SpaceTime with Stuart Gary
Join host Stuart Gary for weekly explorations into Astronomy, Space, and Science News, featuring insights from 19 years on Australian Public Radio and industry experts.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-with-stuart-gary--2458531/support.
Stellar Salvage: SpaceX's Starship Recovery and the Age of the Universe
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 102 *SpaceX’s Starship arrives at Christmas Island After some 24 days at sea, a SpaceX recovery team has successfully towed its test flight 13 Starship into the remote Australian Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island. The unplanned operation was hastily put together after the spacecraft unexpectedly held together following its splashdown off the Western Australian coast. *How old really is the universe? Astronomers have come up with a new way to work out the age of the universe finding it to be 13.6 billion years old – some 200 million years younger than previously thought. *Einst...
Cosmic Collisions and Gluon Mysteries: NASA's Swift Mission Scrapped
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 101 *NASA scraps its Swift rescue mission NASA has been forced to abandon its planned rescue mission to save the Swift Gamma Ray Space Telescope. *The Milky Way’s first big galactic collision Astronomers have discovered what was probably the first major galactic collision involving our home galaxy the Milky Way cannibalising a dwarf galaxy less than two billion years after the big bang. *Understanding the stuff atoms are made of New observations by the world’s largest atom smasher have revealed some of the basic fundamental physics of t...
Cosmic Ingredients: Planet Formation, Axion Searches, and NASA's Swift Mission
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 100 The ingredients for planets formed far earlier than thought A new study suggests that the basic ingredients needed to form planets - and possibly life - may have existed just a hundred million years after the big bang -- far earlier in the history of the Universe than previously thought. Hunting for the hypothetical axion For years scientists have been hunting for a hypothetical elementary particle called the AXION which could lead to new physics unlocking some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. Now the German Research Foundation has given...
Cosmic Dawn Discoveries: Black Hole Stars and Mars' Hidden Water
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 99 Discovery of black hole stars at the cosmic dawn Astronomers have suggested mysterious objects from the dawn of time known as little red dots may represent an entirely new type of cosmic phenomenon which they’re calling black hole stars. Claims Mars could have had liquid water less than a billion years ago A new study claims Mars may have had liquid water flowing across its surface as recently as 757 million years ago, far more recent than the several billion years previously thought. A new mission to extend the life of...
Unveiling the Universe: Three Black Holes and a New UFO Taskforce
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 98 Three supermassive black holes discovered in a single galaxy for the first time Astronomers have for the first time, discovered a galaxy near the dawn of time containing three monster black holes. A new White House advisory body on UFOs The pentagon has just released its latest batch of X-files looking at unexplained phenomena and strange happenings. The release follows the appointment of Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb as chair of the new White House scientific panel on UFOs. Was Venus once just like Earth A new study suggests t...
Moon Crashes, Radiation-Eating Fungi, and the Quest for Habitable Worlds
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 97 The world watches as a SpaceX rocket crashes into the Moon A disused SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage has crashed into the Moon providing astronomers with useful data on the effects of impacts hitting the lunar surface. The radiation eating mutant fungus from Chernobyl Scientists say there’s a black fungus in the highly radioactive ruins of the Chernobyl power station that’s now evolved to feed on radiation. NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory Scientists have designed two revolutionary new computer chips to process data from a new space telescope called...
Galactic Giants: Unveiling the Mysteries of IC 1101 and Liquid Streams on Pluto
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 96 The largest known galaxy in the universe Astronomers have taken the deepest images yet of the largest known galaxy in the universe – a behemoth called IC 1101 located at the heart of the galaxy cluster Abell 2029. Evidence of streams flowing on Pluto Astronomers have found the first ever evidence of liquids flowing across the surface of the distant frozen world of Pluto. The Mars Curiosity rover celebrates its 14th birthday on the red planet NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has just celebrated its 14th birthday on the surface of the red...
Vortices of the Sun and the First Gravitational Waves from Black Hole Mergers: A Cosmic Breakthrough
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. Starship recovery efforts underway off Western Australia SpaceX are towing their Test 13 Starship prototype back to shore after it survived its Indian Ocean soft splash down o...
Black Holes Unleashed: The Cosmic Power Beyond Our Galaxy
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 galaxy the Milky Way may have undergone a dramatic change in orientation following a head on collision with another galaxy. A successful return...
Betelgeuse's Hidden Companion and the Dying Andromeda Galaxy: A Cosmic Tale
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 System NASA's Juno spacecraft has provided the first measurements of the temperature below the surface of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. The Science...
Unleashing a Wandering Black Hole and Chasing the Solar Eclipse
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 Swift Space Telescope rescue mission suffers a major setback NASA’s Link mission to save the Swift Space Telescope has suffered a few prob...
