- End of an Era for SpaceX: SpaceX is decommissioning its original Starship launch pad, Pad 1, at its Starbase facility in Texas. This pad, crucial for early Starship development with 11 flights, has seen significant upgrades over the years and will be remembered as the birthplace of Starship flights.
- China's Reusable Rocket Ambitions: The Chinese company Landspace is making strides with its Zhuque 3 Rocket, a stainless steel, methane-fueled, reusable launch vehicle. They recently completed a successful static fire test and are targeting their first orbital flight test for late 2025, marking China's commitment to building its own space infrastructure.
- James Webb's Moon Discovery: The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a circumplanetary disk around an exoplanet 600 light years away, believed to be the birthplace of moons. This groundbreaking finding provides insights into planetary formation and the conditions necessary for moon development.
- Australia's Space Aspirations: Gilmour Space is gearing up for a second attempt at reaching orbit after their first flight was terminated due to an anomaly. A successful launch would make Australia the 12th country to achieve this milestone, signaling growth in the nation's sovereign space industry.
- Exploring Cosmic Mysteries: The episode dives into some of the biggest unsolved mysteries in space, including the Hubble Tension regarding the universe's expansion rate, the enigmatic fast radio bursts, the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy, and the black hole information paradox. Each of these topics highlights the vast unknowns that continue to challenge our understanding of the cosmos.
- 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.
SpaceX Launch Pad Decommissioning
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Landspace Zhuque 3 Rocket Development
[Landspace](https://www.landspace.com/)
James Webb Space Telescope Observations
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Gilmour Space Updates
[Gilmour Space](https://gilmourspace.com/)
Cosmic Mysteries Overview
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 brings you the latest news from across the
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 cosmos, as we like to say. Give us 10
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 minutes and we'll give you the universe. I'm
00:00:11 --> 00:00:12 Avery.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 We've got a packed show for you again today
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 covering everything from historic launch pads
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 being retired to incredible new discoveries
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 by the James Webb Space Telescope.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:27 Avery: That's right, Anna. we'll be looking at
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 China's progress on reusable rockets,
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 Australia's orbital ambitions, and we'll end
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 the show with a deep dive into some of the
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 biggest unsolved mysteries in space.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 Anna: So let's get started. Avery. First
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 up is an end of an era for SpaceX.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 Avery: It certainly is. SpaceX is
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 decommissioning its original Starship launch
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 pad, known as Pad 1, or
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 Suborbital Pad A, at its Starbase
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 facility in Texas. And this pad was the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 workhorse for the early days of Starship
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 development, seeing a total of 11
00:01:01 --> 00:01:01 flights.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 Anna: It's amazing to think about the history made
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 there. This wasn't just a simple concrete
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 slab. It went through some massive upgrades
00:01:10 --> 00:01:10 over the years.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Avery: Absolutely. it was eventually equipped with a
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 full launch tower, a water deluge system to
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 protect the pad from the intense heat of
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 liftoff, and even the arms designed to catch
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 and support the massive super heavy boosters
00:01:24 --> 00:01:24 for reuse.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Anna: A true testament to their iterative design
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 process. While it's sad to see it go, I
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 imagine they need the space for the next
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 phase of development.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Avery: Exactly. They're moving on to bigger and
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 better things with their new orbital launch
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 site. But Pad one will always be remembered
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 as where Starship learned to fly.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 Anna: Speaking of reusable rockets, SpaceX
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 is getting some serious competition from M.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 China. The Chinese company Landspace
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 has been making some impressive strides.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 Avery: They have. They're developing the Zhuque
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 3 Rocket, which looks remarkably similar to
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 Starship. It's a stainless steel, methane
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 fueled, reusable launch vehicle. And they
00:02:05 --> 00:02:06 just hit a major milestone.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 Anna: The static fire test. Right. That's a
00:02:09 --> 00:02:10 crucial step.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 Avery: Right. They successfully completed a
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 static fire test of the first stage
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 prototype. This is where they fire up the
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 engines while the rocket is securely bolted
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 to the ground to testing the entire system
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 under flight light conditions.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:25 Anna: So what's next for them?
