Universe Today Podcast

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 21:21

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

Couldn’t we use the entire moon as a data center? Does the vastness of space ever scare me? Do solar systems have Lagrange points? And in Q&A+, will we ever get to a Jetsons reality?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:23 [@rwarren58] Couldn’t we use the entire moon as a data center?

• 03:58 [@jonathanchamberlain6260] Is the vastness of space and the unknown nature ever unnerving for you. I love space content but sometimes it gives me major anxiety.

• 11:16 [@ashstar42] How do you stay motivated when the world seems to be turning its back on progress?

• 20:04 [@DamingoFlave] Do Solar Systems have Lagrange points?

• 21:21 [@Stanton415] How quickly do you believe the robots will be able to give us Jetsons reality?

• 25:04 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 26:33

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

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

Interview with Vasiliy Kokorev about Little Red Dots https://youtu.be/zoHtCmCbcEU
Interview with Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess about JWST https://youtu.be/hmJOz9qCk0M
Interview with Lee Feinberg about HWO and LIFE Telescopes https://youtu.be/0R3ykUkxH5M

We have more pictures of the Falcon 9 crater on the moon. Starship arrives at port after landing in the ocean. The Link mission to save Swift has failed. Another reusable Chinese rocket lands. And in Space Bites Plus, a really clever way to redirect an asteroid with a nuclear weapon.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:37 The Falcon Crater https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/nasas-lro-images-falcon-9-crater-on-moon-learns-new-details/

• 03:08 Starship Arrives to a Port https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/its-christmastime-at-spacex-as-company-salvages-starship-from-indian-ocean/

• 05:33 Mars' Field of Polygons https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-curiosity-rover-discovers-massive-field-of-polygons

• 07:41 Link Failed. Swift Will Die Soon https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-next-steps-for-commercial-swift-boost-mission/

• 08:59 China Lands A Rocket (Again) https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/the-floodgates-are-open-after-another-chinese-company-lands-a-reusable-rocket/

• 10:41 Fastest Star In The Milky Way https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-fastest-star-in-the-milky-way-will-test-relativity

• 13:21 LRD = Black Hole Star? https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-jwst-little-red-dots-could-be-black-hole-stars

• 15:47 Early Galaxies Are Bigger Than We Thought https://www.universetoday.com/articles/whoa-the-jwsts-ancient-galaxies-are-much-more-massive-than-thought

• 17:56 Three Supermassive Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-first-for-the-jwst-it-detects-three-supermassive-black-holes-in-the-same-galaxy

• 19:20 JWST Looks at Callisto https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-peeks-at-callistos-ancient-scars

• 20:49 Vote results

• 21:45 Star Formation is Slowing Down in the Andromeda Galaxy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/hubble-reveals-that-star-formation-is-slowing-down-in-the-andromeda-galaxy

• 23:35 Helix Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mothra-shows-us-a-star-being-recycled-in-the-helix-nebula

• 24:38 Carina Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-the-treasure-chest-at-the-heart-of-the-carina-nebula

• 25:49 Lion Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-clearest-image-yet-of-the-lion-nebula

• 26:33 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nuking-an-asteroid-on-short-notice-could-save-us

• 30:31 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:13

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aX16AFy_Y9Q

Do we go through same places in the Milky Way every rotation? How should we celebrate the first contact? Will artificial magnetosphere help creating an atmosphere on Mars? And in Q&A+, how much does YouTube really pay for views.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@JamesMcIntosh-r7j] Will an artificial magnetosphere help retain Mars' atmosphere?

• 03:36 [@1000dots] Wouldn't that cut off heat and light from the sun too?

• 04:20 [@emilianolaneri] Does the Earth always follow the same path through on the milky way?

• 07:07 [@sciencecompliance235] How should we celebrate the first contact?

• 11:16 [@drewd2] How old is the Universe if you include pre-big bang?

• 14:13 [@JohnnyApplleseed] How much does 3M views pay?

• 15:55 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:48

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R8_XwBxWsn0

How dangerous would a massive solar storm be for future Moon and Mars bases? Can more exoplanet discoveries stimulate more funding? What’s the ultimate fate of galaxy clusters? And in Q&A+, would I go on a Moon voyage?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@slowboyfuelpump5438] how devastating would a Kerrington event be to our plans for the Moon and Mars?

• 03:07 [@thomasstarkey8238] If we had more Earth 2.0 candidates, would governments increase astronomy funding?

• 05:28 [@ragetail3] @frasercain when they say the farthest galaxy we can see is 13 billion light years away, and they say it is basically right after the big bang. What would Earth 4 billion years ago have seen there?

• 08:18 [@MikeKalil-e4f] How did we get here before the light reached us here?

• 10:11 [@OneOfAMineRocks] What does dark energy imply for the gravity-bound galaxies?

• 12:48 [@iliketurtles7947] Would I be willing to live on a lunar base for some years?

• 16:49 Upcoming Nancy Grace Roman launch

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 17:16

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9XGHRoVJgYA

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

How can there be auroras on Mars? More bad news for the exploration of Europa. Watching Pluto's atmosphere. And on Space Bites Plus, could planets form right after the Big Bang?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:17 Auroras on Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-maven-illuminates-new-understanding-of-auroras-at-mars

• 03:07 More Bad News for Europa Exploration https://www.universetoday.com/articles/europas-interior-ocean-may-harbor-life-but-could-be-hard-to-reach-says-new-research

• 05:46 Watching Pluto’s Atmosphere https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-watch-as-a-distant-worlds-atmosphere-shrinks-and-thins

• 08:14 Identifying Quasars with Machine Learning https://www.universetoday.com/articles/seven-needles-800000-haystacks

• 10:05 First “AI-Driven” Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-telescope-that-points-itself

