- The Earliest Galaxy Discovered: Join us as we unveil the groundbreaking discovery by the James Webb Space Telescope, which has detected the earliest galaxy known to humanity, MAM Z14. Existing just 280 million years after the Big Bang, this remarkable find challenges our understanding of galaxy formation and reveals the presence of heavier elements, hinting at even more ancient galaxies yet to be discovered.
- Europe's Ambitious Apophis Mission: Explore the European Space Agency's daring Ramses mission, set to study the infamous asteroid Apophis during its close approach to Earth in 2029. With plans to land on the asteroid, this mission promises to enhance our understanding of planetary defence and the dynamics of near-Earth objects.
- SpaceX's Starship Saga Continues: Get the latest on SpaceX's ninth Starship test flight, which faced challenges leading to the loss of the upper stage. Despite setbacks, the mission marks significant progress in the reuse of super heavy boosters and the experimental nature of space exploration.
- The Mystery of Betelgeuse: Delve into the enigma surrounding Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's most recognisable stars. As astronomers investigate the possibility of a hidden companion influencing its peculiar brightness fluctuations, we explore how this discovery could reshape our understanding of massive star evolution.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, 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 signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - The earliest galaxy discovered
10:00 - Europe's ambitious Apophis mission
15:30 - SpaceX's Starship saga continues
20:00 - The mystery of Betelgeuse
✍️ Episode References
James Webb Space Telescope
[NASA JWST](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html)
Apophis Mission Details
[European Space Agency](https://www.esa.int/)
SpaceX Updates
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Betelgeuse Research
[Hubble Space Telescope](https://hubblesite.org/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your cosmic
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 connection to the universe's latest developments. I'm
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 Anna. And today we've got a stellar lineup of space
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 stories that showcase both the wonder and ambition of
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 humanity's quest to understand the cosmos.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 Coming up, we'll explore a truly cosmic miracle as
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 the James Webb Space Telescope breaks its own record by
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 discovering the earliest galaxy ever observed.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 We'll also look at Europe's daring plan to land a,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 spacecraft on the infamous asteroid Apophis
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 during its close approach to Earth in 2029.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 Then we'll dive into the latest chapter of
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 SpaceX's Starship saga.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 And finally, we'll unravel the mystery surrounding one of the night
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 sky's most recognisable stars, Betelgeuse.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 As astronomers search for evidence of a hidden
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 companion that might explain its puzzling behaviour.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Strap in for a journey across time and space as we explore
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 these fascinating developments right here on Astronomy Daily.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 Lets kick things off today with a pretty important discovery.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 The James Webb Space Telescope continues to
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 rewrite the astronomical record books with its latest
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 discovery. JWST has detected
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 what scientists are calling the mother of all early
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 galaxies. Fittingly designated MAM
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 Z14. This remarkable
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 cosmic find existed just 280 million years
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 after the Big Bang, making it the earliest and
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 most distant galaxy ever observed by
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 humanity. To put this timeframe into
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 perspective, sharks have been swimming in Earth's oceans for
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 longer than the universe had even existed when this galaxy
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 was forming. MAM Z14
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 breaks the previous record by about 20 million years,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 which might not sound like much, but represents a
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 significant step closer to observing the very
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 dawn of galaxy formation. What's m
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 particularly fascinating about this discovery is that
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 the JWST wasn't actually expected to find
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 galaxies from this early epoch, at least not
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 at this stage of its mission. Scientists have now
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 identified over 100 more relatively bright
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 galaxies in the very early universe than
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 were predicted based on pre JWST
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 observations, challenging our understanding of how
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 quickly the cosmos developed. The research
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 team was able to determine that MAMSI 14 is
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 approximately 50 times smaller than our Milky Way.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 Perhaps most intriguing is the detection of elements like
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 nitrogen and carbon within this ancient galaxy.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 This is surprising because the very earliest galaxies
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 should primarily contain only the simplest elements,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 hydrogen and helium. The presence of these
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 heavier elements, which astronomers somewhat confusingly
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 call metals, indicates that Mahm Z14
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 isn't actually among the very first objects formed in the
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 universe. These heavier elements are created
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 inside stars and then dispersed through supernova
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 explosions, suggesting there must be even
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 earlier galaxies out there waiting to be discovered,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 perhaps the true first generation that contained only hydrogen and
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 helium. Researchers are confident that
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 JWST is up to the task of pushing these boundaries
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 even further. As one scientist put
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 it, they would not be surprised if we find galaxies at
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 redshift 15 or 16 taking us
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 even closer to witnessing the universe's earliest moments.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 This discovery is another testament to the Webb
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Telescope's revolutionary capabilities,
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 allowing us to peer further back in cosmic time than ever
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 before and reshape our understanding of how the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 universe evolved from its earliest moments.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 Next Today Once feared as a potential threat to