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 Avery: Landspace is aiming for its first orbital
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 flight test in late 2025. This
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 is all part of a much larger ambition for
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 China, which is heavily investing in building
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 its own space infrastructure, including a
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 satellite constellation similar to Starlink.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 The pace of their development is really
00:02:43 --> 00:02:44 Something to watch.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 Anna: From engineering marvels on Earth to
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 incredible discoveries far from home, the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 James Webb Space Telescope has deep done it
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 again. This time giving us a peek into how
00:02:55 --> 00:02:56 moons might be born.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 Avery: This story is fascinating. Webb has
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 observed a disk of material swirling around
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 an exoplanet about 600 light years away.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 Anna: And this isn't just any disk. It's
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 what's known as a circumplanetary disk.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 And it's the first time we've seen one that
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 is rich in carbon. Scientists believe
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 these disks are the birthplaces of moons,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 or exomoons in this case.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 Avery: So we're essentially watching a, moon system
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 in the process of forming. Much like how the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 moons of Jupiter or Saturn might have formed
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 in our own solar system billions of years
00:03:30 --> 00:03:30 ago.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 Anna: Precisely. The finding provides a, ah, rare
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 real time look at the building blocks of
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 moons and helps us understand the conditions
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 under which they form. The power of the Webb
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 telescope continues to unlock secrets of
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 planetary formation that were completely out
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 of reach just a few years ago.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Avery: Lets bring our focus back to Earth now,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 specifically to Australia. The Australian
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 rocket company Gilmour Space is gearing up
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 for another shot at reaching orbit.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 Anna: Their first attempt didn't quite make it, did
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 it?
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 Avery: Unfortunately not. The flight was terminated
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 shortly after liftoff due to an anomaly.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 But in the world of spaceflight, failure
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 is often part of the process. The company
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 has analyzed the data and is now targeting
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 2026 for its second orbital
00:04:19 --> 00:04:19 attempt.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 Anna: It's a resilient industry. What does
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 this mean for Australia's space program?
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 Avery: It's a huge deal. A successful launch
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 would make Australia the 12th country to
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 reach orbit from its own soil. Gilmour
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 Space remains optimistic and their
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 determination is really fueling the growth of
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 the nation's sovereign space industry. We'll
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 be watching closely in 2026.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Anna: All right, for our final segment, let's,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 let's venture into the unknown. Despite
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 all our incredible technology and
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 discoveries, space is still filled with
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 profound mysteries that continue to puzzle
00:04:59 --> 00:04:59 scientists.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 Avery: My favorite kind of topic, where do we start?
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Anna: Let's start with the big one, the Hubble
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 Tension. For years there's been a major
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 disagreement on just how fast the universe
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 is expanding. Measurements from the early
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 universe, like the cosmic microwave
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 background, give us one number. But
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 measurements from the local modern universe
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 using things like supernovae give us
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 a different number faster.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 Avery: And the fact that they don't match suggests
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 we might be missing something fundamental
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 about the physics of the cosmos.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 Anna: Exactly. Next up,
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 fast radio bursts or FRBs.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 These are incredibly powerful
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 millisecond long bursts of radio Waves from
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 deep space. We know they come from
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 distant galaxies, but we have no idea
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 what causes them. Theories range from
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 magnetars to alien signals,
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 but nothing fits all the data.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 Avery: A, true cosmic whodunnit.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 Anna: Then there's the giant elephant in the room.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 Dark matter. We see its gravitational
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 effects everywhere. In the rotation of
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 galaxies, in the bending of starlight.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 But we can't see the stuff itself.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 It makes up about 85% of the
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 matter in the universe and we have no
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 idea what it is.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 Avery: It's humbling to think that we've only ever
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 observed a tiny fraction of what's actually
00:06:29 --> 00:06:29 out there.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 Anna: It really is. Lets touch on
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 a few more strange ones. We recently
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 detected the second longest gamma ray burst
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 ever seen. It lasted for over a thousand
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 seconds. We think these bursts come
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 from collapsing massive stars. But
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 one lasting that long challenges our
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 models. Wow. Then there's
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 Hoag's object. A bizarre galaxy that looks
