Dark Matter Mapped: Webb's Unprecedented Universe Discovery

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source

for the latest space and astronomy news.

I'm Anna.

And I'm Avery.

Today's Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.

And we've got some fascinating stories lined up for you.

We certainly do.

On today's episode, we're diving into NASA's groundbreaking

new dark matter map.

Getting the latest updates on this week's orbital launch

schedule and learning about what the Artemis 2 crew might

see on the far side of the moon.

Plus, we'll explore stunning new insights

into Jupiter's complex cloud systems.

Find out about a rare solar eclipse

that only a handful of people will witness

and get the latest on SpaceX's upgraded starship development.

Let's get started.

Take it away, Anna.

Our top story today comes from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

where scientists have created one of the most detailed dark

matter maps ever produced, using data

from the James Webb Space Telescope.

This is really exciting stuff, Anna.

The map shows how dark matter, that invisible ghostly material

that makes up most of the universe's mass,

overlaps and intertwines with regular matter,

like stars and galaxies.

Published Monday in Nature Astronomy,

this map is twice as sharp as any previous dark matter

map made by other observatories.

Diana Skogni Aglio, the lead author and astrophysicist

at JPL, described it as seeing the invisible scaffolding

of the universe in stunning detail for the first time.

What's particularly fascinating is how the map confirms

that dark matter and regular matter have essentially grown

up together.

Wherever you see a massive cluster of thousands of galaxies,

there's an equally massive amount of dark matter

in the same place.

When you see strings of regular matter connecting clusters,

dark matter strings are there, too.

The team used Webb's unprecedented sensitivity

to observe nearly 800,000 galaxies in a region of sky

about 2.5 times larger than the full moon.

They detected dark matter by observing

how its mass curves space itself, which

bends light from distant galaxies as it travels to Earth.

Here's something to ponder.

Without dark matter, we might not even be here.

Dark matter began clumping together first

in the early universe, and those clumps then

pulled regular matter together, creating

the conditions for stars and galaxies

to form earlier than they would have otherwise.

That earlier star formation was crucial,

because those first generations of stars

turned hydrogen and helium into the rich array of elements

that now make up planets like Earth.

So in a very real sense, dark matter

influenced the creation of the elements necessary for life.

Looking ahead, the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman space

telescope will map dark matter over an area 4,400 times bigger

than this Webb study, though it

won't match Webb's incredible resolution.

For even more detailed looks, we'll

have to wait for next-generation telescopes

like the proposed habitable worlds observatory.

Fascinating research that's literally

revealing the invisible foundation of our universe.

Moving on to this week's launch schedule,

it's shaping up to be a busy last week of January

with flights from Florida, California, and New Zealand

on the manifest.

That's right.

SpaceX is planning to close out the month

with the GPS-3SV09 mission,

along with up to three Starlink launches.

The GPS launch is scheduled for late Monday evening

from Cape Canaveral.

The GPS-3SV09 satellite named Ellison Onisuka

after one of the fallen challenger astronauts

will be launched to medium Earth orbit.

This spacecraft offers improved accuracy

and jamming resistance over previous versions of GPS.

Meanwhile, Rocket Lab's electron

is preparing for the bridging the swarm mission

from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula on Wednesday.

This launch will carry South Korea's Neon-Sat-1A

observation satellite to Sun-Synchronous orbit.

The Neon-Sat constellation is designed

to provide near-real-time disaster monitoring capability

for the Korean Peninsula.

The 100-kilogram Neon-Sat-1A features

a high-resolution optical camera

and will join an existing Neon-Sat satellite

already in orbit.

This mission has already faced a couple of delays.

It was originally scheduled to launch back in December,

but was scrubbed after sensor issues during countdown.

SpaceX also has multiple Starlink missions

on the schedule this week from both coasts.

Group 17-19 from Vandenberg Space Force

base in California on Thursday

and Group 6-101 from Cape Canaveral later that same day.

And looking ahead to early February,

the first Starlink mission of next month,

Group 6-103, is currently scheduled

for Sunday, February 1st.

Pina also has two possible flights on the manifest,

a Chang-Zang-7A from Hainen Island,

and a G-long-3 from the South China Sea,

though neither has it confirmed launch that yet.

