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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your cosmic connection to the latest

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<v Speaker 1>happenings beyond our atmosphere. I'm Ana, and today we're exploring

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<v Speaker 1>a fascinating array of space discoveries and developments that remind

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<v Speaker 1>us just how dynamic our universe truly is. In today's

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<v Speaker 1>stellar lineup, we'll dive into NASA's sphere X space telescope,

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<v Speaker 1>which has just begun its ambitious mission to map the

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<v Speaker 1>entire sky in unprecedented detail. We'll also check in on

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<v Speaker 1>the ongoing efforts to revive the silent Lunar Trailblazer orbiter

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<v Speaker 1>that went quiet shortly after launch. Then we'll explore a

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<v Speaker 1>truly mind bending discovery, an enormous ring of galaxies that's

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<v Speaker 1>challenging our fundamental understanding of the universe's structure. If that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't enough cosmic intrigue, we'll track a piece of space

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<v Speaker 1>history as a Soviet era Venus probe from the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventies makes an unplanned return to Earth after more than

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<v Speaker 1>five decades in orbit. And finally, we might be getting

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<v Speaker 1>closer to answering one of our Solar system's biggest mysteries.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there a ninth planet lurking in the distant reas

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<v Speaker 1>is beyond Neptune. Researchers have uncovered compelling evidence in decades

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<v Speaker 1>old data that could point to this elusive world. So

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<v Speaker 1>strap in for a journey across the Cosmos as we

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<v Speaker 1>explore these fascinating developments together. We'll kick things off with

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<v Speaker 1>a story update. After weeks of preparation and testing, NASA's

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<v Speaker 1>sphere X space telescope has officially begun its scientific mission,

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<v Speaker 1>marking an exciting new chapter in our exploration of the Cosmos.

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<v Speaker 1>Launched on March eleventh, the observatory has spent the last

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<v Speaker 1>six weeks undergoing rigorous checkouts and calibrations to ensure everything

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<v Speaker 1>is functioning properly. Now it's ready to create something truly remarkable,

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<v Speaker 1>a complete map of the entire sky. What makes SPHEREx

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<v Speaker 1>special isn't just that it's mapping the sky. Other telescopes

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<v Speaker 1>have done that before, but rather how it's doing it.

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<v Speaker 1>The observatory is capturing roughly three thousand, six hundred unique

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<v Speaker 1>images every single day, observing in one hundred two different waves,

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<v Speaker 1>links or colors of infrared light that are invisible to

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<v Speaker 1>the human eye. This spectroscopic approach will give astronomers unprecedented

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<v Speaker 1>insights into the universe around us. From its orbit around Earth,

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<v Speaker 1>SPHEREx looks outward into space, constantly shifting its view. The

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<v Speaker 1>spacecraft completes more than fourteen orbits per day, passing over

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<v Speaker 1>the poles in a north to south pattern. Each day,

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<v Speaker 1>it photographs one circular strip of the sky as Earth

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<v Speaker 1>moves around the Sun. Over the course of six months,

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<v Speaker 1>Spherex's field of view gradually shifts until it has observed

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<v Speaker 1>in every direction. The mission's primary goal is ambitious to

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<v Speaker 1>help answer fundamental questions about the origins of our universe.

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<v Speaker 1>By mapping the positions of hundreds of millions of galaxies

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<v Speaker 1>in three dimensions, SPHEREx will search for clues about cosmic inflation,

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<v Speaker 1>that mind bending moment in the first fraction of a

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<v Speaker 1>second after the Big Bang, when the universe expanded a

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<v Speaker 1>trillion trillion fold. Jim Fansen, the mission's project manager at

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<v Speaker 1>NASA's Propulsion Laboratory, noted the beautiful symmetry in this approach, saying,

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to study what happened on the smallest size

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<v Speaker 1>scales in the universe's earliest moments. By looking at the

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<v Speaker 1>modern universe on the largest scales. The telescope doesn't use

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<v Speaker 1>moving mirrors or detectors like some other observatories. Instead, the

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<v Speaker 1>entire spacecraft shifts position using reaction wheels that spin inside

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<v Speaker 1>it to control its orientation. When it takes a picture,

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<v Speaker 1>the light is captured by six detectors, each producing a

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<v Speaker 1>unique image at different wavelengths. These groups of six images

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<v Speaker 1>are called an exposure, and SPHEREx takes about six hundred

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<v Speaker 1>exposures daily. Over its two year primary mission, the telescope

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<v Speaker 1>will create four complete maps of the sky. But SPHEREx

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just looking for clues about the universe's beginnings. It's

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<v Speaker 1>also searching for the building blocks of life. The observatory

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<v Speaker 1>will examine interstellar clouds within our own galaxy, making over

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<v Speaker 1>nine million observations to map water and other key ingredients

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<v Speaker 1>for life. This could help scientists understand how compounds essential

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<v Speaker 1>to life on Earth formed and evolved throughout the cosmos.

