Universe Today Podcast

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[Space Bites+] Vera Rubin Delivers Even More Discoveries Nov 06, 2026

Show notes

5-hour Patreon Q&A show: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/patreon-q-2026-174012731

Rubin finds Neptune’s trojans and two new companions to the Milky Way, China reveals more of its plans to send humans to the Moon, finding the seeds of supermassive black holes. And on Space Bites+, how Mars has microclimates near its North Pole.

🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

00:00 Intro
00:18 Rubin finds Neptune's trojans https://www.universetoday.com/articles/queens-university-belfast-students-find-neptunes-elusive-trojan-asteroids
02:40 Vera Rubin finds Milky Way's neighbours https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-vera-rubin-has-found-two-more-of-the-milky-ways-dim-satellites
03:58 China unveils its Moon plans https://www.universetoday.com/articles/china-unveils-their-plan-for-a-crewed-moon-landing
05:45 Splitting a black hole https://www.universetoday.com/articles/what-could-split-a-black-hole-in-two
07:29 Seeds of supermassive black holes
10:08 Van Gogh’s Starry Night mystery solved https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-research-resolves-the-mystery-behind-van-goghs-the-starry-night
11:47 Vote results
12:09 Earth’s “Impenetrable” Space Radiation Shield Was Just Breached From Within https://www.universetoday.com/articles/earths-impenetrable-space-radiation-shield-was-just-breached-from-within
14:03 Cat's Head nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/examining-the-cats-head-nebula-with-the-hubble-and-jwst
15:23 Carina's Ghost https://www.universetoday.com/articles/its-a-ghost-no-its-a-stellar-crche
16:19 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/martian-polar-crater-ice-shifts-with-seasonal-frost
18:43 Final thoughts

[Q&A+] Moon/Mars VS Underwater Nov 05, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:10

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lwi6J0h2EhI

What if We Can't Detect Dark Matter? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXXqSh5qAuA Dark Matter Is Not a Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbmJkMhmrVI

Is it better to put a base on the Moon or under the ocean? What Astronomy can you do from a light polluted city? Can a martian base realistically evolve to a martian city? And in Q&A+, thought on the LIFE mission.

00:00 Intro
00:26 [@Borg_Terraformers] Moon, Mars or ocean floors?
03:33 [@David Fries] Doing amateur astronomy in a big bright city
08:12 [@CoinPatrol] How will Japan's Phobos rover work?
09:56 [@Roderick Beck] Can a Martian city evolve out of a research base?
17:10 [@aidenweatherbee9529] Thoughts on the LIFE mission
21:52 Final thoughts

[Interview+] Is The Human Body Ready For A Real Mars Mission? Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

BONUS PART STARTS AT 43:53

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jiCigIHzyI8

City on Mars Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ8sZtg-Kdc

Clearly, a journey to Mars and back is the next huge leap for human space flight. We know we need new rockets, new spaceships, new technology, etc. But are the human bodies ready for that? Can humans pull it off? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Mark Shelhamer, ScD
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/
https://www.jhuhsl.space/

Are We Ready for Mars? https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54095/are-we-ready-mars

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:52 SciFi vs reality for space travel
00:08:18 Dangers of going to Mars
00:13:02 Mitigation strategies
00:24:33 Beyond the magnetosphere
00:43:53 Bonus part
00:54:33 Current obsessions
01:03:04 Final thoughts

AI Is Destroying YouTube. But NOT In The Way You Think Nov 03, 2026

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🔵 Vote in the poll https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

[Q&A+] The Future of Space Telescopes Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:46

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DIqlwbuEE4g

Which space event would I want to observe firsthand? How will artificial gravity systems work? What’s the direction for future space telescopes? And in Q&A+, how does astronomy adopt AI?

00:00 Intro
00:25 [@paigepotter4682] A space event to observe firsthand
01:55 [@TelephoneJack] How will artificial gravity systems combat the Coriolis effect?
09:06 [@caerdwynmagni] Bigger mirrors VS interferometers?
15:46 [@p0tatobiden350] How does Astronomy adopt AI?
21:20 Final thoughts

[Space Bites+] Vera Rubin Finally Delivers Its First Big Discovery Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 23:19

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube:

Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

Vera Rubin finds a new dwarf planet, while Webb sees dwarf planets colliding in another system, Valles Marineris might still be volcanically active, and Hera gets its first picture of Didymus and Dimorphus. And on Space Bites+, a planet that shouldn't have an atmosphere, but does.

