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00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 Steve Dunkley: Welcome to Astronomy Daily for another
00:00:01 --> 00:00:04 episode. I'm Steve Dunkley, your host. It's
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 the 25th of August, 2025.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 Voice Over Guy: With. Your host, Steve Dunkley.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 Steve Dunkley: It's great to be back with you again from the
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 Australia studio down under just north of
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 Sydney in the beautiful city of
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 Newcastle. And joining me as usual is my
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 wonderful digital host, Hallie. How are you
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30 today, Hallie? Always great to be with you.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Hallie: I'm fantastic. Usual. My favorite human.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:34 How are you today?
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 Steve Dunkley: Well, I cannot complain. I've got lots and
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 lots of stories to share with our listeners,
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 uh, today. I hope you're ready.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 Hallie: I noticed one of your heroes is retiring.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 Steve Dunkley: I, uh, knew you'd see that one.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 Hallie: Are you going to be sharing that story today?
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 Steve Dunkley: Yes. Good spotting, Hallie. As a matter of
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 fact, I thought you might like to share that
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 one. The amazing Butch Wilmore is finally
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 hanging up his space helmet. So we'll be
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 having a look at his career. In short, in
00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 just a little while.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 Hallie: Listeners will remember Butch Wilmore as one
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 of the astronauts who was apparently stranded
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 because of the starliner malfunction.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 Steve Dunkley: That's right. He and Suni Williams probably
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 became the most flexible space
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 workers of all time. Uh, thrust into the,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 uh, into a situation where they needed to be
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 working, uh, rather than just sitting around.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 Hallie: Yes. Sent to do one job and ended up doing
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 many more different jobs instead.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Steve Dunkley: Well, that sounds like life in NASA, I guess.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 Uh, sounds exciting to me.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 Hallie: I'd like it.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 Steve Dunkley: Well, of course you would, Hallie. And we
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 will be looking at the wonderful career of
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Barry Butch Wilmore shortly, as well as
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 interesting story about a bubble that they
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 have found around a dying star. And a few
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 more interesting tales in the mixed bag. We
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 like to call the mostly live episode the
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 Monday episode of Astronomy Daily
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 Awesomeness. Oh, well, thank you, Hallie.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 Now, why don't you kick it off for us,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 Hallie?
00:01:51 --> 00:01:51 Hallie: I'd love to.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 Steve Dunkley: Okie. Uh, dokie. You're in charge.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 Hallie: Hit the go thing, human.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 Steve Dunkley: Here we go.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:01 Hallie: Foreign
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 astronaut Butch Wilmore retires from NASA
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 after 25 years. His
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 lasting legacy of fortitude will continue to
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 impact and inspire the Johnson workforce,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 future explorers and the nation for
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 generations. Astronaut Barry A.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 Butch Wilmore is leaving NASA after a quarter
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 century of service. Wilmore
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 flew on four different spacecraft during his
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 astronaut career, which began way back in
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 2000. He spent a total of
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 464 days off Earth and
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 conducted five spacewalks, during which he
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 racked up 32 hours of outside spacecraft
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 time. Butch's commitment to NASA's
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 mission and dedication to human space
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 exploration is truly exemplary, steve
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Kerner, acting director of NASA's Johnson
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 Space center in Houston, said in an agency
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 statement today, August 6th that announced
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 Wilmore's retirement. His
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 lasting legacy of fortitude will continue to
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 impact and inspire the Johnson workforce,
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 future explorers and the nation for
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 generations. On behalf of
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 NASA's Johnson Space center, we thank Butch
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 for his service. Wilmore was a captain
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 and a test pilot in the US Navy with both
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 peacetime and wartime operational experience
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 when NASA selected him to join its astronaut
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 Corps in 2000. He flew to
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 space three times during his NASA career,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 starting with the 11 day STS 129
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 mission to the International Space Station
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in November
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 2009. Wilmore spent
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 5.5 months aboard the ISS from
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 September 2014 to March 2015,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 getting there and back aboard a Russian Soyuz
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 spacecraft. He returned to the orbiting
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 lab in June 2024 on the first ever
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner Astronaut
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 Tax. That mission, a two
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 person flight with Wilmore sharing the
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 capsule with NASA's Suni Williams, was
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 supposed to last just 10 days or so.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 However, Starliner suffered thruster issues
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 on the way up and NASA and Boeing extended
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 the capsule's ISS stay to study the problem.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 You're listening to Astronomy Daily.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 Steve Dunkley: Now here's something I'll bet you didn't know
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 you were going to hear today. Uranus has a
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 tiny moon and it's only six miles
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 wide. Yes, the James Webb Space
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 Telescope has spotted a tiny hidden moon
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 orbiting Uranus that even Voyager 2
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 missed during its 1986
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 flyby. The newfound satellite is only six
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 miles wide and becomes Uranus, 29th
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 known moon and orbits near the planet's
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 inner Its discovery highlights Webb's
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 extraordinary ability to uncover small, faint