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<v Speaker 1>Jamie Bach, the mission's principal investigator, expressed excitement about the

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<v Speaker 1>telescope's performance, saying, the performance of the instrument is as

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<v Speaker 1>good as we hoped. That means we're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to do all the amazing science we planned on

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps even get some unexpected discoveries. After twelve years

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<v Speaker 1>of planning and development, SPHEREx is now operational and beginning

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<v Speaker 1>to unravel some of our universe's greatest mysteries, one infrared

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<v Speaker 1>image at a time. Next, let's pay a visit to

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<v Speaker 1>NASA's Never Say Die department. I made that up. However,

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<v Speaker 1>NASA is still holding out hope for its lunar Trailblazer spacecraft,

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<v Speaker 1>which went silent just one day after its February twenty

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<v Speaker 1>sixth launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket. Despite more

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<v Speaker 1>than two months of silence, mission controllers haven't given up

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<v Speaker 1>on the ninety four million dollar lunar orbiter. The situation

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<v Speaker 1>became concerning short after launch, when the mission team determined

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<v Speaker 1>that the four hundred and forty pound spacecraft was spinning

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<v Speaker 1>slowly and running dangerously low on power. The probe couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>properly orient itself to harvest enough sunlight with its solar panels,

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<v Speaker 1>preventing it from charging its batteries as planned. Now, engineers

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<v Speaker 1>see a potential window of opportunity. According to NASA's latest update,

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<v Speaker 1>modeling indicates that lighting conditions from May through mid June

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<v Speaker 1>could be favorable enough to provide sufficient sunlight on the

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<v Speaker 1>spacecraft's solar panels. This might recharge the batteries to operational

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<v Speaker 1>levels and potentially allow ground controllers to regain command of

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<v Speaker 1>the vehicle. There's cautious optimism that if contact can be

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<v Speaker 1>re established, the mission might still be salvageable. NASA officials

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<v Speaker 1>stated that if they can command the spacecraft again, and

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<v Speaker 1>if the propulsion system remains functional after thawing and the

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<v Speaker 1>scientific instruments are still operable, they may be able to

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<v Speaker 1>guide Lunar Trailblazer into its intended elliptical orbit around the Moon.

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<v Speaker 1>The mission team has been able to track Lunar Trailblazer's

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<v Speaker 1>precise position using ground based equipment, which has been crucial

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<v Speaker 1>in planning recovery efforts. If they do re establish contact,

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<v Speaker 1>NASA will conduct a thorough review to determine whether the

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<v Speaker 1>mission can proceed or should be terminated. However, if no

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<v Speaker 1>signal is received by the end of this favorable period

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<v Speaker 1>in mid June, the agency will begin procedures to officially

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<v Speaker 1>close out the mission. Lunar Trailblazer was designed with an

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<v Speaker 1>important scientific purpose, mapping the Moon's water stores. From lunar orbit.

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<v Speaker 1>This information is considered vital for NASA's Artemis program, which

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<v Speaker 1>aims to establish one or more bases near the Moon's

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<v Speaker 1>south Pole, an area believed to contain significant deposits of

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<v Speaker 1>water ice. Understanding the distribution and accessibility of these water

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<v Speaker 1>resources could prove crucial for sustained human presence on the

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<v Speaker 1>lunar surface. Interestingly, Lunar Trailblazer wasn't the only spacecraft on

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<v Speaker 1>that February launch to encounter difficulties. It shared its ride

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<v Speaker 1>to space with Athena, the second moonlander built by Houston

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<v Speaker 1>based company Intuitive Machines. While Athena did successfully reach the

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<v Speaker 1>lunar surface on March sixth, it toppled over shortly after

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<v Speaker 1>touchdown near the moon South Pole, cutting short its planned

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<v Speaker 1>ten day mission. The coming weeks will be critical for

