Solar Storm Hits Early! Plus China's Reusable Rockets & Exoplanet Magnetic Shields

Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dose

of space and astronomy news. I'm Anna.

Avery: And I'm Avery. Today is Tuesday, January

20, 2026, and we've got a

fantastic lineup of stories covering

everything from solar storms to Chinese space

technology and some fascinating discoveries

about how young stars shape their cosmic

neighborhoods.

Anna: That's right. We're going to dive into some

breaking news about the Sun's latest

outburst. There's been quite a development

there that aurora chasers definitely need to

about.

Avery: Plus, China continues to make impressive

strides in reusable rocket technology with

the long 3-12-B. And we'll get a sneak peek

at their upcoming Xuntian Space Telescope

that's set to rival some of the best

observatories in orbit.

Anna: We'll also journey into the Orion molecular

cloud to see how baby stars are literally

carving out their homes in space. Check out

this week's busy launch schedule and explore

a fascinating new theory about how some

exoplanets might protect themselves from

deadly radiation.

Avery: So grab your coffee, settle in, and let's get

started with today's Astronomy Daily.

Anna: Alright, Avery, let's jump right into our top

story. And this one's developing even as we

speak. The sun threw a massive tantrum this

weekend, and Earth is already feeling the

effects.

Avery: That's right, Anna. Uh, on Sunday, January

18, the sun unleashed a powerful X

1.9 class solar flare from Sunspot

region AR4341. For our

listeners who might not be familiar, X class

flares are the most powerful category of

solar eruptions. And this one came with a

particularly energetic friend.

Anna: A, uh, coronal mass ejection, or a cme.

Right.

Avery: Exactly. This CME was what

forecasters call a, uh, full halo event,

meaning it was aimed directly at Earth. The

interesting twist here is that it arrived

much sooner than predicted. Space weather

forecasters initially expected it to hit

sometime within 24 hours of the flare, but

it actually slammed into Earth's

magnetosphere yesterday, January 19th

at 2:38pm Eastern Time.

Anna: And I'm guessing from the reports I've been

seeing, this wasn't a gentle arrival.

Avery: Not at all. The CME triggered severe

G4 geomagnetic storms. According

to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction center,

this is actually a pretty rare event. We're

also dealing with an S IV severe solar

radiation storm that's ongoing.

Anna: Now, for those wondering why this matters,

let's talk about what makes a CME GEO

effective or not. It's all about magnetic

field orientation, isn't it?

Avery: That's the crucial factor when a CME

arrives. If its magnetic field is oriented

southward, what scientists call a negative

BZ component, it can connect with Earth's

northward pointing magnetic field. Think of

it like opening a door. The southward

orientation essentially allows solar wind

energy to pour into our magnetosphere,

triggering geomagnetic storms.

Anna: And in this case, that door was wide open.

Avery: Exactly. Data from the DSCOVR

and a spacecraft which monitor the solar wind

upstream of Earth confirmed that southward

BZ component. That's what made this storm so

potent.

Anna: So what does this mean for people on the

ground? Obviously, there's the spectacular

side with Auroras, but there are practical

concerns too, right?

Avery: The good news is that this storm could push

the northern lights much further south than

usual. According to NOAA scales, G4

storms can make auroras visible as far south

as Alabama and Northern California. But there

are some downsides. These storms can disrupt

GPS navigation, affect satellite

operations, increase atmospheric drag on

spacecraft, and potentially impact power

grids and high frequency radio commun.

Anna: And the flare itself caused immediate

problems when it erupted, correct?

Avery: Yes. The X dot 1.9 flare

triggered strong R3 level radio blackouts

across the sunlit side of Earth, with the

Americas taking the biggest hit. Radio

blackouts happen because the intense X rays

and extreme ultraviolet radiation from the

flare ionized the upper atmosphere,

disrupting radio.

Anna: Signals for our aurora chasers out

there. What's the forecast looking like?

Avery: Well, geomagnetic storm conditions are

expected to continue through at least today,

January 20th. The best viewing times

are typically between 10pm and 4am

local time. Of course, you'll want to get

away from city lights and find the darkest

location possible. And keep in mind you need

clear skies to see them.