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 like a perfect ring of young blue stars
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 surrounding an older yellow nucleus
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 with almost nothing in between. We
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 don't know how it formed.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 Avery: That sounds like something out of science
00:07:08 --> 00:07:08 fiction.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 Anna: And another great mystery closer to home.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 The hunt for Planet nine. The strange
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 clustered orbits of several objects in the
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 outer solar system suggest there might be
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 a massive undiscovered planet lurking
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 out there, 10 times the mass of Earth.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 But despite years of searching, we haven't
00:07:29 --> 00:07:29 found it.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 Avery: These mysteries are what make astronomy so
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 exciting. For every answer we find, we
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 uncover 10 new questions. The list of
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 cosmic conundrums is seemingly endless.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 Take the Great Attractor for instance. It's a
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 massive gravitational anomaly located in the
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 direction of the Hydra Centaurus
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 supercluster, pulling our Milky Way and
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 countless other galaxies towards it at
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 incredible speeds. The the problem is we
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 can't observe it directly because it's hidden
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 behind the zone of avoidance, the dusty
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 star filled plane of our own galaxy.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 Anna: It's a mind boggling concept, like a
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 hidden cosmic behemoth shaping the
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 structure of our local universe. And
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 speaking of strange observations, we have to
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 talk about Tabby's star. Also known as
00:08:18 --> 00:08:18 KIC
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 846-2852.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 This star exhibits bizarre and
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 extreme dips in its brightness. We're not
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 talking about the tiny regular dimming of a
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 transiting exoplanet. These are
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 massive irregular drops at one
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 point blocking over 20% of the
00:08:39 --> 00:08:39 starlight.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 Avery: That's the star that famously led to
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 speculation about alien megastructures
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 like a Dyson swarm. While that's an exciting
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 thought, the more plausible, though still
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 unconfirmed explanation is is a vast
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 uneven ring of cosmic dust orbiting the
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 star. But the irregular nature of the dimming
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 events makes it a persistent m and unique
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 puzzle that defies easy explanation.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 Anna: It's a perfect example of how one
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 strange object can challenge our assumptions.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 Then there's the other side of the dark coin.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 Dark energy. We discussed dark matter,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 the invisible glue holding galaxies together.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Dark energy is its antithesis,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 a mysterious, repulsive force
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 causing the expansion of the universe to
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 accelerate. It's believed to account for
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 nearly 70% of the universe's total
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 energy density. And we have almost no
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 idea what it is.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 Avery: So, to recap, about 25%
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 of the universe is dark matter, which we
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 can't see, and about 70 70% is
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 dark energy, which we can't explain.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 That means all the stars, planets, and
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 galaxies, everything we've ever observed,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 make up less than 5% of the cosmos.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 It's an incredibly humbling realization and
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 drives home how much is left to discover.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 Anna: Absolutely. And perhaps the most profound
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 mystery is one that strikes at the heart
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 of physics itself. The black hole
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 information paradox. General
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 relativity suggests that information that
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 falls into a black hole is gone forever,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 completely erased from the universe. However,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 a fundamental law of quantum mechanics
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 states that information can never truly be
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 destroyed.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 Avery: This creates a fundamental conflict between
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 our two best theories describing the
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 universe. To solve it, physicists may need a
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 unified theory of quantum gravity, one that
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 can explain both the macroscopic world of
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 gravity and the microscopic world of
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 quantum particles. Finding that solution
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 could represent the single greatest leap in
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 our understanding of reality.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 Anna: It's incredible. These puzzles,
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 from cosmic structures to fundamental
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 paradoxes, are, the driving force behind
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 modern astronomy. They ensure that for
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 every discovery we make, an even more
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 fascinating question is waiting just beyond
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 the horizon. And that's a perfect note
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 to end on. It's a reminder of just how
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 much there is still to explore.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 Avery: That's all the time we have for today's
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 Astronomy Daily. We hope you enjoyed our
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 journey through the latest in space news and
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 cosmic mysteries. Join us next time as we
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 continue to explore the universe. I'm Avery.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 Anna: And I'm Anna. Until then, keep looking
00:11:34 --> 00:11:34 up.