Astronomy Daily S05E131 — Friday, July 3, 2026 1. Swift Rescue Mission — Grounded Mid-Flight • Katalyst Space Technologies' LINK spacecraft was set to launch aboard a Pegasus XL rocket, air-launched from Northrop Grumman's Stargazer aircraft over Kwajalein Atoll. • Thursday's attempt (July 2) got airborne after two prior weather scrubs, but was aborted mid-flight when engineers spotted an unexplained warning. • No new launch date has been set. Swift faces uncontrolled reentry by October 2026 without a successful reboost. 2. Solar Storm Watch — G2 Geomagnetic Storm Active Today • X1.1 flare (June 30) plus 10 M-class flares in 24 hours from sunspot region AR4479. • NOAA SWPC G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm watch in effect for July 3, easing July 4. • Aurora borealis potential as far south as Idaho/New York (US); aurora australis potential for Tasmania and southern NZ/VIC under clear, dark skies. 3. TESS's First Microlensing Exoplanet — Gaia23bra b • Super-Jupiter (~1.63 Jupiter masses) orbiting an orange dwarf ~40,000 light-years away, discovered via gravitational microlensing — a first for TESS. • Originally flagged by ESA's Gaia mission in 2023; confirmed using archival TESS data. • Published July 1, 2026 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, led by Mallory Harris (University of New Mexico). 4. GJ 3378b — Revised Habitable-Zone Super-Earth, 25 Light-Years Away • UC Irvine team revised the planet's mass down to 2.3 Earth masses (rocky super-Earth, not mini-Neptune) and orbital period to 21.45 days. • Receives ~90% of the stellar radiation Earth receives from the Sun — squarely in the habitable zone. • Atmosphere unknown; planet does not transit, so JWST transit spectroscopy isn't possible. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, led by Paul Robertson (UC Irvine). 5. ESO Study: 1.7 Million Planned Satellites 'Devastating' for Astronomy • Study led by ESO astronomer Olivier Hainaut, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. • Modelled impact of proposed constellations (SpaceX ~1M for space data centres, Reflect Orbital 50,000 mirror satellites) on ESO's VLT and the Vera Rubin Observatory. • Recommends a hard cap of 100,000 satellites, all fainter than naked-eye visibility. Decision pending from the US FCC. 6. JWST Solves the WD 1856b Mystery • Gas giant (4–11 Jupiter masses) orbits a white dwarf every 34 hours, blocking 56% of its star's light during transit. • New JWST atmospheric data shows the planet is ~240K hotter than expected — evidence it migrated inward 3–5.5 billion years after the star's death, rather than surviving the red giant phase in place. • Published July 1, 2026 in Nature, led by Ryan MacDonald with Northwestern's Christopher O'Connor.

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Astronomy Daily S05E130 — Thursday, July 2, 2026 A quick update on Swift's third launch scrub, a solar flare that could spark aurora for July 4th weekend, a hot Jupiter breaking the rules of physics, Amazon Leo's final Atlas V flight, patriotic Chandra imagery, a look back at a third galaxy missing its dark matter, and NASA's cheeky World Cup wager involving the Moon. In This Episode ● Swift/LINK rescue mission scrubbed again, third attempt targeted for today ● X1.1 solar flare triggers G2 geomagnetic storm watch for July 3 ● CoRoT-2 b: the hot Jupiter that isn't tidally locked ● Amazon Leo's 8th and final Atlas V launch — LA-08 ● NASA's Chandra reveals four cosmic images for America's 250th ● Circling back: DF9, the third dark matter-free galaxy ● NASA pledges a soccer ball to the Moon if the US wins the World Cup Links & Sources ● NASA Swift Blog — science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift ● Space.com — Sun unleashes X1.1 flare, CME could spark aurora for July 4 ● Space.com — This weird 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet has a hotspot in the wrong place ● Space.com — Watch Atlas V launch 29 Amazon Leo satellites ● NASA Chandra — Red, White, Blue Universe for US 250th ● Yale News / Keck Observatory — Third time's the charm for a row of faint galaxies without dark matter ● Space.com — NASA will send a soccer ball to the Moon if the US wins the World Cup

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Space Nuts Episode 369: Exploring Phobos, Pink Exoplanets, and Saving the SWIFT Observatory

This episode dives into some of the most intriguing space stories, from the mysterious Martian moon Phobos and its peculiar orbit to the bizarre, salt-colored exoplanet GJ 504b—possibly a pink dwarf. Plus, learn about a swift rescue mission to save the vital SWIFT space observatory.

In this episode:

The unique orbit and origin hypotheses of Phobos, including upcoming JAXA mission MMX

How Phobos's orbit might decay within millions of years and its potential internal structure

The discovery and characteristics of the pink, salty exoplanet GJ 504b

The debate over whether GJ 504b is a planet, brown dwarf, or star

The challenges faced by the aging SWIFT observatory and innovative plans for its rescue

Listener questions about universe expansion, gravitons, particles, and effects of space travel on humans

Timestamps:

00:00 - Overview of today's space stories and why they matter

00:40 - Insights on Phobos, Mars's close-in moon with unusual orbit

03:01 - How Phobos's orbit is unstable and upcoming JAXA's MMX mission

04:37 - Theories about Phobos's origin: collision vs. capture

07:05 - Surface features and internal structure of Phobos

09:24 - The future of Phobos and its potential collision with Mars

14:00 - Discovery of the pink, salty exoplanet GJ 504b

15:09 - Why GJ 504b is unique: direct imaging, color, and spectral analysis

16:07 - Is GJ 504b a planet, brown dwarf, or a star?

17:37 - The temperature of GJ 504b and implications for its classification

19:45 - How James Webb observations reveal salt clouds in GJ 504b's atmosphere

21:03 - Could GJ 504b be a pink dwarf? The classification debate

22:38 - Comparing planetary colors: Jupiter, Saturn, and the implications

23:05 - Fun cultural tidbits: Pink salt, salt coffee, and other salty things

24:44 - Urgency in the SWIFT space observatory rescue mission

26:08 - The history and importance of SWIFT since 2004

28:53 - The evolving orbit of SWIFT and innovative launch plans by Catalyst Space Technologies

31:42 - Challenges in orbital correction and the future of space observatories

34:34 - Final thoughts from Fred and the excitement of upcoming space missions

35:11 - Wrap-up and call for listener questions on space, particles, and the universe

Resources & Links:

Japanese Martian Moons Explorer (MMX)

GJ 504b Details and Discovery

James Webb Space Telescope

Catalyst Space Technologies

Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices

Connect with the Guests & Hosts:

Andrew Dunkley - Twitter

Professor Fred Watson - Twitter

Note: This episode combines deep space science, recent breakthroughs, and listener engagement, making complex topics approachable and fascinating. Stay tuned for upcoming missions, scientific debates, and space trivia that make our universe endlessly intriguing.

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