Space Mirrors Spark Controversy, Hidden Space Junk Revealed, and Black Hole Energy Breakthrough

About this episode

The episode discusses the approval of space mirrors, the discovery of hidden space junk, and a breakthrough in black hole energy extraction.

Astronomy Daily — S05E140 | Tuesday 14 July 2026 | Hosts: Anna & Avery Space mirrors are officially cleared for launch — and astronomers are sounding the alarm. In today's episode, Anna and Avery unpack the FCC's approval of Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1, the first of a proposed constellation of sunlight-reflecting satellites, and what tens of thousands of orbital mirrors could mean for the night sky. Then it's off to the geostationary belt, where astronomers using clever image-stacking — with help from Siding Spring Observatory and the ANU — have revealed a minefield of invisible debris, most of it in no public catalogue. Also on the show: physicists in New York recreate black hole energy extraction on a benchtop, validating a 50-year-old Penrose prediction with 'synthetic rotation'; the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile turns on its axis for the very first time — 3,500 tonnes floating on 80 microns of oil; and University of Sydney's Dr Manisha Caleb and colleagues lay out how the Square Kilometre Array will turn fast radio bursts into a survey tool for the invisible universe. Plus a quick Starship Flight 13 update (now NET Thursday 16 July after a full 33-engine static…

People in this episode

Hosts: Anna, Avery

Topics covered

• space mirrors
• hidden space junk
• black hole energy
• astronomy
• satellites
• geostationary belt
• fast radio bursts

Keywords

• space mirrors
• Eärendil-1
• black hole energy
• geostationary debris
• fast radio bursts
• Extremely Large Telescope
• Starship Flight 13

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Reflect Orbital, Siding Spring Observatory, ANU, University of Sydney, Extremely Large Telescope, White House UAP Science Advisory Council

Products: Eärendil-1

Places: Chile

More episodes of Astronomy Daily: Latest Space News

• Half the Neutron Stars · September 11, 2026 · 31 min
• A Hundred and Nine Flashes · September 10, 2026 · 28 min
• The Smallest Things Remember · September 9, 2026 · 28 min
• The Moon in Five Hours · September 8, 2026 · 27 min
• Europe Launches From Europe — And Two White Dwarfs Six Minutes Apart · September 7, 2026 · 29 min
• The Hydrogen Map: How a Radio Telescope Heard Half the Universe · September 5, 2026 · 28 min