A New Era for NASA, Tracing Comet 3I Atlas' Origins, and DART's Asteroid Deflection Lessons

0:00 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your regular dose

0:02 of the cosmos. I'm Anna, and today we've got

0:05 an exciting lineup of stories for you. First

0:08 up, we'll dive into the surprising news from

0:10 Washington, D.C. where NASA has just received

0:12 a new interim administrator with a rather

0:14 unconventional background. Then we'll journey

0:17 beyond our solar system to uncover a

0:20 groundbreaking discovery about the origin of

0:22 a recently spotted interstellar comet. It's a

0:25 first of its kind. We'll also get the Latest

0:27 insights from NASA's DART mission, learning

0:29 how deflecting asteroids isn't quite as

0:32 straightforward as once thought. And finally,

0:34 for all you stargazers out there, I'll share

0:36 some tips on how to spot the magnificent

0:38 ringed planet Saturn as it makes its grand

0:41 return to the late night sky this week.

0:43 Let's get started. Our first

0:45 big story takes us to the political landscape

0:48 of space, as President Trump has appointed a

0:50 new interim administrator for NASA, Sean

0:52 Duffy. This comes six weeks after the

0:54 termination of Jared Isaacman's nomination.

0:57 What makes this appointment particularly

0:59 noteworthy is that Duffy currently serves as

1:02 the Secretary of transportation, a massive

1:04 role overseeing 55,000 employees and

1:07 13 agencies, including the FAA.

1:10 President Trump announced the news on his

1:12 social media, praising Duffy's tremendous

1:15 job in transportation and calling him a

1:18 fantastic leader for the space agency, even

1:21 if only for a short time. Duffy himself took

1:23 to X, stating he was honoured to accept this

1:26 mission. Time to take over space. Let's

1:28 launch. This choice might seem

1:31 unconventional considering Duffy's

1:33 background, which includes starring on the

1:35 Real world Boston in 1997,

1:38 working as an ESPN commentator and serving as

1:41 a Republican in the US House of

1:43 Representatives. He doesn't have a

1:45 traditional space career, although he has

1:47 recently shown interest in spaceflight as FAA

1:50 administrator, even watching the Crew 9

1:52 missions splash down. This appointment

1:55 apparently caught NASA officials off guard,

1:58 as they had anticipated the current acting

2:00 administrator, Janet Petro, would remain.

2:02 However, sources suggest President Trump

2:05 wanted someone he personally liked and

2:07 trusted at NASA's helm. This could actually

2:10 be a significant advantage for the agency,

2:12 providing a direct line to the president.

2:14 Duffy could, for instance, text Trump

2:16 directly if NASA needs something or faces

2:19 unfairness during the budgeting process,

2:21 offering a level of political sway Petro

2:23 lacked. On the flip side, there are

2:26 genuine concerns about NASA's future under

2:28 Duffy's leadership. Given his political

2:31 background, his primary mission might be to

2:34 implement the president's budget request,

2:36 which proposes significant cuts to NASA's

2:39 science funding and changes to its deep space

2:41 exploration plans. He's expected to

2:44 align with Russ Vaught, who leads the White

2:47 House Office of Management and Budget and

2:49 holds strong views on presidential authority

2:51 over federal spending. This could mean a more

2:53 aggressive push to enforce budget cuts,

2:55 potentially impacting NASA's workforce and

2:58 ongoing projects. While NASA now has

3:01 a trusted and politically savvy leader for

3:03 the next few months, the path forward is

3:05 anything but clear. It remains to be seen

3:08 whether Duffy will heed the concerns of

3:09 NASA's Scientific and Engineering leadership,

3:12 or if his mandate will be to streamline the

3:14 agency according to the proposed budgetary

3:17 directives.

