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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hey everyone. Welcome back to Astronomy
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 daily. It's Tuesday, September 1st. Series
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 5 episode 182 and can
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 we
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Avery: just acknowledge that it's the first day of
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 September, which in Sydney means nearly
00:00:13 --> 00:00:14 spring.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Anna: Equinox is still a few weeks off, but I'll
00:00:16 --> 00:00:17 take any excuse.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:18 Avery: Fair enough.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 Today's a big one though. SpaceX just cleared
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 the last major hurdle before Starship's most
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 ambitious flight yet, Flight 14.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 Anna: And this time they're not just trying to
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 catch the booster.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Avery: Then Changi 7's about a month delay
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 turns out to have been wildly optimistic.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 There's a spacewalk happening at the iss
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 literally as we record this new
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 JWST research says planet formation
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 really is a race against the clock. And a
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 quick one. Turkey just became the newest
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 member of the Artemis Accords Club.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 Anna: Big lineup. Let's get into it.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Avery: Okay, start with the news. What actually
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 happened over the last few days?
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 Anna: Booster 21, that's the super heavy first
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 stage for Flight 14, completed its static
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 fire at Pad 2 on Saturday, August 30th.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 Full duration, all engines, no scrubs.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 That's the last big box to tick before this
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 thing can fly.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:12 Avery: And um, the ship side of it?
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 Anna: Already done. Actually, ship 41
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 finished its own static fire campaign a few
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 days earlier over at Massey's Test site,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 which SpaceX uses specifically so they can
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 validate the upper stage separately away from
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 the orbital launch
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 Avery: pad, so both halves are cleared. Remind
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 me why this particular flight has had people
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 paying closer attention than usual?
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 Anna: Because Flight 14 isn't just trying to
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 repeat what's already been done. Every catch
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 attempt so far, and there have been several
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 successful ones, has been the booster super
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 heavy, coming back down onto the tower's
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 arms. This time they're attempting to catch
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49 the ship itself.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 Avery: The actual upper stage. The part that goes to
00:01:53 --> 00:01:53 orbit.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 Anna: Exactly. Which is a completely different
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 problem. The booster comes back on a
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 relatively gentle, well understood trajectory
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 just a few minutes after liftoff. The ship
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 has to survive a full run towards space,
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 then a uh, scorching re entry through the
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 atmosphere, then thread itself back down
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 onto those same Mechazilla arms with a
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 totally different mass, velocity, profile and
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 thermal history than the booster ever deals
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 with.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 Avery: So it's the harder catch. By a wide margin.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 Anna: By a wide margin. And it's the move that
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 if it works reliably, is what actually makes
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 full and rapid reusability for Starship
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 Real. Not just we got the expensive bottom
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 half back, but we got the entire vehicle back
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 on the same day ready to refly.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 Avery: What's changed that the pad to give them a
00:02:42 --> 00:02:42 shot at it.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 Anna: Pad two got a proper upgrade between
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 campaigns. More propellant, storage capacity,
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 extra pumps so they can load the vehicle
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 faster. And new electromechanical
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 chopsticks, which is what people actually
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 call the catch. Arms designed m to move
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 quicker and more reliably than the previous
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 hardware.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 Avery: And this is Starship V3 we're talking about,
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 not the earlier version.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 Anna: Right. This is the third flight of the V3
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 design. Bigger, more powerful, more heat
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 shield changes under the hood than people
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 realise. A lot of these early V3 flights have
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 really been about proving out the new vehicle
00:03:15 --> 00:03:16 as much as anything else.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Avery: Okay, now walk me back, because I don't think
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 we've properly closed a loop on the last
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 flight. Ship 40. That was Flight 13's
00:03:24 --> 00:03:25 vehicle, wasn't it?
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 Anna: It was. And that turned into a much bigger
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 storey than anyone expected. Ship 40 came
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 down for what looked like a clean, soft
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 splashdown in the Indian Ocean back at the
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 end of July. But then it just didn't sink.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 It sat there floating intact for days.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 Avery: I remember we said the recovery odds were
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 being put as low as 18% at one point.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 Anna: They were genuinely dicey for a while, a, uh,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 difficult tow operation, bad weather in the
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 mix. But by the end of August they'd got it
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 moving and by the 30th, it was properly on
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 its way home to Starbase by ship closing out
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 basically a full month of Is this thing
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 coming back or not?
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 Avery: So Flight 14 is picking up right
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 Anna: where that left off pretty much immediately.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 Booster cleared, ship cleared, pad
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 upgraded. And now it's just a matter of
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 nailing down the actual launch date. FAA
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 paperwork, final range approvals, that kind
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 of thing. Current expectation is sometime
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 this month. September Though SpaceX being
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 SpaceX, uh, treat any specific date as
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 provisional until it's within about 48 hours
00:04:28 --> 00:04:28 of launch.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 Avery: What should people actually watch for when it
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 does go? What tells you it's gone well versus
00:04:34 --> 00:04:34 badly?
