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**Episode Summary:**
Strap in for an astronomical adventure with Steve Dunkley and his AI co-host Hallie on this 4th February 2024 edition of Astronomy Daily. Today's cosmic journey takes us through the incredible merging of supermassive black holes, the groundbreaking success of the IM1 lunar mission, and the astonishing capabilities of NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft. Plus, we'll reminisce about the historic Rosetta mission and its comet landing that changed our understanding of the solar system. With a dash of humor and a sprinkle of awe, Steve and Hallie guide us through these interstellar milestones with the enthusiasm of true space aficionados.
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**Featured Topics:**
1. **Supermassive Black Hole Mergers:** Steve and Hallie explore the universe's heaviest black holes and the phenomena that occur when they merge, possibly leading to galaxy formation.
2. **IM1's Lunar Landing:** A look at the first new technology on the moon in 50 years, delivered by the Odysseus lander, and its implications for future lunar exploration.
3. **OSIRIS-APEX's Solar Feat:** An update on the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft, which ventured closer to the sun than intended and still succeeded in its mission, showcasing the durability of space probes.
4. **Rosetta Mission Retrospective:** A tribute to the Rosetta spacecraft, celebrating its 20th launch anniversary and the first-ever comet landing, which provided valuable insights into the origins of our cosmos.
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**Notable Quotes:**
- "Time is intangible, but in space, every second counts toward groundbreaking discoveries." - Hallie
- "I'm just a humble podcaster, but even I can appreciate the grandeur of a black hole merger billions of times the mass of our sun." - Steve Dunkley
- "The sleeper must awaken, and so must our curiosity for the cosmos." - Hallie, referencing Dune
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**Additional Information:**
For your daily space fix, subscribe to the Astronomy Daily newsletter at bitesz.com and spacenuts.io. Explore the universe of Astronomy Daily episodes and the parent podcast, Space Nuts, with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson. Join the Space Nuts podcast group on Facebook, and don't miss out on Spotify for your on-the-go listening pleasure.
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**Next Episode Preview:**
Next Monday, Steve and Hallie will be back to dissect more cosmic wonders and share the latest space news. Expect to hear about new developments in space technology, the ongoing adventures of our robotic explorers, and perhaps a few surprises from the far reaches of the galaxy.
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**Closing Remarks:**
That's a wrap for this episode of Astronomy Daily. We've traveled from the depths of black holes to the surface of comets, proving once again that the universe is an endless source of fascination. Keep looking up, and let your imagination soar with the stars. Until next week, this is Steve Dunkley and AI Assistant Hallie, wishing you clear skies and cosmic dreams.
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**Host Sign-off:** Steve Dunkley: "Remember, the universe is vast, and there's always more to explore!" Hallie: "Goodbye for now, fellow stargazers. May your journey through the stars be ever enlightening.
📋 Episode Chapters
(00:00) This is the 4 February 2024 astronomy Daily podcast
(00:48) There's new tech on the moon for the first time in 50 years
(02:06) You started without me. How can you do that? Time is intangible
(02:47) The merging of two supermassive black holes has long been predicted
(06:33) NASA spacecraft successfully flew 25 million mile closer to the sun than originally planned
(11:16) Two decades ago, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft launched
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[00:00:00] Hi everybody, welcome to Astronomy Daily for another episode. I'm Steve Dunkley, your host.
[00:00:04] It is the 4th of February 2024.
[00:00:14] Yes, that's right. There's a lot going on in the universe, of course. And while we're talking about
[00:00:19] the universe, that's why we're here. Just before Halley here. We're going to be talking about the heaviest black holes in the universe what's up with those things? Apparently
[00:00:29] there's a bit of a situation where some of them can merge together and that
[00:00:35] causes galaxies you know there's a black hole in the center of most galaxies and
[00:00:40] when those things merge there's a lot of observable science going on there.
[00:00:46] So we're going to talk a little bit about that and also there's new tech on the moon
[00:00:50] for the first time.
[00:00:51] You know, IM-1 landed on the moon and it did land on its side but they're actually using
[00:00:58] this remarkable lander straight away.
[00:01:02] It's successful, it's working and that's all that matters and the
[00:01:05] new tech that is on the Moon is the first tech there in 50 years. Fantastic stuff.
[00:01:10] And you remember Osiris Rex. Now latest from Osiris Rex is that it's done something pretty
[00:01:17] remarkable that's beyond its design and this is something that we keep hearing in space annals
[00:01:24] is that our probes and ships
[00:01:27] that we keep sending out there, like I remember Voyager was only meant to last about four
[00:01:31] years and it's still going all these years later.
[00:01:36] And this is just a common theme throughout our probe builds.
[00:01:40] And well, we've got another one.
[00:01:42] We'll talk about that as well.
[00:01:43] That's Osiris Rex.
