Interstellar Comet From a Frozen Ancient World + Black Hole Mystery SOLVED

About this episode

In this episode, Anna and Avery discuss significant discoveries in space, including the composition of an interstellar comet and a solution to a black hole mystery.

Sponsor Link: To check out our special NordVPN savings: Click Here Episode Summary In this episode of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery explore six major stories from the world of space and astronomy. Leading the show is a landmark result from the ALMA telescope: the first-ever measurement of semi-heavy water inside an interstellar object. The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS contains up to 40 times more deuterium-rich water than Earth's oceans, revealing it formed in an ultracold environment very unlike our own solar system. The hosts then unpack the solution to a decades-long mystery: a massive binary star system near the galactic centre is responsible for the gas clouds feeding the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. Japan's MMX spacecraft — currently on the launch pad — is introduced, along with the exciting detail that its sample capsule will return Phobos material to Australian soil in 2031. Stellar archaeologists at ISTA have found fossilised magnetism on white dwarf stars, shedding light on the Sun's distant future. A thought-provoking segment examines the idea that any alien civilisation searching for intelligent life may already have detected us. And the episode closes with…

People in this episode

Hosts: Anna, Avery

Topics covered

• interstellar comets
• black holes
• space exploration
• stellar archaeology
• alien civilizations
• skywatching

Keywords

• interstellar comet
• black hole
• deuterium-rich water
• MMX spacecraft
• stellar archaeology
• alien civilizations
• aurora
• skywatching

Sponsors

NordVPN

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ALMA, Japan's MMX, ISTA

Places: Southern Hemisphere

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