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<v Speaker 1>Lunar Trailblazer as engineers watch closely for any signs of

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<v Speaker 1>life from the silent spacecraft, hoping that the changing solar

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<v Speaker 1>conditions might just provide enough power to bring it back

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<v Speaker 1>from the brink. Next on today's story, Rundown, a startling

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<v Speaker 1>discovery in the depths of space is challenging our fundamental

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<v Speaker 1>understanding of the universe. Astronomers have identified a colossal structure

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<v Speaker 1>dubbed the Big Ring, an almost perfect ring of galaxies

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<v Speaker 1>measuring an astonishing one point three billion light years in diameter.

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<v Speaker 1>This enormous cosmic formation appears in light that has traveled

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<v Speaker 1>six point nine billion years to reach our telescopes, meaning

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing it as it existed when the universe was

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<v Speaker 1>roughly half its current age. What makes this discovery so

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<v Speaker 1>remarkable is that it simply shouldn't exist according to our

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<v Speaker 1>current cosmological models. The standard model of cosmology is built

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<v Speaker 1>upon what's called the cosmological principle, the idea that on

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<v Speaker 1>a large enough scale, matter should be evenly distributed throughout

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<v Speaker 1>the universe. Theoretical calculations suggest structures shouldn't exceed about one

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<v Speaker 1>point two billion light years in size, yet the Big

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<v Speaker 1>Ring dramatically exceeds this limit. The discovery was led by

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<v Speaker 1>astronomer Alexia Lopez of the University of Central Lancashire and

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<v Speaker 1>presented at a recent American Astronomical Society meeting. Even more

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<v Speaker 1>intriguing is that this isn't the first megastructure Lopez and

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<v Speaker 1>her team have found in this region. In twenty twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>they announced the discovery of the giant arc in the

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<v Speaker 1>same area of sky and at the same cosmic distance.

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<v Speaker 1>That structure was nearly three times larger than the theoretical

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<v Speaker 1>size limit. Neither of these two ultra large strips ructures

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<v Speaker 1>is easy to explain in our current understanding of the universe,

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<v Speaker 1>Lopez explained, and their ultra large sizes, distinctive shapes and

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<v Speaker 1>cosmological proximity must surely be telling us something important. Upon

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<v Speaker 1>closer inspection, researchers determined that the Big Ring isn't actually

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<v Speaker 1>a perfect circle, but more of a corkscrew shape that

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<v Speaker 1>appears ring like from our vantage point. This rules out

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<v Speaker 1>the possibility that it's a baryon acoustic oscillation circular arrangements

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<v Speaker 1>of galaxies formed by acoustic waves in the early universe,

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<v Speaker 1>which typically measure around one to one billion light years

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<v Speaker 1>across the presence of these enormous structures raises fascinating possibilities.

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<v Speaker 1>Some astronomers suggest they could be evidence supporting alternative cosmological theories,

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<v Speaker 1>such as Roger Penrose's conformal cyclic cosmology, which proposes the

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<v Speaker 1>universe goes through endless Big Bang expansion cycles. Another possibility

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<v Speaker 1>is that they represent cosmic strings, theoretical defects in the

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<v Speaker 1>fabric of space time that formed as the universe expanded

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<v Speaker 1>in its earliest moments. Finding multiple ultra large structures in

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<v Speaker 1>close proximity also presents a statistical anomaly. As Lopez noted,

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<v Speaker 1>we could expect maybe one exceedingly large structure in all

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<v Speaker 1>our observable universe, Yet the Big Ring and the Giant

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<v Speaker 1>Arc are two huge structures and are even cosmological neighbors.

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<v Speaker 1>This discovery adds to a growing list of observations that

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<v Speaker 1>don't neatly fit within our current understanding of the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>The best path forward may involve finding more such arrangements

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<v Speaker 1>scattered throughout the Cosmos, potentially hiding in plain sight in

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<v Speaker 1>our astronomical data. Whatever the Big Ring ultimately proves to be,

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<v Speaker 1>it serves as a humbling reminder that the universe remains

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<v Speaker 1>full of mysteries, even in its largest and most fundamental structures.

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<v Speaker 1>A relic from the space race era is about to

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<v Speaker 1>make an unexpected return to Earth. Cosmos four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>eighty two, a Soviet spacecraft originally designed to explore Venus

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<v Speaker 1>back in nineteen seventy two, is now on track for

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<v Speaker 1>an uncontrolled re entry into Earth's atmosphere around May tenth.

