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.
Antimatter Achievement: Scientists Successfully Trap Positrons for Months
Monday SpaceTime 20261026 Series 29 Episode 128 Scientists trap and tame a single particle of antimatter for months Physicists have successfully trapped an antimatter particle called a positron in an experiment that helps set the stage for one of the toughest tests yet for the Standard Model of particle physics – the foundation stone of science’s understanding of the universe. Lift off for Japan’s first sample return mission to the red planet Mars Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration MMX mission is on its way to the red planet’s moon Phobos following its successful launch from the Tanega...
Martian Milestone: Perseverance Breaks Distance Record on the Red Planet
Friday SpaceTime 20261023 Series 29 Episode 127 NASA’s Perseverance Rover sets a new record NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover has just set a new record for travelling the greatest distance ever achieved on another world. NASA’s SunRISE mission to launch next year NASA has confirmed that its SunRISE heliophysics Mission will launch no earlier than the middle of next year using six satellites to study the Sun’s corona. Adelaide stem cell experiment reaches space Human stem cells from Adelaide University's Center for Cancer Biology have successfully travelled to the edge of space and back...
Cosmic Colour: The Discovery of the Universe's First Ghostly Green Star
Wednesday SpaceTime 20261021 Series 29 Episode 126 The first star in the universe that glows ghostly green Astronomers have discovered the first star in the universe that glows ghostly green. The star is a white dwarf located some 284 light-years away. A major upgrade for gravitational wave detection The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory LIGO, is undergoing a major upgrade with the application of a new Australian optical coating for their beam splitters. A new era of nuclear-powered space exploration NASA’s Artemis program to return people to the Moon and eventually onto Mars has moved a st...
Phobos Frontier: Japan's Groundbreaking Mission to Mars' Mysterious Moon
Monday SpaceTime 20261019 Series 29 Episode 125 Sample return mission to the Martian moon Phobos Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration mission is slated to launch today on the first ever sample return mission to the red planet’s largest moon Phobos. The solar system’s life expectancy is far shorter than previously thought A new study warns that the solar system will end much sooner than previously thought thanks to massive gravitational perturbations and resonances causing the planet’s orbits to destabilize as the Sun expands. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission launches to International Space Station NASA’s...
Dark Matter Dilemma: New Insights from the Bullet Cluster and Beyond
Friday SpaceTime 20261016 Series 29 Episode 124 Is dark matter real A new study has raised more questions about the existence of a mysterious substance called Dark Matter which is hypothesized to make up some 80 percent of the mass of the universe. The unique supernova remnant with a corpse in its heart Astronomers have discovered that the only known supernova remnant of its kind in the Milky Way galaxy has an unexpectedly intricate structure including chains of gas knots resembling pearls on a string, each wide enough to fit the solar system multiple times. Another clue...
Surf's Up on Titan: Unveiling Waves on Saturn's Mysterious Moon
Wednesday SpaceTime 20261014 Series 29 Episode 123 Surfs up on the Saturnian moon Titan A new study suggests lakes and seas on the Saturnian moon Titan could produce a three metre surf under the right conditions. How planet Earth rock and rolls on its axis Ancient sea-level changes have provided new evidence showing that planet Earth experienced episodes of rapid true polar wander during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Scientists have Glueballs Physicists finally discovered the long elusive glueball, a particle made entirely of elemental particles called gluons. The Science Report New warnings...
Dark Dimensions and Ancient Black Holes: Unraveling the Mysteries of Dark Matter
Monday SpaceTime 20261012 Series 29 Episode 122
How ancient black holes and a hidden fifth dimension could explain dark matter A new study claims an ancient hypothetical type of black hole and a hidden fifth dimension of spacetime may help explain the mysterious substance known as dark matter as well as a strange type of ultra-high-energy neutrino detected three years ago. Australia’s new lunar rover revealed The Australian Space Agency ASA has formally unveiled the latest version of its new Roo-ver lunar rover which will travel to the Moon in 2030 aboard an Intuitive Machines lander as...
Hidden Wonders: Discovering the Mysterious Garo 04 Star Cluster
Friday SpaceTime 20261009 Series 29 Episode 121 The mysterious star cluster discovered hidden deep in Milky Way's disk Astronomers have discovered a strange star cluster hidden in the crowded galactic plane disk region of the Milky Way galaxy some 32,800 light-years away. The truth about Nazi Germany’s infamous nuclear bomb project The Manhattan Project was not just a quest to build a nuclear bomb; it was a quest to build a bomb before Nazi Germany completed theirs. The chronic need for dark skies The Royal Astronomical Society is demanding urgent action to address the damage li...
