Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts linked to a distant dwarf galaxy and maybe a Magnetar Astronomers are a step closer to finally determining what mysterious powerful energy blasts known as Fast Radio Bursts are. They’ve narrowed down a likely source to a distant ancient dwarf galaxy some three billion light-years away – and possibly to a highly magnetic type of neutron star known as a magnetar. *Two new missions to explore early solar system NASA has selected two missions designed to open new windows on one of the earliest eras in the history of our solar system -- a time less than 10 million years after the birth of the Sun. The missions, known as Lucy and Psyche will fly in 2021 and 2013 respectively. *Two more Near Earth objects discovered NASA's NEOWISE mission has discovered another two previously unknown Near Earth Objects or NEOs heading for our celestial neighbourhood, including one that further blurs the line between asteroids and comets. One is an object called 2016 WF9 in an orbit that takes it on a scenic tour of our solar system, while the other is a new comet named C/2016 U1 NEOWISE which has a good chance of becoming visible through binoculars. *Dark Matter pioneer astronomer Vera Rubin dies at 88 One of the great pioneers of Dark Matter – astronomer Vera Rubin has passed away aged 88. Rubin’s pioneering research measuring galactic rotation curves proved there was something fundamentally wrong with sciences understanding of the physics of the universe. Either there was a serious flaw in the laws of gravity or there was a great deal of unseen mass out there -- needed to explain observations of the apparent movement of galaxies in clusters. We now know that missing mass is Dark Matter. *Military satellite launched on Delta IV rocket One of the world’s most advanced military telecommunications satellites has been successfully launched into orbit. The eighth US Air Force Wideband Global Satcom system‘s satellite WGS-8 blasted into black skies aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #fastradiobursts #nasa #VeraRubin  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *The Universe has lost up to five percent of its dark matter The Universe may have lost between two and five percent of its dark matter since the big bang. The findings could explain one of the biggest mysteries in physics – namely why the Universe appears to behave slightly differently now compared to shortly after its formation13.8 billion years ago. The new study could also fresh shed light on how the cosmos is likely to evolve into the future. *JUNO completes third close flyby of Jupiter NASA’s Juno spacecraft has successfully completed its third close flyby of the planet Jupiter. At the time of closest approach -- called perijove -- Juno skimmed just 4,150 kilometres above the gas giant's roiling cloud tops -- traveling at 57.8 kilometres per second -- relative to the planet. *China places satellites into the wrong orbit Beijing won’t admit it but one of its Long March rockets has placed two new Earth observation satellites in the wrong orbit. The mission was carrying two of Beijing’s newest and most advanced SuperView 1 high-resolution Earth Observation satellites as well as a small cubesat. *January Skywatch The Quadrantids meteor shower is now underway providing a spectacular light show for skywatchers. If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #juno #China  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *A super galaxy cluster discovered hiding behind the Milky Way One of the largest structures in the universe – a giant previously undetected galactic supercluster -- has been discovered -- blocked from view by the bulk of our own galaxy the Milky Way. The newly found Vela galaxy supercluster may help explain the difference between the measured motion of the Milky Way through space -- and the motion it should have based on the distribution of previously mapped galaxies. *Number of known black holes is expected to double within two years A new detection method means the number of known black holes is expected to double within the next two years The new method is expected to detect roughly 10 black holes per year, providing new clues about the history and evolution of these monstrous gravity wells over the next decade. *Leap second added on New Year’s eve. Tidal action causing ocean waves to apply a braking effect on planet Earth’s rotation is being blamed for the decision to add a leap second to the end of 2016. The braking effect is caused by the Moon continuing to slowly pull away from the Earth at a rate of about 3 centimeters per year – slowing the planet’s rotation in the process. *Arianespace wraps up a busy 2016 Arianespace has wrapped up a busy 2016 with another successful launch of its heavy lift Ariane 5 rocket carrying two telecommunications satellites into orbit. Mission VA-234 blasted off into clear blue skies from the European Space Agency’s Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *New findings provide more clues about water habitability on Mars Water probably existed on the surface of Mars in conditions that would have been suitable for microbial live to have thrived if life existed on the red planet. The new conclusions are based on the discovery of Boron on the surface of Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover. *Icy surprises at Rosetta's Comet The European Space Agency’s historic Rosetta mission to the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko may be over but scientists are still making new discoveries as they sift through the petabytes of data collected during the journey. The research team have just discovered