Universe Today Podcast

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 23:19

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube:

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

Vera Rubin finds a new dwarf planet, while Webb sees dwarf planets colliding in another system, Valles Marineris might still be volcanically active, and Hera gets its first picture of Didymus and Dimorphus. And on Space Bites+, a planet that shouldn't have an atmosphere, but does.

Matt’s METI series

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Part 1: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-i-early-ideas-and-experiments

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Part 2: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-ii-from-interplanetary-to-interstellar

Timecodes:

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00:00 Intro

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00:21 Rubin’s First Dwarf Planet Candidate https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-rubin-observatory-finds-its-first-dwarf-planet-candidate

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02:56 Colliding Dwarf Planets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/colliding-dwarf-planets-created-a-cats-tail-1000-astronomical-units-long

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05:54 Dead Planets Orbiting a Dead Star https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dead-planets-orbiting-a-dead-star

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08:54 Largest Canyon in The Solar System is Still Active https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-largest-canyon-in-the-solar-system-is-still-tectonically-active

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11:23 Even More Evidence of The BetelBuddy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/betelgeuse-is-disturbed-by-its-companion-star

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13:17 Vote results

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13:43 NASA’s Next UV Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-new-uv-space-telescope-will-launch-in-2031

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17:38 Potential Targets For The Lazuli Private Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/27-exoplanet-targets-for-the-worlds-first-private-space-telescope

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20:07 Hera’s Almost There https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/First_light_Hera_resolves_two_asteroids_instead_of_one

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21:32 More space news https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-i-early-ideas-and-experiments

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23:19 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-oddbal-reflective-lava-world-is-challenging-to-understand

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26:06 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:12

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DCUndRxFz7M

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00:00 Intro

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00:26 [@iancudmore9795] when do we get research on what low G does to our health as compared to micro gravity?

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05:27 [@JacobBouchard] Could we use Buoyancy Tests to simulate low gravity?

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07:28 [@604Nighthawk] and can humanity breed in low gravity?

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08:28 [@alextruffle] Space nukes vs space lasers

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12:06 [@kimbarron4239] Could you 'drop' a bomb from orbit?

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13:12 [@alextruffle] What is the next upcoming best celestial event that can be seen with the naked eye?

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16:59 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:25

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YLR1oYfXD3Q

Which cool telescopes are coming after Nancy Grace Roman? Is the Planet 9 data already taken and is waiting to be discovered? Do we have the supermassive black hole or does it have us? And in Q&A+, is there anything in the Universe that's static?

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00:00 Intro

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00:27 [@iancudmore9795] Next telescopes to be excited about

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07:34 [@smkolins] Any update on Vera Rubin pics for the public?

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10:39 [@darthex0] do we have a supermassive black hole in the milky way, or does it have us? 11:59 [@joeyhoser] Is planet 9 already in the Rubin data?

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14:02 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] So someone with Vera Rubin gets to name it right?

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16:25 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 20:35

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B9P_8oZ4rCA

The Japanese mission is off to Phobos. Actually, there are green stars. Explaining the most mysterious cloud on Mars. Euclid discovers a comet. And in Space Bites+, how the shrinking Moon could be a danger for astronauts.

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00:00 Intro

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00:17 MMX Goes to Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jaxas-martian-moons-exploration-mission-is-on-its-way-to-mars-and-phobos

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03:09 Self-Interacting Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-distant-supercluster-of-galaxies-points-to-self-interacting-dark-matter

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06:25 Actually, there are Green Stars https://warwick.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/astronomers-reveal-true-colours-of-white-dwarf-stars/

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08:08 Mars’s Most Mysterious Cloud https://www.universetoday.com/articles/marss-most-mysterious-cloud-might-be-defying-textbook-cloud-physics

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10:06 Euclid Discovers a Comet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-esas-euclid-space-telescope-has-discovered-a-new-comet

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12:21 How the Milky Way's Disk Formed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-stubborn-question-answered-new-research-reveals-how-the-milky-ways-disk-formed

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14:40 Vote results

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15:06 Microblazar Confirmed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/achievement-unlocked-microblazar-confirmed

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17:39 Cool pictures https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-stars-in-the-early-stages-of-life-in-a-nearby-stellar-nursery https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2625/?lang

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20:35 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-moon-is-still-shrinking-as-it-cools-that-could-create-a-hazard-for-lunar-mission

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23:59 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:54

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a0t-G4LKiMU

What does "the present" mean in space? Why do we have the laws of Physics we have? Was there a rime when all the Universe was accessible? And in Q&A+, are all black holes perfect spheres?