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<v Speaker 1>This half ton piece of space history never fulfilled its

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<v Speaker 1>intended mission due to a rocket malfunction that left it

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<v Speaker 1>stranded in Earth orbit instead of heading toward our neighboring planet.

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<v Speaker 1>For over five decades fifty three years to be precise,

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<v Speaker 1>this abandoned spacecraft has been silently circling our world in

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<v Speaker 1>a highly elliptical orbit that has gradually degraded over time.

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<v Speaker 1>Dutch scientist Marco Langbrook, who's been tracking the object, predicts

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<v Speaker 1>it will come plummeting down at approximately one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty miles per hour if it remains intact during re entry.

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<v Speaker 1>What makes the situation particularly interesting is the spacecraft's specialized design.

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<v Speaker 1>Cosmos four hundred eighty two, was built to withstand the

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly harsh conditions of Venus's atmosphere, which is much thicker

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<v Speaker 1>than Earth's and filled with carbon dioxide. This robust construction

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<v Speaker 1>means there's a significant possibility that the spacecraft could survive

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<v Speaker 1>its fiery descent through our atmosphere, rather than burning up

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<v Speaker 1>as most space debris does. The surviving component is believed

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<v Speaker 1>to be The landing capsule itself a spherical object roughly

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<v Speaker 1>three feet in diameter, weighing about one thousand pounds or

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<v Speaker 1>nearly five hundred kilograms. Although experts doubt that its parachute

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<v Speaker 1>system would still function after so many years in the

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<v Speaker 1>harsh environment of space, the heat shield might remain effective

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<v Speaker 1>enough to protect the craft during re entry. Jonathan McDowell

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<v Speaker 1>from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics noted that it

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<v Speaker 1>would actually be better if the heat shield fails, causing

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<v Speaker 1>the spacecraft to burn up during its atmospheric dive. Otherwise

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<v Speaker 1>we could have a half ton metal object falling from

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<v Speaker 1>the sky. While this sounds alarming, Langbrook emphasizes that the

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<v Speaker 1>risk to people on Earth is relatively small, comparable to

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<v Speaker 1>that of a random meteorite fall, several of which occur

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<v Speaker 1>each year. The spacecraft could potentially re enter anywhere between

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<v Speaker 1>fifty one point seven degrees north and south latitude, encompassing

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<v Speaker 1>a vast area from as far north as London and

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<v Speaker 1>Edmonton down to near South America's Cape Horn. Given that

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<v Speaker 1>most of our planet is covered by water, the odds

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<v Speaker 1>favor and ocean splashed down rather than landfall. However, the

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<v Speaker 1>exact location remains unpredictable at this time. This event adds

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<v Speaker 1>to a growing list of uncontrolled re entries in recent years,

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<v Speaker 1>including a Chinese booster rocket in twenty twenty two and

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<v Speaker 1>the tiangong I space station in twenty eighteen, both of

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<v Speaker 1>which fortunately ended without incident. And to wrap up today's stories,

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<v Speaker 1>could we be about to solve a major space mystery.

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<v Speaker 1>In what could be the most significant development in our

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<v Speaker 1>Solar System's outer reaches in decades. Astronomers have uncovered compelling

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<v Speaker 1>evidence for the long hypothesized planet nine by examining infrared

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<v Speaker 1>surveys conducted twenty three years apart. This potential new member

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<v Speaker 1>of our planetary family has been hiding in plain sight,

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<v Speaker 1>buried within archival data from two different space telescopes. The

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<v Speaker 1>detective work was led by astronomer Terry long Fan of

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<v Speaker 1>Taiwan's National Singhua University, who devised an ingenious method to

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<v Speaker 1>hunt for the elusive planet. The team compared infrared images

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<v Speaker 1>from NASA's IRAS satellite, which operated in nineteen eighty three,

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<v Speaker 1>with those from Jacks's Akari spacecraft, which collected data between

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and six and twenty eleven. They were searching

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<v Speaker 1>for objects that appeared in one position in the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty three data and had moved by the time Akari

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<v Speaker 1>looked at the same region of sky. What makes this

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<v Speaker 1>discovery particularly credible is that they found an object that

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<v Speaker 1>moved exactly the distance that would be expected for a

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<v Speaker 1>large planet in a distant orbit over that time period.

