Universe Today Podcast

BONUS PART START STARTS AT 18:21

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JMSfLchB5hI

Interview with Dr. Noelia Noël about painting satellites black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yQegWQWtUo

Dragonfly is taking shape. A new exoplanet at Beta Pictoris. Hera gets a software upgrade mid-flight. And new features hiding in the Orion Nebula. On Space Bites Plus, how we can paint satellites black to reduce light pollution. All this and more in this week's Space Bites.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:20 Dragonfly Takes Its Shape https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/dragonfly/2026/07/09/nasas-dragonfly-clears-key-tests-as-titan-rotorcraft-takes-shape/

• 03:41 Software Update for HERA https://www.universetoday.com/articles/rebooting-a-spacecraft-140-million-kilometres-from-home

• 06:11 New Exoplanet at Beta Pictoris https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-exoplanet-hid-for-10-years-before-astronomers-finally-found-it

• 09:36 Missing Link for Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-relativistic-jet-could-be-an-indication-of-the-missing-link-for-black-holes

• 11:51 Vote results

• 12:13 Ancient astronomers were right about Theta Eridani https://www.universetoday.com/articles/to-ancient-astronomers-theta-eridani-was-brighter-for-a-thousand-years-now-we-know-why

• 14:41 New Features Hiding in the Orion Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-find-new-features-hiding-in-the-orion-nebula

• 16:15 Hubble Discovers First of Star Cluster’s Missing Black Holes https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-discovers-first-of-star-clusters-missing-black-holes/

• 17:54 More space news

• 18:21 BONUS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/ultra-black-coating-could-mitigate-light-pollution-caused-by-satellites

• 19:03 How do you do, fellow kids?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:04

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BsHe8QzUW0k

Why not push the ISS to a high orbit instead of de-orbiting it? Will we ever send a probe to another star? Is quantum computing more promising than AI advances? And in Q&A+, how close are we to a technological singularity?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@TheLinthus] Why not push the ISS to a high orbit instead of deorbiting it?

• 06:18 [@zach_diecast_mansur] Will we ever send a probe to another star?

• 10:49 [@clivewarren3227] Is quantum computing more promising than AI advances?

• 14:04 [@slowboyfuelpump5438] How close are we to a technological singularity?

• 16:30 How your support helps

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:47

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R-hHX1IiFG8

Is Sgr A* even massive enough for a supermassive black hole? Are there galaxies around the Little Red Dots? How important is plate tectonics? And in Q&A+, what's the biggest showstopper for a interstellar crew?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@Nomad77ca] Is our BH big enough to be "super" massive?

• 01:58 [@billionsandbillionsofstars] Are the Little Red Dots supermassive black holes inside galaxies?

• 05:54 [@luiscarneiro4123] Will Euclid + JWST data force a revision of dark matter models, or could something unexpected emerge?

• 09:38 [@kcvillain87] Do we have ideas about the roll of tectonics and habitability?

• 14:47 [@Dying2play13] what's the biggest showstopper for a interstellar crew?

• 19:48 Chill out and relax

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 17:37

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

China Lands a Reusable Rocket, Spacecraft visit two asteroids up close. How spaceflight makes you older. And using permanent magnets to protect astronauts from radiation. And on Space Bites Plus, extending inflatable tunnels for the surface of Mars.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 China Lands a Reusable Rocket https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2rmmx86pdo

• 02:04 Two Close Asteroid Encounters https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-success-for-hayabusa-2-as-it-completes-a-flyby-of-asteroid-torifune https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758823/n6758838/c10760422/content.html

• 06:11 Milky Way’s Arms Are Bigger Than We Thought https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-milky-ways-arms-reach-out-further-than-we-thought

• 07:36 Spaceflight Makes you Older https://www.universetoday.com/articles/does-space-speed-up-ageing-a-new-study-says-yes

• 10:24 Permanent Magnets Protect Astronauts? https://www.universetoday.com/articles/could-permanent-magnets-protect-astronauts-from-solar-storms

• 13:00 Vote results

• 13:35 Blue Origin’s Plan for LC-36 Repairs https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-return-to-flight

• 15:16 Quasars from Euclid https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-euclid-space-telescope-has-found-31-new-ancient-quasars-including-the-most-ancient-one-ever-foun

• 16:32 JWST's 4th anniversary https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_reveals_millions_of_stars_in_nearby_galaxy

• 17:37 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/university-team-proposed-retractable-pressurized-tunnels-for-missions-to-mars

• 20:48 More space news

• 21:14 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:55

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

Will the Sun consume the Earth or not? Should we trade feet for arms to live in microgravity? How good is the peer review process in Astronomy? And in Q&A+, what happened to the Parker Solar Probe?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@TimPointing] Will the Sun consume the Earth or not?