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00:00 Intro

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00:25 [@idodekkers9165] Was there a time when all the universe was visible?

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06:02 [@madmillion91920110] Does the 'present' actually mean anything a cosmic scale?

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09:42 [@LDEKSOCH] Why these particular laws of physics?

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14:54 [@georgegherghinescu] Do event horizons of fast rotating black holes have a flattened sphere shape?

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17:43 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARST AT 21:45

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

A new mission that was just proposed to NASA is an extreme UV telescope that will observe hundreds of stars to find the conditions for planets with atmospheres. How exactly will it work? Finding out in this interview.

Interview with Lee Feinberg about the HWO https://youtu.be/0R3ykUkxH5M?si=DhJxA32PyHr3ypUh

Huge interview about TRAPPIST-1 system https://youtu.be/B8H4EnbKkgU?si=_mGhpuR5w2G0bCtX

🟣 Guest: Dr. Allison Youngblood https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/allison.a.youngblood

📜 ESCAPE: a small explorer mission to study the stellar drivers of exoplanet evolution https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.00683

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00:00 Intro

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02:19 M-dwarf stars and their planets

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07:10 ESCAPE mission

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17:27 Next steps

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21:45 TESS

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30:40 Current obsessions

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35:46 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:22

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

Why are there no binary planets? Should you buy into dark energy and dark matter? What apps are best for stargazing? And in Q&A+, why don't NASA just bring put wipers on Mars solar panels?

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00:00 Intro

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00:25 [@EdSceptic-y2e] Why are there no binary planets?

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02:39 [@andrewczski1969] Do you buy into dark matter?

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08:46 [@alcalbg] Does total dark energy increase as space expands?

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10:11 [@Noonyuh] What are your favorite apps or sites for real-time maps of the sky?

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15:22 [@andrewczski1969] just couldn't send along swiffers, huh?

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20:00 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 14:37

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qpthhx9svK8

Do hypernovae actually exist? The science is in from the Artemis 2 mission. A second generation planet found around a white dwarf. Starship 40 finally makes it home. And Space Bites Plus, a red dwarf feasting on a brown dwarf.

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

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00:00 Intro

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00:17 Hypernovae May Be All Hype, No Nova https://www.universetoday.com/articles/hypernovae-may-be-all-hype-no-nova

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02:19 Artemis 2 Lunar Science Report https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-preliminary-lunar-science-report-for-artemis-ii-is-out

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04:00 Potential Second Generation Planet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-detect-potential-second-generation-planet-around-dying-stellar-white-dwarf

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06:45 Supernova Remnant https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-uncover-more-intriguing-detail-in-an-ancient-supernova-remnant

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08:28 Vote results

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08:53 Primordial Helium https://www.universetoday.com/articles/primordial-helium-further-confirms-our-understanding-of-the-big-bang

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11:02 Ship 40 Made it Home

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11:53 Jupiter from Juno https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-data-from-the-juno-spacecraft-reveals-that-jupiters-has-a-rippling-wavy-magnetodisk

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12:54 Limb Darkening on Other Stars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-observe-the-limb-darkening-effect-on-nearby-stars

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14:37 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-red-dwarf-is-taking-its-time-eating-a-brown-dwarf

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17:32 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:25

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/99euKNYNKIE

Are interferometers the future of telescopes? Can we aim at stars by knowing only where they were billions of years ago? Is the Apophis asteroid still dangerous? And in Q&A+, can we just sent the SG-1 to it?

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00:00 Intro

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00:37 [@PerryM-vy4fe] Are Interferometers the future of space telescopes?

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03:36 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] If we can see stars a billion light years away can we guesstimate where they are now?

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05:29 [@PeterYannick] Where do we have to aim a laser if we want to sent a message to Alpha Centauri?

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07:19 [@andrewczski1969] Apophis in 2029 can shut the WHOLE show down, no?

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12:43 [@kairon156] Are there any plans on getting rock samples from Mar's moons?

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14:25 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] Can’t we just send SG-1 to face Apophis?

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18:20 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:14

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

If SpaceX no longer want Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon, why won't NASA just buy them for themselves? What would a perfect space station look like? What is being done to improve the deep space network? And in Q&A+, finally, a Lagrange Point question.

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00:00 Intro

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00:27 [@kairon156] What would a perfect space station look like?

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08:13 [@endigo2007] Can NASA buy the remaining Falcon 9's and operate them to send Dragon to ISS?