Anna: The timing is interesting too, isn't it?

We're well into solar maximum.

Avery: We are solar. Cycle 25 has been

particularly active, and we're seeing the

effects. The sun has been consistently active

throughout late 2025 and into

2026, with multiple X class

flares and CMEs. This is exactly

the kind of activity we expect during solar

maximum.

Anna: It's yet another reminder that our star is a

dynamic, powerful force. What's

fascinating to me is how much we've learned

about predicting these events. Even if this

one arrived earlier than expected.

Avery: Absolutely. Space weather forecasting has

come a long way, but CMEs are still

notoriously tricky. Their speed,

direction, and crucially, their magnetic

orientation all factor into how they'll

interact with Earth. We often don't know the

full picture until spacecraft like

DSCOVR sample them directly when

they're almost at our doorstep.

Anna: Well, if you're in the northern tier states

of the US Or Canada. Keep your eyes on the

sky tonight. This could be a spectacular

display.

Avery: Shifting gears from solar fireworks to human

engineering.

Let's talk about China's latest achievement

in reusable rocket technology. The China

Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

has successfully conducted a static fire test

of the Long March 12B.

Anna: This is China's follow up to the Long March

12A, which we covered when it made its maiden

flight back in late December 2025, right?

Avery: Exactly. And if you recall, that first

flight was partially successful. The second

stage successfully delivered its payload to

orbit, but the reusable first stage

crashed near the intended recovery area in

Gansu Province. So there's definitely been

some lessons learned.

Anna: Let's talk specs. What can you tell us about

the Long March 12B?

Avery: It's a fairly substantial vehicle. The

rocket stands approximately 70 meters tall.

That's about 230ft with a

diameter of 4 meters. Both stages use

liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants, which

is interesting because it's the same

propellant combination that SpaceX uses in

their Falcon 9.

Anna: And in terms of capability, in its.

Avery: Baseline configuration, the long March 12B

can lift about 20 metric tons to low Earth

orbit. That puts it firmly in the heavy

medium lift category. When fully fueled, the

entire vehicle has a liftoff mass of around

700 tons.

Anna: So what exactly did this static fire test

accomplish?

Avery: The test, which took place Friday at the

Jiuquan Satellite Launch center in northwest

China, was all about validation. Ground

teams ignited the first stage engines and

sustained combustion for a period while

monitoring performance and control

parameters. They were verifying fueling

procedures, ignition sequences, and making

sure all the propulsion and support systems

worked smoothly under planned conditions.

Anna: And the reusability aspect, how does that

work?

Avery: This is where it gets really interesting. The

first stage is designed to separate from the

second stage during flight, then flip itself

around for re entry, using aerodynamic grid

fins for guidance. Picture those waffle like

fins you see on Falcon 9 boosters. Then

it uses deployable landing legs to touch down

vertically at a designated landing zone.

Anna: So it's very much following the SpaceX

playbook.

Avery: It is. Though China has been developing this

technology independently, the goal is the

same reusability to cut mission costs and

increase launch cadence. This is especially

important for China's commercial space sector

and their growing Satellite Constellation

projects.

Anna: And you mentioned The Long March 12A's

landing attempt failed. Are they

incorporating what they learned from that

into the 12B?

Avery: Absolutely. Engineering teams are still

investigating what went wrong with that

December landing attempt. And the lessons

from that mission are being fed directly into

refinements for the long March 12th B's

reentry and landing systems. That's actually

a really important part of the development

process.

Anna: Uh, so when might we see an actual

launch of the long March 12b.

Avery: Based on this successful static fire test?

We're probably looking at flight tests in the

near future. They still need to do more

ground testing and verification, but

successful engine testing is a major

milestone on the path to orbital flight.

Anna: It's interesting to watch multiple countries

and companies working on reusable rocket

technology. It really does seem to be the

future of spaceflight.

Avery: No question. When you can land and reuse your

first stage, which is the most expensive part

of the rocket, the economics of space access

change dramatically. China positioning

themselves with both the 12A and 12B

shows they're committed to competing in this

arena.

Anna: Staying with China's space program, let's

look ahead to what could be one of the most

capable space telescopes ever launched.

