Universe Today Podcast

5-hour Patreon Q&A show: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/patreon-q-2026-174012731

Rubin finds Neptune’s trojans and two new companions to the Milky Way, China reveals more of its plans to send humans to the Moon, finding the seeds of supermassive black holes. And on Space Bites+, how Mars has microclimates near its North Pole.

🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 Rubin finds Neptune's trojans https://www.universetoday.com/articles/queens-university-belfast-students-find-neptunes-elusive-trojan-asteroids

• 02:40 Vera Rubin finds Milky Way's neighbours https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-vera-rubin-has-found-two-more-of-the-milky-ways-dim-satellites

• 03:58 China unveils its Moon plans https://www.universetoday.com/articles/china-unveils-their-plan-for-a-crewed-moon-landing

• 05:45 Splitting a black hole https://www.universetoday.com/articles/what-could-split-a-black-hole-in-two

• 07:29 Seeds of supermassive black holes

• 10:08 Van Gogh’s Starry Night mystery solved https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-research-resolves-the-mystery-behind-van-goghs-the-starry-night

• 11:47 Vote results

• 12:09 Earth’s “Impenetrable” Space Radiation Shield Was Just Breached From Within https://www.universetoday.com/articles/earths-impenetrable-space-radiation-shield-was-just-breached-from-within

• 14:03 Cat's Head nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/examining-the-cats-head-nebula-with-the-hubble-and-jwst

• 15:23 Carina's Ghost https://www.universetoday.com/articles/its-a-ghost-no-its-a-stellar-crche

• 16:19 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/martian-polar-crater-ice-shifts-with-seasonal-frost

• 18:43 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:10

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lwi6J0h2EhI

What if We Can't Detect Dark Matter? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXXqSh5qAuA Dark Matter Is Not a Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbmJkMhmrVI

Is it better to put a base on the Moon or under the ocean? What Astronomy can you do from a light polluted city? Can a martian base realistically evolve to a martian city? And in Q&A+, thought on the LIFE mission.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@Borg_Terraformers] Moon, Mars or ocean floors?

• 03:33 [@David Fries] Doing amateur astronomy in a big bright city

• 08:12 [@CoinPatrol] How will Japan's Phobos rover work?

• 09:56 [@Roderick Beck] Can a Martian city evolve out of a research base?

• 17:10 [@aidenweatherbee9529] Thoughts on the LIFE mission

• 21:52 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 43:53

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jiCigIHzyI8

City on Mars Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ8sZtg-Kdc

Clearly, a journey to Mars and back is the next huge leap for human space flight. We know we need new rockets, new spaceships, new technology, etc. But are the human bodies ready for that? Can humans pull it off? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Mark Shelhamer, ScD
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/
https://www.jhuhsl.space/

Are We Ready for Mars? https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54095/are-we-ready-mars

• 00:00:00 Intro

• 00:01:52 SciFi vs reality for space travel

• 00:08:18 Dangers of going to Mars

• 00:13:02 Mitigation strategies

• 00:24:33 Beyond the magnetosphere

• 00:43:53 Bonus part

• 00:54:33 Current obsessions

• 01:03:04 Final thoughts

🔵 Vote in the poll https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:46

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DIqlwbuEE4g

Which space event would I want to observe firsthand? How will artificial gravity systems work? What’s the direction for future space telescopes? And in Q&A+, how does astronomy adopt AI?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@paigepotter4682] A space event to observe firsthand

• 01:55 [@TelephoneJack] How will artificial gravity systems combat the Coriolis effect?

• 09:06 [@caerdwynmagni] Bigger mirrors VS interferometers?

• 15:46 [@p0tatobiden350] How does Astronomy adopt AI?

• 21:20 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 23:19

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube:

Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

Vera Rubin finds a new dwarf planet, while Webb sees dwarf planets colliding in another system, Valles Marineris might still be volcanically active, and Hera gets its first picture of Didymus and Dimorphus. And on Space Bites+, a planet that shouldn't have an atmosphere, but does.

