Beach Mystery, Asteroid Close Encounter, and the Cosmic Dance of Ancient Comets

Astronomy Daily S05E134 — Tuesday, 7 July 2026   Mysterious metal spheres wash up on a Queensland beach and turn out to be re-entered rocket debris, Hayabusa2 beams home stunning close-ups of asteroid Torifune, new VLT chemistry reveals interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be one of the oldest objects ever studied, TESS finds its first exoplanet using Einstein's gravitational microlensing, JWST spots six galaxies merging into one twelve billion years ago, and New Horizons charts the solar wind's fade at the true edge of the solar system.   In This Episode •          Mystery metal spheres wash up on a Queensland beach — identified as rocket debris •          Hayabusa2's flyby of asteroid Torifune returns stunning new images •          3I/ATLAS's ancient birthplace revealed by new VLT chemical fingerprint study •          TESS discovers its first exoplanet using gravitational microlensing •          JWST spots a rare six-galaxy mega-merger, 12 billion years in the past •          New Horizons tracks the solar wind's slowdown at the solar system's edgeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-latest-space-news--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.astronomydaily.io/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Get the best secure and private email on the planet. Stop your Government, google and who knows who else spying on every email you write. Do what we did and use ProtonMail. They beleive in privacy and there are no ads in their business model...yet they still provide a free forever service. Check them out and get out special deal at www.astronomydaily.io/protonmailBecome a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.