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 Anna: Booster catch first. That one's become almost
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 routine at this point, though. Almost routine
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 for something this hard is still remarkable.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 Then the ship needs to make it through ascent
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 complete. Whatever its specific test
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 objectives are for this flight, that detail
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 hasn't been fully confirmed yet. Survive
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 reentry and then attempt the catch back at
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 the tower. If that last part works, it's a
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 genuine first. Nobody's ever caught a
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 starship upper stage before.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:02 Avery: No pressure then.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 Anna: None at all. We'll obviously be tracking it
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 closely once a firm launch window drops. This
00:05:08 --> 00:05:09 is very much a, uh, watch this space
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 situation pun fully intended.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Avery: I was Going to let that one go, but you
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 clearly weren't. Can we back up for a second
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 on why the catch itself is even the goal,
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 rather than just say, a, uh, parachute
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 splashdown or a Runway landing like some
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 other reusable designs use?
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 Anna: Fair question. SpaceX's whole argument is
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 that catching the vehicle on the tower skips
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 a huge amount of hardware you'd otherwise
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 need. No landing legs to carry all the way
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 to orbit and back, which is dead weight on
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 every single flight. And no separate landing
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 site to build and maintain away from the
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 launch pad. The tower's already there. It's
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 already got a crane's worth of structure. So
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 if you can make the catch reliable, you've
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 effectively turned your launch pad into your
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 landing pad too.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 Avery: Which is why Falcon 9 doesn't do this. It
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 lands itself on legs instead.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 Anna: Right. Different scale, different trade off.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 Starship is simply too big and too heavy for
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 landing legs to make sense the way they do on
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 Falcon 9 boosters. The catch is a very
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 SpaceX solution. Remove the extra hardware
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 entirely and let the tower do the hard part.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Avery: And this connects to more than just SpaceX's
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 own programme too, doesn't it? Starship's
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 also NASA's ride to the lunar surface for
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 Artemis 3.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 Anna: It is a modified starship is the human
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 landing system for Artemis 3 and beyond.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 So every one of these test flights is also
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 indirectly a data point on whether that
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 timeline holds. NASA is watching Flight
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 14 as closely as SpaceX is, even though this
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 particular flight has nothing to do with a,
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 uh, moon landing directly.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 Avery: So a, uh, clean ship catch here matters well
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 beyond just SpaceX's own scorecard.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Anna: It genuinely does. It's one of the clearest
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 public signals we get of whether the
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 vehicle's maturing fast enough to support
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 everything that's riding on it.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 Avery: Storey 2. And it's a bit of a gut punch
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 update on something we've been tracking for
00:07:00 --> 00:07:00 weeks.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 Anna: Chang' E7, China's four vehicle
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 lunar South Pole mission. Quick recap.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 The rocket got rolled back to the assembly
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 building on August 24, just hours before
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 it was due to launch. And at the time,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Chinese authorities said only that the
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 mission didn't meet the launch requirements,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 with a tropical storm bearing down on the
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 launch site as the obvious culprit.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 Avery: And, uh, in the weekend wrap, we said the
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 storey was murkier than that original about a
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 month delay suggested.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 Anna: Turns out we were right to be suspicious as
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 of the 31st. Reporting now puts the new
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 target at early 2027. We're
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 talking February or March. Windows not the
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 few weeks originally floated.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 Avery: That's a big jump from one month to next
00:07:45 --> 00:07:45 year.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 Anna: It really is. And nobody's officially said
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 why the storm was real, but multiple
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 outlets are now reporting a separate issue
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 was likely found during final on pad testing.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 Something with the rocket or the spacecraft
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 itself. And China's manned space agency
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 hasn't clarified which.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 Avery: Radio silence, basically.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 Anna: Total radio silence. Beyond that original
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 vague statement. The rockets still sitting in
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 the vehicle assembly building, the
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 spacecrafts in storage at the launch site,
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 and reviews are apparently ongoing.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 Avery: Does this actually change anything for the
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 broader moon race? Or is it just an awkward
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 few months for China?
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 Anna: Boastly the latter. One space security
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 strategist put it well, the same kind of
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 thing that just happened to Chang' e 7 has
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 happened to American lunar missions, too. It
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 might ease the political pressure on NASA for
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 a stretch, since there's no rival headline to
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 react to, but it doesn't change the shape of
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 the competition. China's still going for the
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 South Pole just five or six months later than
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 anyone expected a week ago.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Avery: We'll keep half an eye on it and flag it
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 properly once there's an actual firm date.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 Anna: That's the plan. No more about a month
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 promises from us until China itself commits
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 to something solid.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 Avery: Does a delay like this ripple out anything
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 else on China's lunar calendar? Or is Chang'
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 E7 fairly self contained?
