A green star from debris & Webb maps a lopsided atmosphere - Space News (Oct 17, 2026)

Support The Automated Daily directly: 15 free episodes a day, 5 editions, 3 languages, about $4 a day to produce. A coffee keeps it going: theautomateddaily.com/support Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Consensus: AI for Research. Get a free month - https://get.consensus.app/automated_daily - Effortless AI design for presentations, websites, and more with Gamma - https://try.gamma.app/tad - Prezi: Create AI presentations fast - https://try.prezi.com/automated_daily Today's topics: A green star from debris - Astronomers identified a white dwarf that models suggest would appear chartreuse green to human eyes. Sodium and other elements from consumed planetary debris produce its extraordinary color. Keywords: green star, white dwarf, planetary debris, astronomy. [91][92] Webb maps a lopsided atmosphere - James Webb observations enabled researchers to reconstruct the atmosphere of the super-puff exoplanet WASP-17b in three dimensions, revealing an unexpected bulge between its day and night sides. Keywords: James Webb, WASP-17b, exoplanet atmosphere, hot Jupiter. [61][73] Dark matter meets El Gordo - Computer simulations suggest that two-state, self-interacting dark matter could help explain the unusually massive and distant El Gordo galaxy cluster. Keywords: dark matter, El Gordo, galaxy cluster, cosmology. [106][109] Japan prepares Phobos sample mission - Japan is preparing to launch MMX, an ambitious mission that will explore Mars's moons and return material from Phobos to Earth. Keywords: JAXA, MMX, Phobos, Mars moons, sample return. [31][37] Rocket ambitions face manufacturing reality - Rocket Lab delayed Neutron's first flight to 2027 because of a manufacturing defect, while Blue Origin announced a major expansion intended to support far more New Glenn launches. Keywords: Neutron rocket, New Glenn, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, launch industry. [128][152][155] NASA renames artificial intelligence - An internal plan shows NASA replacing the terms artificial intelligence and AI with super intelligence and SI under a federal executive order, without changing the underlying technology. Keywords: NASA, artificial intelligence, super intelligence, space policy. [167] Episode Transcript A green star from debris We begin with a star that breaks one of astronomy's familiar color rules. Researchers studying white dwarfs say they have identified the first known star that would appear genuinely green to human eyes. The stellar remnant, called WD J