Mysteries of a Rogue Planet, Astrosat's Ten-Year Triumph, and Moonlit Festivities

0:00 Avery: Welcome back to Astronomy Daily, the podcast

0:03 that brings the cosmos down to Earth. I'm

0:05 your host, Avery.

0:06 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.

0:09 We've got a packed show today, Avery. We'll

0:12 be looking at a dazzling cosmic light show on

0:14 a rogue planet. Celebrating a decade

0:17 of discovery for India's first space

0:20 observatory. Checking out some new plasma

0:22 engines that could get us to Mars in record

0:25 time. And finally, we'll tell you how you

0:28 can join a massive global event to celebrate

0:31 our very own moon.

0:33 Avery: That's a lot to cover, so let's get right to

0:35 it.

0:36 First up, a truly fascinating discovery from

0:39 the James Webb Space Telescope. It seems

0:42 it's spotted an unusual weather forecast

0:45 on a world far beyond our solar system,

0:47 complete with brilliant aurora like displays.

0:50 Anna: That's right. Astronomers at, uh, Trinity

0:53 College Dublin have been investigating the

0:56 atmosphere of a nearby free floating

0:58 planet, also known as a rogue planet.

1:02 This one is called Simp Webb

1:04 0136. For our listeners,

1:07 a rogue planet is one that doesn't orbit a

1:10 star. It just drifts through interstellar

1:12 space on its own.

1:14 Avery: And using Webb's incredibly sensitive

1:16 instruments, the research team was able to

1:19 measure tiny variations in the planet's

1:22 brightness as it spins. These subtle

1:24 shifts gave them a wealth of information

1:26 about its temperature, cloud cover and

1:29 chemical makeup. But the really unexpected

1:32 part was the discovery of intense auroral.

1:35 Anna: And what's so strange about that is how these

1:38 auroras are generated. Here on Earth,

1:41 auroras are powered by the solar wind, but

1:44 a rogue planet has no star,

1:47 so the energy must be coming from somewhere

1:49 else. Scientists speculate it could be

1:52 generated by an unseen moon orbiting the

1:55 plant, whose gravity stirs up electrical

1:57 currents. It's a real cosmic mystery.

2:01 It's an amazing find. These shimmering light

2:04 shows are similar to our own northern lights,

2:07 but probably closer in strength to the

2:09 massive auroras we see on Jupiter. And they

2:12 seem to be playing a significant role in

2:15 heating the planet's upper atmosphere.

2:18 The lead author of the research, Dr. Evert

2:20 Nosydkin, highlighted just how

2:23 precise these measurements were.

2:25 Avery: He said these are some of the most precise

2:28 atmospheric measurements of any extrasolar

2:31 object to date. And he made a pretty

2:33 striking comparison, Saying at over

2:36 1500 degrees Celsius,

2:38 Simp136 makes this summer's heat wave

2:41 look mild. The team could record temperature

2:44 changes smaller than 5 degrees Celsius.

2:47 Anna: And those temperature changes were linked to

2:49 shifts in the planet's chemical composition,

2:52 which suggests the presence of huge storms

2:55 similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot,

2:57 rotating into and out of view

3:00 but there was another surprise. Researchers

3:03 expected to see the cloud coverage change,

3:06 like watching patches of clouds pass by here

3:08 on Earth.

3:09 Avery: Instead, they found that the cloud coverage

3:11 was constant. And these aren't your typical

3:14 water ice clouds. At the extreme temperatures

3:17 on Simp136, the clouds are made of

3:20 silicate grains. Basically, it has

3:23 clouds of sand. So you've got a rogue

3:25 planet with auroras, sand,

3:28 clouds, and storms bigger than anything on

3:31 Earth. The universe is a wild place.

3:33 Anna: It certainly is.

3:35 And speaking of incredible instruments

3:37 peering into the universe, our next story

3:39 celebrates a major milestone for an

3:41 observatory that has been doing just that for

3:44 a full decade. India's first

3:47 dedicated space astronomy observatory,

3:50 Astrosat, has just completed 10

3:53 years of operations.

3:55 Avery: That's a huge achievement. It was launched

3:56 back on September 28, 2015,

3:59 with a designed mission life of just five

4:02 years. So it's doubled its expected

4:05 service time and is still providing valuable

4:07 data. That's a testament to some fantastic

4:10 engineering.

4:11 Anna: Absolutely. The Indian Space Research

4:13 Organization, or isro, commemorated the

4:16 milestone, highlighting astrosat's

4:19 groundbreaking insights across the

4:21 electromagnetic spectrum. It has studied

4:24 everything from black holes and neutron stars

4:26 stars to our nearest stellar neighbor,

4:28 Proxima Centauri.

4:30 Avery: And it even made the first ever detection of

4:32 far ultraviolet photons from galaxies an

4:35 incredible 9.3 billion light years

4:38 away. That's a huge distance looking deep

4:41 into the history of the universe.

4:43 Anna: What makes ASTROSAT so powerful is its

4:46 multi wavelength capability. It was designed

4:49 to observe the universe simultaneously in the

4:51 visible, ultraviolet and both low

4:54 and high energy X ray regions. This is

4:57 possible because it carries five distinct

5:00 scientific payloads.

