Universe Today Podcast

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 20:07

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NASA overturns its future exploration plans, Rubin pipelines are filled with juicy data, dwarf galaxies hide overmassive black holes, Titan Dragonfly is coming together. And in Space Bites+, charting the history of a galaxy’s evolution.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:16 NASA Ignition https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-lays-out-ambitious-plans-f00or-moon-base-and-nuclear-mars-mission

• 06:49 First Follow-Up On Rubin’s Alert https://www.universetoday.com/articles/rubin-alert-leads-to-first-follow-up-observations-and-detection-of-four-supernovae

• 10:04 JWST Finds Overmassive Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-jwst-finds-more-overmassive-black-holes-this-time-in-dwarf-galaxies

• 11:15 Did Triton Do It? https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-moon-that-tipped-a-planet

• 13:20 Milestone for Dragonfly https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-dragonfly-rotorcraft-begins-integration-and-testing-ahead-of-mission-to-titan

• 14:41 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 15:09 Baby Planets Directly Observed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/direct-confirmation-of-two-baby-planets-forming-around-a-young-sun-like-star

• 17:12 Team-Up for Saturn https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-webb-and-hubble-telescopes-look-at-saturn-in-a-different-light

• 18:44 Crab Nebula Evolution https://www.universetoday.com/articles/watching-25-years-of-expansion-in-the-crab-nebula-with-the-hubble

• 20:07 Galactic Archeology https://www.universetoday.com/articles/extragalactic-archaeology-a-new-method-to-understand-galaxy-growth-and-evolution

• 23:16 Project Hail Mary mini-review

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:02

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/V6Vm9Wb4ZF8

Full livestream: https://youtube.com/live/esBOfZhJTWk

Does it get dark on Venus during the night? Which propulsion tech is the best for realistic interstellar travel? Which Astrophysicist is my favourite and why? And in Q&A+, what research would I do if I were a scientist, not a journalist?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@Smo1k] Does it get dark on Venus during the night?

• 01:39 [@trickymick] Could strange orbits of the dwarf planets be caused by an ancient stellar flyby?

• 02:25 [@SuatÖzdemirci] What's the best tech for realistic interstellar propulsion?

• 04:45 [@N.Armstrng] What happens when two black holes merge?

• 06:38 [@doogle4144] Why do I do patreon interviews?

• 11:14 [@happybuttersblast8334] Who is my favorite astrophysicist and why?

• 12:02 [@Kingtad1136] If I were a scientist and not a journalist, what would I focus my research on?

• 16:13 Outro

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w677o1jHYmk

The number of satellites has grown dramatically and it will continue to grow. But where's the limit? How many satellites can we realistically launch? Most people think that it's the Kessler Syndrome. Saturating the orbit with space debris until a chain reaction erupts. But there might be other limiting factors. What are they? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Professor Laura Revell https://profiles.canterbury.ac.nz/Laura-Revell/publications

• 00:00 Intro

• 02:15 What happens to satellites upon re-entry

• 10:41 Rocket fuel emissions

• 24:13 Possible nuclear wars

• 29:07 Current obsession

• 34:45 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:04

👉 Send in your questions for Patreon Q&A here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/153780788

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/cHcqk31NtH0

What kind of media can we expect from Titan Dragonfly? Could you track Artemis 2 with an amateur telescope? Can moons have moons that have moons? And in Q&A+, should journalists use more storytelling?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:24 [@geohondo] What media content can we expect from the Titan Dragonfly?

• 01:19 [@DamingoFlave] Could you track Artemis 2 with an amateur telescope?

• 02:52 [@TestingTesting-1234] Should we establish Aldrin cyclers between the earth and the moon?

• 05:11 [@kirkwagner461] Does Aldrin Cycler give you any delta-v advantage?

• 05:39 [@kairon156] Is there any plan to give the moon it's own GPS?

• 07:23 [@EdSceptic-y2e] Moon with a moon with a moon

• 08:21 [@SidVicious619-d5r] Can a moon not be tidally locked to a planet?

• 09:45 [@C.Lo.87] Can a white dwarf collect enough material to restart fusion?

• 13:04 [@paigepotter4682] Do you think space journalism should ever lean more into wonder and storytelling rather than strict explanation?

