engines that could get us to Mars in record
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 time. And finally, we'll tell you how you
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 can join a massive global event to celebrate
00:00:31 --> 00:00:32 our very own moon.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Avery: That's a lot to cover, so let's get right to
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 it.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 First up, a truly fascinating discovery from
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 the James Webb Space Telescope. It seems
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 it's spotted an unusual weather forecast
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 on a world far beyond our solar system,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 complete with brilliant aurora like displays.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 Anna: That's right. Astronomers at, uh, Trinity
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 College Dublin have been investigating the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 atmosphere of a nearby free floating
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 planet, also known as a rogue planet.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 This one is called Simp Webb
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 0136. For our listeners,
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 a rogue planet is one that doesn't orbit a
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 star. It just drifts through interstellar
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 space on its own.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 Avery: And using Webb's incredibly sensitive
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 instruments, the research team was able to
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 measure tiny variations in the planet's
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 brightness as it spins. These subtle
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 shifts gave them a wealth of information
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 about its temperature, cloud cover and
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 chemical makeup. But the really unexpected
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 part was the discovery of intense auroral.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 Anna: And what's so strange about that is how these
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 auroras are generated. Here on Earth,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 auroras are powered by the solar wind, but
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 a rogue planet has no star,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 so the energy must be coming from somewhere
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 else. Scientists speculate it could be
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 generated by an unseen moon orbiting the
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 plant, whose gravity stirs up electrical
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 currents. It's a real cosmic mystery.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 It's an amazing find. These shimmering light
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 shows are similar to our own northern lights,
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 but probably closer in strength to the
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 massive auroras we see on Jupiter. And they
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 seem to be playing a significant role in
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 heating the planet's upper atmosphere.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 The lead author of the research, Dr. Evert
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 Nosydkin, highlighted just how
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 precise these measurements were.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 Avery: He said these are some of the most precise
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 atmospheric measurements of any extrasolar
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 object to date. And he made a pretty
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 striking comparison, Saying at over
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 1500 degrees Celsius,
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Simp136 makes this summer's heat wave
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 look mild. The team could record temperature
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 changes smaller than 5 degrees Celsius.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 Anna: And those temperature changes were linked to
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 shifts in the planet's chemical composition,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 which suggests the presence of huge storms
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot,
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 rotating into and out of view
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 but there was another surprise. Researchers
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 expected to see the cloud coverage change,
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 like watching patches of clouds pass by here
00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 on Earth.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 Avery: Instead, they found that the cloud coverage
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 was constant. And these aren't your typical
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 water ice clouds. At the extreme temperatures
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 on Simp136, the clouds are made of
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 silicate grains. Basically, it has
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 clouds of sand. So you've got a rogue
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 planet with auroras, sand,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 clouds, and storms bigger than anything on
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 Earth. The universe is a wild place.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 Anna: It certainly is.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 And speaking of incredible instruments
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 peering into the universe, our next story
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 celebrates a major milestone for an
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 observatory that has been doing just that for
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 a full decade. India's first
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 dedicated space astronomy observatory,
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 Astrosat, has just completed 10
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 years of operations.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:56 Avery: That's a huge achievement. It was launched
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 back on September 28, 2015,
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 with a designed mission life of just five
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 years. So it's doubled its expected
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 service time and is still providing valuable
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 data. That's a testament to some fantastic
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 engineering.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 Anna: Absolutely. The Indian Space Research
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 Organization, or isro, commemorated the
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 milestone, highlighting astrosat's
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 groundbreaking insights across the
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 electromagnetic spectrum. It has studied
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 everything from black holes and neutron stars
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 stars to our nearest stellar neighbor,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:29 Proxima Centauri.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 Avery: And it even made the first ever detection of
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 far ultraviolet photons from galaxies an
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 incredible 9.3 billion light years
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 away. That's a huge distance looking deep
00:04:41 --> 00:04:42 into the history of the universe.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 Anna: What makes ASTROSAT so powerful is its
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 multi wavelength capability. It was designed
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 to observe the universe simultaneously in the
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 visible, ultraviolet and both low
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 and high energy X ray regions. This is
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 possible because it carries five distinct
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 scientific payloads.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 Avery: Those are the Ultraviolet Imaging
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Telescope, the Large area X ray
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 proportional counter, the cadmium zinc
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 telluride Imager, the Soft X Ray
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 Telescope, and the Scanning Sky Monitor.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 Each one gives a different view of the