• Part 1: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-i-early-ideas-and-experiments

• Part 2: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-ii-from-interplanetary-to-interstellar

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:21 Rubin’s First Dwarf Planet Candidate https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-rubin-observatory-finds-its-first-dwarf-planet-candidate

• 02:56 Colliding Dwarf Planets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/colliding-dwarf-planets-created-a-cats-tail-1000-astronomical-units-long

• 05:54 Dead Planets Orbiting a Dead Star https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dead-planets-orbiting-a-dead-star

• 08:54 Largest Canyon in The Solar System is Still Active https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-largest-canyon-in-the-solar-system-is-still-tectonically-active

• 11:23 Even More Evidence of The BetelBuddy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/betelgeuse-is-disturbed-by-its-companion-star

• 13:17 Vote results

• 13:43 NASA’s Next UV Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-new-uv-space-telescope-will-launch-in-2031

• 17:38 Potential Targets For The Lazuli Private Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/27-exoplanet-targets-for-the-worlds-first-private-space-telescope

• 20:07 Hera’s Almost There https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/First_light_Hera_resolves_two_asteroids_instead_of_one

• 21:32 More space news https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-i-early-ideas-and-experiments

• 23:19 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-oddbal-reflective-lava-world-is-challenging-to-understand

• 26:06 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:12

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DCUndRxFz7M

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@iancudmore9795] when do we get research on what low G does to our health as compared to micro gravity?

• 05:27 [@JacobBouchard] Could we use Buoyancy Tests to simulate low gravity?

• 07:28 [@604Nighthawk] and can humanity breed in low gravity?

• 08:28 [@alextruffle] Space nukes vs space lasers

• 12:06 [@kimbarron4239] Could you 'drop' a bomb from orbit?

• 13:12 [@alextruffle] What is the next upcoming best celestial event that can be seen with the naked eye?

• 16:59 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:25

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YLR1oYfXD3Q

Which cool telescopes are coming after Nancy Grace Roman? Is the Planet 9 data already taken and is waiting to be discovered? Do we have the supermassive black hole or does it have us? And in Q&A+, is there anything in the Universe that's static?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@iancudmore9795] Next telescopes to be excited about

• 07:34 [@smkolins] Any update on Vera Rubin pics for the public?

• 10:39 [@darthex0] do we have a supermassive black hole in the milky way, or does it have us? 11:59 [@joeyhoser] Is planet 9 already in the Rubin data?

• 14:02 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] So someone with Vera Rubin gets to name it right?

• 16:25 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 20:35

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B9P_8oZ4rCA

The Japanese mission is off to Phobos. Actually, there are green stars. Explaining the most mysterious cloud on Mars. Euclid discovers a comet. And in Space Bites+, how the shrinking Moon could be a danger for astronauts.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:17 MMX Goes to Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jaxas-martian-moons-exploration-mission-is-on-its-way-to-mars-and-phobos

• 03:09 Self-Interacting Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-distant-supercluster-of-galaxies-points-to-self-interacting-dark-matter

• 06:25 Actually, there are Green Stars https://warwick.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/astronomers-reveal-true-colours-of-white-dwarf-stars/

• 08:08 Mars’s Most Mysterious Cloud https://www.universetoday.com/articles/marss-most-mysterious-cloud-might-be-defying-textbook-cloud-physics

• 10:06 Euclid Discovers a Comet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-esas-euclid-space-telescope-has-discovered-a-new-comet

• 12:21 How the Milky Way's Disk Formed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-stubborn-question-answered-new-research-reveals-how-the-milky-ways-disk-formed

• 14:40 Vote results

• 15:06 Microblazar Confirmed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/achievement-unlocked-microblazar-confirmed

• 17:39 Cool pictures https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-stars-in-the-early-stages-of-life-in-a-nearby-stellar-nursery https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2625/?lang

• 20:35 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-moon-is-still-shrinking-as-it-cools-that-could-create-a-hazard-for-lunar-mission

• 23:59 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:54

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a0t-G4LKiMU

What does "the present" mean in space? Why do we have the laws of Physics we have? Was there a rime when all the Universe was accessible? And in Q&A+, are all black holes perfect spheres?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@idodekkers9165] Was there a time when all the universe was visible?

• 06:02 [@madmillion91920110] Does the 'present' actually mean anything a cosmic scale?

• 09:42 [@LDEKSOCH] Why these particular laws of physics?

• 14:54 [@georgegherghinescu] Do event horizons of fast rotating black holes have a flattened sphere shape?

• 17:43 Final thoughts