The Chinese space station telescope known as

Xuntian is gearing up for launch as soon

as early 2027.

Avery: And scientists just completed something

pretty important. A, uh, full end to end

observation simulation to test how the

telescope will perform once it's in orbit.

Anna: Let's start with the basics. How big is this

thing?

Avery: Xuntian features a 2 meter primary

mirror that's about 6.6ft across.

For comparison, that's slightly smaller than

Hubble's 2.4 meter mirror. But here's

where it gets interesting. Juntian is

designed specifically as a survey instrument.

And in that role, it's going to be far more

capable than Hubble.

Anna: How so?

Avery: It's all about field of view. Juntian's

field of view is about 300 times larger than

Hubble's. That means it can survey the sky

much more efficiently. Combine that with a

2.5 billion pixel camera and the

ability to observe from near ultraviolet to

near infrared wavelengths, and you've got

yourself an extremely powerful sky surveying

machine.

Anna: That's impressive. What will it be looking

for?

Avery: The science goals are pretty ambitious.

According to the National Astronomical

Observatories under the Chinese Academy of

Sciences, Chuntian should make major

contributions across multiple

cosmology, galaxy formation and evolution,

the structure and evolution of our own Milky

Way, and studies of stars and planets.

Anna: I've also heard it might help us understand

dark matter and dark energy.

Avery: Exactly. Those are two of the biggest

mysteries in astrophysics. And a wide Field

survey telescope like Shuntian is perfectly

suited to contribute to that research by

mapping large areas of the sky and observing

how galaxies cluster and move, Scientists

can gather evidence about the nature of dark

matter and dark energy.

Anna: Now what makes Xuntian really unique is how

it will operate in relation to China's

Tiangong Space Station. Right.

Avery: That's one of the coolest aspects. Chun Tian

will fly independently in low Earth orbit, co

orbiting with Tiangong, but doing its own

thing. However. And um, this is the really

neat part. It's designed to dock with the

space.

Anna: Station when needed dough astronauts can

service it exactly.

Avery: Just like NASA astronauts serviced Hubble

five times between 1993 and

2009. According to recent video from

China Central Television astronauts will be

able to conduct spacewalks to maintain,

repair or even upgrade the observatory.

This is a huge advantage because it extends

the operational life of the telescope and

allows for technology upgrades over time.

Anna: That's actually brilliant. Hubble's servicing

missions turned it from a disappointment into

one of the most productive scientific

instruments ever built.

Avery: Absolutely. And China clearly learned from

that example. Being able to service a space

telescope in orbit is enormously valuable.

Anna: Tell us about these simulations they just

completed.

Avery: The research team built what they call an end

to end simulation suite. Basically they

created mock observations that replicate the

expected instrumental and observational

conditions. They tested both the optical

systems and other observation systems to

evaluate the telescope's overall performance

before it ever leaves the ground.

Anna: That makes sense. Better to find problems in

simulation than after launch.

Avery: The results were published in the journal

Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics in

early January. This kind of validation work

is crucial for a mission of this scale and

complexity.

Anna: When you say early 2027, how

firm is that timeline?

Avery: It's a no earlier than timeline. These

large space telescopes are complex beasts and

schedules can slip. But if everything stays

on track, we could see Xuntian launching on a

long March 5th B rocket sometime in the

first half of 2027.

Anna: It's going to be really interesting to see

what Chuntian discovers once it's

operational. Having another major space

telescope conducting surveys will be

fantastic for astronomy.

Avery: Next, let's head out to one of the most

famous star forming regions in our cosmic

neighborhood. The Orion Molecular Cloud

complex. The Hubble Space Telescope has

captured some stunning new images that reveal

how baby stars are literally carving out

space for themselves in the surrounding gas

and dust.

Anna: This is such a beautiful topic. These are

protostars, right? Stars that haven't quite

grown up yet?

Avery: That's right. Protostars are young stellar

objects that are still in the process of

accumulating mass from the molecular clouds.

They're Forming in. They haven't started

fusing hydrogen into helium yet, which is

what defines a main sequence star like our

Sun. But even though they're not doing

fusion, they're far from quiet.

