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