Universe Today Podcast

SpaceX is pivoting towards the Moon from Mars. Big part of it is because they now want to build data centres in space. And on the Moon. Is it a good idea? Can it work? Actually, it just might.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Casey Handmer https://terraformindustries.com

📜 I guess we’re doing Moon factories now https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2026/02/10/i-guess-were-doing-moon-factories-now/

Technology Connections' video mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 20:50

🔭 Interview with Vera Rubin' Program Director Dr. Edward Ajhar: https://youtu.be/HQKswmYpxKE

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

Vera Rubin is operational! A star turned directly into a black hole and another exploded as a supernova. New images of Uranus from Webb. And in Space Bites+, scanning K2-18b for signals from intelligent civilizations.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 Vera Rubin is operational https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2605/?lang 03:05 Star goes un-nova https://www.universetoday.com/articles/no-supernova-needed-this-star-collapsed-directly-into-a-black-hole

• 05:31 Dark Matter Galaxy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/hubble-and-euclid-team-up-to-identify-a-dark-matter-galaxy

• 07:48 JWST Peeping Inside Uranus https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-digs-into-the-uranian-ionosphere

• 08:40 Sun-Like Star Bubble https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-telescope-spots-a-young-sun-like-star-inflating-its-astrosphere

• 10:50 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 11:47 NASA Updates https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-is-preparing-to-roll-artemis-ii-rocket-back-into-the-hangar

• 14:36 Big restructuring for Artemis

• 16:03 Search for Exomoons Continues https://www.universetoday.com/articles/exomoons-could-reveal-themselves-through-lunar-eclipses

• 17:29 Supernova Progenitor Hid Behind a Thick Veil of Carbon Dust https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-supernova-progenitor-hid-behind-a-surprisingly-thick-veil-of-carbon-dust

• 18:32 Jellyfish galaxy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-early-universe-surprise-from-the-jwst-a-jellyfish-galaxy

• 19:26 Cosmic Brain https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-cosmic-brain-as-seen-by-the-jwst

• 20:50 BONUS STORY https://www.universetoday.com/articles/are-there-aliens-broadcasting-from-hycean-world-k2-18b-astronomers-just-listened-in

• 22:43 More space news

• 22:19 What I learned from a recent interview

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:21

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

How weathered are the Voyagers by now? Did we already start building the Dyson sphere? What should we expect from the Extremely Large Telescope? And in Q&A+, why do we prefer L2 Lagrange point for our telescopes?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:24 [@Sora._Cloud] Is Parker doing well?

• 03:44 [@Lothian53] Does Dyson sphere need to feed power to Earth?

• 05:33 [@paulwilson1529] How weathered are the Voyagers?

• 08:03 [@madmillion91920110] What to expect from ELT?

• 11:18 [@stevenlewis7669] Shouldn't we be sending robotic scouts to the Moon?

• 14:55 [@jimmirow] Is there mold on the ISS?

• 17:21 [@lclaurindo] Why send telescopes to L2?

AI data centers are a hot topic for a lot of space companies. That includes SpaceX who have applied for putting a million satellites into orbit. So, is this a genius idea that will put more money into space exploration and boost orbital infrastructure? Or are we all cooked when the bubble will burst?

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qwO0NKAIbqA

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:37 [@mrspaceman2764] How screwed up are we?

• 10:38 [@jpietersen519] How would Moon-made satellites circularise their orbits?

• 16:59 [@darthex0] Will orbital data centers shade the Earth?

• 19:43 Celebrating 400 Q&A episodes!

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 21:18

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a7TO-LHCCI4

The source of a powerful cosmic ray, did the late heavy bombardment actually happen? Did Titan create Saturn’s Rings? And James Webb is going to pin down the future orbit of YR4. And in Space Bites+, we might be able to intercept 3I/ATLAS.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 Amaterasu Particles https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-continue-to-trace-the-origin-of-the-mysterious-amaterasu-cosmic-ray-particle

• 03:18 Doubts for Late Heavy Bombardment https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-lunar-samples-challenge-the-late-heavy-bombardment

• 06:58 Possible Origin of Titan and Saturn’s Ring https://www.universetoday.com/articles/an-ancient-merger-could-have-created-titan-and-the-debris-created-saturns-rings

• 08:48 Fading Star https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-mystery-of-the-fading-star

• 10:27 Bennu Samples Continue to Deliver Science https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-make-a-game-changing-find-in-the-bennu-asteroid

• 12:19 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 13:13 Rotten Eggs and Exoplanets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/how-rotten-eggs-solved-an-exoplanet-mystery

• 15:38 Auroras on Ganymede https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/university-of-liege-scientists-reveal-similarities

• 16:55 The Heart of Mira A’s Latest Outburst https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-get-to-the-heart-of-mira-as-latest-outburst

• 18:40 JWST to Observe

• YR4 19:33 Succesful Artemis II WDR https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/19/nasa-begins-artemis-ii-launch-pad-ops-after-successful-fuel-test/

• 21:18 BONUS PART: Catching up with 3I/ATLAS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-new-concept-for-catching-up-with-3iatlas

• 23:20 Making money on YouTube

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:54

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

Could we spot a black hole approaching us? Is the Moon just a distraction on the way to Mars? Why don't we see other stars' Oort clouds? And in Q&A+, can the make it rain on Mars?

