Universe Today Podcast

BONUS PART START AT 15:19
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hCgllDUvjMk
Interview with Martin Elvis about the Moon: https://youtu.be/CvFMw-kXIzs
Astronomy Cast video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZdAB_hwPeA
Maybe we won’t be living on cities on the Moon. A fresh new crater on the Moon, and it’s a biggie. Roman perfect launch adds years to its mission. Did the Sun eat a planet? And in Space Bites+, Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought.
00:00 Intro

00:42 Problems for Moon Cities https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dont-get-your-hopes-up-for-a-city-on-the-moon

03:32 New Crater https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/nasas-moon-orbiter-spots-new-once-in-century-moon-crater/

04:44 Roman Mission Already Extended https://www.universetoday.com/articles/from-10-to-22-years-the-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescopes-mission-has-just-been-extended
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/15/nasa-activates-romans-primary-instrument-checks-out-coronagraph/

08:34 Black Hole Hair https://www.universetoday.com/articles/if-black-holes-have-hair-we-will-see-it-in-the-ringdown-of-their-mergers

10:23 Vote results 10:45 The Sun May Have Swallowed a Planet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sun-may-have-swallowed-a-planet

13:17 Beauty by Webb https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-searches-for-brown-dwarfs-in-a-stunning-star-forming-region

15:19 BONUS STORY

17:40 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 09:07
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/koZUXaCXpYA
When Kepler failed, why didn't we just build another one? Do we know about all the potentially dangerous asteroids? Could one just come out of nowhere? And in Q&A+, which planets are more difficult to visit (the answer will surprise you)?
00:00 Intro

00:22 [@paulcockerill4260] Why didn't NASA build another Kepler?

05:16 [@SeanMann-o6v] Are the near earth asteroids all known?

09:07 [@davew1959] Which planets are easier to visit?

13:49 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 32:27
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6h5It3GnTGI
Titan Dragonfly is one of the most exciting missions in development. But it'll have its limits. For example, it won't go into caves on Titan. Which are super interesting. But this NIAC project will study a robot that should be able to go there.
🟣 Guest: Dr. Daniel Drew https://danieldrew.me/
📜 Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst (SPARK) https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/solid-state-propulsion-for-autonomous-reconnaissance-of-karst-spark/
👉 All 2026 NIAC Selections https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/
00:00 Intro

01:31 What is karst

05:59 The NIAC project

23:28 Alternative use cases

27:48 Earth-based version

32:27 Using robots in Hawaii

39:15 Current obsessions

46:36 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:01
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UjOkLC6N9cY
Can someone launch a regular small telescope into space? Are Moon caves stable enough for a permanent base? What happened to the Swift rescue mission? And in Q&A+, was the asteroid belt a planet at some point?
00:00 Intro

00:41 [@Noonyuh] Could affordable consumer smart telescopes be easily retrofitted to survive in space?

05:06 [@user-kx2fc2mw5v] Are Moon caves stable enough to build in them?

08:47 [@surrender_monkey] What happened to the Swift rescue mission?

15:01 [@EdSceptic-y2e] Is the asteroid belt a destroyed planet or is it forming into a planet or neither?

18:15 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 16:05
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fA75k6U2HYg
Is this a supernova ready to explode, or is it just a trick of the light. A mission to Halley’s Comet in 2060. An amazing new image from Vera Rubin. Webb fails to find an exomoon. And in Space Bites Plus, some black holes formed much faster than their galaxies. All this and more in this week’s Space Bites.
00:00 Intro

00:36 Supernova Impostor https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-unmask-a-supernova-impostor

03:10 No Exomoon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-ruled-out-finding-tiny-moons-around-an-exoplanet-thats-great-news

05:20 Possible Rendezvous With Halley's Comet In 2061 https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-ruled-out-finding-tiny-moons-around-an-exoplanet-thats-great-news

07:31 Remember 3I/ATLAS? https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-revelations-about-the-origin-of-interstellar-comet-3iatlas

09:02 Largest 2-D Map of the Universe https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-desi-legacy-imaging-survey-releases-the-largest-2-d-map-of-the-universe

10:32 The 20th Data Release of the SDSS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-20th-data-release-dr-20-of-the-sloan-digital-sky-survey-sdss-is-here

12:04 Vote results 12:28 Chang’e-7 Postponed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/china-postpones-the-change-7-mission

13:18 Firing Lasers At An Asteroid https://www.universetoday.com/articles/japans-hayabusa2-achieves-first-ever-laser-ranging-experiment-with-an-asteroid

14:28 Rubin Peers Deep Into the COSMOS Field https://www.universetoday.com/articles/rubin-observatory-peers-deep-into-the-famous-cosmos-field

16:05 Bonus Story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/some-black-holes-grow-much-faster-than-their-galaxies

18:58 Final thoughts