Solar Sentinel Reaches L1, Challenger's 40-Year Legacy, and AI's Hubble Discoveries

0:00 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for

0:03 the latest space and astronomy news. I'm

0:06 Anna.

0:06 Avery: And I'm Avery. Today is Wednesday, January

0:09 28, 2026, and we've got a

0:12 fantastic lineup of storeys for you.

0:14 Anna: We certainly do. We'll be covering

0:16 NOAA's new solar observatory reaching its

0:19 destination, looking back at how weather

0:21 played a tragic role in the Talinger disaster

0:24 40 years ago, and discovering how

0:27 AI is uncovering hidden cosmic

0:30 treasures in Hubble's AR Plus,

0:32 Venus might be.

0:33 Avery: In for a spectacular meteor shower this July.

0:36 We'll explore stellar fireworks at the heart

0:38 of our galaxy. And NASA is giving us a live

0:41 view of the Artemis 2 moon rocket on the

0:43 launch pad.

0:44 Anna: Let's dive right in.

0:45 Avery: Our top storey today takes us about a million

0:48 miles from Earth, where NOAA's Space Weather

0:50 Follow on Lagrange 1 Observatory has just

0:53 arrived at its permanent home. Anna, uh, this

0:55 is a pretty significant milestone for space

0:58 weather monitoring, isn't it?

0:59 Anna: Absolutely, Avery. This observatory reached

1:02 Lagrange Point 1, or L1, on

1:05 January 21, after launching back in

1:08 June 2024. Now, uh, for our listeners

1:11 who might not be familiar, L1 is this

1:13 special gravitational sweet spot between

1:16 Earth and the sun, about 1.5

1:19 million kilometres from our planet.

1:21 Avery: And what makes this location so ideal for

1:24 watching the Sun?

1:25 Anna: Well, at L1, the observatory maintains a

1:28 constant view of the sun while orbiting in

1:31 sync with Earth. It's like having a cosmic

1:34 early warning system. The satellite can

1:36 detect solar storms and coronal mass

1:39 ejections headed our way, giving us that

1:41 crucial advance notice, typically about

1:44 15 to 60 minutes before these events

1:47 impact Earth.

1:48 Avery: That advance warning time is critical, isn't

1:50 it? I mean, we're talking about protecting

1:52 everything from power grids to satellites.

1:55 Anna: Exactly right. And here's what's really

1:57 exciting. It's not just one observatory,

2:00 it's a constellation. NOAA is planning

2:03 four more satellites for L1, plus

2:05 additional ones at, uh, Lagrange point five.

2:08 Together, they'll create this comprehensive

2:11 solar monitoring network. The second

2:13 satellite is already scheduled to launch in

2:15 2027.

2:17 Avery: So we're looking at a much more robust space

2:19 weather forecasting capability in the near

2:21 future.

2:22 Anna: Precisely. And given how dependent our, uh,

2:25 modern infrastructure is on satellites and

2:27 power grids, this kind of monitoring becomes

2:30 more important every year. The observatory

2:33 is now beginning what NOAA calls an extended

2:36 checkout period before it becomes fully

2:38 operational.

2:39 Avery: Moving to a More sombre note, January

2:42 28th marks 40 years since the space Shuttle

2:44 Challenger disaster. Anna, uh, there's been

2:47 renewed focus on how weather and engineering

2:49 decisions played into that tragedy.

2:51 Anna: Yes. And it's a powerful reminder of how

2:54 critical environmental factors are in

2:56 spaceflight. You know, Avery, the night

2:59 before that launch, temperatures at Kennedy

3:01 Space Centre dropped to just 28 degrees

3:04 Fahrenheit. That's minus 2 Celsius

3:07 for Florida. That was exceptionally cold.

3:10 Avery: And, um, those cold temperatures were at the

3:12 heart of the problem, weren't they?

3:13 Anna: They were. Engineers from Morton Thykol,

3:16 the company that built the solid rocket

3:18 boosters, were deeply concerned about the O

3:21 rings, these critical rubber seals in the

3:23 boost joints. They'd never been tested below

3:26 53 degrees Fahrenheit, and the engineers

3:28 warned that the cold could make them too

3:31 stiff to seal properly.

3:32 Avery: But the launch went ahead anyway.

3:34 Anna: It did. Despite the engineering concerns,

3:37 there was enormous pressure to maintain the

3:39 launch schedule. NASA had already postponed

3:42 the mission several times, and there was this

3:45 institutional momentum to proceed.