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10:57 [@musicover5] Is there work being done to increase the bandwidth of the deep space network?

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14:14 [@jamessobek196] Does the Moon jiggle L2 Lagrange points?

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18:04 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 17:14

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/S7Vbh0p5Vfc

Team Human https://www.teamhuman.org/

A Moon lava tube mission. Remnants of the Moon’s magnetosphere. Where are the wondering supermassive black holes. And on Space Bites+, why Mars’ ice caps are mostly dust free.

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00:00 Intro

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00:14 Finally, A Moon Lava Tube Mission https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-selects-gimli-to-search-the-marius-lunar-pit-for-a-potential-lunar-base-site

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03:06 Possible lunar dynamo https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-buried-volcano-on-the-moon-hints-at-an-ancient-lunar-dynamo

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06:11 Pulsar Feeding from a Companion's Stellar "Wind" https://www.universetoday.com/articles/xrism-makes-first-ever-detection-of-a-pulsar-feeding-from-a-companions-stellar-wind

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07:45 Origin of Mars and Earth https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-study-shows-that-earth-and-mars-had-different-origins

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10:10 Vote results 10:36 Wandering Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/wandering-black-holes-may-hold-clues-to-the-evolution-of-the-universe

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12:30 Searching for black holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/thousands-of-black-holes-could-be-lurking-in-our-backyardand-you-can-help-find-them

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14:57 Hubble's 200,000th orbit https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-hubble-marks-its-200000th-orbit-by-watching-lensed-supernova

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16:09 Supernova near Sag A* https://www.universetoday.com/articles/chandra-x-ray-observatory-drops-new-view-of-our-galaxys-unruly-centre

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17:14 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-north-pole-ice-is-far-cleaner-than-expected

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18:14 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:42

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B_h8kKdiHe8

Why do star shades look like flowers? Is Mars colonization just a Ponzi Scheme? Why would it be worth doing? And on Q&A+, should you scream into the void?

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00:00 Intro

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00:23 [@silasmiller4417] Why are renders of orbital star shades shaped like flower pedals?

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05:37 [@illyakuryakin5024] Anyone notice no one is talking about the Ponzi scheme called "Mars Colonization" anymore?

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12:13 [@illyakuryakin5024] why would it be so "amazing"?

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17:42 [@Alienalloy] If I scream in the vacuum of space have I gone beyond compony health and safety procedures so already a lost cause?

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20:20 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 25:44

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/B8xbSUstIhA

🟣 Guest: Dr. Artur Davoyan https://samueli.ucla.edu/people/artur-davoyan/

Solar sails are great. It's a propulsion method that doesn't require carrying fuel. But the need to be really big to be efficient. How do you fold them on Earth and unfold in space? What's a reliable way to do that? NASA recently awarded a NIAC grant specifically for that.

📜 Coilable Stacked Solar Sails for Very High delta-V Missions https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/coilable-stacked-solar-sails-for-very-high-delta-v-missions/

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

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00:00 Intro

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01:31 Solar sail as a propulsion method

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25:44 Alternative propulsion methods

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38:38 Current obsessions

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44:54 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:37

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eLHeqk2Yh1Q

How bright is space? What's the best way to go under the ice on Europa? Are there new gravitational wave detectors in the works? And on Q&A+, have we actually seen black holes grow?

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00:00 Intro

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00:23 [@Noxelius] What's the best way to get under the ice of Europe or Enceladus?

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01:46 [@jvan120] how bright is it in space?

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05:16 [@luiscarneiro4123] How can we make governments invest more money in space?

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09:11 [@rJaune] Are there any plans to make new Gravitational Wave detectors?

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12:27 [@AproposOfWetSnow] What if Pluto got into Mercury's orbit?

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14:37 [@GeraldBlakefield] Have we actually seen black holes grow?

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17:39 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 15:56

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y9Iknlzbn5s

NASA is working on a new far-infrared space telescope, Starship finally makes it to orbit, a nuclear reactor for the Moon, and an exoplanet orbiting backwards. On Space Bites plus, a galaxy with a disconnected center.