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 Earth, asteroid Apophis is now presenting space
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 agencies with a rare opportunity for exploration.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 The European Space Agency is actively preparing its
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 Ramses mission, which stands for Rapid Apophis
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 mission for space safety from a 2028 launch
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 to coincide with Apophis very close but safe
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 flyby of our planet on April 13,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 2029, this
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 1 foot wide space rock will pass
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 within about 20 miles of Earth, closer than
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 many of our artificial satellites. The Ramses
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 mission aims to conduct detailed before and after
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 analysis of the asteroid, studying its surface
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 characteristics, composition, and orbit.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 Scientists are particularly interested in how Earth's gravitational
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 pull might trigger tidal forces in Apophis,
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 potentially altering its surface and interior structure during the
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 close approach. In an exciting development,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 ESA has now selected Spanish company MCS
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 to lead the development of a second cubesat that will
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 attempt something extraordinarily landing on
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 Apophis. As Paolo Martino, the
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 Ramses project manager, explained, landing on an
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 asteroid presents unique difficulties. The
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 irregular shape and unpredictable surface properties make it
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 hard to identify stable landing sites, while the
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 asteroid's extremely weak gravity creates a risk that the
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 lander could simply bounce off and drift away into space.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 The main Ramses spacecraft will be a modified version
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 of Issei's HERA probe, which is currently on its
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 way to study the binary asteroid Didymos, where
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 NASA's DART mission successfully impacted in
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 2022. However, despite the momentum
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 behind this mission, it still requires ESA
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 member states to formally commit funding at the agency's
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Ministerial Council meeting this November.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 NASA is also considering repurposing its shelved
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 Janus spacecraft for an Apophis mission, though
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 budget constraints have complicated these plans. The
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 good news is that NASA's Osiris apex
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 mission, the extended mission of the spacecraft that
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 successfully returned samples from asteroid Bennu,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 will arrive at Apophis about a month after its Earth
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 flyby. Additionally, Japan's
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 Destiny plus mission, which faced delays,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 has now been rescheduled for a 2028 launch
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 and will make a flyby of Apophis on its journey to
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 study asteroid Phaethon. Scientists
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 worldwide are, emphasising the importance of international
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 collaboration to make the most of this rare
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 opportunity that Apophis presents for advancing our
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 planetary defence knowledge.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 And now A Ah, quick SpaceX update. The federal
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 Aviation Administration has now stepped in following the
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 ninth test flight of SpaceX's massive Starship
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 rocket, requiring the company to investigate what went
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 wrong. Interestingly, the FAA's
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 investigation is narrowly focused on just one part of
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 the mishap the loss of the Starship upper
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 stage, which failed to complete its planned
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 trajectory as designed. Despite both
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 stages of the vehicle meeting explosive ends. The
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 FAA clarified that the destruction of the super heavy
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 booster was actually covered by what they called
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 approved test induced damage exceptions
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 that SpaceX had requested prior to launch.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 In other words, some level of damage or destruction to the
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 booster was anticipated and approved as part of the
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 experimental nature of the test. Flight
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 9, which launched on May 27 from
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 represented a significant milestone as the first ever
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 reuse of a super heavy booster. This particular
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 booster had previously flown during January's Flight 7
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 mission, where it not only completed its engine burn
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 successfully, but also made a dramatic return to
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 Starbase, where it was caught by the launch tower's
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 mechanical arms, nicknamed the chopsticks
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 for Flight 9, SpaceX took a more experimental
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 approach with the booster. Rather than attempting another
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 tower catch. They conducted various tests,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 including bringing the booster down at a higher angle of attack
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 to increase atmospheric drag. The plan
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 called for a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 but things didn't go as intended. Contact with the
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 booster was lost shortly after it began its landing
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 burn, approximately six minutes after launch,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 when it experienced what SpaceX ah euphemistically
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 described as a rapid unscheduled
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 disassembly. The Starship upper stage
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 faced even greater difficulties. It was supposed
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 off Western Australia about 65 minutes after
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 launch. However, an attitude control error