3:47 73 seconds after liftoff, hot

3:50 gases escaped through a failed O ring

3:53 seal, leading to the catastrophic breakup of

3:56 Challenger.

3:57 Avery: It's heartbreaking. Seven crew members lost,

3:59 including Christa McAuliffe, who would have

4:01 been the first teacher in space.

4:03 Anna: The tragedy fundamentally changed how

4:06 NASA approached decision making. The Rogers

4:09 Commission investigation that followed was

4:11 incredibly thorough, and it led to major

4:14 reforms in safety, culture and communication.

4:18 One of the key findings was that engineering

4:20 concerns need to override schedule

4:22 pressures. Always.

4:24 Avery: And those lessons still resonate today, don't

4:27 they? I mean, we see NASA taking extra time

4:29 with Artemis missions being very methodical.

4:32 Anna: Absolutely. The Challenger disaster taught

4:35 us that in spaceflight, there's no such thing

4:38 as a routine launch. Every mission

4:41 requires the same level of scrutiny and

4:44 respect for engineering limits. It's a

4:46 lesson paid for with seven lives and one

4:49 we must never forget.

4:51 Avery: On a brighter note, let's talk about some

4:53 exciting discoveries from the Hubble Space

4:56 Telescope. Anna? Uh, artificial

4:58 intelligence has just helped astronomers

5:01 uncover hundreds of previously

5:03 undetected cosmic objects in Hubble's

5:06 vast archives.

5:08 Anna: This is fascinating stuff, Avery. So

5:11 researchers have developed this AI algorithm

5:13 that can sift through decades of Hubble

5:16 observations. And it's finding things that

5:18 human astronomers missed.

5:20 Avery: Exactly. The algorithm focuses on

5:23 something called gravitational lensing. When

5:25 a massive object like a galaxy cluster

5:28 bends light from more distant objects behind

5:30 it. Einstein predicted this effect. And it's

5:33 like having a natural cosmic magnifier.

5:36 Anna: And these lensed objects can tell us a lot

5:39 about the early universe, right?

5:41 Avery: They can. The AI has identified

5:43 hundreds of gravitational lens candidates,

5:46 including some exceptionally distant galaxies

5:49 from when the universe was very young. What's

5:52 really clever about this approach is that the

5:53 algorithm was trained on existing verified

5:56 gravitational lenses. So it knows what to

5:59 look for.

6:00 Anna: So it's not just finding more of the same,

6:02 it's finding rare and unusual examples

6:05 too.

6:06 Avery: That's what makes this so exciting. The AI is

6:09 uncovering exotic lensing configurations that

6:12 would be extremely time consuming for humans

6:14 to find manually. We're talking about complex

6:17 multi image systems arc like structures,

6:20 even Einstein rings where the background

6:23 object is perfectly aligned.

6:25 Anna: And Hubble has been collecting data for over

6:27 30 years now. So there's this enormous

6:30 archive to mine.

6:32 Avery: Right. It's like having a treasure trove that

6:34 we're only now learning how to properly

6:36 search. These discoveries will help us

6:39 understand dark matter distribution in galaxy

6:41 clusters, study extremely distant galaxies

6:44 that would otherwise be too faint to detect

6:47 and refine our models of cosmic evolution.

6:50 Anna: It really shows how AI and human

6:52 astronomers can work together. The AI does

6:55 the heavy lifting of searching through

6:57 millions of images and then human experts

7:00 verify and study the most interesting

7:02 candidates.

7:03 Avery: Exactly. It's not replacing

7:05 astronomers, it's amplifying what they can

7:08 achieve. And as these AI tools get more

7:10 sophisticated, who knows what other cosmic

7:13 secrets might be hiding in plain sight in our

7:15 archives.

7:16 Anna: Now for something you don't hear every

7:19 Venus might be getting a meteor shower.

7:22 Avery, tell us about this cosmic event coming

7:25 this July.

7:26 Avery: This is a really cool storey, Anna. Uh,

7:28 astronomers had determined that Venus could

7:31 experience a significant meteor shower in

7:33 July 2026. And it uh, all traces

7:36 back to an asteroid breakup that happened

7:39 long ago. We're talking about debris from

7:42 asteroid 2002

7:44 VT37.

7:46 Anna: Though an asteroid broke apart and now its

7:49 debris is going to hit Venus?