Comet Confusion and the Psyche Mission's Mars Encounter
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 91 The near-Earth asteroid that’s actually a comet Astronomers ha...
LHS 1140b and the Quest for Habitable Atmospheres: Unveiling a Super Earth
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 90 Discovery of an atmosphere on a planet orbiting a red dwarf Astronomers think they may have detected an atmosphere on a super-Earth exo-planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf star. How mega-dust storms and the Sun affect Martian weather A new study has found that solar storms hitting Mars at the same time as planetary wide dust storms could cause major changes in Martian weather. Approval granted for the world’s first orbital space reflector array America’s Federal Communications Commission has approved plans for the...
A Splashdown Success and the Asteroid That Ended the Dinosaurs
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 89 A lucky 13th test flight for the world’s biggest rocket The world’s largest and most powerful rocket has successfully launched on its latest test flight bringing it a step closer to NASA’s Artemis program’s aim of returning humans to the lunar surface, and eventually on to Mars and beyond. Scientists identify the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs A new study has determined that the asteroid which slammed into the Earth 66 million years ago wiping out over 75 percent of all life on the planet including all the non...
Barnard's Star and Beyond : Exploring Hellish Worlds and Australia's Space Partnerships
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 88 The hellish planets orbiting a nearby star Astronomers have painted the most detailed portrait yet of the planetary system orbiting Barnard’s Star – the Sun’s closest stellar neighbour after Alpha Centauri, just under six light-years away. Australia’s role in India’s manned space program India’s manned space program is moving ahead with the commissioning of a new space tracking station on Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The latest mission to the International Space Station The Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station three...
Mars, Moon, and Charon: A Cosmic Exploration of Our Celestial Neighbours
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 87 Ancient impacts display the red planet’s past history A new study has shown how ancient Martian rocks exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater are preserving a 3.9-billion-year-old “weather report” from the solar system’s most dynamic era. Understanding of the Moon’s regolith for human habitation Scientists have mapped out the thickness of the Moon’s regolith, the layer of loose dust and rock that covers the entire lunar surface finding it averages about six meters in the highlands and about four meters in the maria. Strange goin...
Asteroid Impacts and Alien Chemistry: Unveiling Earth's Cosmic History
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 86 The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever Astronomers have linked a massive collision in the main asteroid belt to a huge meteor bombardment in the inner solar system that may have changed life on Earth. Alien chemistry discovered in meteorite that hit New Jersey home Scientists have discovered high concentrations of salt in briny fluids that could potentially create molecules crucial to life in a meteorite that slammed into a New Jersey home in 2024. The Albanese Government’s cuts funding for astronomy research The Australian Academy of Sc...
Nuclear Watchdogs: Detecting Weapons in Space and NASA's Swift Rescue Mission
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 85 Detecting nuclear weapons in space New modelling says small cube-sat sized spacecraft not much bigger than a fridge could be used to detect the presence of nuclear weapons on satellites in space. NASA’s rescue mission to save the Swift space telescope reaches orbit NASA’s Swift re-boost rescue mission is finally on its way to intercept the gamma ray space telescope and try to save it from its fiery fate. Stopping astronauts from wanting to kill each other on long space trips It can be tough enou...
Cosmic Discoveries: Japan's Asteroid Encounter and the Life Potential of Europa
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 84 Japan swoops past a cosmic snowman shaped asteroid Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has just swooped past a tiny asteroid in deep space that’s shaped like a snow man. Revealing the secrets of the ice moon Europa A new study has shown that the Jovian Ice Moon Europa is reflecting radio signals in a strange unexpected way. What happens to Earth when the Sun dies A new study has provided astronomers with a glimpse of the future we’re likely to face when our Sun dies in around seven billio...
Earth's Ancient Impact Revealed: Dating the Oldest Crater and China's Cosmic Quest
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 83 Earth’s oldest known asteroid impact crater dated in Western Australia Scientists have determined the most precise age yet for the oldest known impact crater on Earth finding it to be some 3.024 billion years old.  A Chinese spacecraft has just reached Earth’s second moon China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at a temporary second moon orbiting Earth -- although technically the object is a small near Earth asteroid which is orbiting in sync with the Earth around the Sun. Sea floor spreading seen in action for the first time
Mars to Earth: China's Ambitious Sample Return Mission and Cosmic Anomalies
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 82 China’s Mars sample return mission set for 2028 China says its planning to launch a Mars sample return mission in two years bringing back at least 500 grams of Martian regolith by 2031. Is science wrong about the universe The universe should look the same in all directions on the large cosmic scale, but new data based on dark energy observations are suggesting otherwise. An ASSASSN reveals its secrets Astronomers have converted observation of a nova explosion on a distant star into sound waves to better understand the dynamics of the sp...