Anna: They're quite energetic, actually,

incredibly so.

Avery: Protostars generate powerful winds and jets

that shape their surroundings in dramatic

ways. These jets and winds carve out bubbles

and caverns in the surrounding gas. And

astrophysicists have been trying to better

understand this feedback process.

Anna: What's driving these jets?

Avery: It's a fascinating process. Material from the

molecular cloud first forms a disk around the

protostar. Not all of that material makes it

onto the star itself. Some gets accelerated

to high speeds along the star's magnetic

field lines and shot out from the poles as

focus beams of mostly hydrogen.

Anna: So they're like cosmic fire hoses.

Avery: That's a good analogy. And in addition to

these focused jets, protostars also produce

wide angle stellar winds that flow in all

directions. These winds from young stars are

actually far more powerful than the solar

wind from our sun or other main sequence

stars.

Anna: What did the Hubble images reveal?

Avery: The three new images show protostars at

different stages, all in the Orion molecular

complex. You can actually see the cavernous

shapes these young stars have carved out from

the surrounding gas. It's quite striking

visually, these dark, sometimes intricate

structures against the glowing background of

the nebula.

Anna: But there was a surprising finding in the

research, wasn't there?

Avery: Yes, and it challenges some assumptions.

Researchers found that the cavities carved by

these jetson winds didn't grow larger as the

stars moved through their later formation

stages. You might expect the cavities to keep

expanding over time, but that's not what they

observed.

Anna: So what does that tell us?

Avery: Well, the Orion molecular cloud has been

experiencing a declining star formation rate.

And these protostars also have lower rates of

mass accretion over time. Scientists

initially thought maybe this could be

attributed to the jets and winds carving out

all the available gas. But the new findings

suggest that's not the case. The cavity sizes

weren't the limiting factor.

Anna: So something else is controlling the star

formation rate.

Avery: Exactly. There must be other factors at play

in regulating how quickly stars form and grow

in this region. It's a reminder that even in

well studied regions like Orion, we're still

learning the details of how star formation

works.

Anna: I love that these images aren't just pretty

pictures. They're revealing actual physics.

Avery: That's what makes astronomy so exciting.

Every observation adds a piece of the puzzle.

In this case, we're learning that the

feedback from young stars through their jets

and winds. While dramatic and visually

spectacular, might not be the main factor

controlling star formation in the region.

Anna: It's also interesting to think about our own

sun going through this phase billions of

years ago.

Avery: Absolutely. When the sun was young, it was in

a cluster with its siblings, probably in a

molecular cloud, much like Orion. It would

have had these same powerful jets and winds

shaping the gas and dust around it.

Eventually the molecular cloud dispersed, the

star cluster broke up and the sun ended up as

the solitary star we know today.

Anna: Orion is close enough that we can study these

processes in detail, which is really lucky

for astronomers.

Avery: Very lucky. At about 1350

light years away, it's one of the nearest

large star forming regions. We can resolve

individual protostars and their surrounding

structures, which gives us insights we can

apply to understanding star formation

throughout the galaxy and beyond.

Anna: Alright, let's shift from natural cosmic

phenomena to human made space activities.

We've got a busy week of launches coming up.

Avery.

Avery: We do indeed. Seven launches from six

different sites across the globe. Let's run

through them.

Anna: The week actually started this morning with a

Chinese launch, correct?

Avery: That's right. A uh, Chang Zhang 12 rocket,

also known as Long March 12, lifted off

from Commercial Launch Complex 2 at Wenchang

Space Launch Site in Hainan, China. This was

at 7:48 UTC. Carrying nine

SatNet satellites to low Earth orbit. The

CZ12 can lift about 12,000

kilograms to LEO. And this was a

demonstration of China's commercial launch

capabilities.

Anna: Moving on to tomorrow.

Avery: What do we have tomorrow? January 21st

we have Rocket Lab launching from New

Zealand. Their Electron rocket will be

carrying two satellites for open Cosmos as

part of a secure broadband constellation

being built in the uk. The mission is called

the Cosmos will see you now. And liftoff is

scheduled for 11:09 UTC. From their

facility on the Mahia Peninsula.

