Universe Today Podcast

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 20:55
Watch here (with no ads and a bonus part) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VHLROLaOCFc
There's a new scar on the moon. The Artemis II astronauts return home safely. A new survey has just wrapped up its scan for dark energy. Supermassive black holes ready to merge. And in Space Bites Plus, astronomers find one of the oldest stars in the universe.
00:00 Intro

00:20 New Scar on The Moon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-moon-just-got-a-new-scar

02:20 Artemis 2 Recap https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-world-welcomes-the-crew-of-artemis-ii-home

04:33 DESI 5-year observations https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/04/15/desi-completes-planned-3d-map-of-the-universe-and-continues-exploring/

07:34 SMBHs about to merge https://www.universetoday.com/articles/two-monsters-one-galaxy-and-a-collision-100-years-away

10:04 Reuse of the New Glenn's booster https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/04/16/blue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch/ 11:14 Blue Alchemist https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/from-moon-dust-to-moon-colonies/

12:32 Demarcation of Stars and Planets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/wheres-the-dividing-line-between-a-star-and-a-planet-ask-the-jwst

14:53 Vote results

15:51 Stardust in the clouds of Venus https://www.universetoday.com/articles/stardust-in-the-clouds-of-venus

17:25 More NASA Nuclear Missions https://www.universetoday.com/articles/exploring-the-moons-shadowy-craters-with-nuclear-powered-rovers

19:35 Most Powerful Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-universes-most-powerful-telescope

20:55 BONUS STORY https://www.universetoday.com/articles/student-team-finds-one-of-the-oldest-stars-in-the-universe-that-migrated-to-the-milky-way

22:45 Even more space news

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 19:38
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N1yFECYcRYs
How can you wrap your head around the true scale of the Universe? Will humanity ever colonize gas giant moons? Can ISS missions compare to future Mars missions? And in Q&A+, did JWST produce any good science papers?
00:00 Intro

00:25 [@chiroptile2881] Will humanity ever colonize the gas giants' moons?

04:32 [@nickstokes9386] How can you comprehend the scale of the Universe?

08:16 [@SantiagoT75] Is space less beautiful for our human eyes?

11:32 [@nephilim20111] Do ISS missions compare to future Mars missions?

19:38 [@derrickdibble3860] Any good papers been released from JWST?

22:36 Interviews with scientists

BONUS PART STARTS AT 27:40
Watch here (with no ads and a bonus part) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nX5Ou28VGwQ
LISA Interview https://youtu.be/AUS8A9J3d5g
LIGO Interview https://youtu.be/_jmQVH9L8vI
🟣 Guest: Dr. Chiara Mingarelli https://www.chiaramingarelli.com/
📜 Fingerprints of Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Pulsar Timing Arrays https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.05722
00:00 Intro

01:41 Pulsar Timing Array

09:27 Detecting individual mergers

18:31 What's next?

27:40 Alternative ways of detecting black holes

41:14 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:57
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1rUTV39wcwM
Can we eliminate darkness at night with an orbital reflector? How long do the Voyagers have left? Why didn't JWST inspect some of the potential ocean worlds? And in Q&A+, could we see the Great Attractor unobscured?
00:00 Start

00:26 [@Asmo-RL] Why are Mars and Venus un the habitable zone though clearly uninhabited?

03:52 [@GigaSigma1] Can we put a reflector in orbit to eliminate darkness at night?

07:03 [@MLBrilliance] Can we see the Great Attractor unobscured?

11:01 [@bigglestintin] ow long will voyager 2's power last?

15:57 [@everythingcompute] Why didn't JWST look at Kepler 22B?

20:11 Outro

BONUS PART STARTS AT 37:54
Watch here (with no ads and a bouns part) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JMP7N_Dkga0
In the recent years we found out that a lot of asteroids are rubble piles. And we will be finding more of them. But it appears that Phobos might have a lot of characteristics of rubble piles. Which could have some really interesting consequences.
🟣 Guest: Dr. Harrison Agrusa https://hagrusa.github.io/
📜 Tidal disruptions of rubble piles: The case of Phobos https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.21912
00:00 Intro

02:02 Rubble pile asteroids

17:39 DART mission aftermath

21:45 Best ways to deflect an asteroid

25:01 Phobos

37:54 LUCY mission

47:32 Current obsessions

50:54 Final thoughts