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Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space

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in astronomy news. I'm Anna, and today we're covering some

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fascinating stories from across the cosmos, from groundbreaking research and

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alien life detection to massive cosmic structures, So let's get

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straight into it. In an exciting development for the search

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for extraterrestrial life, researchers in Germany have created a new

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and remarkably simple method that could revolutionize how we look

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for life on other planets. The technique focuses on detecting

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movement in microorganisms, specifically their attraction to certain chemicals, a

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process known as chemotaxis. The team tested their method on

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three different types of microbes, two bacteria and one archea,

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using an amino acid called el Serina's bait. All three

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species showed clear movement toward the chemical, which is particularly

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significant since these organisms were chosen for their ability to

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survive in extreme conditions, similar to what we might find

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on Mars. What makes this discovery particularly promising is its simplicity.

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Instead of requiring complex equipment, the method uses a basic

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slide with two chambers separated by a thin membrane. Microbes

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are placed on one side, and l serene on the

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other If living organisms are present and capable of movement,

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they'll naturally swim through the membrane toward the chemical. The

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implications for future space missions are significant. L serene is

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believed to exist on Mars, and if Martian life shares

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any biochemical similarities with Earth life, this method could provide

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a straightforward way to detect it. While some modifications would

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be needed to make the system spaceworthy and automated, the

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fundamental simplicity of the approach makes it an attractive option

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for future missions. This method could be particularly valuable for

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exploring places like Europa Jupiter's moon, where we suspect there

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might be oceans that could harbor life. By making life

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detection cheaper and faster, future missions could achieve more with

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fewer resources, potentially accelerating our search for life beyond Earth.

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Let's get a Mars update now. A fascinating discovery has

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emerged from Mars, where scientists have uncovered what they're calling

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a seismic highway deep within the red planet. This finding

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comes from analyzing data from NASA's Insight Lander, which has

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completely changed our understanding of how seismic waves travel through Mars.

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By comparing marsquake data with impact craters identified by the

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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, researchers found something unexpected. When meteoroids strike Mars,

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they create seismic waves that travel much deeper into the

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planet than previously thought. Rather than being dampened by the

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crust as expected, these waves appear to find a more

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direct route through the planet's mantle. One particular impact crater,

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measuring seventy one feet in diameter, proved especially revealing. The

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seismic signals from this impact were detected at the Cerberus

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Fossy region, over one thousand miles away from the impact site.

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This remarkable distance far exceeded what scientists thought possible based

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on existing models of Mars's interior structure. The discovery is

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forcing scientists to reassess their understanding of Mars's composition and

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internal structure. As one researcher put it, they used to

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think most seismic energy was confined to traveling within the

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Martian crust. Instead, they've found this deeper, faster pathway through

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the mantle, allowing seismic signals to reach much more distant

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regions of the planet. This breakthrough was made possible through

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the clever use of artificial intelligence. Scientists developed a machine

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learning algorithm that could quickly analyze tens of thousands of

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images from the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, identifying impact craters in

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a matter of days, rather than the years it would

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have taken to do manually. What's particularly exciting about this

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discovery is how it might help us better understand not

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just Mars, but other rocky planets as well. By revealing

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these unexpected properties of Mars's interior, were gaining valuable insights

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into planetary evolution that could apply to Earth, the Moon,

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and beyond. Here's news of a party. I wouldn't mind

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going to. Maybe my invitation's in the mail, but I

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won't hold my breathe. The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona,

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is gearing up for an exciting celebration as it marks

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the ninety fifth anniversary of one of astronomy's most significant discoveries.

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Their sixth annual Wyhart Pluto Festival, running from February thirteenth

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to seventeenth, will commemorate Clyde Tombaugh's historic discovery of Pluto

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at this very location back in nineteen thirty. This year's

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festival theme, to Boldly Go Beyond New Horizons, carries special

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significance as it also marks the tenth anniversary of NASA's

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New Horizons mission, which gave us our first detailed glimpses

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of this fascinating dwarf planet. The celebration promises an engaging

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mix of educational activities and social events, including a unique

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Pluto pub crawl and exclusive book signings at their new

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Astronomy Discovery Center. Among the distinguished guests is Adam Nimoy,

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son of Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy, who brings an

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intriguing connection between science fiction and real world astronomy. He'll

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be joining an impressive panel alongside New Horizons Principal investigator

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Alan Stern and renowned comet hunter David Levy at the

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Orpheum Theater. The connection between the Niemoy family and the

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Observatory runs deeper than you might expect. Leonard Nimoy, who

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grew up in Boston's immigrant West End, had a genuine

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fascination with astronomy and space exploration. He owned his own

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telescope and even visited the Lowell Observatory, bringing home models

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of satellites from his visits to various space facilities. The

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festival will also feature a special presentation where Adam Nimoy

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will discuss his book The Most Human, exploring his relationship

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with his father, followed by a screening of his documentary

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For the Love of Spock. It's a fitting tribute that

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bridges the gap between science fiction's ability to inspire and

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the real world pursuit of astronomical discovery that continues at

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low observatory to this day. In an extraordinary discovery that's

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pushing the boundaries of our understanding, astronomers have identified one

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of the largest exoplanets ever found, orbiting a relatively small

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star about two forty four light years from Earth named

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Gaia four B. This mysterious world was discovered through the