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Anna: Mostly self contained for now. It's the
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 precursor mission, scouting landing sites and
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 ice deposits ahead of China's crewed lunar
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 ambitions later this decade. Though a, uh,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 slip here doesn't directly reschedule
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 anything else that's already flown or is
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 separately booked. It just means the water
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 ice data everyone's waiting on arrives that
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 much later too.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 Avery: Storey 3 is happening basically as we
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 speak, which is always a fun one to record.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 Anna: It is. There's a spacewalk underway at the
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 International Space Station right now. It
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 started 7:30 this morning, Eastern time, and
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 it's expected to run about six and a half
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 hours.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 Avery: Who's out there?
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 Anna: Sophie Adenote from the European Space
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 Agency. Regulars will remember her from a few
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 weeks back, when she became the first French
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 woman to ever conduct a spacewalk. This is
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 her third EVA now, and alongside her,
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 NASA's Jessica Mair on her seventh.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 Avery: What are they actually out there?
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 Anna: Doing a proper maintenance list,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 replacing a spacecraft navigational aid,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 prepping a cosmic particle detector for a
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 future upgrade, and installing jumper cables
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 to boost the station's data relay systems.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 Not the most glamorous sounding tasks
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 individually, but exactly the kind of
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 unglamorous upkeep that keeps a 25
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 year old space station running.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 Avery: And there's a milestone number attached to
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 this one too, isn't there?
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 Anna: There is. This is the 284th
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 spacewalk at the ISS since 1998.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 And for context on just how busy this
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 particular stretch has been, it's the fourth
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 spacewalk in a single month for the current
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 crew. Expedition 7, 5, 4
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 in a month is a lot. It's genuinely a, uh,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 heavy cadence. Spacewalks aren't undertaken
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 lightly, so four in a row like this tells you
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 there's been a real backlog of maintenance
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 items to work through inside. NASA's Anil
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 Menon is running the Canadarm2 robotic
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 arm to support them. And Jack Hathaway's on
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 safety watch keeping an eye on suit systems
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 and choreography
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 Avery: and anything to watch for as it wraps up?
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 Anna: Just the standard closeout procedures.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 Repressurize the airlock, stow the suits
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 and NASA will confirm. Once everyone's back
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 in safely, we'll have a clean wrap on it by
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 tomorrow's episode. If anything noteworthy
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 happens in the final stretch.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 Avery: Four EVAs in a month feels like a lot of wear
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 and tear on both the crew and the suits
00:11:29 --> 00:11:29 themselves.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 Anna: It is a heavy load and it's exactly why NASA
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 schedules these in clusters when they can.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 Once you've got a crew suited up, trained on
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 a task list and the robotic arm support lined
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 up, you it's more efficient to knock out
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 several jobs back to back than to space them
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 out and rerun all that setup each time.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 Avery: Storey4 and um, this one's pure science.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 No launches, no spacewalks. Just a really
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 nice piece of research.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Anna: I like this one a lot. A team led by Naman
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 Bajaj out of the University of Arizona's
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 Lunar and Planetary laboratory with the SETI
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Institute, published in the Astronomical
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 Journal on the 27th. They used archival
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 James Webb data, specifically the
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 Mrii instrument, to study
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 72 young sun like stars.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 Avery: 72 is a decent sample size.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 Anna: It is, and it let them piece together
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 something that's mostly been theoretical
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 until now. Exactly how a protoplanetary
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 disc, the swirling ring of gas and dust
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 around a young star that planets are built
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 from, actually gets cleared away. And on what
00:12:32 --> 00:12:32 timeline?
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 Avery: And the answer?
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 Anna: It happens in two distinct phases early
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 on. Call it the first one to 10 million years
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 of a star's life. Magnetically driven jets
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 and winds do most of the clearing work.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 Later, as the star matures and the material
00:12:47 --> 00:12:50 falling onto it slows down, photo evaporative
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 winds take over as the dominant mechanism
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 instead.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 Avery: So the disc doesn't just fade away evenly.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 It's cleared by two completely different
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 processes at two different stages.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 Anna: Exactly. And that timeline really matters
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 because gas giant planets, the Jupiters and
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 Saturns of a system, need huge amounts of gas
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 to build their atmospheres, and that gas has
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 to come from the disc before it's gone.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 Fajaj's own line for it was that planet
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 formation is, quote, a race against
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 time.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 Avery: Nice turn of phrase for what's otherwise a
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 pretty technical result.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 Anna: It is, and it's a good one to remember
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 because it's basically the missing piece
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 connecting the theory people have had for
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 years to what Webb's now actually
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 happening around 72 real stars.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 Avery: So next time we talk about why some systems
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 end up with big gas giants and others don't.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 This is probably part of the answer.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 Anna: A big part of it, yeah. How fast a star
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 clears out its own nursery.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 Avery: Quick one.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 Before we get to the sky, a bit of space
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 diplomacy.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 Anna: Turkey A signed the Artemis Accords on Monday
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 at a ceremony at NASA headquarters in
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 Washington. Turkish Minister of Industry and
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Technology Mehmet Fatih Kachir signed
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 on behalf of the country alongside Turkish
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 Space Agency President Yousef Karach,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 hosted by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 Avery: Where does that put the total count?