Building the Future: NASA's Ambitious Plans for a Moon Base
Wednesday SpaceTime 20261007 Series 29 Episode 120 NASA adds new science investigations for Moon Base NASA has added payload suites for three new lunar scientific investigations as part of efforts paving the way for humanity’s first Moon Base. The new secrets on the Martian north pole revealed A new study has found that the Martian north pole is less dusty than previously thought. NASA and Boeing provide an update on the troubled Starliner spacecraft NASA has provided an update on Boeing’s trouble plagued Starliner CST-100 spacecraft. The Science Report Every 10% increase in e...
Starship Test Flight 14 Achieves Orbit
Monday SpaceTime 20261005 Series 29 Episode 119 Starship test flight 14 achieves orbit The world’s largest and most powerful rocket SpaceX’s Starship superheavy has successfully achieved orbital insertion during its latest test flight out of Texas. How Earth’s weather changes the planet’s centre of gravity A new study shows that changing seasonal weather patterns like snowfall, monsoons and oceans shift Earth's centre of mass every year. Work about to begin on the world’s first orbital power station The United States is moving forward with plans to build an orbital solar power station to...
Lost Galaxy in the Milky Way: Unveiling the Stellar Remnants of Loki
SpaceTime 20261002 Series 29 Episode 118 A lost galaxy hiding deep inside the Milky Way Astronomers have discovered a group of 20 stars deep inside the Milky Way which may once have been part of another galaxy. NASA to launch a far infrared space telescope NASA has announced a new mission using a far infrared space telescope to explore the history and evolution of the universe. NASA discovers a huge new crater on the Moon NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft has discovered a huge new asteroid impact crater on the Moon.  SkyWatch October  The Alpha Centauri star system, The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, an...
Dragonfly's Titan Landing: NASA's Quest to Unravel the Mysteries of the Saturnian Moon
SpaceTime 20260930 Series 29 Episode 117 NASA names Dragonfly’s landing site on Titan NASA has identified the landing site where its Dragonfly rotocopter will first touchdown on the surface of the Saturnian Moon Titan. New clues about the Moon’s ancient magnetic field from the far side A new study claims that just like the present day Earth, the Moon once had a geodynamo driven magnetic field. Why galaxies in the early universe are so weird A new study suggests that the first galaxies in the universe looked a bit weird because their stars generated weaker stellar winds compared to those we see t...
Discovery of the Milky Way's first microblazar
SpaceTime 20260928 Series 29 Episode 116 Discovery of the Milky Way's first microblazar Astronomers have discovered their first ever microblazar in the Milky Way and observations suggest it’s generating the fastest particles ever detected in the galaxy. Early Mars rocks reveal at least three separate water episodes A new study shows the region of the red planet now being explored by NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover has undergone at least three separate interactions with Martian liquid water. Starship about to launch on its first orbital flight The countdown is underway for today’s first orbital test flight for SpaceX’s Starship superheavy. The worl...
Comet 3I ATLAS: Unveiling the Secrets of an Ancient Interstellar Wanderer
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 115 A comet older than the Sun Astronomers have found new clues about the origin of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS suggesting it’s more than twice as old as the Sun and solar system. The nearby “Super Earth” that might be a candidate for life Astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet finding it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. A new way to study the birth of the universe Scientists have discovered a new way to create quark gluon plasma – the first matter in the universe...
Space Warfare Unveiled: The US Space Force's Kinetic Capabilities and Venus's Lost Moon
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 114 United States Space Force confirms it has weapons in orbit The United States Space Force confirms it has weapons in orbit to protect America’s assets in space. Why a moon could not survive in orbit around Venus A new study claims a moon could not survive in orbit around Venus because of the planet’s unusually slow rotation. Water discovered near the galaxy’s Supermassive black hole New observations of the star IRS 3, located near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole, suggest it’s emitting huge amounts of gas and...
Solar Superflares and Gondwana's Legacy: Unpacking Earth's Cosmic Changes
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 113 New evidence of superflares on the Sun A new study has found that a giant sunspot observed back in 1947 had the potential to trigger a massive solar super flare. How Gondwana changes life on Planet Earth A new study has rewritten the evolution of one of planet Earth’s greatest ancient land masses, the super continent of Gondwana. The incredibly shrinking planet Mercury A new study suggests that the planet Mercury may have shrunk by as much as 30 percent since its creation. The Science Report Studies warn th...
Mercury Unveiled: BepiColombo's Approach and the Planet's Volcanic History
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 112 BepiColumbo on final approach to Mercury The BepiColumbo spacecraft Mercury Transfer Module has successfully separated from the main spacecraft, marking a major milestone in its eight year journey to the nearest plant to the Sun. Mercury’s crust formed by extreme volcanism A new study has shown that the planet Mercury’s crust was formed by extreme volcanism. First orbital launch success from European soil For the first time in history, a space launch from continental Europe has successfully reached orbit. The Science Report People with lung canc...