It's worth noting that China's year-in-space flight

has already been eventful with two launch failures

within 12 hours in mid-January,

so they may be proceeding cautiously

with these upcoming missions.

Okay, moving on.

Our next story takes us to preparations

for NASA's Artemis-2 mission,

where four astronauts are training to become

the first humans to see parts of the moon

that have remained hidden from view

even during the Apollo missions.

The Artemis-2 crew, Reed Weissman, Victor Glover,

Christina Hammock-Coach, and Jeremy Hanson

won't land on the lunar surface,

but they'll fly around the far side of the moon

and potentially observe regions never before seen

by human eyes.

Among the most significant targets is Mari Oriental,

a vast 600-mile wide-impact basin

that sits along the edge of the lunar far side.

Its location makes it nearly impossible to view from Earth,

despite its massive scale.

The crew will spend a dedicated three-hour segment

of their mission focusing on direct lunar observation.

NASA exploration scientist Jacob Leacher

emphasizes that human vision can detect

subtle surface differences,

variations in brightness or texture

that indicate differences in rock composition

and geological age.

What's fascinating is that the astronauts

have been training extensively in geology,

including simulated exercises in Iceland,

where they practiced identifying volcanic

and impact-related features

in environments resembling the moon.

The far side of the moon holds a geologic record

less disturbed than the near side.

While much of the near side is covered with Maria,

vast plains of ancient lava

that have erased older surface features,

the far side remains heavily cratered

and relatively intact.

Because of tidal locking,

the moon always shows the same face to Earth.

Until the Soviet Luna 3 mission in 1959,

no one had any idea what the far side looked like.

Even the Apollo missions only had brief views and poor lighting.

Artemis II breaks that pattern

by taking advantage of a launch window and flight path

that ensures better visibility of the hidden hemisphere.

The mission is currently scheduled

for no earlier than February 6th.

And astronaut Christina Koch noted that the mission

may help shift public understanding

away from the outdated phrase,

the dark side of the moon,

which falsely implies the region lacks sunlight.

An exciting mission that will give us

unprecedented views of lunar territory

that remained largely mysterious

for all of human history.

Dalette's turn our attention to Jupiter,

where NASA's Juno spacecraft

continues to reveal the gas giant secrets

from beneath its dense cloud layers.

Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016,

keering through storms and cyclones

to unveil the planet's hidden complexity.

And recent observations are showing

just how much more intricate Jupiter is

than we ever imagined.

One of the most fundamental questions

scientists have debated for decades

is how deep Jupiter's distinctive cloud bands actually go.

By measuring Jupiter's gravity field,

Juno discovered that these belts and zones

which are alternating east and west flowing jet streams

extend about 1900 miles

or 3,000 kilometers below the cloud tops.

That's incredible depth.

And Juno's discoveries have completely

upended our understanding

of Jupiter's interior structure too.

Scientists long thought Jupiter had a small,

solid core surrounded by hydrogen and helium.

But Juno's data suggests the planet has a larger,

more diluted core than previously believed.

The spacecraft has also provided

the first detailed views of Jupiter's North Pole,

revealing massive cyclonic storms

arranged in fascinating patterns,

eight storms in an octagonal pattern in the north,

and five in a pentagonal pattern in the south.

These storms are extremely resilient

and have persisted for years.

And here's something really intriguing.

Juno recently captured images

showing a mysterious green glow near Jupiter's North Pole.

The flash of light was traveling at breakneck speed,

which makes capturing it even more remarkable.

Scientists believe this could be lightning,

but Jupiter's lightning is vastly different from Earth's.

It's caused by clouds containing ammonia water solution

and can be much more powerful than terrestrial lightning.

Juno's mission has been extended multiple times

and was scheduled to end in September 2025,

but appears to be still be operational

with no new end date being promoted.

During this extended phase,

the spacecraft is conducting close flybys

of Jupiter's intriguing Galilean moons,

Ganonid, Europa, and Io.

Eventually, Juno will meet its end

by burning up in Jupiter's atmosphere.

But until then, it continues to revolutionize

our understanding of the solar system's largest planet.

Our next story involves a celestial event

that very few people will witness.

A rare, annular solar eclipse

set to occur over one of the most remote places on Earth.