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 cosmos. Congratulations to ISRO and the whole
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 ASTROSAT team on a successful decade.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 Anna: Well said. Now, from looking deep into space
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 to developing new ways to travel through it.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 Our next story comes from Russia, where
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 engineers have showcased new plasma engines
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 designed for deep space exploration.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 Avery: That's right. Russia's Kaldish Research
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 center demonstrated the new engine at the
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 Army 2025 International Military Technical
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 Forum. This isn't like a traditional chemical
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 rocket. It's a type of ion thruster known as
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 a Hall Effect thruster.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 Anna: Exactly. Instead of using heat and pressure
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 from burning fuel, a Hall Effect
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 thruster uses an electric field to
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 accelerate a propellant. In this case, a
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 plasma. The new design is an improvement on
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 an existing thruster, but it uses a system of
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 permanent magnets to apply the magnetic
00:06:09 --> 00:06:09 field.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 Avery: According to reports, this significantly
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 improves the engine's characteristics,
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 including its efficiency, and also reduces
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 its weight. And less weight is always a huge
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 win in spaceflight.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 Anna: These plasma engines are perfect for
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 maneuvering in orbit and for long
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 interplanetary flights. They're characterized
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 by very low thrust, so you're not getting a
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 dramatic, powerful launch. But they can
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 operate for a very long time, allowing a
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 spacecraft to gradually build up to
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 incredibly high velocities.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 Avery: It's the tortoise and the hare of space
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 travel. And Anna, uh, this is the really mind
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 blowing claim. Last year, the director of the
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 Keldish Center, Vladimir Koshlikov, said
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 that plasma engines will make it possible to
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 fly to Mars in just a month and a half.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 Anna: That would be a complete game changer.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 Current missions take six to nine months to
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 get to Mars. Reducing that travel time so
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 dramatically would solve so many problems,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 from astronaut radiation exposure to mission
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 logistics. It's a very exciting development
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 to watch indeed.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 Avery: And from those future trips to Mars, let's
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 bring it back a little closer to home.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 For our final story, we're talking about our
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 very own Moon. And an invitation for all of
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 our listeners to join a global celebration.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 Anna: That's right. This Saturday, October 4, is
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 NASA's international observe the Moon Night.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 It's an annual event that offers everyone a
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 chance to celebrate the inspiring bond
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 between the Earth and the Moon. And this
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 year, it ties in beautifully with the
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 excitement building for NASA's Artemis 2
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 mission.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 Avery: Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in early
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 2026, and it will send four astronauts
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 on a flight past the Moon and back. First
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 crewed mission to the lunar vicinity in over
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 50 years. So this Saturday is a great time to
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 get reacquainted with our celestial neighbor.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 Anna: On Saturday night, the Moon will be in a
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 waxing gibbous phase, which means most of its
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 face will be lit up by the Sun. It's a
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 perfect phase for viewing. With just your
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 unaided eye, you'll be able to see the large,
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 dark patches on the Moon. These are called
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 maria, which is Latin for seas.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Ancient astronomers thought they were seas of
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 water, but we now know they are vast, flat
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 plains of solidified ancient lava that
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 erupted billions of years ago. If you have
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 binoculars or a telescope, you can see even
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 more geological features, like craters,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 volcanic domes, and even bright swirls on
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 the surface. NASA has even provided an
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 interactive map on their website specifically
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 for the moon's phase on October 4,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 highlighting interesting areas and offering
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 viewing tips. There are so many ways to
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 participate, from backyard viewing parties
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 to lunar art.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 Avery: Projects, uh, truly global event. In
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 2024, an estimated 1.3 million
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 people from 127 countries took
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 part. So if you look up at the moon on
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 Saturday night, know that millions of people
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 around the world are looking up with you.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 I'll put a link in the show notes so you can
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 find out more and sign up if you wish to take
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 part in this global celebration.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 Anna: And that brings us to the end of our show.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 We've journeyed from a rogue planet with sand
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 clouds to celebrating a decade of
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 astrosat. From futuristic plasma
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 engines to a worldwide party for our
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 own moon.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 Avery: Thanks so much for joining us on Astronomy
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 Daily. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 You can also find us on social media to
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 continue the conversation. Just search for
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 AstroDailyPod Daily Pod on all the main
00:09:45 --> 00:09:45 platforms.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 Anna: Until next time, keep looking up. I'm
00:09:49 --> 00:09:49 Anna.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 Avery: And I'm Avery Clear Skies.