Lunar Smartphones, Daytime Comet, and Jetty McJetface’s Cosmic Show

Episode S05E32 - Friday, February 6, 2026

Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Join hosts Anna and Avery as they bring you the latest space and astronomy news from across the cosmos.

Episode Highlights

Lunar Smartphones: NASA Approves Modern Tech for Space

NASA astronauts will finally be allowed to bring their smartphones on missions, starting with Crew-12 to the ISS next week and the Artemis II lunar flyby in March. After years of using decade-old cameras, astronauts can now spontaneously capture and share moments with iPhones and Android devices, promising unprecedented behind-the-scenes documentation of historic missions.

Comet MAPS: A Potential Daylight Spectacle

Newly discovered Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) could become visible to the naked eye—possibly even in broad daylight—when it passes within 120,000 km of the sun in early April. This Kreutz sungrazer was spotted farther from the sun than any previous sungrazer, suggesting it might survive its close solar encounter and put on a spectacular show.

Mercury's Best Evening Show of 2026

The elusive planet Mercury is currently offering its best evening viewing opportunity of the year! Shining brightly at magnitude -1.1, Mercury will reach greatest elongation on February 19th, appearing 17 degrees above the western horizon after sunset. Don't miss the stunning pairing with a crescent moon on February 18th!

China Joins Space Data Center Race

China's state-owned aerospace corporation announced ambitious plans for space-based data centers as part of their five-year expansion program. This puts China in competition with SpaceX, Axiom Space, and Google in the race to build orbital computing infrastructure powered by abundant solar energy.

Dark Matter vs Black Hole: What Powers the Milky Way?

Groundbreaking research suggests the Milky Way's core might be powered by a dense clump of fermionic dark matter rather than the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. This controversial model explains both central star orbits and the galaxy's rotation curve while mimicking the black hole "shadow" captured by the Event Horizon Telescope.

Jetty McJetface: The Star-Shredding Phenomenon

A supermassive black hole nicknamed "Jetty McJetface" continues to astound scientists four years after shredding a star. The black hole's relativistic jet has grown 50 times brighter since 2019 and is predicted to peak in 2027, making it one of the most energetic events ever observed in the universe—over 100 trillion times more powerful than Star Wars' Death Star!

Resources & Links

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on X (social media)

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Astrophysical Journal

Star Walk 2 app for comet tracking

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Credits

Hosted by Anna & Avery

Produced by the Astronomy Daily team

Season 5, Episode 32

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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/31536635?utm_source=youtube