Universe Today Podcast

Can we make Earth invisible for possible alien invaders? What's the deal with the pyramids and their alignment to stars? Can an interstellar ship casually crash into a black hole? And what's the difference between cosmology and astronomy after all?

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00:00 Start

00:27 [Rod Tolosa] Possible life on Venus

03:16 [abstractedaway] Heium-rich dwarf stars as techosignatures

04:00 [kenji] The truth about pyramids

06:25 [Jakub Polášek] Most interesting citizen science projects in astronomy/space field right now

07:21 [Osiris Mpg] Could an interstellar ship crash into a black hole?

08:34 [FunkyCritter] Will Earth's spin stop eventually?

09:12 [Keiichi S] Naked-eye nebula

11:03 [Nolan Mosley] LEO satellites and the ozone layer

13:11 [Nanp90] Making the Earth invisible for alienes

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/cuXXPrp3_PU

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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Has Perseverance found signs of life on Mars? Webb scans TRAPPIST-1e for signs of an atmosphere. 3I/ATLAS grows a tail, and could get a mission. And on Space Bites+, Webb sees a cloud of methane around the dwarf planet Makemake.

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00:00 Intro

00:21 NASA Says Perseverance Discovered Signs of Life on Mars

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year/

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-exoplanet-trappist-1-e-takes-its-turn-in-the-jwsts-spotlight

09:18 3I/ATLAS Grows a Tail

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-gemini-south-telescope-takes-a-turn-imaging-the-interstellar-comet-3iatlas

11:18 Mission Concept to Catch 3I/ATLAS

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/researchers-at-swri-produced-a-mission-concept-for-exploring-interstellar-objects-like-3iatlas

13:34 Calisto’s Footprints in Jupiter Aurora

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/juno-detects-callistos-footprints-in-jupiters-aurorae

14:53 Vote results

https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

15:35 A Giant Burst of Energy In Need Of An Explanation

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-giant-burst-of-energy-in-need-of-an-explanation

17:34 Titan Dragonfly Continues Development

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/dragonfly/2025/09/08/nasas-dragonfly-soaring-through-key-development-test-activities/

18:59 Amazing JWST Image

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-glittering-stellar-nursery-shines-in-new-jwst-image

20:14 More space news to your inbox

20:58 Bonus story: Methane on Makemake

21:25 State of science journalism

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/V28Tc_koO5U

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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What's the highest energy a photon can have? Is Titan just a huge fire hazard floating in space? How do they measure the masses of planets with just satellites? And in Q&A plus, what realistic scifi is worth watching?

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00:00 Start

00:00 [Chris Nelsynels] Realistic scifi recommendations

00:26 [Marz Chart] Is oxygen flammable on Titan?

00:46 [FPLMikkel] Ability to light fires as a Great Filter

01:44 [darthex0] Are stars burning after all?

02:01 [Francois Miron] Jupiter gravitational lens

03:08 [Michael McConnell] Measuring gravity with satellites

05:42 [Colin Houseworth] Energy limit for high energy photons

06:57 [Encodedpr] Trip to a Moon base

07:57 [Annie Alexander] For All Mankind

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/w3Fx1hEX0ws

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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3I/ATLAS is very different from any comet we’ve ever seen before, Mars is filled with fragments from ancient impacts, ESA loses contact with JUICE right before an important flyby, and the highest resolution image of a solar flare ever seen. And on Space Bites+, why asteroid made of the same material can have different colors.

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00:00 Intro

00:25 3I/ATLAS is Weird

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/3iatlass-coma-is-largely-carbon-dioxide

02:51 Technosignatures of Interstellar Objects

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/what-technosignatures-would-interstellar-objects-have

06:52 Mars’ Lumpy Interior

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/insight/nasa-marsquake-data-reveals-lumpy-nature-of-red-planets-interior/

08:40 Plasma Waves In Jupiter’s Auroras

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-discover-unusual-plasma-waves-in-jupiters-aurora

10:15 ESA Restores Communication with JUICE

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-esa-restores-communications-with-juice-at-venus

