Rubin spots a rapidly spinning asteroid, Congress restores NASA’s funding, Crew 11 is back on Earth for a medical emergency, the Pandora Space Telescope launches. And in Space Bites+, two new exoplanets around a red dwarf could help push the habitable zone out.

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• 00:00 Intro

• 00:15 Rubin Discovers A Record-Breaking Asteroid https://www.universetoday.com/articles/rubin-observatory-spots-fastest-spinning-asteroid-ever

• 02:15 NASA Budget Is Safe For Another Year https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/nasas-science-budget-wont-be-a-train-wreck-after-all/

• 04:57 First Ever Medical Evacuation from The ISS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-to-return-spacex-crew-ahead-of-schedule https://www.universetoday.com/articles/follow-spacexs-returning-crew-11-mission-wednesday-night

• 07:04 Pandora Launched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Ee8Z-sbSU

• 09:09 Vote Results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 09:38 A Supernova That Shouldn’t Exist https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-supernova-that-shouldnt-exist

• 11:43 Solving the Mystery of Blue Flashes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/solving-the-mystery-of-blue-flashes

• 14:06 Cool Space Images https://www.universetoday.com/articles/young-stellar-objects-are-prominent-in-a-new-hubble-image https://www.universetoday.com/articles/when-baby-stars-throw-tantrums

• 16:54 BONUS STORY

• 19:03 AI as the Great Filter https://www.patreon.com/posts/147346705

Does Europa Clipper have realistic chances to find traces of life at Jupiter? Can humans stop the Kessler syndrome? How long would Earth survive if it was thrown away from the Solar System? And in Q&A+, what's the current situation with RTG nuclear fuel?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:11

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Would we even notice if 3I/ATLAS smashed into Jupiter? What are the plans for next gen space stations? Is it okay that most succesful space corporations are run by billionaires? And in Q&A+, what the hell is a Thorne–Żytkow object?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:04

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Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/yUqB8vkD4cE

A galaxy without stars, the wake of Betelgeuse’s companion star, a privately-funded Hubble class telescope, and could there be exomoons at TRAPPIST-1? And on Space Bites+, seeing an event horizon in 3D.

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• 00:00 Intro

• 00:17 A galaxy with no stars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-galaxy-that-never-was

• 02:08 Hubble detects the wake of Bettelbuddy https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasa-hubble-helps-detect-wake-of-betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star/

• 04:31 JWST finds new objects astonomers can't explain https://www.universetoday.com/articles/as-puzzling-as-a-platypus-the-jwst-finds-some-hard-to-categorize-objects

• 06:25 Private initiative for a Hubble replacement https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/eric-schmidt-will-massively-invest-in-private-telescopes-including-hubble-replacement/

• 08:48 Problems for potential life on Europa https://www.universetoday.com/articles/europa-may-be-lifeless-and-unihabitable-after-all

• 10:52 Rare lensed supernova https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-discover-a-bright-supernova-using-gravitational-lensing-for-the-first-time

• 12:36 Vote results

• 13:12 A mathematical solution for lunar dust problem https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sticky-problem-of-lunar-dust-gets-a-mathematical-solution

• 15:28 Potential for exomoons in TRAPPIST-1 system https://www.universetoday.com/articles/could-trappist-1s-seven-worlds-host-moons

• 17:02 Decades-long supernova timelapse https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-releases-the-long-awaited-video-of-keplers-supernova-remnant

• 18:16 BONUS STORY

• 19:57 Pile of Spice https://www.patreon.com/posts/pile-of-spice-147346705
  

Can we find a use for the L3 Lagrange point? How long do the Voyagers have left? Which goals do we have for telescopes that are being built? And in Q&A+, arguably the most important technology we can focus on?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:07

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Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/gENBle2AVDk

What exciting science can we expect in 2026? Can dark matter be black holes or even something else? Does light travel forever? And in Q&A+, could a rogue planet pass through the Solar System?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 16:10

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There is growing mistrust in experts and expertise. Not just in space but in practically any field. Why do people stop trusting experts? What processes are behind it? What can we do to fix it? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Frederic Bertley https://www.fredericbertley.com/

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Can we find siblings of the Sun? Is the expansion of the Universe symmetrical in all directions? Which molecules can be considered biosignatures? And in Q&A+, I answer a tricky question about Star Wars vs Star Trek.

BONUS QUESTION START AT 18:33

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Will Titan become habitable when the Sun expands? What is the next target for the Event Horizon Telescope? Could we see light from the Sun's past? And in Q&A+, a quick update on the search of Planet 9.

BONUS QUESTION START AT 18:00

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LLM and Generative AI seems to be everywhere. But at the same time it generates a lot of AI slop in all forms. However, there are really good ways we can use LLMs for science. How can we do it in astronomy? Can we teach ChatGPT or Gemini to do good science? Finding out in this interview.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LF22szp7ouo

BONUS PART STARTS at 40:59

🟣 Guest: Nolan Koblischke https://nolank.ca

👉 AION Search https://astronolan-aion-search.hf.space/

• 00:00 Intro

• 02:30 Using LLMs for Astronomy purposes

• 10:30 Training LLMs

• 31:42 LLMs potentially contributing to new science knowlegde

• 40:59 Which part of astronomy is it most useful in

• 49:48 Current obsessions

• 58:11 Final thoughts