that as Rosetta’s comet approached its most active period in August 2015, the spacecraft spotted carbon dioxide ice – never before seen on a comet – followed by the emergence of two unusually large patches of water ice. *A new explanation for the so-called Alien megastructure star Scientists have come up with a new hypothesis to explain the weirdness of the so-called Alien megastructure star KIC 8462852 which has shown dramatic changes in brightness that until now couldn’t be explained by most astrophysical processes. The best one, however, was the now notorious Alien megastructure suggestion which jokingly postulated that it could be an advanced alien civilisation harvesting much of the star’s energy using a Dyson sphere -- a massive structure composed of solar panels large enough to surround an entire star. *New tropical cyclone research satellites launched NASA’s new Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System – CYGNSS – has been successfully launched into orbit aboard a Pegasus rocket. The CYGNSS constellation of eight small satellites will allow scientists to study tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and other storms in unprecedented detail.If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #mars #rosetta #aliens #cygnss  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *New antimatter breakthrough helping to illuminate mysteries of the Big Bang Scientists are a step closer to understanding how the universe came into existence following the first ever optical spectrum measurements of an antimatter atom. The ground breaking research allowed physicists to compare normal hydrogen with its antimatter counterpart for the first time. *The famous red star Betelgeuse is spinning faster than it should The famous red star Betelgeuse is spinning faster than it should possibly because its eaten another star. The findings indicate that the red supergiant – which is due to explode as a supernova any day now – was probably in a binary stellar system with a companion star. *PAN-STARRS releases the largest digital sky survey ever undertaken The Pan-STARRS project -- the world’s largest digital sky survey has finally been released -- providing details of over three billion stars, galaxies and other celestial objects. The catalogue is based on 4 years of observations of 3/4 of the visible sky. *What’s up for 2017 in astronomy 2016 has been an amazing year for astronomy and space exploration with confirmation of the first ever detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes, strong evidence supporting the possible existence of a ninth planet in our Solar System, and the first successful vertical landing at sea of the core stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. 2017 will undoubtedly bring more highlights and we speak with Dr Nick Lomb Consultant Curator of astronomy at the Powerhouse Museum's Sydney Observatory and the author of the 2017 Australasian sky guide.  If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #antimater #Betelgeuse  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) S19Ep91: *Black hole ASASSN A sudden unusually bright flash of light in a distant galaxy -- which was thought to be the explosive death of a star as a supernova -- has turned out to be an even more spectacular stellar death – the total destruction of a star by a supermassive black hole. New observations indicate the unusually bright flash – which had been named ASASSN-15LH – and which was originally thought to be the brightest supernova ever seen -- was actually a tidal disruption event -- caused by a star being ripped to pieces after venturing too close to a monstrous black hole. *New search for Earth’s unseen companions NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is about to begin a search for possible Earth Trojan asteroids. OSIRIS-Rex is on a two-year flight to rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu and it will be ideally positioned in February to undertake a survey of a region which often contains asteroids known as Trojans. *India caps off its biggest year so far in space flight India has launched a new Earth imaging satellite rounding off the subcontinent’s busiest year so far for space missions. The PSLV or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota island on the Bay of Bengal coast carrying Resourcesat-2a into orbit. *The December Solstice The December Solstice will occur at 21.44 Australian Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, December 21st as the Sun reached zenith appearing to be directly over the tropic of Capricorn. In the USA and the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the winter solstice marking the first day of winter -- but the good news is that from now on the days start to get longer again while south of the Equator summer has well and truly arrived and the day’s start getting shorter.  