How a Passing Star Redirected Comets and Redefined Our Milky Way Map
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 81How a passing star redirected comets to the inner solar systemA fascinating new study reveals how a passing star, HD 7977, may have altered the trajectory of comets from the Oort Cloud, sending them cascading into the inner solar system. This event, which occurred approximately 2.47 billion years ago, could still be influencing comet...
The Big Freeze: Exploring Asteroid Impacts and the Mysteries of Uranus and Neptune
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 80 Did ancient asteroid impacts prevent Earth’s continents from forming A new study suggests the barrage of asteroid impacts that slammed into the ancient Earth during the Hadean Eon between 4.6 and four billion years ago may have prevented the formation of the planet’s first continents. Could the ice giants Uranus and Neptune really be magma worlds A new study suggests that the solar systems two ice giants Uranus and Neptune might actually be magma worlds. World’s biggest atom smasher powers down The world’s most powerful atom smasher...
Stellar Forensics: How Neutron Stars Forge Heavy Elements
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 79 How Neutron Stars make heavy elements Physicists have achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding how Neutron Stars forge heavy elements. Aleutian subduction zone older than thought A new study has found...
Cosmic Dawn: Unveiling the Galaxy MXDFZ 4.4 and the Secrets of Reionization, Comet 3I ATLAS Origins
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 78 Discovering how the cosmic dark ages ended Astronomers have discovered an early galaxy during the Era of Reionization –when the universe was transformed from the cosmic dark ages – when the cosmos went from being opaque to becoming transparent like it is today. New clues about the origins of interstellar comet 3i Atlas Astronomers using NASA’s Webb space telescope have discovered new clues about the origins of interstellar comet 3i Atlas. A pink planet with a salty surprise Astronomers have discovered exotic salt clouds unlike anything ever seen b...
BepiColombo's Mercury Milestone: Navigating to the Solar System's Smallest Planet, Solar Secrets Unveiled
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 77 BepiColombo mission finally reaches Mercury space After eight years of powered flight towards the planet Mercury, mission managers have finally turned off the BepiColombo spacecraft’s propulsion engines in preparation for planetary orbit insertion. Is our Sun changing A new study claims the Sun has been mysteriously changing over the last forty years. Strange new type of x-ray flare detected in deep space Astronomers have detected a mysterious never before seen new type of X-ray flare in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere. The Science Report...
Supernova Secrets: Uncovering a Stellar Explosion Near the Milky Way's Heart, Quantum Insights into the Big Bang
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 76 A possible supernova remnant discovered in the galactic centre Astronomers may have discovered a supernova remnant near the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. A new quantum view of Big Bang A new study could change what science knows about the Big Bang and the earliest moments of cosmic history. Work begins on new Western Australian ground station for lunar missions Construction has begun on Kongsberg’s new 20-metre parabolic dish antenna ground station at Mullewa in outback Western Australia. The Science Report Brain co...
Lunar Mantle Mysteries: Unveiling the South Pole Aiken Basin, Mars' Garnet Evolution
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 75 The Moon’s oldest and largest impact crater A new study suggests the Moon’s oldest and largest impact crater – the two and a half thousand kilometre wide South Pole-Aitken basin -- could have excavated material so deep it included parts of the lunar mantle. New clues to how the red planet Mars evolved Scientists have discovered the mineral garnet in a Martian meteorite which may reveal how the red planet evolved billions of years ago. Mission to boost Swift space telescope’s orbit NASA is about to launch a new mi...
Cosmic Collision Theories: Venus' Unusual Spin and Dark Matter's Enigma
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 74 Why Venus spins backwards A new study suggests that the strange retrograde spin of the planet Venus is the result of a massive impact event. Could Dark Matter explain what’s happening at the centre of our galaxy A new study has failed to rule out Dark Matter as the source of the so called Galactic Center Excess at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Trying to solve a meteor cold case Last month astronomers detected a small near Earth meteoroid on a collision course with our planet. ...
Ancient Quasar Discovered: Flickering Light from the Dawn of Time, Mars' Life-Hunting Mission
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 73 The earliest known flickering quasar Astronomers have discovered the earliest known flickering quasar dating back to a time when the universe was just 850 million years old. ExoMars to target vast clay beds in search for life on Mars The European Space Age...
Galactic Evolution Explored: Milky Way's Dance with Dwarfs, Jupiter's Life-Giving Secrets
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 72 Our ever-changing Milky Way Galaxy New observations are showing astronomers how our galaxy the Milky Way is being slowly changed through its gravitational interactions with our nearby neighbouring satellite dwarf galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. How Jupiter may have...
