AD – Go to https://ground.news/drbecky to stay fully informed with the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off the Vantage plan through my link for unlimited access this month only. | Hello and welcome to this episode of Night Sky News for January 2025! This is the show where we chat about what you should look out for in the night sky in the next month, and what’s been happening in space news in the past month.In this episode we’re chatting about two recent space mission fly-bys: one of Mercury by Bepi Colombo, and one of the Sun by the Parker Solar Probe. Plus the study that’s been grabbing all the headlines over Christmas that claims that dark energy doesn’t exist, and instead what’s happening is that time dilation in voids is affecting the rate of expansion of the Universe that we measure. But do we have evidence to support those claims?
More about Bepi Colombo from @EuropeanSpaceAgency – https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo
More about the Parker Solar Probe from @NASA – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe/
Seifert et al. (2024) – https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/537/1/L55/7926647?login=false
Lane et al. (2024) – https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/536/2/1752/7890815?searchresult=1&login=false
Telescoper blog on timescape cosmology – https://telescoper.blog/2025/01/02/timescape-versus-dark-energy/
Ethan Seigel “Ask Ethan” article on timescape cosmology – https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/lumpy-explain-dark-energy/
Blue Sky thread with cosmologists chipping in with thoughts on timescape cosmology – https://bsky.app/profile/sarahkendrew.bsky.social/post/3le2iewm4nc2w
Press release on timescape cosmology claims – https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/dark-energy-doesnt-exist-so-cant-be-pushing-lumpy-universe-apart
Dr Ryan Riddler YouTube video – https://youtu.be/YhlPDvAdSMw?si=UvxvnME1G376-ToX
My previous videos on the crisis is cosmology – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd19WvC9yqUf5TRqYoMYxEwjT6JIDW4Zn
The JPL and Caltech disaster relief fund – https://giving.caltech.edu/areas-to-support/relief
Blue Sky thread with GoFundMe pages for JPL staff who have lost their homes in the LA wildfires – https://bsky.app/profile/yuliamilton.bsky.social/post/3lffqg3yam222
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Venus + Saturn close approach on Jan 18!
02:04 Losing Saturn until May
02:20 Saturn & Toenail moon on 31st Jan!
02:51 Jupiter + Pleiades with Half Moon
03:04 Moon skirts by Mars on 9th Feb
03:39 The “Planetary Parade”
04:34 Alpha Centaurids meteor shower
06:25 AD
08:37 Parker Solar Probe close flyby of the Sun!
12:18 BepiColombo close flyby of Mercury!
14:28 The American Astronomical Society Meeting 245 #AAS245
15:40 Dark energy doesn’t exist?
33:25 Bloopers
Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV
Video edited by Jonny Hyman
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👩🏽💻 I’m Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don’t know. If you’ve ever wondered about something in space and couldn’t find an answer online – you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
