Astronomy Daily: Space News Updates

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It's the Astronomy Daily Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap — your Saturday deep dive into the biggest stories from across the week, plus two brand-new headlines and a bonus story we just couldn't leave out.   This week on Astronomy Daily: •      NASA's Psyche spacecraft executed its Mars gravity assist flyby yesterday — slingshotting past the Red Planet at 12,000 mph on its way to a $10 quadrillion metal-rich asteroid •      SpaceX launched the record-breaking CRS-34 Dragon mission to the ISS Friday night — with docking happening TODAY (Sunday May 17) •      James Webb Space Telescope maps the cosmic web in unprecedented detail — 164,000 galaxies, 13.7 billion years of history •      Hubble reveals 'Dracula's Chivito' — the largest, most chaotic planet nursery ever seen, 1,000 light-years from Earth •      Starship Version 3 is on the pad — debut launch targeting Tuesday May 19 from the new Launch Pad 2 at Starbase •      Comet R3 PanSTARRS is in Southern Hemisphere skies NOW — and tonight is New Moon. Your last chance for 170,000 years •      WEEKEND BONUS: NASA's Curiosity rover drilled into a rock on Mars — and the rock wouldn't let go   Find us at astronomydaily.io | Follow @AstroDailyPod | Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network   YouTube Show Notes Title: Mars Slingshot! Cosmic Web Mapped! Starship V3 Launch SOON! Weekend Space News Wrap | Today's Space News   In this weekend edition of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery cover seven stories — two fresh headlines, four of the biggest stories from the past week, and a bonus story that's pure gold. It's been one of the best weeks in space in 2026.   CHAPTERS: 1.    00:00 — Cold Open & Weekend Wrap Introduction 2.    01:30 — FRESH: NASA Psyche Spacecraft's Mars Gravity Assist 3.    04:00 — FRESH: SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon Launch to the ISS 4.    06:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: JWST Maps the Cosmic Web 5.    08:30 — WEEKLY WRAP: Hubble's 'Dracula's Chivito' Planet Nursery 6.    11:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: Starship V3 — Launch This Tuesday! 7.    13:00 — WEEKLY WRAP: Comet R3 PanSTARRS — Skywatching Now 8.    15:00 — WEEKEND BONUS: Curiosity Rover's Sticky Rock 9.    16:30 — Outro & Credits   Subscribe for daily space and astronomy news | astronomydaily.io | @AstroDailyPod | Bitesz.com Podcast Network

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It's happening right now — NASA's Psyche spacecraft is executing a close Mars flyby at over 12,000 mph, using the Red Planet's gravity to slingshot toward a metallic asteroid. We've got live coverage of this extraordinary moment, plus the landmark results of a decade-long SETI search across 70,000 stars, Perseverance reaching the oldest Martian terrain ever explored, Hubble paving the way for the Roman Space Telescope launching this September, AI making supernova distance measurements four times more precise, and the James Webb Space Telescope finding a galaxy in the early universe that simply doesn't spin. All that and your southern hemisphere skywatching guide — on Astronomy Daily, Season 5, Episode 103.   Chapter Timestamps 00:00: Cold Open — Psyche Mars Flyby Teaser 00:45: Introduction & Episode Overview 01:15: Story 1: Psyche's Mars Flyby — It's Happening Right Now 04:45: Story 2: UCLA SETI — 10 Years, 70,000 Stars, Zero Aliens Yet 08:45: Story 3: Perseverance Reaches Mars' Oldest Terrain 13:15: Mid-Roll Break 14:15: Story 4: Hubble Paves the Way for the Roman Space Telescope 17:45: Story 5: AI Makes Supernova Distances Four Times More Precise 21:15: Story 6: Webb Finds a Non-Spinning Galaxy From the Early Universe 24:45: Skywatching — Southern Hemisphere Highlights 26:15: Trivia Teaser 25:45: Outro & Sign-off   Links & References •       NASA Psyche Mission: science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche •       UCLA SETI Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2605.05408 •       Perseverance Rover Updates: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020 •       Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: roman.gsfc.nasa.gov •       Astronomy Daily: astronomydaily.io •       Follow us: @AstroDailyPod