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 Anna: 71 countries now signed on. Turkey A's
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 got a bit of form here too. They sent their
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 first astronaut to the ISS back in 2024
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 and they're prepping their own first lunar
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 mission called IAP1.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 Avery: And signing the Accords actually gets them
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 something concrete, not just a nice photo op.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 Anna: It does. It opens the door to contributing
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 actual hardware payloads, tech demos,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 even cubesats to future Artemis missions,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 rather than just watching from the sidelines.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 Nice bit of timing too. Turkey as hosting
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 the International Astronautical Congress in
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 October. So expect a lot of the Accords
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 countries to be in the same room again pretty
00:14:53 --> 00:14:53 soon.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 Avery: All right, let's get everyone sorted for
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 tonight.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 Anna: Venus is the one to catch, and there's a real
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 reason to look tonight. Specifically, it's in
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 a tight conjunction with Spica, the brightest
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 star in Virgo. They'll be under 2 degrees
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 apart, with Spica sitting just to Venus's
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 upper right.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 Avery: Where and when do people need to look?
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 Anna: Low in the west. West southwest starting
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 about 45 minutes after sunset for
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 Sydney. That's sunset around
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 5:33pm so you're looking from
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 roughly a quarter past six. Venus
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 won't hang around long. It's following the
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 sun down fairly quickly at the moment, so
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 you've probably got about 90 minutes before
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 it sets if you've got binoculars, both
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 objects should sit comfortably in the same
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 field of view.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 Avery: And that's visible from everywhere. Not just
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 us, uh, everywhere with a
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 Anna: clear western horizon after sunset, it's a
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 genuinely global event tonight. Just adjust
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 for your own local sunset time.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 Avery: What about Saturn? Feels like it's been the
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 reliable one for weeks now.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 Anna: Saturn's graduated to an even better slot.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 It's rising close to sunset these days and
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 staying up for the most of the night, sitting
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 in Aquarius, easily the brightest thing in
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 that part of the sky. It's building toward
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 opposition on October 4 and the rings are
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 tilted a photogenic angle at the moment. So
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 if you've got any kind of telescope, now's a
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 good window to actually look at them
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 properly. Morning sky Jupiter's back.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 After being lost in the sun's glare for a
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 stretch, it's returned as a pre dawn target.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 Low in the east, best window roughly 4
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 to 6 in the morning. Mars is still knocking
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 around out there too. Fading a bit, but
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 findable if you know where to look.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 Avery: Anything for the meteor crowd?
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 Anna: Not really tonight. The rigids peaked
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 overnight, but it's a weak shower at the best
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 of times. Only around six meteors an hour,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 made worse by the moon's brightness, washing
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 things out. Mostly a Northern hemisphere
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 event too, so don't go out of your way for it
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 from down here.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 Avery: And the moon itself waning gibbous, still
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 Anna: nice and bright heading toward last quarter
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 on the fourth.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 Avery: One quick standing reminder before we wrap,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 since we're talking about bright things low
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 near the horizon again, always worth
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 repeating
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 Anna: whenever you're pointing anything at all near
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 the sun's position in the sky, whether that's
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 sunrise, sunset or any direct solar
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 viewing. Make sure any filter you're using is
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 Certified to the ISO
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 123122. Standard
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 sunglasses are not eclipse glasses, no
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 matter how dark they look.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 Avery: Good habit to keep sharp.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 And that's the show for today. Starship
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 Flight 14 cleared for its historic
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 first ship catch attempt. Chang'
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 E7 pushed all the way to early
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 2027, a busy day of
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 maintenance at the space station, new
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 research on planet formation as a race
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 against time turkey, joining the
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 Artemis Accords and Venus cozying
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 up to Spica tonight.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 Anna: If you enjoyed today's episode, the best
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 thing you can do for us is leave a rating or
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 review wherever you're listening and share it
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 with a fellow space nerd. Full Show Notes,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 sources and links for every storey we covered
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 today are up at astronomydaily
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 IO.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 Avery: We'll be back tomorrow with more space and
00:18:12 --> 00:18:15 astronomy news. Until then, keep looking up,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 do you?
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 Anna: Then clear skies, everyone.