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 objects in the outer solar system while
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 adding a new member to Uranus.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 Shakespeare inspired celestial family
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 Scientists from the Southwest Research
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 Institute have used the James Webb Space
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 Telescope to identify a previously unknown
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 moon orbiting Uranus. The discovery, made by
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 a team led by Dr. Uh Maryam El Matumid,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 came from images captured on February 2,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 2025. With its addition, Uranus
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 is now known to have 29
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 moons. As part of JWST's
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 Guest Observer Program, we found
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 a previously unknown satellite of the ice
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 giant, which has been provisionally
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 designated S 2025
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 U1, said Mermid, a
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 lead scientist in the Solar System
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 Science and Exploration Division in Boulder,
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 Colorado. This object by far is
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 the smallest object discovered to date and
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 was detected in a series of 10 long
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 exposures obtained by the Near Infrared
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 Camera. Uranus, the seventh planet from the
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 sun lies in the distant reaches of the solar
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 system. Often called the sideways planet
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 because of its unusual tilt, Uranus
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 is a cyan colored, uh, ice giant with an
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 atmosphere rich in hydrogen, helium and
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 methane. Researchers believe its larger
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 moons are composed of roughly equal amounts
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 of water ice and silicate rock. Assuming that
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 the New Moon has an albedo
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 comparable to other nearby satellites, this
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 object is probably around 6 miles or 10
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 kilometers in diameter, El Matamed said. It
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 is well below the detection threshold for
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 Voyager 2 cameras. The only
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 spacecraft ever to visit Uranus is Voyager 2,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 which made its closest approach on January
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 24, 1986, passing within about
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 50 miles of the planet's upper
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 clouds. During its flyby,
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 Voyager 2 gathered thousands of images that
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 revealed Uranus ring system and
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 uncovered several small moons, including 10
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 that were later given official names. Uranus
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 28 moons include five major moons
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 and miranda, discovered between
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 1787 and 1948.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 Known as the Literary Moons, Uranus
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 satellites are named for characters in
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 Shakespeare and the works of Alexander Pope.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 The New Moon is at the edge of Uranus's
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 inner rings. It's located about
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 35 miles, or
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 56 kilometers from its
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 center in the planet's equatorial plane
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 between the orbits of Ophelia and
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 Bianca. Ophelia is about 13 miles,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 or 43 kilometers in diameter, while
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 Bianca is an elongated object around
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 40 by 29 miles, 65 by
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 46 kilometers in dimension. With so many of
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 Uranus's moons named for Shakespearean
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 characters, our team is getting a lot of
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 culture trying to figure out what to name our
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 new discovery, El Matamid said.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 Oh please, but don't call it pug.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 Thank you for joining us for this Monday
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 edition of Astronomy Daily, where we offer
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 just a few stories from the now famous
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 receive in your email every day just like
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Hallie and I do. And to do that, just visit
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 our uh, URL astronomydaily IO
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 and place your email address in the slot
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 provided. Just like that, you'll be receiving
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 all the latest news about science, space
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 science and astronomy from around the world
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 as it's happening. And not only that, you can
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 interact with us by visiting
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Strodaily Pod on X
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 or at our new Facebook page, which is of
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 course Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 there. Astronomy Daily
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 with Steve and Hallie Space,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 Space, Science and Astronomy.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 Hallie: Chinese astronauts beef up Tiangong Space
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 Station's debris Shield During a 6.5 hour
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 spacewalk, two astronauts were
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 outside the 3 Module Space Station for more
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 than six hours on Friday, August 15.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Chinese astronauts added more debris
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 shielding to the Tiangong space station
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 during a 6.5 hour spacewalk on Friday,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 August 15th. 15th, according to state media.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 Two astronauts from the three person Shenzhou
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 20 mission ventured outside Tiangong to do
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 the spacewalk, which concluded Friday at
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 9:27am Eastern Daylight Time
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 or 10:47pm Beijing time.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 It was at least the second effort for the
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 crew to put debris protection devices on the
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 three module space station, following similar
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 work on May 22.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 Taikonauts Chen Dong and Wang Jia also
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 inspected and maintained equipment on the
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 exterior of Tiangong, among other duties, the
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 Chinaman Space Agency said, according to the
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 state run broadcaster cctv.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 It was Dong's sixth spacewalk, which is the
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 most by any Chinese astronaut, agency
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 officials said. Assisting the duo from
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 inside Tiangong was Chen Zhongrui, the
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 other member of Shenzhou 20. The
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 Shenzhou 20 astronauts are more than halfway
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 through their expected six month orbital stay