• 11:55 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 12:41 China’s Rocket Exploded in Flight https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/one-of-chinas-workhorse-rockets-just-exploded-in-flight/

• 13:41 Moonquakes to Locate Lunar Ice https://www.universetoday.com/articles/how-to-find-lunar-ice-moonquakes-to-the-rescue

• 15:40 More Good News for Swift https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/08/11/nasa-swift-boost-spacecraft-prepares-to-continue-mission/

• 17:16 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-ingredients-for-planets-turned-up-astonishingly-early

• 19:58 Solar eclipse 2026 and the Perseids

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:15

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

My Top-100 movie list: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/my-top-100-space-153930141

Which are we more likely to find, alien megastructures or alien microbes? Why is the US racing racing China to the Moon? Will mining the asteroid belt ever become a reality? And in Q&A+, will we ever make a mega-cut video again?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:28 [@paigepotter4682] Are we closer to discovering alien microbes or alien megastructures?

• 03:09 [@MelindaGreen] Why is the US even racing China to the moon?

• 06:05 [@darthex0] Is a space station cheaper if communists do it?

• 07:03 [@bladesolar1] Will mining at the asteroid belt ever be a reality?

• 10:23 [@goatlord51] If an amateur uses the Vera Rubin data to find planet nine do they get to name it?

• 11:15 [@melantorja] Will there be a Lagrange point questions mega-cut?

• 14:57 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 21:56

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VqBVL2vwh04

🟣 Guest: Dr. Mike Rubenstein

📜 Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturn’s Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/actively-steerable-femtosat-constellations-for-in-situ-exploration-of-saturns-rings-atmosphere-and-magnetosphere/

👉 All 2026 NIAC Selections https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/

Saturn's rings are dense. Sending one flagship probe through them makes no sense. It'll most probably be lost. But sending a swarm of small cheap probes does. Even if a lot of them won't survive, you're still getting lots of data. This is exactly what this NIAC project is proposing.

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:22 Observing Saturn's rings

• 05:21 A swarm of satellites

• 21:56 Invisible drones

• 29:33 Current obsessions

• 31:12 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:37

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N2INt2XOCp0

My Top-100 movie list: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/my-top-100-space-153930141

If white holes exist, could we ever see one? Do SETI researches have access to Vera Rubin? Which is the best way for the Universe to end? And in Q&A+, will the Earth eventually become tidally locked to the Sun?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@festerallday] if a civilization isn't detected by SETI did it even exist?

• 02:20 [@tommix6016] If White Holes were to exist, would they be detectable?

• 03:49 [@vistotutti6037] Does SETI have access to the Vera Rubin data stream?

• 06:26 [@setaihedron] So we are going to trust that the most corrupt government in modern history is honest about what it is filtering from the data?

• 09:00 [@MelindaGreen] How would I prefer the Universe end?

• 12:37 [@paulwilson1529] Will the Earth become tidally lock to the Sun?

• 14:56 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 19:40

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/rV0bRCA2cSs

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

Interviews mentioned:
👉 Interview with Dr Matt Weller https://youtu.be/R18W6VVZMhc?si=RasWhg-Y9sfKvXys
👉 Interview with Dr Paul Byrne https://youtu.be/VXuhaJu-GNM?si=A-lFy8XUQHJLqvL-

Venus might not be completely dead. Evidence of liquid flowing on the surface of Pluto. Can primordial black holes cause supernova? And on Space Bites Plus, what happened to Neptune's rings and moons when Triton showed up?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 Three Worlds Not One https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-asteroid-that-may-be-three-worlds

• 02:22 Venus Isn’t Dead https://www.universetoday.com/articles/venus-isnt-dead-after-all

• 06:04 Liquid on Pluto https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/08/05/nasas-new-horizons-finds-evidence-of-recent-liquid-on-plutos-surface/

• 07:47 Charon Was Spinning Much Faster https://www.universetoday.com/articles/charons-mountains-reveal-moon-once-spun-10x-faster

• 09:00 Primordial Black Holes and Supernovae https://www.universetoday.com/articles/primordial-black-holes-can-trigger-type-ia-supernovae-and-astronomers-should-be-able-to-find-them

• 12:05 SpaceX Slams a Rocket Into The Moon https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2085121782315446613

• 13:53 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 14:48 Voyager 2 Avoids Shutting Down More Instruments https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/

• 17:05 Quick Update on New Glenn https://x.com/davill/status/2085074404627915059

• 18:07 Rescuing the Rescuer https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/heres-how-engineers-plan-to-save-the-satellite-sent-to-save-nasas-swift-mission/

• 19:40 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/smashed-ice-worlds-formed-neptunes-inner-moons-and-rings

• 20:50 Hank Green's AI controversy

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:26

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2lopY61vhgc

Channels mentioned:

•  @filmjoy 

•  @WeirdExplorer 

Are primordial gravitational waves still coming to us? How big would a 30 billion Sun mass black hole be? Do photons start experiencing time when slowed down in a medium? And in Q&A+, can any particle pop up into existence any time anywhere?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@vistotutti6037] Are primordial gravitational waves still going?

• 04:25 [@AriasThirdOfHisName] Thoughts on charged black holes?

• 06:45 [@KnownUnknown-i8r] How large is a 30 billion solar mass black hole?

• 08:04 [@hangmann747tinmann8] Does a photon experience time when it's slowed down in a medium?

• 09:18 [@oldtimer2662] Is Andromeda traveling towards us or are we traveling towards it?

• 10:35 [@EpicQuestBio] Has anyone considered using railgun to launch ultra-high-aspect ablation-shieled microgram payloads to escape velocity from their backyard?

• 13:26 [@yonatan62] Is there a chance that any particle can pop into existence anywhere at any time?

• 17:29 Final thoughts