Space News Today

In this episode • Shadow Day: the only total solar eclipse of 2026 crosses Arctic Russia, Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain today — the first total eclipse over western mainland Europe since 1999 (Spain’s first since 1905, Iceland’s since 1954). Max totality ~2 min 18 s. Reykjavík ~17:48 UT; northern Spain ~18:27–18:33 UT (Sun very low, ~4–10° up). Live via NASA, timeanddate and the Explora...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 95 Spectacular vortices discovered on the Sun’s surface Astronomers have for the first time observed swirling whirlpool like vortices deep in the Sun’s photosphere – its visible surface. The event horizon of merging black holes seen for the first time Astronomers have for the first time picked up gravitational waves from the event horizon during the actual merger of two black holes . St...

Astronomy Daily · S05E164 “Eclipse Eve” · Tuesday 11 August 2026. Sources are primary/agency where possible; aggregator dates were checked against originals. In this episode • LEAD — The 12 August total solar eclipse: the only total eclipse of 2026 and the first over mainland Europe since 1999. Totality arcs from Siberia over the North Pole to eastern Greenland, western Iceland, northern Spain and a sliver of Port...

Astronomy Daily · S05E163 · “The Long Way Home” · Monday 10 August 2026. Sources verified against primary / institutional outlets. Starship “lost at sea” (Flight 13) • Flight 13 launched 24 July 2026 from Starbase, South Texas; the upper stage (“Ship,” Ship 40, ~52 m) made the softest Starship water landing yet in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia — and, in a program first, survived in...

In this engaging Q&A episode of Space Nuts, join host Andrew Dunkley and astronomer Fred Watson Watson as they tackle a variety of fascinating questions from listeners. From the peculiarities of Martian days to the mysteries of black holes and the galactic centre, this episode is filled with enlightening discussions that are sure to spark curiosity about the cosmos.

In this episode:

- John asks about the implications of Mar...

This weekend on Astronomy Daily: the Inouye Solar Telescope reveals whirlpools on the Sun’s surface for the first time, a Falcon 9 upper stage carves a fresh crater on the Moon, Voyager 2 pulls off a daring "Big Bang" power swap 21 billion kilometres away, and the LINK spacecraft wins its de-spin battle in the race to save NASA’s Swift. Plus your both-hemispheres guide to the 12 August total solar eclipse and the moonle...

Astronomy Daily · S05E161 · “The Colour of Empty Space” · Friday 7 August 2026. Hosts: Anna & Avery. astronomydaily.io · @AstroDailyPod ① Vacuum birefringence: reading a magnetar ● NASA’s IXPE, with NICER and the Parkes/Murriyang radio telescope (NSW), measured the polarised X-rays of magnetar 1E 1547.0−5408. ● Result: soft X-ray polarisation ~65% at 2 keV, rising to nearly 80% at some rotation phases — ...

Landslides on Pluto and China's SpaceX-like Rocket Recovery Success

Discover the intriguing discovery of landslides on Pluto, explained through recent image analysis from the New Horizons spacecraft, and learn how these features provide clues about the dwarf planet's geological activity. Plus, explore China's recent achievement in rocket recovery, mimicking SpaceX's successful landing techniques with innovative net capture techno...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 94 Black holes are a hundred times more powerful than we thought Astronomers have been forced to rewrite their textbooks on the power of supermassive black holes after new observations have shown that these cosmic monsters can generate enough energy to impact galaxies hundreds of thousands of light years away. The dramatic collision the flipped our Milky Way galaxy A new study suggests that our home gala...

Astronomy Daily · S05E160 · 6 August 2026. In this episode: a Falcon 9 upper stage confirmed to have struck the Moon; a live ISS spacewalk; supernova SN 2026gzf caught at first light; SpaceX Crew-13 previewed; and a both-hemispheres guide to the 12 August eclipse and Perseids. FALCON 9 LUNAR IMPACT (LEAD) ● Spent upper stage 2025-010D struck near Einstein Crater (~19.4°N, 93.3°W) at ~06:35 UTC, 5 Aug 2026 — matching Bill Gray...

Astronomy Daily S05E159 — Wednesday, 5 August 2026. In this episode: a power-saving “Big Bang” keeps Voyager 2 doing science, direct-to-phone satellites reach orbit, Curiosity finds a vast honeycomb field on its 14th Martian anniversary, and NASA’s Aspera prepares to hunt the universe’s missing gas. ① Voyager 2’s “Big Bang” power save • JPL engineers freed up power by simultaneously s...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 93 The strongest evidence yet that Betelgeuse is not alone Astronomers have finally demonstrated that the red supergiant star Betelgeuse has a binary companion star about two to three times the mass of the Sun. Is the mighty Andromeda galaxy dying A new study has found that star formation is winding down in our nearest big neighbouring galaxy Andromeda. The most volcanically active world in the Solar Sys...

S05E158 — “The Crater Makers” · Tuesday 4 August 2026. Four stories on cosmic impacts — and a new map of the X-ray sky — plus a both-hemispheres skywatch. ① A dead Falcon 9 is about to crater the Moon ● A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage (catalogued 2025-010D) is predicted to strike the Moon near Einstein Crater on 5 Aug 2026 at ~06:35 UTC — the second documented uncontrolled rocket impact on th...

In this enlightening Q&A episode of Space Nuts, join host Andrew Dunkley and astronomer Fred Watson Watson as they field a range of intriguing questions from listeners. From the hypothetical concept of dark matter stars to the mysteries of dormant comets and the mechanics of gravitational slingshots, this episode is packed with engaging discussions that spark curiosity in the cosmos.

In this episode:

- An exploration of dar...

SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 92 The monster that’s been let out of its cage Astronomers have for the first time discovered a monstrous supermassive black hole wandering unseen near the edge of a galaxy. Counting down to next week’s solar eclipse Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Greenland Russia and the arctic are about to experience a total solar eclipse as the Moon’s shadow sweeps across the surface of the Earth. The Swi...

Astronomy Daily · S05E157 · “The Edge of Everything” · Monday 3 August 2026

In this episode • The largest galaxy, measured at last. Ultra-deep imaging of IC 1101 in the Abell 2029 cluster has traced its outer edge for the first time: an edge radius of ~260 kpc, a diameter near 520 kpc (~1.7 million light-years), and ~3.4 trillion solar masses in stars — about 17× the width of the Milky Way. Faint outer structure...

Astronomy Daily S05E156 — Weekend Space & Astronomy News Wrap. Saturday, 1 August 2026. In this episode • The first “self-driving” telescope — a SkAI deep-learning system (Northwestern / UChicago / Fermilab) schedules and re-plans observations in real time on the Dark Energy Camera at the Blanco 4-m, Cerro Tololo, Chile — matching human schedulers across two runs. • Betelgeuse's companion imaged &m...

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