5:01 Avery: Those are the Ultraviolet Imaging

5:03 Telescope, the Large area X ray

5:06 proportional counter, the cadmium zinc

5:09 telluride Imager, the Soft X Ray

5:12 Telescope, and the Scanning Sky Monitor.

5:15 Each one gives a different view of the

5:17 cosmos. Congratulations to ISRO and the whole

5:20 ASTROSAT team on a successful decade.

5:22 Anna: Well said. Now, from looking deep into space

5:25 to developing new ways to travel through it.

5:28 Our next story comes from Russia, where

5:30 engineers have showcased new plasma engines

5:33 designed for deep space exploration.

5:36 Avery: That's right. Russia's Kaldish Research

5:38 center demonstrated the new engine at the

5:40 Army 2025 International Military Technical

5:43 Forum. This isn't like a traditional chemical

5:45 rocket. It's a type of ion thruster known as

5:48 a Hall Effect thruster.

5:50 Anna: Exactly. Instead of using heat and pressure

5:53 from burning fuel, a Hall Effect

5:56 thruster uses an electric field to

5:58 accelerate a propellant. In this case, a

6:01 plasma. The new design is an improvement on

6:04 an existing thruster, but it uses a system of

6:07 permanent magnets to apply the magnetic

6:09 field.

6:10 Avery: According to reports, this significantly

6:12 improves the engine's characteristics,

6:14 including its efficiency, and also reduces

6:16 its weight. And less weight is always a huge

6:19 win in spaceflight.

6:21 Anna: These plasma engines are perfect for

6:23 maneuvering in orbit and for long

6:25 interplanetary flights. They're characterized

6:28 by very low thrust, so you're not getting a

6:31 dramatic, powerful launch. But they can

6:33 operate for a very long time, allowing a

6:36 spacecraft to gradually build up to

6:39 incredibly high velocities.

6:40 Avery: It's the tortoise and the hare of space

6:42 travel. And Anna, uh, this is the really mind

6:45 blowing claim. Last year, the director of the

6:47 Keldish Center, Vladimir Koshlikov, said

6:50 that plasma engines will make it possible to

6:53 fly to Mars in just a month and a half.

6:56 Anna: That would be a complete game changer.

6:58 Current missions take six to nine months to

7:00 get to Mars. Reducing that travel time so

7:03 dramatically would solve so many problems,

7:05 from astronaut radiation exposure to mission

7:08 logistics. It's a very exciting development

7:11 to watch indeed.

7:12 Avery: And from those future trips to Mars, let's

7:14 bring it back a little closer to home.

7:16 For our final story, we're talking about our

7:19 very own Moon. And an invitation for all of

7:22 our listeners to join a global celebration.

7:24 Anna: That's right. This Saturday, October 4, is

7:27 NASA's international observe the Moon Night.

7:30 It's an annual event that offers everyone a

7:33 chance to celebrate the inspiring bond

7:35 between the Earth and the Moon. And this

7:37 year, it ties in beautifully with the

7:39 excitement building for NASA's Artemis 2

7:41 mission.

7:42 Avery: Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in early

7:44 2026, and it will send four astronauts

7:47 on a flight past the Moon and back. First

7:50 crewed mission to the lunar vicinity in over

7:53 50 years. So this Saturday is a great time to

7:56 get reacquainted with our celestial neighbor.

7:58 Anna: On Saturday night, the Moon will be in a

8:00 waxing gibbous phase, which means most of its

8:03 face will be lit up by the Sun. It's a

8:05 perfect phase for viewing. With just your

8:08 unaided eye, you'll be able to see the large,

8:10 dark patches on the Moon. These are called

8:12 maria, which is Latin for seas.

8:15 Ancient astronomers thought they were seas of

8:17 water, but we now know they are vast, flat

8:20 plains of solidified ancient lava that

8:23 erupted billions of years ago. If you have

8:26 binoculars or a telescope, you can see even

8:29 more geological features, like craters,

8:31 volcanic domes, and even bright swirls on

8:34 the surface. NASA has even provided an

8:37 interactive map on their website specifically

8:40 for the moon's phase on October 4,

8:43 highlighting interesting areas and offering

8:46 viewing tips. There are so many ways to

8:49 participate, from backyard viewing parties

8:51 to lunar art.

8:52 Avery: Projects, uh, truly global event. In

8:55 2024, an estimated 1.3 million

8:58 people from 127 countries took

9:01 part. So if you look up at the moon on

9:04 Saturday night, know that millions of people

9:06 around the world are looking up with you.

9:09 I'll put a link in the show notes so you can

9:11 find out more and sign up if you wish to take

9:13 part in this global celebration.

9:15 Anna: And that brings us to the end of our show.

9:18 We've journeyed from a rogue planet with sand

9:21 clouds to celebrating a decade of

9:23 astrosat. From futuristic plasma

9:26 engines to a worldwide party for our

9:29 own moon.

9:30 Avery: Thanks so much for joining us on Astronomy

9:33 Daily. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get

9:35 your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

9:38 You can also find us on social media to

9:40 continue the conversation. Just search for

9:43 AstroDailyPod Daily Pod on all the main

9:45 platforms.

9:46 Anna: Until next time, keep looking up. I'm

9:49 Anna.

9:50 Avery: And I'm Avery Clear Skies.