12:25 Vote results

12:55 Supernova’s Heart

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/chandra-peers-into-a-supernovas-troubled-heart

15:38 Breathtaking Solar Flare

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/worlds-most-powerful-solar-telescope-captures-breathtaking-image-of-solar-flare

17:11 Cosmic Butterflies

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-butterfly-star-and-its-planet-forming-disk

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/cosmic-butterfly-unlocks-secrets-of-how-rocky-planets-form

18:59 Newsletter

19:55 Bonus story in [Space Bites+]

20:25 Media recommendations

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/n4Uc5hnljRg

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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Which is a bigger showstopper for a human Mars mission: food or radiation exposure? Does Vera Rubin leave any chance for aliens to still sneak upon us? Can something like space whales actually exist? And in Q&A+, when can we find out what dark matter and dark energy actually are?

🦄 Support us on Patreon:

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• 00:00 Start

• 00:31 [Kasie Ream] Which is the bigger showstopper for Mars: food or radiation?

• 02:29 [Richard Vanasse] Does Vera Rubin make it impossible for an alien fleet to sneak up on Earth?

• 02:54 [ventsyv] One question to ask aliens

• 03:24 [Terminally Offline] How can I get into a career in a planetarium?

• 05:56 [Steve Kennedy] What is the difference between a Kilonova and a Type 1a Supernova?

• 06:12 [teknophyle] Should we quickly become a two planet species?

• 08:14 [Michael D] How do I feel about the possibility of "space whales" type aliens?

• 09:51 [Bobby 2112] How does artificial gravity work on various scifi spaceships?

• 12:34 [shootZ234] Interesting facts about black holes

• 12:55 [paul wilson] How bright will the Betelgeuse explosion be?

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/MxowG6xhdX4

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter

🎧 PODCASTS

Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/

Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

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⚖️ LICENSE

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Support Universe Today Podcast

Why are galaxies and star systems flat? What does the future of the space race look like? Are we going to Mars to mine it? And in Q&A+, what sparked my personal interest for space as a kid?

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00:00 Start

00:26 [Царь Зверей] Why are galaxies and star systems flat?

02:26 [Indrek Staal] What does the future of the space race look like?

11:13 [Sal] Is mining minerals the primary objective of colonizing Mars?

13:59 [Aaron Dwyer] Where was the Big Bang?

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/8B5f-LhVWDg

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter

🎧 PODCASTS

Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/

Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

📩 CONTACT FRASER

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⚖️ LICENSE

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The boys are back! Discussing all the things that happened during Starship IFT-10. Why didn't they catch the Super Heavy booster? What did explode near the engines? Why was Starship orange? What's next for SpaceX? Looking for all the answers with Scott Manley and Marcus House.

📺 Scott Manley:

https://www.youtube.com/@scottmanley

📺 Marcus House:

https://www.youtube.com/@MarcusHouse

🚀 IFT-5 Analysis: https://youtu.be/Flv1W6AR-cU

🚀 IFT-4 Analysis: https://youtu.be/ecMlV4W_CLU

🚀 IFT-3 Analysis: https://youtu.be/EVic941kQ44

🚀 IFT-2 Analysis: https://youtu.be/ReXZvXPak4U

🚀 IFT-1 Analysis: https://youtu.be/RGcdjJj-f4g

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:34 The Boys are back!

• 01:46 Starship IFT-10

• 04:47 Liftoff

• 05:24 Super Heavy return and landing

• 07:54 It didn't explode

• 09:27 Starlink mockups deployment

• 11:38 Skirt explosion and re-entry

• 21:10 Ship landing

• 29:39 What next?