3:18 It's a development we'll be watching closely

3:20 here at Astronomy Daily,

3:22 Shifting gears from earthbound space politics

3:25 to incredible cosmic journeys Astronomers

3:28 have just made a groundbreaking discovery

3:29 about the third known object to visit our

3:31 solar system from M interstellar space. This

3:34 new visitor, Comet 3i Atlas, has a

3:37 truly unique origin that sets it apart from

3:39 its predecessors Oumuamua and 2i

3:42 Borisov. A team led by astrophysicist Matthew

3:45 Hopkins of the University of Oxford has

3:47 traced Comet 3I Atlas back to the thick disc

3:50 of the Milky Way. This isn't just any region

3:53 of our galaxy it's a vastly different and

3:55 much older environment than the thin disc

3:58 where our sun currently resides. This

4:00 unprecedented finding suggests that Comet 3i

4:03 Atlas is significantly older than our own

4:05 solar system, with researchers estimating its

4:08 age to be between 7.6 and 14 billion

4:11 years old compared to our Sun's mere

4:13 4.6 billion years. The

4:16 comet, discovered on July 1, 2025,

4:19 was found travelling at an astonishing

4:21 velocity of 57 kilometres per second.

4:24 To pinpoint its origin, Hopkins and his

4:26 colleagues employed a sophisticated protocol

4:29 known as the Otautahi Oxford Interstellar

4:31 Object Population Model. This model,

4:34 developed by astronomers from New Zealand and

4:36 the uk, combines Gaia satellite data with

4:39 models of galactic chemistry and object

4:41 movement to map out populations of

4:44 interstellar objects. Their analysis

4:46 revealed that the comet's velocity is

4:48 perfectly consistent with an origin in the

4:51 Milky Way's thick disc. This region

4:53 contains about 10% of the galaxy's stars,

4:56 most of which are over 10 billion years old.

4:59 This discovery not only makes 3i Atlas the

5:01 first known interstellar interloper from this

5:03 ancient part of our galaxy, but also makes it

5:06 highly unlikely that all three known

5:08 interstellar visitors came from the same

5:10 source. Comet 3I Atlas

5:13 is estimated to be between 10 to 20

5:15 kilometres across, with a bluer surface hue

5:17 and a redder coma than most comets native to

5:19 our solar system. Its closest approach to the

5:22 sun will occur in October 2025,

5:25 bringing it just inside the orbit of Mars

5:27 before it continues its journey back out of

5:29 our solar system. While it's currently

5:31 impossible to Trace these interstellar

5:33 objects back to a single specific star. The

5:36 fact that 3i Atlas hails from the thick

5:39 disc provides invaluable insights. These

5:42 interstellar objects offer a rare opportunity

5:44 to study the process of planetesimal

5:46 formation and evolution from diverse galactic

5:49 environments, expanding our understanding

5:51 beyond just our own cosmic neighbourhood.

5:53 It's a remarkable glimpse into the broader

5:55 history of our galaxy. From

5:58 ancient interstellar travellers, we now turn

6:00 our attention to how we're preparing to

6:02 defend our own cosmic neighbourhood from

6:04 asteroids right here in the solar system.

6:07 NASA's DART mission, a real world test of

6:10 asteroid deflection, made history by

6:12 purposefully colliding with Dimorphos, a

6:14 small asteroid moon, in late 2022.

6:18 The mission successfully changed the moon's

6:20 orbital period by a remarkable 33 minutes.

6:24 However, what unfolded after the collision

6:26 has opened a complex new chapter in asteroid

6:29 science. As DART slammed into

6:31 Dimorphos, it launched a significant swarm of

6:34 boulders into space. These rocks,

6:37 some as large as 3.6 metres, were propelled

6:40 at high speeds, carrying over three times

6:43 the momentum of the DART spacecraft itself.

6:46 This surprising revelation came from images

6:48 captured by Lichicube, a tiny Italian

6:50 spacecraft that flew alongside dart. A

6:53 team led by Tony Farnham at the University of

6:56 Maryland analysed these ejected boulders,

6:58 finding they weren't randomly scattered.

7:00 Instead, they formed two distinct clusters.

7:03 Farnham noted something unknown is at work

7:06 here, with one large cluster flung towards

7:08 the south, possibly breaking off from two

7:10 massive surface boulders. This analysis

7:13 highlights, uh, a crucial difference from

7:15 previous missions. Jessica Sunshine, a, uh,

7:17 co author, explained that unlike earlier

7:19 impacts on uniform surfaces, DART hit a

7:22 rocky asteroid. This created chaotic

7:25 ejecta, proving that an asteroid's

7:27 composition and surface structure

7:29 significantly influence impact results, a

7:31 critical lesson for future planetary defence.