Cosmic Acceleration Confirmed: Dark Energy's Role, Mysterious Signals Decoded
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 71 Universe expansion still accelerating after all A new study has confirmed that the universe is continuing to expand at an ever-accelerating rate under the force of dark energy and heading for a cold, dark and empty fate. Mysterious cosmic signals finally explained Astronomers have discovered that dead stars called white dwarfs located in binary systems are a primary source of mysterious signals from deep space called long-period radio transients. What made last week’s New England meteor incident so rare? Last week we reported on a meteor that rocked th...
Cosmic Tug-of-War: The Small Magellanic Cloud's Demise, Lunar Base Blueprint
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 70 *The Small Magellanic Cloud is being ripped apart A new study reveals that the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, is slowly being torn apart by gravitational forces from the Large Magellanic Cloud. Researchers have utilised over a decade of observations to uncover the galaxy's dynamic state, challenging previous models...
Planetary Destruction Unveiled: Evidence of a Lost World, SETI's Interstellar Quest...
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 69 *Evidence of planetary destruction in the early solar system Scientists have confirmed a cosmic collision in the early solar system which saw the complete destruction of a planet possibly as big as Mars. *Are we missing a planet A new study suggests that one of our planets might...
Black Hole Jets Dance, MAVEN's Mars Mission Ends, and Earth's Rare Blue Micro Moon
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SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 68 *How black holes shape the cosmos A new study has revealed how powerful jets generated by black holes shape the universe. *NASA forced to end its MAVEN Mars Mission NASA has been forced to shut down its MAVEN mission orbiting Mars following a mysterious spacecraft failure in December. *Earth gets...
Earth in a Cosmic Void? Black Holes Before Galaxies and SpaceX's Latest Triumph
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 67 *Are we in a cosmic void after all? It’s an hypothesis which has been around for decades and refuses to go away: Are we in a cosmic void? *New study confirms a black hole that formed before its galaxy Astronomers using the Webb Space Telescope have identified a supermassive black hole in the early universe that formed before its host galaxy. *Another win for SpaceX over Boeing NASA has just awarded SpaceX six more crew transfer missions to the International Space Station because Boeing still can't ce...
Starship Test Flight 12: Triumphs and Trials, Blue Origin's Fiery Setback, and Earth's Continental Recycling
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 66 *Starship undertakes its 12th test flight The world’s largest and most powerful rocket, the SpaceX super heavy Starship has undertaken its 12th test flight with mixed results. *Massive rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral Blue Origin's latest New Glenn rocket has exploded in a spectacular ball of flame and fire during a static hot fire test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force base in Florida. *How Earth recycles the continents A new study claims Earth’s crust and mantle have been mixing together for billions of years continuously reworking the planet’s cont...
NASA's Moon Base Plans, Earth's Core Flow Surprise, and Red Dwarfs Devouring Planets
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 65 *NASA confirms its moon base plans and first contracts NASA confirms its plans to have humans living on the Moon by 2032. The agency has released the latest draft of its lunar south pole base project and signed its first contracts. *A surprising core reversal deep inside the Earth The European Space Agency has discovered a mysterious flow reversal of Earth liquid iron outer core. *Red dwarf stars detected 'eating' Earth-like planets Astronomers have discovered some of the strongest evidence yet that stars eat their offspring. *The...
Neutrinos and Supernovae Secrets, Neptune's Enigmatic Moon Nereid, and Hypersonic Returns to Earth
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 64 *A new explanation for how stars explode A new study suggests that neutrino which are some the least massive objects in the universe may trigger some of the biggest explosions in the cosmos – supernovae the explosive death of massive stars which are so bright they can outshine entire galaxies. *Neptune's mysterious moon Nereid A new study suggests the planet Neptune's distant moon Nereid may be the last of the ice giant’s original satellites which somehow managed to survive a cosmic collision.. *A safe return to Earth for a hypersonic test...
Europa's Water Plume Debate, Earth's Co-Orbital Mysteries, and ESA's Smile Mission Launch
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 63 *Questioning the existence of Europa’s vapor plumes A new study of Jupiter’s ice moon Europa is casting doubt of previous evidence showing possible vapor plumes ejecting into space. *Are Earth's co-orbitals stray asteroids or chunks of the Moon? As well as our Moon, planet Earth also has a group of asteroids orbiting around the Sun with it. But questions remain about their origins. *SMILE launches on a mission to study Earth’s shield against the solar wind The European space agency has successfully launched its SMILE spacecraft on an...