Matt’s METI series

Timecodes:

00:00 Intro
00:21 Rubin’s First Dwarf Planet Candidate https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-rubin-observatory-finds-its-first-dwarf-planet-candidate
02:56 Colliding Dwarf Planets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/colliding-dwarf-planets-created-a-cats-tail-1000-astronomical-units-long
05:54 Dead Planets Orbiting a Dead Star https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dead-planets-orbiting-a-dead-star
08:54 Largest Canyon in The Solar System is Still Active https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-largest-canyon-in-the-solar-system-is-still-tectonically-active
11:23 Even More Evidence of The BetelBuddy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/betelgeuse-is-disturbed-by-its-companion-star
13:17 Vote results
13:43 NASA’s Next UV Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-new-uv-space-telescope-will-launch-in-2031
17:38 Potential Targets For The Lazuli Private Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/27-exoplanet-targets-for-the-worlds-first-private-space-telescope
20:07 Hera’s Almost There https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/First_light_Hera_resolves_two_asteroids_instead_of_one
21:32 More space news https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-meti-part-i-early-ideas-and-experiments
23:19 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-oddbal-reflective-lava-world-is-challenging-to-understand
26:06 Final thoughts

[Q&A+] Space Lasers VS Space Nukes Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:12

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DCUndRxFz7M

00:00 Intro
00:26 [@iancudmore9795] when do we get research on what low G does to our health as compared to micro gravity?
05:27 [@JacobBouchard] Could we use Buoyancy Tests to simulate low gravity?
07:28 [@604Nighthawk] and can humanity breed in low gravity?
08:28 [@alextruffle] Space nukes vs space lasers
12:06 [@kimbarron4239] Could you 'drop' a bomb from orbit?
13:12 [@alextruffle] What is the next upcoming best celestial event that can be seen with the naked eye?
16:59 Final thoughts

[Q&A+] Exciting Telescopes Coming After JWST and Roman Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:25

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YLR1oYfXD3Q

Which cool telescopes are coming after Nancy Grace Roman? Is the Planet 9 data already taken and is waiting to be discovered? Do we have the supermassive black hole or does it have us? And in Q&A+, is there anything in the Universe that's static?

00:00 Intro
00:27 [@iancudmore9795] Next telescopes to be excited about
07:34 [@smkolins] Any update on Vera Rubin pics for the public?
10:39 [@darthex0] do we have a supermassive black hole in the milky way, or does it have us? 11:59 [@joeyhoser] Is planet 9 already in the Rubin data?
14:02 [@Frosty.Winnipeg] So someone with Vera Rubin gets to name it right?
16:25 Final thoughts

[Space Bites+] "Impossible" Green Stars Might Actually Exist Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 20:35

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B9P_8oZ4rCA

The Japanese mission is off to Phobos. Actually, there are green stars. Explaining the most mysterious cloud on Mars. Euclid discovers a comet. And in Space Bites+, how the shrinking Moon could be a danger for astronauts.

00:00 Intro
00:17 MMX Goes to Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jaxas-martian-moons-exploration-mission-is-on-its-way-to-mars-and-phobos
03:09 Self-Interacting Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-distant-supercluster-of-galaxies-points-to-self-interacting-dark-matter
06:25 Actually, there are Green Stars https://warwick.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/astronomers-reveal-true-colours-of-white-dwarf-stars/
08:08 Mars’s Most Mysterious Cloud https://www.universetoday.com/articles/marss-most-mysterious-cloud-might-be-defying-textbook-cloud-physics
10:06 Euclid Discovers a Comet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-esas-euclid-space-telescope-has-discovered-a-new-comet
12:21 How the Milky Way's Disk Formed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-stubborn-question-answered-new-research-reveals-how-the-milky-ways-disk-formed
14:40 Vote results
15:06 Microblazar Confirmed https://www.universetoday.com/articles/achievement-unlocked-microblazar-confirmed
17:39 Cool pictures https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-stars-in-the-early-stages-of-life-in-a-nearby-stellar-nursery https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2625/?lang
20:35 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-moon-is-still-shrinking-as-it-cools-that-could-create-a-hazard-for-lunar-mission
23:59 Final thoughts

[Q&A+] Was the UN-Observable Universe Always UN-Reachable? Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:54

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a0t-G4LKiMU

What does "the present" mean in space? Why do we have the laws of Physics we have? Was there a rime when all the Universe was accessible? And in Q&A+, are all black holes perfect spheres?

00:00 Intro
00:25 [@idodekkers9165] Was there a time when all the universe was visible?
06:02 [@madmillion91920110] Does the 'present' actually mean anything a cosmic scale?
09:42 [@LDEKSOCH] Why these particular laws of physics?
14:54 [@georgegherghinescu] Do event horizons of fast rotating black holes have a flattened sphere shape?
17:43 Final thoughts

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