
[Space Bites+] Swift Will Now Inevitably Die // China Lands a Rocket (again) // Starship Survived
Universe Today PodcastShow Notes
BONUS STORY STARTS AT 26:33 Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ccPtQeURDzM 🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts Interview with Vasiliy Kokorev about Little Red Dots https://youtu.be/zoHtCmCbcEU Interview with Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess about JWST https://youtu.be/hmJOz9qCk0M Interview with Lee Feinberg about HWO and LIFE Telescopes https://youtu.be/0R3ykUkxH5M We have more pictures of the Falcon 9 crater on the moon. Starship arrives at port after landing in the ocean. The Link mission to save Swift has failed. Another reusable Chinese rocket lands. And in Space Bites Plus, a really clever way to redirect an asteroid with a nuclear weapon. 00:00 Intro
00:37 The Falcon Crater https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/nasas-lro-images-falcon-9-crater-on-moon-learns-new-details/
03:08 Starship Arrives to a Port https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/its-christmastime-at-spacex-as-company-salvages-starship-from-indian-ocean/
05:33 Mars' Field of Polygons https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-curiosity-rover-discovers-massive-field-of-polygons
07:41 Link Failed. Swift Will Die Soon https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-next-steps-for-commercial-swift-boost-mission/
08:59 China Lands A Rocket (Again) https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/the-floodgates-are-open-after-another-chinese-company-lands-a-reusable-rocket/
10:41 Fastest Star In The Milky Way https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-fastest-star-in-the-milky-way-will-test-relativity
13:21 LRD = Black Hole Star? https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-jwst-little-red-dots-could-be-black-hole-stars
15:47 Early Galaxies Are Bigger Than We Thought https://www.universetoday.com/articles/whoa-the-jwsts-ancient-galaxies-are-much-more-massive-than-thought
17:56 Three Supermassive Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/another-first-for-the-jwst-it-detects-three-supermassive-black-holes-in-the-same-galaxy
19:20 JWST Looks at Callisto https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-peeks-at-callistos-ancient-scars
20:49 Vote results
21:45 Star Formation is Slowing Down in the Andromeda Galaxy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/hubble-reveals-that-star-formation-is-slowing-down-in-the-andromeda-galaxy
23:35 Helix Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mothra-shows-us-a-star-being-recycled-in-the-helix-nebula
24:38 Carina Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-the-treasure-chest-at-the-heart-of-the-carina-nebula
25:49 Lion Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-captures-clearest-image-yet-of-the-lion-nebula
26:33 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nuking-an-asteroid-on-short-notice-could-save-us
30:31 Final thoughts
More from Universe Today Podcast
BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 20:35 Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B9P_8oZ4rCA The Japanese mission is off to Phobos. Actually, there are green stars. Explaining the most mysterious cloud on Mars. Euclid discovers a comet. And in Space Bites+, how the shrinking Moon could be a danger for astronauts. 00:00 Intro
BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:54 Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a0t-G4LKiMU What does "the present" mean in space? Why do we have the laws of Physics we have? Was there a rime when all the Universe was accessible? And in Q&A+, are all black holes perfect spheres? 00:00 Intro
BONUS PART STARST AT 21:45 Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sx-qjgeslfQ A new mission that was just proposed to NASA is an extreme UV telescope that will observe hundreds of stars to find the conditions for planets with atmospheres. How exactly will it work? Finding out in this interview. Interview with Lee Feinberg about the HWO https://youtu.be/0R3ykUkxH5M?si=DhJxA32PyHr3ypUh Huge interview about TRAPPIST-1 system https://youtu.be/B8H4EnbKkgU?si=_mGhpuR5w2G0bCtX 🟣 Guest: Dr. Allison Youngblood https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/allison.a.youngblood 📜 ESCAPE: a small explorer mission to study the stellar drivers of exoplanet evolution https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.00683 00:00 Intro
BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:22 Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MhJFyC_vdtk Why are there no binary planets? Should you buy into dark energy and dark matter? What apps are best for stargazing? And in Q&A+, why don't NASA just bring put wipers on Mars solar panels? 00:00 Intro
BONUS STORY STARTS AT 14:37 Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qpthhx9svK8 Do hypernovae actually exist? The science is in from the Artemis 2 mission. A second generation planet found around a white dwarf. Starship 40 finally makes it home. And Space Bites Plus, a red dwarf feasting on a brown dwarf. 🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts 00:00 Intro