Universe Today Podcast

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 17:16
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9XGHRoVJgYA
🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
How can there be auroras on Mars? More bad news for the exploration of Europa. Watching Pluto's atmosphere. And on Space Bites Plus, could planets form right after the Big Bang?
00:00 Intro

00:17 Auroras on Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-maven-illuminates-new-understanding-of-auroras-at-mars

03:07 More Bad News for Europa Exploration https://www.universetoday.com/articles/europas-interior-ocean-may-harbor-life-but-could-be-hard-to-reach-says-new-research

05:46 Watching Pluto’s Atmosphere https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-watch-as-a-distant-worlds-atmosphere-shrinks-and-thins

08:14 Identifying Quasars with Machine Learning https://www.universetoday.com/articles/seven-needles-800000-haystacks

10:05 First “AI-Driven” Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-telescope-that-points-itself

11:55 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

12:41 China’s Rocket Exploded in Flight https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/one-of-chinas-workhorse-rockets-just-exploded-in-flight/

13:41 Moonquakes to Locate Lunar Ice https://www.universetoday.com/articles/how-to-find-lunar-ice-moonquakes-to-the-rescue

15:40 More Good News for Swift https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/08/11/nasa-swift-boost-spacecraft-prepares-to-continue-mission/

17:16 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-ingredients-for-planets-turned-up-astonishingly-early

19:58 Solar eclipse 2026 and the Perseids

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:15
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vMgKQDzRzUE
My Top-100 movie list: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/my-top-100-space-153930141
Which are we more likely to find, alien megastructures or alien microbes? Why is the US racing racing China to the Moon? Will mining the asteroid belt ever become a reality? And in Q&A+, will we ever make a mega-cut video again?
00:00 Intro

00:28 [@paigepotter4682] Are we closer to discovering alien microbes or alien megastructures?

03:09 [@MelindaGreen] Why is the US even racing China to the moon?

06:05 [@darthex0] Is a space station cheaper if communists do it?

07:03 [@bladesolar1] Will mining at the asteroid belt ever be a reality?

10:23 [@goatlord51] If an amateur uses the Vera Rubin data to find planet nine do they get to name it?

11:15 [@melantorja] Will there be a Lagrange point questions mega-cut?

14:57 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 21:56
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VqBVL2vwh04
🟣 Guest: Dr. Mike Rubenstein
📜 Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturn’s Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/actively-steerable-femtosat-constellations-for-in-situ-exploration-of-saturns-rings-atmosphere-and-magnetosphere/
👉 All 2026 NIAC Selections https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/
Saturn's rings are dense. Sending one flagship probe through them makes no sense. It'll most probably be lost. But sending a swarm of small cheap probes does. Even if a lot of them won't survive, you're still getting lots of data. This is exactly what this NIAC project is proposing.
00:00 Intro

01:22 Observing Saturn's rings

05:21 A swarm of satellites

21:56 Invisible drones

29:33 Current obsessions

31:12 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:37
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N2INt2XOCp0
My Top-100 movie list: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/my-top-100-space-153930141
If white holes exist, could we ever see one? Do SETI researches have access to Vera Rubin? Which is the best way for the Universe to end? And in Q&A+, will the Earth eventually become tidally locked to the Sun?
00:00 Intro

00:25 [@festerallday] if a civilization isn't detected by SETI did it even exist?

02:20 [@tommix6016] If White Holes were to exist, would they be detectable?

03:49 [@vistotutti6037] Does SETI have access to the Vera Rubin data stream?

06:26 [@setaihedron] So we are going to trust that the most corrupt government in modern history is honest about what it is filtering from the data?

09:00 [@MelindaGreen] How would I prefer the Universe end?

12:37 [@paulwilson1529] Will the Earth become tidally lock to the Sun?

14:56 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 19:40
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/rV0bRCA2cSs
🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
Interviews mentioned:
👉 Interview with Dr Matt Weller https://youtu.be/R18W6VVZMhc?si=RasWhg-Y9sfKvXys
👉 Interview with Dr Paul Byrne https://youtu.be/VXuhaJu-GNM?si=A-lFy8XUQHJLqvL-
Venus might not be completely dead. Evidence of liquid flowing on the surface of Pluto. Can primordial black holes cause supernova? And on Space Bites Plus, what happened to Neptune's rings and moons when Triton showed up?
00:00 Intro

00:18 Three Worlds Not One https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-asteroid-that-may-be-three-worlds

02:22 Venus Isn’t Dead https://www.universetoday.com/articles/venus-isnt-dead-after-all

06:04 Liquid on Pluto https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/08/05/nasas-new-horizons-finds-evidence-of-recent-liquid-on-plutos-surface/

07:47 Charon Was Spinning Much Faster https://www.universetoday.com/articles/charons-mountains-reveal-moon-once-spun-10x-faster

09:00 Primordial Black Holes and Supernovae https://www.universetoday.com/articles/primordial-black-holes-can-trigger-type-ia-supernovae-and-astronomers-should-be-able-to-find-them

12:05 SpaceX Slams a Rocket Into The Moon https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2085121782315446613

13:53 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

14:48 Voyager 2 Avoids Shutting Down More Instruments https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/

17:05 Quick Update on New Glenn https://x.com/davill/status/2085074404627915059

18:07 Rescuing the Rescuer https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/heres-how-engineers-plan-to-save-the-satellite-sent-to-save-nasas-swift-mission/

19:40 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/smashed-ice-worlds-formed-neptunes-inner-moons-and-rings

20:50 Hank Green's AI controversy