Universe Today Podcast

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:48
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/90S24jYGtd4
Latest Patreon Q&A show: https://www.patreon.com/posts/156265102/
What did we really find on Mars? Could we find actual fossils there? How was the most detailed 3D-map of the Universe made? And in Q&A+, what's the deal with Iapetus and its huge ridge?
Q&A 00:00 Intro

00:22 [@HanSolo__] Did we find marks of past primitive life on Mars?

05:15 [@geohondo] Could we find an actual skeletal fossil on mars?

07:18 [@louisnelsonsmith] How DESI works

15:48 [@TheGoldishFish] Why does Saturn moon Iapetus have that huge equatorial ridge?

18:03 The Q&A format

BONUS PART STARTS AT 24:29
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GfEzOHGoAuU
🟣 Guest: Amy Haft
📜 Spacecraft electrostatic tractor using a power-constrained pulsed high-energy high-current electron beam https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027311772600075X?via%3Dihub
The number of satellites constantly grows. As the result, space debris is becoming more and more of a concern. A new study suggests using practically real-life Star Trek tech to use an electron tractor beam to tug broken satellites around the orbit.
00:00 Intro

01:11 The state of space debris

04:25 Satellite tractor beam

14:07 Alternative applications

24:29 Tracking objects via plasma trails

39:23 Current obsessions

44:29 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:23
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4uPUdm7WP9o
Can we deploy a huge fleet of amateur telescopes to image a single planet? If the Voyager crashes into something, will we know that? What's the point of studying gravitational waves? And in Q&A+, does the starless galaxy have any planets?
00:00 Intro

00:27 [@liamdobbyn6167] Fleet of amateur telescopes on TRAPPIST-1

06:28 [@SpaceGeekSheri] Would we know about it if Voyager crashed into something? 08:12 [@deant6361] Will New Horizons end up leaving the solar system?

09:07 [@davidevans6487] Can we use radiation of space to power spacecraft?

11:16 [@JuanMendez-zh2ez] Why study gravitational waves?

17:23 [@christiandesalliers] Are there planets in Cloud-9?

19:18 Astronomy Cast

Here’s what might delay Artemis, New Glenn flies again, but there’s a problem, Voyager 1 has to shut down another instrument, Vera Rubin is finding so many asteroids. And in Space Bites+, an incredible image to celebrate Hubble’s 35th birthday.
00:00 Intro

00:18 Potential bottleneck for Artemis https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/04/whats-the-deal-with-spacesuits-for-the-moon-will-they-be-ready-in-time/

03:20 China Shows Off a 5-Meter Rocket Module https://www.universetoday.com/articles/china-unveils-a-massive-5-meter-composite-module-for-its-next-generation-reusable-rocket

06:20 Success and Failure of New Glenn NG-3 https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/04/errant-upper-stage-spoils-blue-origins-success-in-reusing-new-glenn-booster/

08:25 Voyager Shuts Down More Instruments https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/

11:08 Vera Rubin Discovers A Lot of Asteroids https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-vera-c-rubin-observatory-has-discovered-11000-new-asteroids-and-its-barely-even-started

12:36 Vote results

13:06 Organics on Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/msl-curiosity-found-new-organic-chemicals-on-mars-proof-that-the-planet-can-preserve-ancient-biosign

15:09 Roman’s Ready to Launch

16:51 SPHEREx Mapping the Sky https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-spherex-telescope-just-mapped-the-cosmic-ices-that-will-someday-build-planets

18:05 The Universe in X-Rays https://www.universetoday.com/articles/behold-the-solar-system-in-all-its-x-ray-glory

19:18 More space news

20:20 Complexity of the interviews

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:29
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ouw_AobGQ2M
CosmoQuest Artemis Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUhAPm8PNdY
CosmoQuest: https://cosmoquest.org/
What could the great filter be? How visible is the human race to outside observers? How would astronomy work in a cosmic void? And in Q&A+, what would happen if a black hole suddenly approached?00:00 Intro
00:26 [@moosekeeto] What could the Great Filter be?

02:17 [@wookalarcentral] What do cosmic coincidences mean?

04:24 [@MikeD_] Could advanced civilizations communicate in a way we can't detect?

06:05 [@doogle4144] How 'visible' is the Human race?

08:56 [@mmorgan7212] How would astronomy work if we lived in a cosmic void?

13:40 [@AEFisch] Why do scientists call a black hole a singularity?

16:28 New citizen science project