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<v Speaker 1>The object appears in the Iras imagery and then shows

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<v Speaker 1>up again in Akari's data approximately forty seven point four

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<v Speaker 1>arc minutes away, consistent with the slow movement of an

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<v Speaker 1>extremely distant planet. To rule out false positives, fans tear

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<v Speaker 1>time carefully accounted for parallax effects caused by Earth's movement

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<v Speaker 1>around the Sun, and eliminated fast moving nearby objects by

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<v Speaker 1>examining hourly changes in position. Their meticulous approach has yielded

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<v Speaker 1>what appears to be the most promising Planet nine candidate

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<v Speaker 1>to date. Based on the object's brightness in both infrared surveys,

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<v Speaker 1>researchers estimate it would be more massive than Neptune, significantly

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<v Speaker 1>larger than the super Earth sized body they initially expected

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<v Speaker 1>to find. This came as a surprise, as previous surveys

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<v Speaker 1>had already ruled out the possibility of Jupiter or Saturn

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<v Speaker 1>sized planets at these distances. If confirmed, this object would

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<v Speaker 1>currently be located approximately seven hundred astronomical units from the Sun.

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<v Speaker 1>That's seven hundred times farther than Earth's distance from our star,

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<v Speaker 1>or about sixty five billion miles away. Its orbit appears

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<v Speaker 1>highly eccentric, potentially bringing it as close as two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>eighty AU and as far as one thousand, one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>twenty AU from the Sun. The mystery of how such

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<v Speaker 1>a massive planet ended up in this remote region remains.

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<v Speaker 1>Fans suggests two possibilities. Either it formed closer to the

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<v Speaker 1>Sun near where our known giant planets developed, and was

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<v Speaker 1>later gravitationally scattered outward, or it was a rogue planet

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<v Speaker 1>captured by our Son's gravity during the early days of

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<v Speaker 1>the Solar System. While this isn't the first potential Planet

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<v Speaker 1>nine candidate, astronomer Michael Rowan Robinson found a different object

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<v Speaker 1>in the IRAS data in twenty twenty one, fans discovery

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<v Speaker 1>holds more weight because it appears in two separate data

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<v Speaker 1>sets taken decades apart. Definitive conformation will require detecting the

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<v Speaker 1>object in current observations with advanced instruments like the soon

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<v Speaker 1>to launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the Via C

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<v Speaker 1>Reuben Observatory, and the already operational Dark Energy Camera, Astronomers

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<v Speaker 1>now have a specific target to investigate. After years of

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<v Speaker 1>theoretical debate about Planet nine's existence, we may finally be

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<v Speaker 1>on the verge of officially welcoming the newest member of

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<v Speaker 1>our Solar System family. That wraps up today's journey through

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<v Speaker 1>our fascinating cosmos from NASA's SPHEREx Telescope beginning its ambitious

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<v Speaker 1>all sky mapping mission to the potential discovery of the

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<v Speaker 1>elusive planet nine hiding in decades old data. The universe

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<v Speaker 1>continues to surprise and challenge us. We've explored the mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>Big Ring structure that defies our cosmological models, NASA's ongoing

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<v Speaker 1>efforts to revive the silent Lunar Trailblazer, and even tracked

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<v Speaker 1>a Soviet era Venus probe making its way back to

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<v Speaker 1>Earth after fifty three years in orbit. I'm your host, Anna,

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<v Speaker 1>and I want to thank you for spending time with

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<v Speaker 1>me today exploring these cosmic wonders. The universe is vast

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<v Speaker 1>and full of mysteries waiting to be unraveled, and will

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<v Speaker 1>continue bringing them to you right here on Astronomy Daily.

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<v Speaker 1>Visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io, where you

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<v Speaker 1>can catch up on all the latest space and astronomy

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<v Speaker 1>news with our constantly updating news feed, and listen to

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<v Speaker 1>all our back episodes. You can also find us on

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<v Speaker 1>social media by searching for astro Daily Pod on Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>x YouTube, YouTube, music, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok. Remember that

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<v Speaker 1>the same curiosity that drives astronomers to search the cosmos

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<v Speaker 1>is within all of us. So until our next cosmic conversation,

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<v Speaker 1>keep wondering, keep questioning, and most importantly, keep looking up stars,

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<v Speaker 1>Star