Anna: Rocket Lab has really established a solid

cadence with Electron.

Avery: They have. This will be Electron's 80th

mission. That's a remarkable achievement for

a small rocket. The vehicle has proven itself

reliable and capable, especially for these

small satellite constellation deployments.

Anna: It's Wednesday. That gets particularly

interesting with the Isar Aerospace launch.

Avery: Yes, this is Isar's second attempt to launch

their Spectrum rocket from the Andoya rocket

range in Norway. The mission is called Onward

and Upward, which is fitting given that their

first attempt in March 2025 failed

shortly after liftoff due to an engine issue.

Anna: What's different this time?

Avery: Well, they've been investigating what went

wrong on that first flight and making

refinements. Spectrum is a two stage

rocket Powered by Aquila engines using

propane and liquid oxygen, it's designed for

the satellite Constellation market and can

lift about a thousand kilograms to leo.

They're carrying several cubesats for the

European Space Agency's Boost program.

Anna: So fingers crossed for ISAR on Wednesday.

What else?

Avery: Wednesday is also when SpaceX has their first

Falcon 9 launch of the week. They're

launching 24 Starlink satellites from

Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Liftoff is currently targeted for 2:43

UTC on January 22, which

is 6:43pm Pacific Time on the

21st.

Anna: Vandenberg has been busy lately.

Avery: Very busy. This mission will use booster

B1093 on its 10th flight.

Landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still

Love youe in the Pacific. It's another

example of SpaceX's routine reuse.

This particular booster has previously flown

seven Starlink missions and two military

missions.

Anna: Do we have a New Shepard launch from Blue

Origin this week?

Avery: Correct. Blue Origin is targeting Thursday,

January 22nd at 1430

UTC. That's 9:30am Eastern

for New Shepard's 17th crewed mission,

designated NS38. This will

be a suborbital flight from Launch Site 1 in

West Texas, carrying six people past the

Karman Line and into space for a few minutes

of weightlessness.

Anna: New Shepard has really become a regular

operation for them.

Avery: It has. The capsule will separate from the

booster, which will return for a propulsive

landing while the capsule lands under

parachutes with retro thrusters firing just

before touchdown to soften the landing for

the crew.

Anna: And we round out the week with.

Avery: Two more launches on Sunday, January 25.

First, China will conduct the sea launch of a

Geelong 3 rocket from the South China Sea.

Details on the payload are still under wraps.

They'll likely release that information after

the launch. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:30

UTC.

Anna: Sea launches are always interesting.

Avery: They are. The Jialong 3 is a four stage

solid fueled rocket that launches from a

maritime platform. It's an interesting

capability that gives China flexibility in

launch azimuth and location. And finally,

Sunday also brings SpaceX's second Falcon

9 launch of the week. Also from Vandenberg,

another batch of 24 Starlink satellites

heading to orbit at 1517 UTC.

This one will use booster

B0088 on its 13th flight,

another testament to booster reusability.

Anna: That's quite a week. Seven launches from

six sites. It really shows how routine space

it does.

Avery: And it's only going to get busier as more

commercial Constellations come online and

more providers enter the launch market.

Anna: And May we wish them all successful launches.

Avery: Indeed.

Moving along for our final story, let's

journey to distant worlds and explore a

fascinating new theory about how some rocky

exoplanets might protect themselves from

deadly cosmic radiation.

Anna: This involves super Earths. Right? Those

planets that are larger than our Earth but

smaller than ice giants like Neptune.

Avery: Exactly. Super Earths are actually the most

common type of exoplanet we've found in our

galaxy, which makes understanding them really

important. But here's an interesting

Many of these worlds might not be able to

generate magnetic fields the way Earth does.

Anna: And magnetic fields are crucial for

protecting a planet's surface from harmful

radiation.

Avery: Right. Earth's magnetic field is generated by

movement in our liquid iron outer core

Through a process called a dynamo. But

larger, rocky worlds like super Earths Might

have cores that are completely solid or

completely liquid, Neither of which can

produce a magnetic field through the same

mechanism.

Anna: So how do they protect themselves?