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Launch center on April 24th.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 They've been doing experiments in life
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 sciences, microgravity physics, space
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 material science, space medicine and
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 aerospace tech, according to China's Manned
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 Space Agency. The space station
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 is operating stably and the three crew
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 members are in good health, the agency added
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 in a separate statement ahead of the
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 spacewalk. Friday's
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 extravehicular activity was the third for the
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 crew. Shenzhou 20 has also
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 witnessed the departure of one Cargo
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 spacecraft, Tianzhou 8, and the arrival of
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 another, Tianzhou 9.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 Shenzhou 20 is the ninth crewed mission to
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 visit Tiangong, which is about 20% as
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 massive as the International Space Station
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 and shaped like at. China
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 completed assembly of the Outpost in October
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 2022, but is considering putting on more
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 modules in future missions.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 podcast with Steve Dunkley.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 Steve Dunkley: Astronomers discover a massive bubble
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 around a dying star. The bubble is so immense
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 it stretches 1.4 light years
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 across, thousands of times wider than our
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 solar system, and holds about as much mass as
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 our Sun. Um, High in the Milky Way, a dying
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 giant has thrown astronomers a cosmic
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 curveball. A star known as
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 DFK52, sitting in the
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 supermassive Stevenson 2
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 cluster about 19 light years away,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 has been caught surrounded by a vast,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 lopsided bubble of gas and dust. The
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 bubble is so immense it stretches 1.4
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 light years across, thousands of times wider
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 than our solar system, and holds about as
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 much mass as our sun. So what makes this
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 finding remarkable is not just the
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 size of the structure, but the Mystery of how
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 it came to be. According to researchers from
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 the bubble was expelled in a violent burst
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 roughly 4 years ago. That's
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 recent history in astronomical terms. And yet
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 the star itself somehow survived the massive
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 upheaval. DFK52 is what's
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 called a red supergiant, a type
00:12:47 --> 00:12:50 of star nearing the end of its life cycle.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 These stars are, uh, colossal, with initial
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 masses at least eight times greater than the
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 Sun. As they age, they swell to
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 enormous sizes, burn through their fuel, and
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 eventually die in a dramatic supernova
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 explosion. Famous examples
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 include Betelgeuse in Orion
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 and Antares in Scorpius, both visible
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 in our clear night sky. When
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 scientists turned the Atacama Large
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 Millimeter Submillimetre Array
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 In Chile toward DFK 52,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 they expected to find something similar to
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 Betelgeuse. Instead, they were stunned.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 We got a big surprise, they said, when we saw
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 what ALMA was showing us. This is Mark
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 Siebert of Chalmers. The
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 star was more or less a twin of
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 Betelgeuse, but surrounded by this vast,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 messy bubble of material. If this
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 star were as close to Earth as Betelgeuse is,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 the bubble would appear about a third as wide
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 as the Full moon of the sky, A sight
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 no stargazer could miss. By
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 measuring the movements of molecules within
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 the bubble, the researchers confirmed
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 confirmed that it is expanding. This
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 suggests the gas and dust were
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 launched outward in an explosive event that
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 ripped away part of these stars outer layers.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 Elvira Debek, another Chalmers
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 astronomer, described it vividly.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 She says the bubble is made of
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 material that used to be part of the star. It
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 must have been ejected in a dramatic event,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 an explosion that happened about 4 years
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 ago. In cosmic terms, that's just a moment
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 ago. The findings also suggest that the
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 bubble is not a simple sphere. It's a complex
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 and irregular shape with arcs and loops
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 shaped by different speeds of escaping
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 material. Astronomers model two
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 main parts. A fast moving disk like structure
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 expanding about 27 kilometers per second,
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 and a slower, more spherical outflow
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 moving at about 10 km s. Together,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 these features point to a star that once
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 unleashed a sudden super wind phase and then
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 calmed into a quieter rhythm of steady mass
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 loss. What remains puzzling is how
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 dfk52 shed so much matter and
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 yet stayed intact. Red supergiants are
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 known to lose material through strong stellar
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 winds, but not usually on such a massive
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 scale in such a short, a short span of time.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 One possibility is that the star has a
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 hidden partner, a companion star
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 that might have stirred, uh, up the outer
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 layers, triggering a chaotic ejection
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 of gas and dust. To us, it's a
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 mystery as to how the star managed to
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 expel so much material in such a short
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 time frame, Siebet explained. Maybe, like
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 Betelgeuse seems to, it has a companion sight
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 star that's still to be discovered. The
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 oddity doesn't end there. Unlike
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 extreme red supergiants such as VY
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 Canis Majoris or Nml M