If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *Mystery of the Sun's strange spin Astronomers have finally solved a long-standing solar mystery – namely why the Sun’s outsides spin more slowly than its insides. They’ve found that the same solar radiation that heats the Earth is ‘braking’ the Sun causing it to gradually slow down, starting from its surface. *New clues about how Mars lost its water After investigating the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet for a full Martian year, NASA’s MAVEN mission has determined that the escaping water does not always go gently into space. The rate of loss varied dramatically overall, with 10 times more hydrogen escaping at perihelion. *Looking at the future of spaceflight Sydney has been selected to host the 43rd Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research in 2020. The conference comes at a time when there’s been a paradigm shift in space flight. *Virgin Galactic soars in the skies again Virgin Galactic have returned to the skies with a series of test flights of their new spacecraft the VSS Unity. The new free flight tests are validating the latest Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo design.If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #Mars #sun #VirginGalactic  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *Looking at Earth’s ultimate fate Astronomers have had a chance to peer into the future and see what our home planet Earth will be like in five billion years’ time. They’ve been observing an aging red giant star a hundred times bigger than the Sun called L2 Puppis which has a planet orbiting it. Their findings may answer questions about our own planet’s ultimate fate. *New clues about the creation of Jupiter the solar system’s king of planets Jupiter probably reached its present day size as the solar system’s largest planet with in just 5 million years of the first solid material condensing out of the primordial gas. The findings are based on studies of a specific class of meteorites known as CB chondrites which have offered new clues about when the planet Jupiter took shape and wandered through the solar system. *Dawn’s mission to the asteroid belt Jonathan Nally editor of Australian Sky and Telescope joins us to look at the Dawn spacecraft’s mission to the dwarf plant Ceres. *Japanese supply ship blasts off for space station A Japanese H2B rocket has successfully blasted into orbit carrying the HTV-6 cargo ship bound for the International Space Station. The supply ship is carrying 4,119 kilograms of cargo including 12 small satellites and a new experiment which could help remove space junk from orbit.  If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news #earth #jupiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *Cool theory on galaxy formation A new study claims some of the most massive galaxies in the universe are generated by giant cosmic clouds of cold gas condensing as stars rather than forming in hot, violent mergers. The surprise findings contradict existing hypothesis that giant galaxies are formed through a process of merging. *New clues about the first stars in the universe Astronomers studying some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way galaxy are getting new clues about the very first stars that existed in the universe. The findings are based on observations of a sub class of second generation carbon poor stars in the galactic halo. *Cassini beams back first images from new orbit NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft has made its first close dive past the outer edges of Saturn's rings since beginning its penultimate mission phase. Cassini crossed through the plane of Saturn's rings at a distance of just 91,000 kilometres above the gas giant’s cloud tops. *Turkey’s first spy satellite launched Turkey’s first spy satellite has been successfully placed into orbit aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket launched from the European Space Agency’s Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The mission was the eighth successful flight for the Vega four stage rocket. *China launches its new Sky Link satellite China has launched a Long March 3C rocket carrying the fourth Tianlian 1 Sky Link data relay satellite into orbit. The 87 metre tall rocket lifted off from the Xichang satellite launch centre in Sichuan province heading towards the Pacific Ocean.  If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stream Episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com or www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (both mobile friendly) *More evidence that a supernova led to the birth of the Sun and Earth There’s new evidence that the supernova explosion of a star 12 times more massive than the Sun triggered the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. The findings are based on a new study of meteorite samples and rare atomic nuclei. *Great rift valley found on Mercury A giant rift valley which may be evidence of buckling of planetary crust due to global contraction has been discovered on Mercury. The massive feature – which dwarfs the Grand Canyon -- is over a thousand kilometres long, some 400 kilometers wide, and over 3 kilometers deep. *Gravity Wave Observatory starts new observation run After a series of upgrades, the twin detectors of the LIGO Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory are back in operation to continue their hunt for ripples in the fabric of space time known as gravitational waves. Back on February 11, 2016, LIGO scientists announced the first-ever direct observation of gravitational waves -- generated by the merging of two stellar mass black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. *Russian Progress rocket crashes and burns The final Progress cargo ship flight for 2016 to the International Space Station has ended in failure with the spacecraft crashing back to Earth. Within an hour of the launch, Roscosmos began receiving reports from Russia’s Tuva region on the border with Mongolia of a large explosion and fireball in the sky followed by reports of ground tremors and discovery of large pieces of rocket debris.If you're enjoying SpaceTime, please help out by sharing and telling your friends. The best recommendation I can get is one from you. Thank you... #astronomy #space #science #technology #news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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