• 04:40 [@jeffhans1] Should we trade legs for arms to live in microgravity?

• 07:26 [@vrstovsek] How loud is the Sun?

• 08:21 [@JJsQuest] How good is the peer review process in Astronomy?

• 11:55 [@darrengreen8000] What happened to the Parker Solar Probe?

• 15:07 Interviews

BONUS PART starts at 29:32

Watch here (with no ads and a bonus part) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OqDGsTEhlrQ

We're pretty familiar with orbits around the Earth. But as we start putting more and more things on the Moon, it means we'll need to cover more and more orbits that go to and around the Moon. And it's actually much trickier than you think.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Aaron Rosengren https://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/node/3654

📜 The Astrodynamics Primer on Cislunar and Translunar Space https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.26367

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:51 New operating volume in space

• 03:58 Lunar orbits during the Apollo era

• 09:42 Lagrange points

• 14:07 Artemis orbits

• 25:34 Kessler syndrome in cislunar space

• 29:32 Risks of crushing things into the Moon

• 39:00 Current obsessions

• 41:38 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:11

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N6HOGQsrf0c

Is Helium-3 the real reason for the modern-day space race? Could there be an undetectable death ray coming towards us? Where's the best place to stargaze? And in Q&A+, where will Artemis missions land?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@Ravi_GoodBetterBestNLIR] Is Helium 3 is the real reason for this new moon base race?

• 05:09 [@slowboyfuelpump5438] What is the best place in the US for sky gazing?

• 07:30 [@d.o.6769] What is my favorite naked eye or low mag observation?

• 10:16 [@kevinjelesnianski2260] Could there be an undetectable death ray coming towards us?

• 14:11 [@paigepotter4682] Where will future Artemis missions land?

• 16:20 My media

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:33

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e6EhL7635Rc

SAVE STARGATE: https://www.change.org/p/save-stargate-with-martin-gero

Would the Sun be poisoned by iron if the Earth crashed into it? What happens to a binary companion when a supernova goes off? Which rocket is my favourite? And in Q&A+, could JWST pay more attention to the little red dots?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:24 [@psilocybe6115] Would the Earth poison the Sun?

• 04:31 [@paulmichaelfreedman8334] My favorite rocket or space vehicle?

• 09:56 [@tomholroyd7519] What happens when a binary companion goes supernova?

• 12:33 [@abdwyer] Could JWST be “focused” on the Little Red Dots?

• 15:43 Take action!

Vera Rubin survey is underway. Could a spare Perseverance rover be going to the moon? Two planets that are less dense than cotton candy. A vast connected magma system on Mars.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:16 Vera Rubin's 10-year Survey Finally Begins https://www.universetoday.com/articles/its-finally-begun-the-vera-rubin-observatory-creating-what-will-be-the-greatest-movie-ever-made

• 03:04 NASA Moon Updates https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-more-moon-base-science-previews-new-opportunities/

• 07:49 Planets Lighter Than Candy Floss https://www.universetoday.com/articles/two-planets-lighter-than-candy-floss

• 09:59 Not Ice Giants (Maybe) https://www.universetoday.com/articles/uranus-neptune-may-be-magma-worlds-not-ice-giants

• 12:04 Vote results 12:36 Another Galaxy With No Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-discover-another-galaxy-with-no-dark-matter

• 14:58 Possible Vast Underground Magma System on Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-may-have-vast-magma-systems-beneath-its-surface

• 16:47 More space news

• 18:19 Isaacman's NASA

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:05

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wk_0L1tqnps

Can we put a structure on the Moon to be seen with a naked eye? Which telescope to get under 200 bucks? Which telescope should get a priority? And in Q&A+, exactly where are we in the Milky Way?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@jeffhans1] Which telescope should get a priority?

• 04:50 [@clivewarren3227] Can we put a structure on the Moon to be seen with a naked eye?

• 07:10 [@unlimitedmind69] Which telescope to get under 200 bucks?

• 11:05 [@kennywoodward9862] Where are we in the Milky Way exactly?

• 15:06 Update on my Top-100 scifi movies