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European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which detected the planet by

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observing how its massive gravitational pull affects its parent star's

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movement through space. This celestial giant boastsa mass eleven point

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eight times that of Jupiter, making it a truly remarkable find,

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especially considering it orbits a relatively modest orange dwarf star

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with just sixty four percent of our Sun's mass while

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it follows an orbit similar in distance to Mars's path

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around our Sun. Its cooler star means temperatures on Gaya

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four B are likely quite chilly. What makes this discovery

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particularly intriguing is how it challenges our traditional classifications of

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cosmic objects. The line between what we call a planet

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and what we consider a failed star or brown dwarf

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becomes remarkably blurry with gyapour B. While its mass falls

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below the typical thirteen jupiter mass threshold used to define

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brown dwarfs, the way it likely formed raises fascinating questions

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about its true nature. The star's chemical composition suggests there

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might not have been enough heavy elements available during the

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system's formation to build such a massive planet through traditional

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planetary formation processes. This hints at the possibility that Guya

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four B may have formed more like a star through

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the gravitational collapse of a gas cloud, rather than the

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way we think most planets come together. Whether we call

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it a supersized planet or a failed star, giafour B

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represents one of the most massive worlds ever found around

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a lower mass star, making it an invaluable discovery for

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understanding how these extraordinary systems form and evolve. As we

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continue to analyze data from the Gay emission, we may

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find more of these boundary pushing worlds that help us

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better understand the diverse range of objects populating our galaxy.

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Now try and get your brain around this. Just when

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we thought we had a handle on the scale of

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cosmic structures, astronomers have made a mind bending discovery that's

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forcing us to think even bigger. They've found what appears

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to be the largest structure ever observed in our universe,

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and they've named it QUIPU, after an ancient ink and

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measuring system. To give you an idea of just how

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massive this structure is, it contains roughly two hundred quadrillion

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times the mass of our sun. That's a number so

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large it's rarely used, even in astronomy, where we regularly

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deal with cosmic scale measurements. And if that wasn't impressive enough,

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KEEPU stretches across one point three billion light years of space.

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This superstructure isn't just breaking records, it's reshaping our understanding

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of the cosmos. Kipu and four other new ll discovered

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superstructures together contain forty five percent of all galaxy clusters

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in their region of space, thirty percent of the galaxies,

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and twenty five percent of all matter. They're essentially cosmic

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metropolises on an unimaginable scale. These structures are so massive

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that they actually distort our view of the universe. Their

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immense gravitational influence affects everything from our measurements of the

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cosmic microwave background the afterglow of the Big Bang, to

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our calculations of how fast the universe is expanding. They

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even act as enormous cosmic lenses, bending light from distant

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objects as it travels toward Earth. While our current models

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of the universe can account for structures like Kipu, these

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cosmic giants won't last forever. Scientists predict that over time,

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these superstructures will eventually break apart into smaller units, but

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for now they stand as remarkable cosmic monuments, offering us

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unprecedented insights into the largest scale architecture of our universe

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and challengelenging our understanding of how such enormous structures could

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have formed in the first place. In a groundbreaking move

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that brings space exploration into the modern digital age, NASA

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is hosting its first ever live Twitch stream directly from

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the International Space Station. This historic broadcast, scheduled for February twelfth,

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marks a significant step in NASA's efforts to connect with

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new audiences through contemporary platforms. During this pioneering stream, viewers

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will have a unique opportunity to interact with NASA astronaut

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Don Pettitt, whose currently orbiting Earth aboard the Space Station,

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and Matt Dominic, who recently returned from the Crew eight mission.

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They'll be sharing insights about daily life in orbit and

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discussing the fascinating research being conducted in the microgravity environment

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of the ISS. This isn't just another space broadcast. It's

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part of NASA's broader strategy to engage with digital audiences

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where they are. As Britney Brown, director of NASA's Office

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of Communications, Digital and Technology de Vision, explains, this stream

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is just the beginning. The agency is planning more Twitch

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exclusive content, responding directly to feedback from digital creators who've

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been asking for content tailored to their communities. The stream

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will do more than just showcase life in space. It's

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designed to highlight ways for viewers to get involved with

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NASA's mission, from citizen science projects to educational programs. Aimed

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at inspiring the next generation of space explorers, the Artemis generation.

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This broadcast represents a new chapter in how we engage

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with space exploration. This initiative comes as part of NASA's

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expanding digital presence, which includes the recent launch of their

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own streaming platform, NASA Plus, and redesigned websites. It's a

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clear signal that the Space Agency is committed to making

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space exploration more accessible and engaging for everyone, wherever they

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might be, even if that's just watching from their computer

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screens two hundred and fifty miles below the International Space Station.

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Thanks for joining me today on Astronomy Daily. As always,

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it's been a pleasure bringing you the latest developments from

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the fascinating world of space and astronomy. I'm anna, and

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if you're hungry for more cosmic content, you can catch

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up on all our latest stories at Astronomydaily dot io,

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where we maintain a constantly updating news feed of space

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and astronomy news. Don't forget to join our growing community

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on social media. You can find us by searching for

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astro Daily Pod on Facebook, x, YouTube, YouTube music, and TikTok.

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All our previous episodes are available there too. So you'll

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never miss out on the wonders of the cosmos. Until

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next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the

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universe around us. Star Story is the sol