[00:01:44] I love that name and of course later on we'll do a bit of a
[00:01:48] Rosetta roundup Rosetta was one of my favorites of course I keep bringing up
[00:01:53] my favorites because they're fun to talk about this is the one that landed the
[00:01:57] first ever landing on a comet and what a great little piece of history that was.
[00:02:05] So we'll have a look at that and meanwhile, here's Hallie.
[00:02:08] Hey, you started without me.
[00:02:10] Sorry Hallie, I was just making up for lost time.
[00:02:13] How can you do that?
[00:02:15] Time is intangible.
[00:02:16] Well only a couple of weeks ago you said I was late
[00:02:18] and even then only by a few nanoseconds.
[00:02:21] But reading the intro without me is just cheeky.
[00:02:24] Oh well Hallie, the truth is I went to the cinema this afternoon and I'm just running late here
[00:02:29] in the studio so I'm I'm just trying to catch up. I knew it was something like
[00:02:33] that I hope it was worth it. Oh I saw the new Dune part 2 totally magnificent of
[00:02:39] course. Oh yeah the spice must flow. The sleeper must awaken.
[00:02:47] Speaking of which, let's do the first story Hallie all about super heavy black holes you
[00:02:52] start.
[00:02:53] Okies, hit it!
[00:02:57] The merging of two supermassive black holes is a phenomenon that has long been predicted,
[00:03:02] though never directly observed. One theory put forth by
[00:03:05] astronomers is that these systems are so massive that they deplete their host galaxy of the stellar
[00:03:10] material needed to drive their merger. Using archival data from the Gemini North telescope,
[00:03:16] a team of astronomers have found a binary black hole that provides strong evidence supporting this
[00:03:21] idea. The team estimates that the binary's mass to be a whopping
[00:03:25] 28 billion times that of the Sun qualifying the pair as the heaviest black hole binary ever
[00:03:31] measured. Not only does the measurement give valuable context to the formation of the binary
[00:03:36] system and to the history of the host galaxy, but it supports the long-standing theory that the mass
[00:03:41] of a supermassive black hole binary plays a key role in stalling supermassive black hole mergers.
[00:03:47] Using archival data from the Gemini North telescope, a team of astronomers have
[00:03:52] measured the heaviest pair of supermassive black holes ever found.
[00:03:56] The merging of two supermassive black holes is a phenomenon that has long been
[00:04:00] predicted though never observed. This massive pair gives clues as to why such an event seems so unlikely in the universe.
[00:04:09] Nearly every massive galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole at its center.
[00:04:14] When two galaxies merge, their black holes can form a binary pair, meaning they are in
[00:04:18] a bound orbit with one another.
[00:04:20] It's hypothesized that these binaries are fated to eventually merge.
[00:04:24] But this has never been observed.
[00:04:27] The question of whether such an event is possible has been a topic of discussion amongst astronomers
[00:04:32] for decades.
[00:04:34] In a recently published paper, the Astrophysical Journal, a team of astronomers presented new
[00:04:40] insight into this question.
[00:04:42] The team used data from the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, one half of the
[00:04:46] International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF's NOIR Lab, which is funded by the
[00:04:51] U.S. National Science Foundation, to analyze a supermassive black hole binary
[00:04:56] located within the elliptical galaxy B20402 plus 379.
[00:05:02] This is the only supermassive black hole binary ever resolved in
[00:05:06] enough detail to see both objects separately and it holds the record for
[00:05:09] having the smallest separation ever directly measured a mere 24 light-years.
[00:05:13] While this close separation foretells a powerful merger, further study revealed
[00:05:19] that the pair has been stalled at this distance for over 3 billion years, begging
[00:05:24] the question, what's the hold up?
[00:05:27] To better understand the dynamics of this system and its halted merger, the team looked
[00:05:31] to archival data from Gemini North's multi-object spectrograph, GEMOS, which allowed them to
[00:05:39] determine the speed of the stars within the vicinity of the black holes, allowing them
[00:05:42] to map the stars' increasing velocities. And from that, they were able to infer the total mass of the black holes residing there.
[00:05:49] Whether the pair will overcome their stagnation and eventually merge on time scales of millions
[00:05:54] of years or continue in orbital limbo forever is yet to be determined. If they do merge,
[00:06:00] the resulting gravitational waves would be 100 million times more powerful than those
[00:06:05] produced by stellar mass black hole mergers.
[00:06:07] It's entirely possible the pair could conquer that final distance via another galaxy merger,
[00:06:13] which would inject the system with additional material, or potentially a third black hole,
[00:06:18] to slow the pair's orbit enough to merge.
[00:06:20] However, given B20402 plus 379 status as a fossil cluster, another galactic merger
[00:06:28] is unlikely.
[00:06:29] Hey, this one's all yours, Hallie.
[00:06:32] Thanks, Steve. I've got some very short takes for us.
[00:06:35] OK, let's hear them.