7:51 Avery: Essentially, yes. When asteroids

7:54 collide or break apart, they create streams

7:57 of debris that continue orbiting the Sun.

7:59 Earth regularly passes through these debris

8:02 streams. That's what causes our meteor

8:04 showers like the Perseids or the Geminites.

8:07 Anna: But we don't usually think about other

8:09 planets having meteor showers.

8:11 Avery: We don't, and that's partly because we can't

8:13 observe them as easily. But

8:16 mathematical modelling shows that Venus's

8:18 orbit will take it through this particular

8:20 debris stream in July. The timing and

8:23 geometry appear to line up for a genuine

8:26 meteor shower event.

8:27 Anna: What would that look like? I mean, Venus has

8:30 that incredibly thick atmosphere, right?

8:33 Avery: It does. Venus's atmosphere is about 90

8:36 times denser than Earth's and is mostly

8:38 carbon dioxide. Any meteors entering that

8:41 atmosphere would experience tremendous

8:43 heating and friction. They'd likely burn up

8:46 at, uh, much higher altitudes than meteors do

8:49 on Earth, creating bright streaks across the

8:51 Venusian sky.

8:52 Anna: Though I suppose nobody's going to be on the

8:55 surface watching this Light show?

8:57 Avery: No. Surface conditions on Venus are pretty

8:59 inhospitable. We're talking temperatures hot

9:02 enough to melt lead and crushing

9:05 atmospheric pressure. But spacecraft in orbit

9:08 around Venus, or even Earth based

9:10 observations with certain wavelength might be

9:12 able to detect evidence of the meteor shower.

9:15 Anna: Could this tell us anything scientifically

9:17 valuable?

9:18 Avery: Absolutely. Studying how meteor

9:21 showers interact with Venus's unique

9:23 atmosphere could give us insights into

9:25 atmosphere chemistry and dynamics.

9:28 Plus it helps us understand the distribution

9:30 of debris throughout the inner solar system.

9:33 And it's just a reminder that these dramatic

9:35 cosmic events aren't exclusive to Earth.

9:38 Anna: Speaking of dramatic cosmic events, let's

9:41 head to the centre of our own galaxy. Avery.

9:44 Astronomers have been observing what they're

9:45 calling stellar fireworks at the heart of the

9:48 Milky Way.

9:49 Avery: The galactic centre is such a wild place,

9:52 isn't it? I mean, we've got that supermassive

9:55 black hole, Sagittarius A, and

9:57 all sorts of extreme phys going on there.

10:00 Anna: It really is cosmic chaos in the best way

10:03 possible. The region around Sagittarius A

10:06 is incredibly dense with stars, gas and

10:09 dust. And what astronomers are seeing is a

10:11 spectacular display of stellar activity.

10:14 Massive stars being born, living out their

10:17 brief but brilliant lives and dying in

10:20 supernova explosions.

10:21 Avery: And all of this is happening in a, uh,

10:23 relatively small region of space, right?

10:26 Anna: Exactly. The galactic centre is an incredibly

10:29 compact environment. You've got stellar

10:31 densities that are millions of times higher

10:33 than what we see in our solar neighbourhood.

10:35 Stars are packed so tightly that

10:38 gravitational interactions are common and the

10:40 radiation environment is intense.

10:42 Avery: What kind of observations are revealing these

10:45 fireworks?

10:46 Anna: Astronomers are using multiple wavelengths,

10:48 infrared x ray and radio observations

10:51 to peer through the thick dust that obscures,

10:53 um, the galactic centre in visible light.

10:56 What they're seeing are energetic outbursts,

10:58 shock waves from supernova remnants, and

11:01 evidence of stars being torn apart by intense

11:04 tidal forces near the black hole.

11:06 Avery: That sounds pretty dramatic, stars

11:09 being torn apart.

11:10 Anna: Yes. There's this phenomenon called tidal

11:13 disruption, where a star that ventures too

11:15 close to Sagittarius A gets stretched by

11:18 gravitational forces, sort of like cosmic

11:21 spaghettification. The star literally gets

11:24 pulled apart and some of that material falls

11:26 into the black hole while the rest is ejected

11:29 at tremendous speeds.

11:30 Avery: And, um, we're also seeing new stars forming

11:33 in this extreme environment.