Cosmic Revelations: 27 New Worlds and Saturn's Mysterious Decagonal Jet
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 111 27 new Trans Neptunian Objects discovered in the outer solar system The first ever joint observation of Trans Neptunian objects by NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes has discovered 27 new worlds in the dark outer reaches of the solar system. A decagon discovered at Saturn's south pole New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided decagon atmospheric structure encircling Saturn's south pole. LINK’s failed rescue mission scopes its target but can’t save it The LINK spacecraft which was meant to rescue NASA's doomed...
Lunar Mysteries and Snowball Earth: Unraveling Cosmic Enigmas
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 110 Lunar far side rocks rewriting history A new study claims the timing and intensity of asteroid bombardment across the lunar surface declined gradually, rather than being a short, intense burst of impacts as previously thought. The crystals that might have made Snow Ball Earth worse A new study claims planet Earth may have been pushed deeper into a global deep freeze known as snowball Earth by something as ordinary as salt. Meteor strike reported off the Western Australian coast The European Space Agency’s Near Earth Objects co-ordination ce...
Comet Births and Neptune's Secrets
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 109 Witnessing the birth of a comet More than 5 billion kilometres from Earth, an ancient icy object is slowly awakening as a distant frozen world known as a Centaur transforming into an active comet. New mysteries about the moons of Neptune A new study has revealed that three of Neptune's inner moons may be the shattered remains of ancient icy worlds. NASA’s Roman Space Telescope blasts off bound for orbit beyond the Moon NASA’s next great flagship cosmic observatory the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully launched into...
Molten Planets and Solar Storms: Unveiling Cosmic Wonders
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 108 Discovery of a new class of molten planet Astronomers have discovered a new type of molten planet beyond our Solar System. The mother of all solar storms New evidence in tree ring records is showing scientists that the Sun can become far more violent than previously thought. Two giant blobs of hot rock discovered on Earth’s core mantle boundary Scientists have discovered two immense, ultra-hot rock structures located at the base of Earth’s mantle, around 2,900 kilometres beneath Africa and the Pacific which are affecting the underlying liquid oute...
Dark Matter Signals and Lunar Origins: Exploring the Universe's Mysteries
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 107 Have scientists glimpsed a hint of dark matter A new analysis from the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment has recorded a particle interaction that scientists are having great difficulty explaining. A new scenario describing the birth of the Moon A new study claims the Earth’s Moon could have formed within just five hours of the giant planetary collision that formed the binary system. Starship's first orbital test flight slated for September 15 SpaceX looks set to undertake its next Starship test flight next week – and this one will be a full orbital flig...
Discovering Blazars and SpaceX's New Spaceport
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 106 The most distant Blazar ever seen Astronomers have detected the most distant blazar ever recorded. The blazar -- catalogued as OP 313 was detected some 8 billion light years away. Did the motion of an ocean carve Enceladus's tiger stripes? A new study suggests the iconic tiger stripes at the south pole of the Saturnian ice moon Enceladus may have been formed by ocean waves. SpaceX to build the world’s biggest space port in Louisiana SpaceX boss Elon Musk has announced plans to build the world’s largest spaceport in the...
Martian Waters and Cosmic Secrets: Unravelling Mars' Ancient Liquid History
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 105 More evidence Mars once had liquid water More than 20 years after NASA's Mars Spirit rover landed on the red planet scientists have uncovered new evidence that suggests liquid water – essential for life as we know it -- may once have covered large parts of the Martian surface. Are mysterious little red dots hiding something big A new study claims mysterious Little Red Dots seen near the dawn of the universe are likely to reside in small, dense compact star forming galaxies. Chang'e-7 lunar mission delayed Beijing has scrubbed for no...
Martian Mysteries and Stellar Journeys: Unveiling the Red Planet's Thermal Anomaly
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 104 Strange anomaly discovered below the Martian south pole Astronomers have discovered a strange thermal asymmetry deep beneath the surface of the Martian southern hemisphere. Starship bound for home Starship 40 has finally left Australian waters bound for home. The orbiter used for SpaceX test flight 13 has been loaded aboard the 48,000-tonne semi-submersible vessel Forte for the long journey back to Starbase Texas. Roman Space Telescope final countdown The final countdown is now underway for the launch of NASA’s new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Science Re...
Microbial Hitchhikers: Contamination Risks on the Moon and Mars
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 103 *Warnings that some Earth microbes could contaminate the Moon NASA says some of Earth's microbes hitching a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon's South Pole contaminating the otherwise pristine environment. *China’s first reusable rocket China has finally landed a reusable rocket in one piece. *Russia develops a nuclear rocket motor Russia has developed a prototype nuclear plasma engine which could cut journey times to Mars from 6 months to just 30 days. *September Skywatch The September equinox, an...
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...