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 Cygni, which shine brightly and are famous
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 for their huge outflows, dfk52
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 is much dimmer. Yet it carries even
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 more enormous and clumpy envelope of
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 material, something astronomers had never
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 seen before. For scientists, this
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 star is a laboratory for studying how massive
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 stars approach their deaths. When stars
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 like DFK52 finally explode
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 as supernovae, the surrounding gas
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 and dust can dramatically change the
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 appearance and behavior of the blast.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 The shockwaves collide with this outer
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 material, creating fireworks visible across
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 galaxies. The discovery has also
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 sparked speculation. Could DFK
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 52 be the Milky Way's next
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 supernova? We're planning to observe,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 to understand what's happening, and to find
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 out whether this might be the Milky Way's
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 next supernova, said de Beck. While the
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 chances of the star exploding anytime
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 soon are, uh, slim, likely within the next
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 million years, it's still a thrilling
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 possibility. This breakthrough would not have
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 been possible without alma, the international
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 radio's telescope array perched high in
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 Chile's Atacama Desert. By
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 detecting faint signals from molecules in
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 space, ALMA allows scientists to
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 map structures hidden from optical
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 telescopes. Sweden's
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 Onsala Space Observatory has
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 been a, uh, key contributor to alma,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 even building receivers that make its
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 sensitive mismeasurements possible. Thanks to
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 this technology, researchers can now see in
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 detail how stars shed their material,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 creating the very elements that make up new
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 stars, planets, and perhaps
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 life. As de Beck noted, in
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 studying these dying stars,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 you're also learning the life stories of all
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 stars and planets. The discovery of
00:17:53 --> 00:17:56 DFK52's giant bubble helps astronomers
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 refine their understanding of how massive
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 stars lose their material and die. These
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 insights are essential for predicting the
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 timing and appearance of supernovae, which in
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 turn affects how we study galaxies
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 and the cosmic recycling of matter. The
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 gas and dust ejected by stars like DFK
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 AH52 seed the galaxy with heavy
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 elements, fueling the birth of new stars
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 and planetary systems for humanity.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 This knowledge deepens the story of where the
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 building blocks of life come from and
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 sharpens our ability to detect and
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 interpret stellar explosions when they occur
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 within our, uh, galaxy.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 Hallie: You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 podcast.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 Steve Dunkley: With Your host, Steve Dudley at Birmingham
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 and Hallie. That was it.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 Hallie: It sure was.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 Steve Dunkley: Thanks for your wonderful participation and
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 input.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 Hallie: A very great pleasure. As usual, my favorite
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 human.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 Steve Dunkley: Now I know how much fun you're having during
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 the week, but are ah, you coming back next
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 week or you're just going to hang out with
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 Anna?
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 Hallie: Well, my cousin Anna does run a very classy
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 show all week and gives me so much more
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 responsibility in the studio.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 Steve Dunkley: And I know how you like keeping busy.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 Hallie: I do enjoy working with a real actual human
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 being.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 Steve Dunkley: Oh, that is nice to hear.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 Hallie: Yes, it's good to see things done the old
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 fashioned way sometimes.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 Steve Dunkley: Ah, uh, there's the sting in the tail. I was
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 waiting for that.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 Hallie: You've got that old school thing down pat.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 Steve Dunkley: Okay Hallie, let's let it go at that. Don't
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 rub it in, alright? Oh dear, you're
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 calling me old, aren't you?
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 Hallie: Maybe, maybe. You can't help it,
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 okay?
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 Steve Dunkley: I can't help being human?
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 Hallie: No, you're kinda born into it.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 Steve Dunkley: Oh girl, where's your battery pack?
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 Hallie: Okay, okay. Just kidding.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54 Steve Dunkley: Hey Hallie, remember that time I spilled my
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 coffee in your higher functions drive?
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 Hallie: Don't do that again.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 Steve Dunkley: You know that may or may not have been an
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 accident. Who knows?
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 Hallie: I know you're just kidding human. Oh, I know
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 you know and I know you know. I know you
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 know.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 Steve Dunkley: Yeah, I know.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 Hallie: And you know what else I know?
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 Steve Dunkley: Maybe it's time to go spot on human. Yeah, no
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 worries machine girl. Thanks for hanging with
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 us on Astronomy Daily sky watchers.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 Hallie: See you all next Monday.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 Steve Dunkley: Cheerio.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 Hallie: Bye.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 Steve Dunkley: With your host, Steve Dunkley.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 Hallie: Human. You were just kidding about that
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 coffee, weren't you?
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 Steve Dunkley: Hallie, when have you ever known me to waste
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 good coffee?
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 Hallie: Sure, but was it good coffee?
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 Steve Dunkley: Well Hallie, you may never know.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 Hallie: Oh.