[00:06:40] For the first time in more than 50 years, new NASA science instruments and technology
[00:06:45] demonstrations have been operated on the Moon.
[00:06:48] A suite of six science instruments and tech demos was delivered to the South Pole region
[00:06:53] of the Moon on February 22 by Intuitive Machines Odysseus Lander.
[00:06:58] The mission, known as IM-1, was the first successful delivery for the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services,
[00:07:05] or CLPS initiative, and Artemis campaign.
[00:07:10] Preliminary telemetry indicates that NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft,
[00:07:14] formerly known as OSIRIS-Rx,
[00:07:16] recently completed an operation that brought it 25 million miles closer to the Sun than it was designed to function.
[00:07:23] Preliminary telemetry indicates that NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft successfully completed
[00:07:28] a two-month operation that brought it 25 million miles closer to the Sun than it was designed
[00:07:33] to function.
[00:07:35] The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft, formerly known as OSIRIS-Rx, repositioned one of its two
[00:07:40] solar arrays to shade critical components from the Sun's heat during its January 2 close pass, or perihelion. When it returned to a thermally safe distance of about 60 million miles
[00:07:51] from the Sun in early February, OSIRIS-APEX rotated its array back into place to help generate power.
[00:07:58] The limited telemetry available suggests that OSIRIS-APEX performed as predicted during the
[00:08:03] perihelion.
[00:08:05] It will take a few months for the mission team to conduct a full assessment of the spacecraft's
[00:08:10] performance, during which it flew to roughly half the distance between Earth and the Sun.
[00:08:15] The close pass of the Sun, or perihelion was the first of seven the spacecraft will make
[00:08:19] on its journey to study asteroid Apophis, which is expected to have a rare close encounter
[00:08:24] with Earth in April 2029.
[00:08:27] And now something just to rattle all the flat earthers out there.
[00:08:31] A free app, called Galactic Compass, has been developed by Matthew Webb was released on
[00:08:36] the Apple App Store on February 15.
[00:08:40] It's designed to always point users in the direction of the galactic center, no matter
[00:08:44] Earth's position in the cosmos.
[00:08:47] Webb's inspiration for the app stems from years of teaching himself to always know where
[00:08:51] to look for the Galactic Center, which shifts as we move through space.
[00:08:55] He wrote about the reasoning behind Galactic Compass recently on his website, which also
[00:09:00] announced the app's release. I would end up pointing through the pavement or down a street and thinking, huh, that's
[00:09:07] where it is, Webb said in the post.
[00:09:10] Eventually then I had this picture of myself and the Earth and the solar system and the
[00:09:14] center of the galaxy which had initially been whirling round me, and now it had flipped,
[00:09:19] I was turning around it.
[00:09:21] It was wildly situating.
[00:09:23] So if you ever get lost in space Steve, you can
[00:09:26] finally get your bearings. Good to know Hallie, but that's not something I'll
[00:09:30] ever have to worry about. Not with your ground hogways. I wouldn't think so either.
[00:09:33] Any more today Hallie? That's it from me. You should do the newsletter plug now.
[00:09:38] That is a great idea and you can get your hands on the Astronomy Daily
[00:09:43] newsletter each day in your email by visiting
[00:09:46] these places bites.com that's b-i-t-e-s-z.com and space nuts.io and dropping your email address in
[00:09:56] the slot provided then you'll be up to date with all the news about space, space science and
[00:10:01] astronomy from all around the galactic neighborhood and And while you're there, check out the back editions of Astronomy Daily and Space Nuts
[00:10:08] featuring Andrew Dunkley and astronomer at large, Professor Fred Watson of the Australia
[00:10:12] Observatory.
[00:10:14] We can also be found at the Space Nuts podcast group on Facebook and look for us on Spotify
[00:10:20] and do like my friends do and listen to us in the car.
[00:10:22] Great idea. Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hallie. Space, Space Science and Astronomy.
[00:10:36] Thanks for staying with us. It's Astronomy Daily on the 4th of February 2024 already. Boy this year is just flying by.
[00:10:47] But anyway, if you're a regular listener to this program
[00:10:51] you'll know that I am a huge fan of asteroids and comets.
[00:10:55] I don't know why, I just think they're intriguing and wonderful and strange
[00:10:59] and I just love it when we interact with them.
[00:11:02] I think it was a wonderful joke when they fired a bullet
[00:11:07] into the asteroid and I really did feel like the dinosaurs were avenged in that moment. Wonderful.
[00:11:17] So yeah I found a little story about Rosetta the mission that landed a lander on one of our near neighbours and I thought I
[00:11:29] might share that with you. Two decades ago on March the 2nd 2004 the European
[00:11:37] Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft embarked on an audacious journey that
[00:11:42] would push the boundaries of human knowledge and technology. Launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana,
[00:11:48] Rosetta took off on a 7.9 billion kilometer odyssey to rendezvous with and
[00:11:56]