Astronomy Daily: Space News Updates

Astronomy Daily — S05E41 | Tuesday 17 February 2026 Ring of Fire, Farewell Comet, and the Smell of Rotten Eggs in Space   Two celestial events happen TODAY — an annular solar eclipse transforms the Antarctic Sun into a ring of fire, and a rare hyperbolic comet makes its closest pass to Earth before leaving the solar system forever. Plus, JWST uses the smell of rotten eggs to solve a major exoplanet mystery, NASA performs a CT scan on the northern lights, a startup plans to fuel rockets with water, and we preview why 2026 is the dawn of a golden age of eclipses.   In This Episode: •      Ring of Fire solar eclipse over Antarctica — happening today, February 17, with up to 96% of the Sun covered and a 616km-wide path of annularity •      Comet Wierzchoś (C/2024 E1) makes its closest approach to Earth today at 151 million km — a one-way trip out of the solar system, never to return •      JWST detects hydrogen sulfide in giant exoplanets orbiting HR 8799, proving they formed like planets, not brown dwarfs — published in Nature Astronomy •      NASA’s BADASS and GNEISS twin rocket missions launch from Alaska to “CT scan” the electrical circuitry of the aurora •      General Galactic, led by ex-SpaceX engineer Halen Mattison, reveals plan to make rocket fuel from water — satellite test in October 2026 •      2026: A golden age of eclipses begins — total lunar eclipse March 3, total solar eclipse over Europe August 12, and much more ahead   Hosted by: Anna & Avery Produced by: Huw at Bitesz.com Website: astronomydaily.io Social: @AstroDailyPod across all platforms Network: Bitesz.com Podcast Network

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• Crew-12 Docks at ISS — The SpaceX Crew-12 mission docked at the International Space Station on Valentine’s Day, restoring the station to full strength after over a month with a skeleton crew. Astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev join Expedition 74 for an eight-month mission.   • Artemis 2 Hydrogen Leak Update — NASA’s “confidence test” on the SLS rocket’s repaired hydrogen fueling seals showed mixed but cautiously encouraging results. March remains the earliest potential launch window for humanity’s first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years.   • Enceladus: Electromagnetic Powerhouse — A major new study of 13 years of Cassini data reveals Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus generates Alfvén waves extending over 504,000 km, transforming our understanding of how small moons influence giant planetary magnetospheres.   • Catching 3I/ATLAS — Researchers from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies propose a Solar Oberth Manoeuvre mission launching in 2035 that could intercept the interstellar comet, currently heading toward Jupiter for its closest pass on March 16.   • Geomagnetic Storm Watch — G1 minor storming is likely today as a coronal mass ejection arrives alongside fast solar wind from a returning transequatorial coronal hole. Aurora possible at higher latitudes tonight.   • SpaceX Starlink 6-103 — 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites launched to orbit in the early hours of today, the 10th orbital flight from Cape Canaveral in 2026.   LINKS & RESOURCES: • NASA Crew-12 Docking: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/14/spacex-crew-12-docks-to-station-beginning-long-duration-mission/ • Artemis 2 Confidence Test Update: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/13/following-confidence-test-nasa-continues-artemis-ii-data-review/ • Enceladus Alfvén Wings Study: https://phys.org/news/2026-02-tiny-enceladus-giant-electromagnetic-saturn.html • 3I/ATLAS Solar Oberth Paper: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-new-concept-for-catching-up-with-3iatlas • Space Weather Updates: https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/ • Spaceflight Now Launch Schedule: https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/   Astronomy Daily is part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network Website: https://astronomydaily.io Social: @AstroDailyPod

