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Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dose of space and

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astronomy news. I'm Anna, and we've got a packed show

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for you today, filled with some incredible developments in the

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world of space exploration and astronomy. We'll be diving into

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SpaceX's latest preparations for their next Starship test flight, which

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promises to push the boundaries of what's possible with the

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world's largest rocket. We'll also check in on NASA's Jet

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Propulsion Laboratory as it faces challenges from the Los Angeles wildfires.

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And I'll tell you about a special opportunity to see

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Mars at its brightest this weekend. Plus, we've got fascinating

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stories about the world's first wooden satellite just deployed from

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the International Space Station and a rare double flash event

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observed from a super massive black hole that's got astronomers excited.

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Let's get started. SpaceX has just reached another milestone in

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their ambitious Starship program, successfully stacking their next vehicle for

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Flight seven at their Starbase facility in South Texas. The

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fully assembled Pocket now stands an impressive four hundred feet tall,

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maintaining its status as the largest and most powerful launch

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vehicle ever built. This upcoming mission, scheduled for Monday at

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five pm Eastern Time, isn't just another test flight. It

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represents a significant leap forward in Starship's development. The new

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vehicle features several crucial upgrades, including improvements to its flight computer,

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avionic systems, and heat shield design. One particularly interesting modification

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is the repositioning of the forward flaps, which have been

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moved away from the heat shield to better handle the

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intense temperatures during re entry. For the first time, SpaceX

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will attempt to deploy simulated Starlink satellites during the sixty

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six minute flight, marking an important step towards Starship's operational capabilities.

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They're also breaking new ground by reusing an engine on

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the Super Heavy Booster, the massive first stage powered by

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thirty three Raptor engines. Perhaps most exciting is the planned

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recovery attempt of the Super Heavy Booster. If conditions are right,

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SpaceX will try to catch the massive rocket using the

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launch tower's mechanical arms nicknamed the chopsticks. While they've demonstrated

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this capability before, during flight five, they're taking no chances.

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The catch will only proceed if all safety criteria are met. Otherwise,

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the booster will make a controlled splash down in the

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Gulf of Mexico. This mission could be the first of

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up to twenty five Starship launches planned for this year,

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showcasing SpaceX's accelerating pace of development. These tests are crucial

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not just for SpaceX's Mars ambitions, but also for NASA's

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Artemis program, as Starship has been selected to land astronauts

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on the lunar surface in twenty twenty seven. Next up,

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an update for you concerning the wildfires around Los Angeles.

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In some concerning news from California, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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has found itself uncomfortably close to the raging eaten fire

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that's been devastatdating neighborhoods north of Los Angeles. Thanks to

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the incredible efforts of firefighters, JPL itself remains untouched by

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the flames, but the impact on the JPL community has

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been severe. More than one hundred and fifty JPL employees

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have lost their homes completely in this disaster, with many

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more being forced to evacuate. The facility, which serves as

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NASA's primary center for planetary exploration and manages crucial missions

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like the perseverance and curiosity. Mars Rovers has had to

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temporarily close its doors. All but essential personnel have been

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ordered to work remotely through at least January seventeenth. The

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Eton Fire has already consumed around fourteen thousand acres of

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land and is currently only three percent contained. It's just

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one of several fires causing havoc in the Los Angeles area,

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with the Palisades Fire on the western side of the

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city having burned through more than twenty thousand acres and

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showing similar resistance to containment efforts. This situation highlights a

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growing challenge for major scientific facilities in areas prone to

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natural disasters. JPL's location at the foot of the San

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Gabriel Mountains, while ideal for many aspects of its operations,

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places it in a vulnerable position during California's increasingly severe

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fire seasons. Despite these challenges, the laboratory's essential operations continue

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demonstrating the resilience of our space exploration infrastructure even in

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the face of natural disasters. The dedication of first responders

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has been crucial in protecting this vital facility, which plays

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such an important role in our ongoing exploration of the

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solar system. While the laboratory itself remains safe, the human

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impact on the JPL community serves as a sobering reminder

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of the increasing challenges posed by natural disasters to our

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scientific institutions. Stargazers, you're in for a treat this weekend,

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as Mars is about to put on its most spectacular

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show of the year. This Sunday, January twelfth, the red

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planet will make its closest approach to Earth, and event

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astronomers call perigy. During this cosmic close up, Mars will

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appear larger and brighter in our night sky than at

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any other time in twenty twenty four. If you're planning

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to catch this celestial spectacle, the best viewing time will

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be around midnight, when Mars reaches its highest point in

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the southern sky. The planet will be visible for most

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of the night, first appearing in the northeastern sky during

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early evening and remaining observable until dawn begins to break

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the next morning. During this close approach, Mars will come

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within just zero point sixty four astronomical units of Earth

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that's about fifty nine point five million miles. While this

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might sound like quite a distance, it's actually quite close

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in astronomical terms. For perspective, Mars usually orbits at an

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average distance of one point five astronomical units from the

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Sun and can be as far as two point six

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units from Earth at its most distant point. This weekend's

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close encounter is particularly special as it coincides with Mars's

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opposition on January sixteenth, when Earth will be directly between

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Mars and the Sun. This alignment means the Sun's full

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glare will illuminate the Martian surface as seen from Earth,

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making it an ideal time for observation. While Mars will