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00:00 Intro

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00:18 New far-infrared NASA telescope coming https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-first-selection-for-a-new-class-of-mission-the-prima-far-infrared-telescope

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02:11 Starship goes orbital https://www.universetoday.com/articles/spacexs-starship-rocket-does-its-job-during-first-orbital-flight

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04:09 Power for the Moon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-1000c-lunar-microreactor-could-power-the-next-era-of-moon-bases

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07:28 Sub-Neptune orbiting the wrong way https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-find-a-sub-neptune-orbiting-completely-backward-around-a-red-dwarf

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09:37 Vote results

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10:03 Dynamic structural evolution in Chariklo’s rings https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-finds-dynamic-structural-evolution-in-chariklos-rings

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11:14 Finding life on Enceladus could be easier than we thought https://www.universetoday.com/articles/finding-life-on-enceladus-could-be-easier-than-we-thought-says-new-research

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13:08 Getting even more from the CMB https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-new-test-looks-for-a-subtle-twist-in-ancient-light

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15:56 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/diving-into-an-out-of-sync-galaxy

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16:46 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:23

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BWKrIT28Uk0

We orbit the Sun, Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way, but what does the Milky Way orbit? Can we still catch up with Oumuamua? Is the Big Crunch a ruled-out theory? And in Q&A+, have we seen a phenomenon we can't yet explain?

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00:00 Intro

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00:26 [@jonathanchamberlain6260] What does the Milky Way orbit?

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04:21 [@paulwilson1529] Could we still catch up with Oumuamua?

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08:28 [@bakkos_bakkos] Is The Big Crunch a ruled out theory?

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13:35 [@kamleshpatel6817] Why can't gravitational waves travel faster than light?

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15:23 [@paigepotter4682] Is there an astronomical phenomenon where you think we’ve probably seen the evidence already, but haven’t realized what we’re looking at yet?

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18:51 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 43:25

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/izP3FsO9u8o

PBS Spacetime video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OM0zTfdsPo
Professor David Kipping's channel: @CoolWorldsLab

We've done a lot of searching for extraterrestrial life over the years. But how good was it? Did we look hard enough or deep enough? Is it too early for conclusions? Could do a better job? If so, how? Figuring out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Ben Zuckerman

📜 Broadband Searches for Extraterrestrial Technological Intelligence: a New Strategy To Find Nearby Alien Civilizations https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07333

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00:00 Intro

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01:36 SETI

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05:07 How deep did we look

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24:12 What could we have done differently

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36:57 Most satisfying answer to the Fermi Paradox

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43:25 BONUS PART: pollution of white dwarfs

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53:01 Current obsessions

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57:14 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:56

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cdHAMQf1Fnk

When will we see the surfaces of exoplanets? What non-western telescopes should we expect? Where are all the big promised results from Vera Rubin? And in Q&A+, how to get in space journalism and is it worth it now?

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00:00 Intro

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00:33 [@theindianking3000] Will Roman see exoplanets better than JWST?

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03:13 [@fwd79] Which non-western space telescopes are coming?

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05:55 [@paulwilson1529] How packed is the asteroid belt?

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07:35 [@GadZookz] Are there any calories on the Moon or Mars?

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10:26 [@rilanfelnar2698] Results from Vera Rubin. When?

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13:56 [@absolute-doink] Any advice for someone interested in space journalism?

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20:31 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 15:59

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pkZ5tjeeiS0

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00:00 Intro

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00:33 Superflares are on the table https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sun-is-physically-capable-of-producing-a-superflare-according-to-a-new-study

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04:10 Direct image of the youngest exoplanet ever https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-directly-image-the-youngest-exoplanet-ever

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05:56 Weather report for exoplanets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/researchers-develop-a-way-to-check-the-weather-on-a-exoplanet

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07:34 Zombie white dwarf https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-zombie-white-dwarf-star-is-born-again-hallelujah

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08:55 More on LRDs https://www.universetoday.com/articles/little-red-dots-are-the-seeds-of-quasars-and-supermassive-black-holes

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11:10 Vote results

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11:35 Smashed icy moons https://www.universetoday.com/articles/smashed-icy-moons-cool-too-rapidly-to-retain-oceans

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13:57 Early galaxies https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-rare-distant-clump-of-early-galaxies-reveals-ancient-cosmic-secrets

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15:59 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/earths-center-of-mass-drifts-less-than-we-thought

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18:47 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:04

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

What does matter and antimatter annihilate into? How do we know what happened before the CMB? Is outer space dirty? And in Q&A+, initial thoughts about Seestar S50 pro.

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00:00 Intro

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00:48 [@SirIke49] What do matter and antimatter annihilate into?

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05:00 [@nitstyles13] How do we know what happened before the CMB?

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12:36 [@Wackyg6] Question from a 6 yr old. Is outer space dirty?

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15:04 [@HavoJavo] Thoughts on the Seestar s50 pro

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17:42 Final thoughts