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Astronomy Daily — S05E102 | Thursday 14 May 2026   In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six stories spanning the entire space science spectrum — from a record-breaking rocket debut to medieval literary theory.   Stories in This Episode 1.    Starship V3 Gets a Launch Date — SpaceX confirms May 19 for Flight 12, the debut of the fully redesigned Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy. 2.    Psyche Mission: Mars Flyby Tomorrow — NASA's asteroid-bound spacecraft passes just 2,800 miles from Mars on May 15 for a crucial gravity assist. 3.    JWST Maps the Cosmic Web — The James Webb Space Telescope charts 164,000 galaxies across 13.7 billion years in the most detailed cosmic web map ever made. 4.    Aurora Watch: Coronal Hole Facing Earth — A large solar coronal hole is pointing at Earth; G2 storm conditions expected from May 15 with aurora potential for Southern Hemisphere observers. 5.    Dante's Inferno and Impact Physics — New research presented at the European Geosciences Union argues Dante's 14th-century Hell maps the geometry of a planetary impact crater. 6.    CRS-34: Dragon Docks at the ISS — After two weather scrubs, SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule successfully delivers 6,500 lbs of science experiments to the space station.   Chapter Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction & Headlines 01:00 — Starship V3: May 19 Launch Date Set 05:00 — NASA Psyche: Mars Gravity Assist Flyby 08:30 — JWST Maps the Cosmic Web 12:00 — Aurora Alert: Coronal Hole & Solar Wind 15:00 — Dante's Inferno as Impact Crater Science 18:30 — CRS-34 Dragon Docks at the ISS 21:30 — Skywatcher's Corner: Aurora Tips & Mars 23:00 — Trivia, Sign-Off & Socials   Find us at astronomydaily.io | Follow @AstroDailyPod | Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network

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Today on Astronomy Daily: A weather-delayed rocket launch gets a second chance — Dragon is heading to the ISS tonight. The most powerful rocket ever built is fuelled and ready, with Starship V3 Flight 12 targeting as early as May 19. NASA's Psyche spacecraft is days away from a dramatic Mars slingshot. A startup wants to beam electricity to satellites using lasers. Physicists may have cracked one of science's greatest puzzles. And Juno delivers the closest-ever view of a mysterious moon of Jupiter. All this — plus a Southern Hemisphere skywatching guide and space trivia — on Episode 101.   Chapter Timestamps 00:00 — Cold Open & Introduction 01:15 — Story 1: SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon cargo launch — weather scrub resolved 05:00 — Story 2: Starship V3 Flight 12 — launch as early as May 19 09:00 — Story 3: NASA Psyche spacecraft Mars flyby — this Friday 13:00 — Story 4: Star Catcher Industries raises $65M for space power grid 17:00 — Story 5: Brown University solves the cosmological constant problem 21:00 — Story 6: Juno's closest-ever image of Jupiter's moon Thebe 25:00 — Southern Hemisphere Skywatching Guide 26:30 — Space Trivia: What is asteroid Psyche made of? 27:30 — Outro & Sign-off   Stories Covered Today • SpaceX CRS-34 mission launches tonight from Cape Canaveral after Tuesday weather scrub • Starship V3 completes wet dress rehearsal — Flight 12 targeting May 19 • NASA Psyche spacecraft performs Mars gravity assist flyby on May 15 • Star Catcher Industries raises $65 million for world's first orbital power grid • Brown University proposes topology solution to the cosmological constant problem • NASA Juno captures closest-ever image of Jupiter's inner moon Thebe   Find us at astronomydaily.io | Follow @AstroDailyPod | Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network

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Episode 100 of Series 5 and the universe is not slowing down. Today: a live ISS resupply launch, a Mars rover drama that took a week to resolve, a cosmic debate about our galactic neighbour, two extraordinary black hole findings from the James Webb Space Telescope, and a brand-new category of planet that smells of rotten eggs. Plus a quick milestone moment for the show.   STORIES IN THIS EPISODE   •       SpaceX CRS-34 launches tonight — 6,500 lbs of cargo, science payloads, weather risks •       Curiosity rover's 'Atacama' rock drama — a first in 14 years of Mars exploration •       The Large Magellanic Cloud may be approaching the Milky Way for the very first time •       JWST's little red dots: an X-ray clue a decade in the making •       JWST: two early-universe black holes that outgrew their galaxies by a factor of hundreds •       L 98-59 d: a brand-new class of planet — global magma ocean, sulphur-rich atmosphere   CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS   •       0:00 — Cold open & Episode 100 milestone •       1:30 — Story 1: SpaceX CRS-34 launches tonight •       5:00 — Story 2: Curiosity rover's 'Atacama' rock saga •       8:30 — Story 3: Is the Large Magellanic Cloud a first-time visitor? •       12:00 — Story 4: JWST's little red dots — the X-ray dot emerges •       15:30 — Story 5: JWST black holes that outgrew their galaxies •       19:00 — Story 6: L 98-59 d — the rotten egg planet •       22:30 — Southern skywatching & outro   Subscribe for daily space and astronomy news. Find us at astronomydaily.io and across all platforms at @AstroDailyPod.

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