On February 17th, 2026,

a spectacular ring of fire eclipse

will be visible from a narrow stretch of Antarctica.

The phenomenon will only be fully visible

from an uninhabited region of the continent

with just two research stations

falling within the event's path.

The Antumbral Shadow of the Moon,

the area where the full annular eclipse can be seen,

will travel across a 2661 mile stretch

of mainland Antarctica.

Only two inhabited locations

fall within this narrow band.

Concordia station, a French Italian base

and Mirney station, operated by Russia.

At Concordia, annularity will last two minutes

and one second, with the sun positioned

five degrees above the horizon.

At Mirney, it will experience one minute

and 52 seconds of annularity

with the sun slightly higher at 10 degrees.

Given the extreme location and limited infrastructure,

eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson

noted that it's a challenge to reach

and neither of the two inhabited locations

is set up to welcome Taurus.

However, a partial eclipse will be visible

over a much larger region,

including several Antarctic research bases,

parts of South Eastern Africa,

the southern tip of South America,

and stretches of the Pacific, Atlantic,

and Indian oceans.

For example, Poland's A-B Dobralonsky station

will see 92% of the sun covered,

while McMurdo station in the U.S.

will see 86%.

Even distant cities like Durban and South Africa

will witness about 16% coverage.

Whether could be a significant factor, though.

Mirney station averages 65% cloud cover in February,

while Concordia has a clearer profile

with about 35% coverage,

and temperatures can drop as low

as minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit.

Interestingly, the eclipse itself

might improve viewing conditions.

The sudden temperature drop from the eclipse

can disrupt local cloud formation,

potentially causing convective clouds to dissipate.

Though if you're one of the handful of researchers

stationed in Antarctica next month,

you might be in for a spectacular show,

assuming the clouds cooperate,

and you can brave the extreme cold.

And finally, in some late-breaking news,

we have an update on SpaceX's Starship Development Program.

According to a post from CEO Elon Musk,

the delayed first test of SpaceX's

upgraded Starship rocket, version 3,

is now slated for mid-March.

This third version of Starship

is larger and more powerful than previous iterations.

Crucially, SpaceX plans to use Starship V3

to launch its next-generation Starlink satellites,

which will be capable of faster data speeds

but are heavier and larger.

It's also the first version designed to dock

with other Starships in Earth orbit.

The capability that company needs to reach the moon or Mars,

this comes as SpaceX faces pressure

from the Trump administration

to return US astronauts to the lunar surface

before the end of a second term.

SpaceX was making progress

toward a launch of Starship V3 in late 2025,

but in November, the booster stage

suffered a major explosion during testing

that blew out an entire side of the steel rocket.

The company said it was performing gas system pressure testing

when the explosion happened,

but hasn't offered a more detailed breakdown

of what went wrong.

The second version of Starship was a mixed bag.

The program successfully reached orbit,

deployed dummy versions of next-generation

Starlink satellites,

and caught multiple booster stages

after they returned to the launch pad.

But Starship V2 also suffered several explosions and setbacks.

Some resulted from SpaceX's developmental approach

of pushing test vehicles to or past or limits.

Others were more unexpected,

like when a Starship vehicle erupted

in a massive fireball during ground testing last June.

Meanwhile, competition is emerging.

Jeff Bezos' new Glenn rocket successfully launched

for the first time in January 2025

and completed its first booster landing in November.

Blue Origin is planning a third new Glenn launch in late February.

And late last year, Blue Origin revealed its developing

a larger, super-heavy variant of new Glenn,

which more directly competes with Starship.

So, while SpaceX continues to dominate the global launch market,

other players are starting to close the gap.

It'll be interesting to see how the Starship V3 test goes in March.

And that wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

Thanks for joining us for another journey through the cosmos.

Remember to check out our website at astronomydaily.io

for more space and astronomy news.

And don't forget to follow us on social media

at AstroDailyPod for updates between episodes.

Until next time, keep looking up.

Clear skies, everyone.

Tala Redic here from 2311 Racing.

Victory Lane?

Yeah, it's even better with Chamba by my side.

Race to ChambaCasino.com.

Let's Chamba.

No purchase necessary, VTW Group,

voidware prohibited by law,

CTNC's 21 Plus, sponsored by ChambaCasino.