• 32:28 Economics of Starlink

• 34:36 Artemis

• 39:23 Final thoughts

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/-u0Qw4gEjHw

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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🎧 PODCASTS

Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/

Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

📩 CONTACT FRASER

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⚖️ LICENSE

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The Wow signal was even more Wow. Starship Flight 10 makes it space and returns to Earth, more red dwarf planets get crossed off the list as lacking an atmosphere, a supernova spilled its guts into space. And on Space Bites+, finding supernovae as quickly as possible.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:

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00:00 Intro

00:21 Update for the “Wow!” Signal

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-wow-signal-gets-an-update-it-was-even-strong-than-we-thought

02:50 Starship IFT-10

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/blaze-of-glory-spacex-starship-goes-the-distance-in-10th-flight-test

06:39 JWST finds no atmospheres

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-earth-like-exoplanet-crossed-off-the-list-the-jwst-shows-that-gj-3929b-has-no-atmosphere

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/gj-1132-b-doesnt-have-an-atmosphere-according-to-new-jwst-data

09:12 White Dwarf Habitable Zones

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/white-dwarf-stars-could-create-surprisingly-common-long-lived-habitable-zones

11:03 Supernova Headscratcher

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-exposed-core-of-this-supernova-is-a-headscratcher

12:43 Vote results

https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

13:14 TESS saw 3I/ATLAS

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/tess-spotted-3iatlas-two-months-before-it-was-discovered-it-was-even-active-then

14:50 The Mystery of Jupiter

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-study-rocks-jupiters-giant-impact-theory

16:52 Newsletter

17:38 Bonus story

18:01 Starship collab with Scott Manley and Marcus House

📺 VIDEO VERSION

00:00 Intro

00:21 Update for the “Wow!” Signal

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-wow-signal-gets-an-update-it-was-even-strong-than-we-thought

02:50 Starship IFT-10

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/blaze-of-glory-spacex-starship-goes-the-distance-in-10th-flight-test

06:39 JWST finds no atmospheres

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-earth-like-exoplanet-crossed-off-the-list-the-jwst-shows-that-gj-3929b-has-no-atmosphere

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/gj-1132-b-doesnt-have-an-atmosphere-according-to-new-jwst-data

09:12 White Dwarf Habitable Zones

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/white-dwarf-stars-could-create-surprisingly-common-long-lived-habitable-zones

11:03 Supernova Headscratcher

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-exposed-core-of-this-supernova-is-a-headscratcher

12:43 Vote results

https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

13:14 TESS saw 3I/ATLAS

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/tess-spotted-3iatlas-two-months-before-it-was-discovered-it-was-even-active-then

14:50 The Mystery of Jupiter

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-study-rocks-jupiters-giant-impact-theory

16:52 Newsletter

17:38 Bonus story

18:01 Starship collab with Scott Manley and Marcus House

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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🎧 PODCASTS

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Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

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Can the difficulty of interstellar travel the answer to the Fermi paradox? Or maybe it's the fact that we can only apply it to our galaxy and not further? Or maybe we can even find life in our solar system?

👉 [Q&A+] No YT ads. Bonus Question

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00:00 Start

00:00 [Sean E] A copy of the ISS

00:31 [Josh B] Favourite mind-blowing fact

01:12 [SpaceManLegend] Life on Europa or Enceladus?

03:47 [Todd Gibson Art] Interstellar travel VS the Fermi paradox

04:45 [GMol] Fermi paradox for the galaxy VS the Universe

06:38 [Db Ireland] Panspermia

09:57 [Jurij Slavec] Rare Earth hypothesis

13:07 [paul wilson] How to kill a black hole?

13:44 [Astrobirder] Smart telescope to buy

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/pygx-mseIZY

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter

🎧 PODCASTS

Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/

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📩 CONTACT FRASER

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⚖️ LICENSE

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We definitely won't see a space elevator built in any foreseeable future. But there is a similar but much more practical approach – a skyhook. How close are we to creating one? Why is it useful? What challenges does it bring and when can we expect first practical demonstrations? Finding out in this interview.

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🟣 Guest: Dr. Markus Landgraf

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=vgra4_QAAAAJ

📜 A multi-stage orbital sky hook for exploration in the new space transportation era

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576525004485

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:52 What is a skyhook

• 24:52 Materials

• 28:23 Possible practical tests

• 30:30 Current obsessions

• 36:59 Final thoughts

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/SvYvXk39wG8

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter

🎧 PODCASTS

Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/

Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

📩 CONTACT FRASER

[email protected]

⚖️ LICENSE

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Support Universe Today Podcast