• 16:10 Outro

Full livestream: https://youtube.com/live/esBOfZhJTWk

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iGxXclzwa08

How dead is the Moon (geologically speaking)? How can we know what's going on inside it? What should the people returning to the Moon expect from it? Finding the answers in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Cole Nypaver https://airandspace.si.edu/people/staff/cole-nypaver

📜 Smithsonian Planetary Scientists Discover Recent Tectonic Activity on the Moon https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-planetary-scientists-discover-recent-tectonic-activity-moon

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:44 Is the Moon dead?

• 08:44 What created the faults

• 14:04 Returning to the Moon

• 24:24 Beyond just the Moon

• 26:58 Boulders on the Moon

• 33:37 Current obsessions

• 38:42 Final thoughts

This is an episode of John Michael Godier's Event Horizon show that we did together. YouTube version on JMG's channel: https://youtu.be/mbn3uK7V3b0

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 15:26

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ncr3QzZUREY

A planetary system that breaks all the rules. Colliding worlds reminds us of the Earth and the Moon. A super solar storm hit Mars too. An explanation for a seven-hour gamma ray burst. And in Space Bites Plus, thousands of stellar siblings found.

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

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:15 Planetary System that Breaks All Rules https://www.universetoday.com/articles/cheops-discovery-defies-planetary-formation-rules

• 02:41 A Special Rocky World https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-isnt-just-another-rocky-world-orbiting-a-red-dwarf-this-ones-special

• 04:32 Worlds Colliding https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-find-evidence-of-worlds-colliding-11000-light-years-away

• 06:21 Plans for a Moon in a Bag https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/03/a-private-space-company-has-a-radical-new-plan-to-bag-an-asteroid/

• 07:47 Lunar Magnetic Mystery Solved https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-60-year-old-mystery-about-the-moons-magnetosphere-is-finally-solved

• 09:47 Vote results 10:12 Solar Superstorm Hit Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/esas-mars-orbiters-watch-solar-superstorm-hit-the-red-planet

• 12:00 Nobody Could Explain This https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-seven-hour-explosion-nobody-could-explain

• 15:26 Something’s Changing the Small Magellanic Cloud https://www.universetoday.com/articles/something-is-changing-the-small-magellanic-cloud

• 15:26 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-suns-great-escape

• 17:41 Vibe coding

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:51

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YZD1WNKzbiQ

Could the Sun have a binary companion, are we the only observers in the Universe, will lunar bases be close to each other? And in Q&A+, could we grow crops in asteroid regolith?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:23 [@SantiagoT75] Can the Sun be orbiting another star we just haven’t yet noticed?

• 04:54 [@silasmiller4417] Are we really the only true observer in the Universe?

• 07:25 [@terryhardaway3285] How hard would it be to put the ISS in lunar orbit or on the Moon?

• 10:00 [@Space_Whales42] How close do you think the Chinese base on the moon will be to the American base?

• 12:14 [@Noonyuh] What sort of internet bandwidth should we expect on our moon bases?

• 13:51 [@Squigglyboi] Did they test growing crops in asteroid regolith?

• 17:01 Outro

Full livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/jtVVWzfyB0w

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:49

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GvVZsDw3Xk0

If the robots take over, what would our biosignatures look like? is a galaxy's rotation tied to its black hole? what would happen to the Universe if dark matter disappeared? And in Q&A+, which scifi universe would I like to live in?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@AriasThirdOfHisName] What will be left of us if robots take over?

• 04:52 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] Is the rotation of a galaxy tied in any way to the rotation of its black hole?

• 06:09 [@EdSceptic-y2e] What would happen if all the dark matter dissappeared?

• 11:19 [@christiandesalliers4663] Why does material must shead it's angular momentum before falling into a black hole?

• 14:58 [@BigC799] What three questions would I ask the Universe?

• 15:49 [@kimbarron4239] Which fictional universe would I like to live in?

• 17:40 Outro

Full livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/jtVVWzfyB0w

BONUS PART START AT 28:49

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4caOfg5K8Is

Little Red Dots are one of the biggest mysteries from JWST so far. They could be galaxies. They could be supermassive black holes. But they also could be supermassive stars. In fact, this suggestion could help solve another big cosmological mystery about globular clusters. More details on that in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. John Chisholm https://www.chisholmjohn.com/

📜 Little Red Dots as Globular Clusters in Formation https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.15935

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:41 Finding LRDs in JWST data

• 07:05 Probably not black holes

• 13:08 Globular clusters as possible descendants

• 18:56 The evidence for supermassive stars

• 28:49 Deepest JWST image yet

• 42:59 Current obsessions

• 45:10 Final thoughts