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Happy Valentine's Day from Astronomy Daily! The cosmos has pulled out all the stops today — from astronauts docking at the space station to a dying star sending the universe a literal heart-shaped Valentine. Plus, the ring of fire eclipse countdown, why eclipses always arrive in pairs, a comet that flipped its spin, a six-planet parade to look forward to, and a chance of aurora tonight.
In this episode:
🚀 SpaceX Crew-12 launched yesterday and docks at the ISS today — a Valentine's Day arrival to end a month of skeleton-crew operations
🌑 Just 3 days until the "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse over Antarctica on February 17th
🌒 Why eclipses come in pairs: eclipse seasons explained — and 2026 has four eclipses across two spectacular seasons
💖 A dying star's cosmic Valentine: Mira A ejects a heart-shaped cloud of gas and dust 300 light-years from Earth
☄️ Comet 41P stuns scientists by flipping its rotation direction — what's behind this mysterious spin reversal?
🪐 Six-planet parade coming February 28 — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune line up at a civilised hour
🌌 Bonus: Possible Valentine's Day aurora from geomagnetic activity tonight
Website: https://astronomydaily.io
Social: @AstroDailyPod on all platforms
Part of the Bitesz.com podcast network

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Today on Astronomy Daily: Astronomers have witnessed something extraordinary in the Andromeda Galaxy — a massive star that simply vanished, collapsing into a brand-new black hole without the usual supernova fireworks. We cover the SpaceX Crew-12 launch to the ISS, Europe's powerful Ariane 64 flying for the first time with Amazon satellites aboard, another booster anomaly for ULA's Vulcan rocket, a bizarre inside-out planetary system that defies formation models, and NASA's plan to rescue the Swift observatory from orbital decay. Timestamped Chapters 00:00 — Welcome to Astronomy Daily 01:30 — SpaceX Crew-12 launches to the ISS 04:00 — Star vanishes in Andromeda — a black hole is born 08:30 — Europe's Ariane 64 flies for the first time 10:30 — Vulcan rocket suffers repeat booster anomaly 13:00 — The bizarre inside-out planetary system of LHS 1903 15:30 — NASA's Swift observatory fights for survival 17:30 — Sign-off and how to stay connected Key Links •       NASA Crew-12 Blog: nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew •       Vanishing Star Study (Science): doi.org/10.1126/science.adt4853 •       Inside-Out Planet Study (Science): doi.org/10.1126/science.adl2348 •       NASA Swift Observatory: nasa.gov/swift •       Show Website: astronomydaily.io •       Social Media: @AstroDailyPod on all platforms

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In today's episode of Astronomy Daily, Anna and Avery unpack six major space stories. China has achieved a crucial milestone in its crewed lunar programme, successfully testing the Mengzhou capsule's abort system at maximum dynamic pressure while also demonstrating SpaceX-style rocket recovery with the Long March 10 first stage. ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket is set to launch its longest mission yet, delivering GSSAP space surveillance satellites directly to geosynchronous orbit for the US Space Force. We explain why NASA's Artemis 2 Moon mission has remarkably few launch opportunities — just 11 dates across March and April — and what orbital mechanics, solar power constraints, and hydrogen leaks have to do with it. In astronomy news, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has produced its clearest image yet of the Egg Nebula, a pre-planetary nebula offering a rare glimpse of a Sun-like star in its death throes. A provocative new study in the journal Astrobiology argues that the 1976 Viking missions may have detected signs of Martian life after all, with perchlorates masking the organic signatures. And finally, astronomers continue searching for remnants of Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS, which spectacularly disintegrated during the 2020 pandemic — but may not be entirely gone.   Timestamps [00:00] Introduction [01:30] China's Mengzhou capsule abort test & Long March 10 rocket recovery [05:30] ULA Vulcan USSF-87 launch — GSSAP satellites for Space Force [08:30] Artemis 2 launch windows — why only 11 chances in 2 months [11:30] Hubble's stunning Egg Nebula image — a dying star's final act [14:00] Did NASA's Viking missions find life on Mars? New evidence says maybe [16:30] The mystery of 'dead' Comet ATLAS — could fragments survive? [18:00] Sign-off

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