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be noticeably brighter than usual with a magnitude of dash

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one dot four comma, don't expect to see any surface

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details with your naked eye. It will still appear as

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a bright, reddish point of light in the sky. However,

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if you have access to binoculars or a telescope, this

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is an excellent opportunity to try spotting some of the

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red planet's famous surface features. This is the closest Mars

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has been to Earth since twenty twenty two, so make

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sure to take advantage of this rare viewing opportunity the

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next time Mars will appear this large and brighten our

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skies won't be for quite some time, making this weekend

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a must watch event for astronomy enthusiasts. In a groundbreaking

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development for sustainable space technology, the world's first wooden satellite

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has been successfully deployed from the International Space Station. This

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innovative spacecraft, named Lignosat, represents a fascinating experiment in using

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renewable materials for space exploration. Developed through a collaboration between

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Kyoto University and Japanese wood processing company Sumitomo Forestry, this

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tiny cube satellite measures just four inches on each side

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and is constructed primarily from magnolia wood. Over the next

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six months, it will put this natural material to the

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ultimate test in the harsh conditions of Earth orbit. The

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extreme environment of space presents some remarkable challenges for any material.

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During each ninety minute orbit, the satellite will experience dramatic

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temperature swings from a scorching two hundred and fifty degrees

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fahrenheit when facing the Sun to a frigid minus two

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hundred and fifty degrees in Earth's shadow. Add to that

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the constant bombardment of charged particles from solar wind, and

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you've got quite the endureance test for our wooden pioneer.

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But why would well, it turns out this isn't just

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about proving we can build satellites from trees. There's a

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serious environmental concern driving this innovation. Traditional satellites built primarily

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from aluminum alloys create potentially harmful metallic dust when they

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burn up during re entry. This debris can linger in

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our upper atmosphere, potentially affecting our climate. Wood being a

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natural material, could offer a more environmentally friendly alternative that

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simply burns away cleanly. The mission will carefully monitor how

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the wooden structure holds up against these space hazards, including

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whether Earth's magnetic field can penetrate the wooden body and

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interfere with its operations. If successful, this experiment could pave

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the way for a new generation of environmentally conscious satellites,

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potentially transforming how we approach spacecraft construction in an era

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of increasing orbital traffic. The timing couldn't be more crucial,

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as research suggests that the growing number of satellites in

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orbit could lead to concerning levels of aluminum oxide and

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other potentially harmful compounds in our upper atmosphere. This wooden

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satellite might just represent our first step toward a more

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sustainable future in space. Seems like a day doesn't go

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by without a black hole story, and today is no exception.

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Astronomers have recently witnessed a fascinating cosmic spectacle, a supermassive

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black hole that appears to be having seconds of its

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stellar meal. This rare event, known as ss N twenty

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two CI, has displayed two distinct flares of light as

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it consumes its unfortunate victim, located about four hundred eight

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million light years away from Earth. What makes this double

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flash event particularly intriguing is how normal it appears compared

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to other similar phenomena. The black hole at the center

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of this cosmic feast weighs in at around three million

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times the mass of our Sun, making it comparable to

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our own galaxies central black hole, Sagittarius Ace star, the

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unfortunate star being consumed, appears to be similar in size

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to our Sun. The current theory suggests this unusual double

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flare might be the result of what astronomers call a

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Hill's capture picture. This a pair of binary stars wandering

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too close to the black hole as they approach the

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immense gravitational forces separate the pair, flinging one star away

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to freedom, while the other becomes trapped in an elliptical

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orbit around the black hole like a cosmic dance partner

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it can escape. Each time this trap star swings close

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to the black hole, it undergoes partial destruction in a

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process colorfully known as spaghettification. The star gets stretched and squeezed,

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losing some of its material to the black hole's accretion disk,

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creating these brilliant flares we observe. The consistency between the

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two flares, separated by seven hundred and twenty days, suggests

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we're watching the same star being repeatedly torn apart. The

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best part, astronomers believe they know when the next act

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of this cosmic drama might have. If their calculations are correct,

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we should see a third flare in early twenty twenty six.

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This predictability is incredibly rare and valuable, giving scientists an

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unprecedented opportunity to prepare their observations in advance, rather than

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catching these events by chance. This celestial performance isn't just spectacular.

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It's helping us understand how super massive black holes interact

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with stars, and providing new insights into these mysterious cosmic giants,

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and who knows when twenty twenty six rolls around, this

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persistent Stellar survivor might have even more surprises in store

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for us. Well, that's all for today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

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I'm Anna, and I want to thank you for joining

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me on this journey through the latest developments in space

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and astronomy news. Whether it's massive rockets being stacked, wooden

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satellites orbiting Earth, or black holes putting on light shows,

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there's never a dull moment in space exploration, and we're

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here every day to bring you these fascinating stories. If

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you want to stay up to date with all things

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space and astronomy, head over to our website at Astronomy

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Daily dot io. There you can sign up for our

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free daily newsletter and access our constantly updating news feed.

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You'll also find all our previous episodes available for streaming,

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and don't forget to join our growing community on social media.

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You can find us as astro Daily Pod on Facebook, ex, Tumblr, YouTube,

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YouTube music, and TikTok. Stay curious, keep looking up, and

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I'll see you Monday with more amazing stories from the Cosmos.

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Sunday Star Star s