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 prevented the vehicle from achieving the proper orientation
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 for reentry. Following automated
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 safety protocols, Starship vented its remaining
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 pressure to create the safest possible conditions,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 but contact was lost about 46 minutes into the
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 flight. Despite these failures,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 the mission still showed progress compared to previous
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 flights, where the upper stage was lost within
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 just 10 minutes of liftoff. The
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 FAA noted that there were no reports of injuries or
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 damage to public property and the impact on
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 commercial flights was minimal. Just one flight
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 diverted and another briefly held for 24 minutes.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 Betelgeuse one of the most recognisable stars in our
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 night sky has long captivated
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 astronomers with its unpredictable behaviour.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 This massive red supergiant in the
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 constellation orion sits about 640
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 light years from Earth and is nearing the end of its
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 stellar life. Destined to eventually
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 explode as a supernova at, more than
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 700 times the size of our sun, it's truly
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 a cosmic giant. What's
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 particularly intriguing about Betelgeuse is its
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 peculiar brightness variations. You might
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 remember the excitement in late 2019, when it
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 dimmed dramatically, leading to speculation that a
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 supernova might be imminent. That event
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 turned out to be just a massive dust cloud temporarily
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 blocking its light. But it highlighted the volatile
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 nature of this dying star. Now
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 astronomers are exploring a fascinating.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 Betelgeuse might not be alone. About
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 one third of stars similar to Betelgeuse display what
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 scientists call large, long secondary periods,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 or LSPs, which are extended brightness
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 fluctuations that have puzzled researchers for decades.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 While various explanations have been proposed, from
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 internal pulsations to dust formation, evidence
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 is increasingly pointing toward a hidden companion star.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 The current theory suggests a low mass companion,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 somewhere between half to twice the mass of our sun,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 might be orbiting Betelgeuse every 2
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 days. That's roughly six years at a distance
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 comparable to Saturn's orbit around our Sun.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 This companion wouldn't dramatically alter Betelgeuse's
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 evolutionary path, but it could influence the
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 supergiant through tidal forces and interactions with
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 stellar winds. This hypothesis also
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 helps explain other mysteries, like Betelgeuse's
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 unusually fast rotation speed of 5 to 15
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 kilometres per second, which could result from tidal
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 interactions with this orbiting companion. The
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 theory even accounts for the observed 36 year
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 cycle in both brightness and radial velocity patterns
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 that have long confounded astronomers.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 Despite targeted searches using the Hubble Space
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 Telescope's STIS spectrograph, this
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 potential companion remains elusive.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 Researchers timed their observations for when the
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 companion would be most visible in far ultraviolet
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 light, but no clear signals were detected.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 This doesn't rule out its existence. The companion
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 may simply be too small and cool to be detected
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 amid Betelgeuse's overwhelming brightness.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 The search continues because finding this hidden partner isn't
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 just scientific curiosity. It could significantly
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 enhance our understanding of how massive stars evolve
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 and eventually die in spectacular supernova
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 explosions.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 That's all for today's episode of Astronomy Daily. What
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 an incredible journey through the cosmos we've had. From
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 the discovery of Mom Z14 to Europe's
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 ambitious plans to land on asteroid apophis during its
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 2029 flyby of Earth, we've also
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 examined SpaceX's ongoing Starship development with
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 its recent Flight 9 mishap, and explored the
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 intriguing possibility that Betelgeuse, one of our
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 night sky's most famous stars, might have a
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 hidden stellar companion. The the universe continues to
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 surprise us with each new discovery, reminding us
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 just how vast and mysterious our cosmic neighbourhood truly
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 is. I've been your host, Anna,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 and I want to thank you for joining me on this cosmic
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 journey. If you enjoyed today's episode, please visit
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 our website at astronomydaily IO
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 where you can sign up for our free daily newsletter and access
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 all our back episodes. You'll never miss a
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 moment of astronomical discovery. Don't
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 forget to subscribe to Astronomy Daily on Apple
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 or wherever you get your podcasts. Until
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 next time, keep looking up. The universe is waiting to
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 be discovered.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:48 Sam.