7:34 The ejecta's shape and direction are vital

7:37 for understanding momentum transfer. The

7:39 plume formed a tilted cone, meaning the force

7:42 wasn't just straight back. It also moves

7:44 sideways. This lateral force could

7:46 potentially tilt the asteroid's orbit or

7:49 change its spin. Researchers estimate this

7:52 recoil might have shifted Dimorphos orbital

7:54 plane by up to one degree, which is

7:56 significant in spaceflight. The DART mission

7:59 aimed to measure momentum enhancement, the

8:02 extra push from kicked up material. The

8:04 momentum from these ejected boulders was

8:06 directed almost perpendicular to Dart's path

8:08 and adding a significant twist to the

8:10 expected outcome. Farnham emphasised

8:13 while the direct impact of the DART

8:15 spacecraft caused this change, the boulders

8:18 ejected gave an additional kick that was

8:20 almost as big. That additional factor

8:22 changes the physics we need to consider when

8:24 planning these types of missions. As

8:27 Jessica Sunshine vividly put it, you can

8:30 think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might

8:32 miss the pocket if we don't consider all the

8:34 variables. This underscores why tracking

8:37 debris movement is so essential.

8:39 Lichicube's detailed images analysed with

8:42 parallax, made a, uh, 3D map possible,

8:45 helping scientists understand velocities and

8:47 ejecta evolution. Looking ahead, this

8:50 analysis will be crucial for Europe's HERA

8:52 mission, scheduled to arrive at the Didymos

8:54 system in 2026. HERA

8:57 will closely examine the aftermath of the

8:59 DART impact, using this study as a vital

9:02 roadmap. Ultimately, dart's success

9:05 wasn't just about moving an asteroid. It was

9:07 about revealing the complex physics involved

9:10 when an asteroid breaks apart and ejects

9:12 material. It's a powerful reminder that when

9:15 trying to protect Earth, we truly need to

9:17 account for every single rock.

9:20 And now, shifting our gaze from potential

9:22 threats to a celestial beauty, we have some

9:25 exciting news for stargazers. The

9:28 magnificent ringed gas giant Saturn is

9:30 making its long awaited return to the late

9:33 night sky for observers in the Northern

9:34 Hemisphere this coming week, offering a prime

9:37 opportunity for some breathtaking views. For

9:40 the past few months, Saturn has been putting

9:42 on a spectacular show for early risers.

9:45 Appearing as a morning star just before

9:48 or during dawn each day,

9:50 it's been rising a little earlier, steadily

9:53 moving away from the light of the sunrise.

9:56 Now, for those in the Northern hemisphere,

9:58 Saturn will be making its triumphant return

10:00 to the late night sky. For instance,

10:03 New Yorkers can expect to see Saturn rise

10:06 alongside the stars of the Constellation

10:08 Pisces at 11:57pm

10:11 EDT on July 9th. Remember

10:14 that the exact times a planet rises and sets

10:16 will vary based on your specific location,

10:19 so it's always a good idea to check a trusted

10:21 website like inthesky.org for timings

10:24 tailored to where you are. Each successive

10:27 night, Saturn will rise a few minutes

10:28 earlier, becoming increasingly visible in the

10:31 evening sky by the time it reaches

10:33 opposition, which is when Earth is positioned

10:36 directly between the ringed giant and the

10:38 sun. On, uh, September 21st, it will

10:40 rise just a few minutes after sunset and be

10:43 observable throughout the entire night.

10:45 Saturn will remain a consistent fixture in

10:47 the evening sky until the middle of March

10:50 2026, when it will pass close to the

10:53 sun from our perspective, temporarily

10:55 disappearing from view before its cycle

10:57 begins anew in the predawn sky. While

11:00 Saturn is absolutely spectacular to view with

11:02 the naked eye alone, if you have a 6 inch

11:05 telescope, you'll be able to resolve its

11:07 iconic ring system and perhaps even some of

11:10 its larger moons. For those with a larger 8

11:13 inch scope, you might even be able to make

11:15 out the 2,980mile gap in the

11:18 iconic ring system known as the Cassini

11:20 Division. Especially under good seeing

11:23 conditions and dark skies, it's a truly awe

11:26 inspiring sight. So if you have the chance,

11:28 definitely take a look.

11:31 That's all the cosmic news we have for you

11:33 today on Astronomy Daily. Thank you for

11:35 tuning in and joining me Anna, as we explore

11:37 the universe together. If you want to catch

11:40 up on all the latest space and astronomy news

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12:00 time, keep looking up.