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