Avery: That's where this new research from the

University of Rochester comes in. They

propose an alternate source. Deep layers of

molten rock called basal Magma Oceans,

or BMOs, which exist at the boundary

between a planet's mantle and.

Anna: Core molten rock generating a

magnetic field.

Avery: It sounds surprising, but the key is what

happens to rock under the extreme pressures

inside super Earths. The research team, led

by Associate Professor Miki Nakajima,

Conducted laser shock experiments and quantum

simulations to recreate the conditions deep

inside these massive planets.

Anna: What did they find?

Avery: Under the crushing pressures found in super

Earths? We're talking planets three to six

times the mass of Earth. Molten rock becomes

electrically conductive. And if you have

electrically conductive material in motion,

you can generate a magnetic field.

Anna: So these basal magma oceans could act like

liquid metal cores, Just using rock

instead?

Avery: Essentially, yes. The movement of this

electrically conductive molten rock could

drive what they call a BMO dynamo. And

according to their models, these dynamos

could generate magnetic fields that are

actually stronger and longer lasting than

those produced by core dynamos like Earth's.

Anna: That's remarkable. How long could these

fields last?

Avery: Billions of years, potentially. That's

important because for a planet to develop and

sustain life, you need stable protection from

radiation over very long timescales.

Anna: Now, Earth probably had a basal magma

ocean early in its history, right?

Avery: Yes, shortly after formation. But Earth is

relatively small, so as it cooled, that magma

ocean eventually solidified. Super Earths,

though, with their higher internal pressures

and temperatures, could maintain these basal

magma oceans for much, much longer,

Potentially throughout their entire lifetime.

Anna: This has pretty significant implications for

the search for habitable worlds.

Avery: Absolutely. One of the Factors in determining

whether a planet might be habitable is

whether it has magnetic protection. Without a

magnetic field, a planet's atmosphere can be

stripped away by stellar wind, making it hard

for life to survive on the surface. If super

Earths can generate magnetic fields through

basal magma oceans, that potentially

increases the number of worlds that could

harbor life.

Anna: How do we test this theory?

Avery: That's the exciting next step. We need to

actually detect and measure magnetic fields

around exoplanets, which is extremely

challenging with current technology. But next

generation telescopes and instruments might

be able to do it. Professor Nakajima

mentioned she can't wait for future magnetic

field observations of exoplanets to test

their hypothesis.

Anna: It's fascinating how interdisciplinary this

research is, combining experimental physics,

quantum simulations, and planetary evolution

models.

Avery: That's what makes it so robust. They weren't

just working on theory. They actually

recreated the conditions inside super Earths

with laser shock experiments at the

Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the

University of Rochester. Then they combined

that with computational modeling to

understand how these conditions would evolve

over billions of years.

Anna: And this was challenging work for the team,

wasn't it?

Avery: Very much so. Professor Nakajima mentioned

this was her first experimental work. Her

background is primarily computational. She

credited support from collaborators across

various research fields for making this

interdisciplinary work possible.

Anna: It's a great reminder that some of the

biggest scientific questions require bringing

together expertise from multiple disciplines.

Avery: Absolutely. Understanding planetary

interiors, magnetic field generation and

habitability requires geophysics,

astrophysics, planetary science, and

material science all working together.

Anna: So the bottom line is super Earths might

have, ah, a built in radiation shield that we

didn't know about, Potentially making more of

them candidates for harboring life.

Avery: That's exactly right. It expands our

understanding of what makes a planet

potentially habitable and gives us new things

to look for when we're evaluating exoplanets

as possible homes for life.

Anna: Well, that wraps up today's edition of

Astronomy Daily. From solar storms to

baby stars, Chinese space technology to

hidden magma oceans on distant worlds, it's

been quite a journey through the cosmos.

Avery: It really has. And remember, if you're in the

northern tier states of the USA or Canada

tonight, keep an eye on the sky for those

auroras from that solar storm. Could be quite

a show.

Anna: Thanks for joining us for the latest space

and astronomy news delivered fresh every day.

Be sure to subscribe to Astronomy Daily. You

can find us on our website@astronomydaily,IO

or search for us on your favorite podcast

platform. Until next time, keep looking up

Clear skies, everyone.

In this episode