• 00:00 Start

• 00:23 [@keithromig] Is the Moon a distraction from Mars?

• 04:10 [@vistotutti6037] Should we put a steam engine on the Moon?

• 06:25 [@ashd.007] What if a rogue black hole comes our way?

• 08:26 [@mrjp2149] A better description for a black hole

• 09:42 [@allixandra] Is the asteroid belt a failed planet?

• 10:46 [@EdSceptic-y2e] Why can't we see other stars' Oort clouds?

• 11:32 [@evandotpro] Is our view of other galaxies outdated?

• 12:56 [@Mark-Mattison] How does cosmological redshift work?

• 13:54 [@prugrade] Can they make it rain on Mars?

BONUS PART STARTS AT 34:49

Why is time moving forward? Some find an answer in the Second Law of Thermodynamics. That entropy defines the arrow of time. But is there another force behind it? My guests think so. Diving into this concept in this interview.

🟣 Guests: Dr. Robert Hazen, Dr. Mike Wong

📚 Time's Second Arrow Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature https://miquai.myportfolio.com/times-second-arrow

🎧 Strange New Worlds Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/strange-new-worlds-a-science-star-trek-podcast/id1246395860

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:50 Order in the Universe

• 19:39 Biosignatures

• 27:11 Fermi Paradox

• 34:49 Star Trek

• 47:16 Current obsessions

• 51:56 Final thoughts

Is Earth actually a planet or not? Can dark matter be just black holes? Can a planet have a figure-eight orbit around binary stars? And in Q&A+, what happens if you put antimatter into a black hole?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:31

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K3fcY-cizn4

🌶️ Add to The Pile of Spice: https://www.patreon.com/posts/147346705

• 00:00 Start

• 00:25 [@churchdiscography] Is Earth not a planet?

• 02:02 [@paulhatfield1333] Can a planet have a figure-eight orbit?

• 04:03 [@lucashouse9117] Can dark matter be black holes?

• 06:59 [@clarkholt7892] What would a star remnant look like through a telescope?

• 09:04 [@andyfry.wireless] Are we in the center of the Universe?

• 10:56 [@iancudmore9795] Are there more space publishers like me?

• 14:31 [@irri4662] Does dark matter contribute to black holes?

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 14:28

A lava tube found on Venus, China tests its new capsule and softlands a rocket, SpaceX shifts focus from Mars to the Moon, and in Space Bites+, 5 galaxies colliding in the early Universe.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:16 New image from EHT https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-collaboration-that-brought-you-the-first-image-of-a-black-hole-just-released-photos-of-its-massi

• 02:19 Lava Tube on Venus https://www.universetoday.com/articles/massive-venus-lava-tube-detected-using-data-from-nasas-long-defunct-magellan-spacecraft

• 04:43 China's Moon Rocket Test https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-11/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDg5MDIw/index.html

• 06:25 SpaceX pivots from Mars to Moon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/spacex-makes-a-huge-pivot-wants-to-build-on-the-moon-instead

• 08:21 Another possible explanation for Little Red Dots https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-little-red-dots-observed-by-webb-were-direct-collapse-black-holes

• 11:17 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 11:55 Possible bright comet alert https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-sungrazer-comet-a1-maps-could-be-bright-in-early-april-if-it-survives-perihelion

• 13:46 More of 3I/ATLAS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-spherex-mission-spots-3iatlass-bright-envelope

• 14:28 BONUS STORY: 5 galaxy merger https://www.universetoday.com/articles/cosmic-collision-the-jwst-found-an-early-5-galaxy-merger

• 16:23 Why SpaceX plans make sense

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 16:22

Could Venus be turned into hell by an ancient civilization that lived on it? Why Dark Matter is not a theory? What's up with all the Great Attractor videos on YouTube? And in Q&A+, what's the current state of lava tube exploration?

👉 Dark Matter in NOT a Theory https://youtu.be/PbmJkMhmrVI

👉 Channels mentioned
https://www.youtube.com/@AstroAF/
https://www.youtube.com/@MaximumAstronomy
https://www.youtube.com/@frosthastrophotography/

• 00:00 Start

• 00:26 [@9999Joppe] Could an ancient civilization cause the greenhouse effect on Venus?

• 01:53 [@curtishorn1267] Dark matter is not a theory

• 12:11 [@evo1ov3] What is the Great Attractor?

• 16:22 [@brentcalaway] Missions to lava tubes