11:35 Anna: You're. Despite the harsh conditions, or

11:38 perhaps because of them, there are regions of

11:40 intense star formation. The gravitational

11:42 compression from all that mass can trigger

11:45 the collapse of gas clouds, leading to new

11:48 stellar births. These tend to be very

11:50 massive, hot stars that burn bright and

11:53 die young.

11:54 Avery: It's almost like the galactic centre is this

11:57 constant cycle of creation and destruction.

11:59 Anna: That's a perfect way to describe it. And

12:02 study in this region helps us understand how

12:04 galaxies evolve, how supermassive black holes

12:07 influence their surroundings, and what

12:09 conditions were like in the early universe

12:11 when star formation was much more vigorous

12:13 everywhere.

12:14 Avery: For our final storey, let's come back closer

12:17 to home. NASA has launched a 24

12:19 hour livestream showing the Artemis II moon

12:22 rocket on the launch pad at Kennedy Space

12:24 Centre.

12:25 Anna: This is pretty exciting for space

12:27 enthusiasts. Avery. The Space Launch System

12:30 rocket with the Orion spacecraft is now

12:32 stacked and standing on launch pad, um, 39B.

12:35 And anyone can watch it live whenever they

12:38 want.

12:38 Avery: This is the mission that will send astronauts

12:41 around the moon, right? The first crewed

12:43 lunar mission since Apollo 17.

12:45 Anna: That's right. Artemis II will carry four

12:48 astronauts, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman,

12:51 Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA

12:54 astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a journey around

12:57 the moon. They won't land, but they'll

12:59 perform a lunar flyby before returning to

13:01 Earth.

13:02 Avery: And having the rocket on the pad now. That

13:05 means we're getting close to launch.

13:07 Anna: Well, the current target is no earlier than

13:10 April 2026. Though space missions

13:12 often face schedule adjustments, right now

13:15 the rocket is on the pad for integrated

13:17 testing, making sure all the systems work

13:20 together properly before committing to a

13:22 launch attempt.

13:23 Avery: What kind of testing are they doing?

13:25 Anna: They're running through what's called a wet

13:27 dress rehearsal, which involves loading the

13:29 rocket with propellants and going through the

13:31 countdown sequence, stopping just short of

13:34 ignition. It's essentially a, ah, full launch

13:37 simulation to verify that all systems,

13:39 ground, equipment and procedures work as

13:42 planned.

13:43 Avery: And the livestream lets us watch all this

13:45 happening in real time?

13:47 Anna: Exactly. It's a continuous feed, so you can

13:50 cheque in at any time, day or night, and

13:53 see the rockets standing there on the pad.

13:55 Sometimes you'll catch technicians working,

13:58 other times you might see weather rolling

14:00 through. It's a unique behind the scenes look

14:02 at the preparation for this historic mission.

14:05 Avery: I have to say there's something awe inspiring

14:08 about seeing that massive rocket just

14:10 standing there, ready to take humans beyond

14:13 Earth orbit for the first time in over 50

14:16 years.

14:17 Anna: There really is, and it represents years

14:19 of work by thousands of people. After

14:22 Artemis 2's lunar flyby, Artemis 3 will

14:25 attempt the first crewed lunar landing since

14:28 1972, including landing the

14:30 first woman and first person of colour on the

14:33 moon.

14:34 Avery: It's a new chapter in lunar exploration and

14:36 we're watching it unfold in real time,

14:39 literally. We'll put a link in the show notes

14:41 if you'd like to cheque it out.

14:43 Anna: And that wraps up today's episode of

14:45 Astronomy Daily.

14:46 From solar observatories reaching their

14:48 cosmic outposts to remembering hard learned

14:51 lessons from AI discoveries in telescope

14:54 archives to potential meteor showers on

14:56 Venus, stellar fireworks at our galactic

14:59 centre, and moon rockets on the launch pad,

15:02 it's been quite a journey through the cosmos

15:04 today.

15:05 Avery: It certainly has. If you want to stay up to

15:07 date with all the latest space and astronomy

15:09 news, make sure you're subscribed to

15:11 Astronomy Daily. You can find us on your

15:14 favourite podcast platform.

15:15 Anna: And don't forget to visit our website at

15:17 astronomydaily IO for additional

15:20 content, show notes and links to all the

15:22 storeys we covered today.

15:24 Avery: You can also connect with us on social media

15:26 astrodaily Pod across all major

15:29 platforms.

15:30 Anna: Until next time, keep looking up Clear

15:32 skies, everyone.