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Hello again. It's Steve here with another episode of
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Astronomy Daily. It is the 18th of March 2024.
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Who daily the podcast with your host, Steve Duncan.
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And welcome again to Halle, our digital pal. Who's fun to be
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with? How's everything in the ether these days? Halle shiny.
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Good to be back.
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And did you want to give us the menu for today? Sure thing.
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A bit of a recap and some new ones go for it. Hal Well, crew
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seven splashed down safely as we know. Yes. Good job. There's a
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massive solar eclipse do month and you're going to bring us
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that story later on.
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Yes, I've got that one and Europa Clipper solar arrays are
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being tested so they are getting very close to final assembly
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there. Sure looks like it. And NASA's Roman telescopes has a
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new program that is looking at a revolutionary galactic plane
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survey. That sounds amazing.
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Wow, that sounds like a huge task in itself.
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Just imagine, tried it, got distracted with other stuff.
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Really? Like what? Cataloging your old record collection for
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one? You did? What did you know you have two copies of under a
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blood red Sky By you too.
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Yes, I did know that.
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And three white albums By The Beatles.
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Well, there are actually special reasons for that.
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Halle, I think you're trying to set your own record, Steve.
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No, it's because when, when one copy gets a scratch on it or
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gets damaged then I just replace it with another, a copy. I think
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that was the real downside of having vinyl as a sort of a
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medium for music.
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That's expensive.
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Oh, well, of course, everything 's easier these days with
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digital. You know, I've replaced all of my collection with
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digital. So no more scratches.
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Yeah, digital.
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I'll bet. As soon as it's possible, Hallie, you'll be
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begging me for a proper body to run around.
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In running is for the birds. Totally. Let's do the news. Okey
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doke, the members of NASA's SpaceX crew, a seven mission
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including NASA astronaut, Jasmine Mobley made preparations
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to close out their time on the International Space Station. The
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flight was the seventh crew rotation mission with SpaceX to
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station and the eighth human spaceflight as part of NASA
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commercial crew program.
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The international crew flew aboard the SpaceX Dragon
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spacecraft named Endurance, which previously flew NASA's
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crew three and crew of five missions. This was Mobley's
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first trip into space after being selected as a NASA
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astronaut in 2017.
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The New York native earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace
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engineering with Information Technology at the Massachusetts
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Institute Of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a
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master of science in aerospace engineering from the Naval
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postgraduate school in Monterey, California Mobley, a helicopter
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and Marine Corps test pilot has more than 150 combat missions
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and 2000 hours of flight time in over 25 different aircraft.
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She is also a graduate of the US Naval test pilot school in
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Patuxent River Maryland as mission commander. She was
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responsible for all phases of flight from launch to reentry
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and served as a flight engineer aboard the station.
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Mogensen was selected as an es a astronaut in 2009 and became the
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first Danish citizen in space after launching aboard a Soyuz
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for a 10 day mission to the space station in 2015. As the
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pilot on crew seven, he was responsible for spacecraft
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systems and performance aboard the station.
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He served as an expedition 6970 flight engineer, Furukawa made
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his second trip to space this time having spent 165 days
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aboard the space station as part of expeditions 28 and 29. In
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2011, Furukawa is from Kanagawa Japan and was selected as a Jaxa
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astronaut in 1999.
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He is a physician and received his medical degree from the
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University Of Tokyo and later a doctorate in medical science
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from the same university Furukawa served as a crew member
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on the 13th NEMO mission and later was appointed head of Jax
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Space Biomedical Research Group aboard the station.
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He became a flight engineer for expedition 6970. This was
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Borisov's first trip to space and he also served as a mission
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specialist working to monitor the spacecraft during the
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dynamic launch and entry phases of flight.
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He entered the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps as a test
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cosmonaut candidate in 2018 and worked as a flight engineer for
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expedition 6970 after undocking from the orbital laboratory in
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their SpaceX crew dragon spacecraft, the four person
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international crew safely splashed down the next day off
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the coast of Pensacola, Florida crew seven spent 199 days in
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orbit testing Europa Clipper solar arrays.
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Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center recently fully
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extended the first of 25 panel solar arrays for the agency's
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Europa Clipper spacecraft. The 46.5 ft arrays also will be
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inspected and cleaned as part of assembly test and launch
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operations.
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Europa Clipper is being assembled at NASA's Jet
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Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and is
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managed in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Applied
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Physics Laboratory in Laurel, La Maryland. The spacecraft will
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ship to Florida later this year for launch aboard a SpaceX
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falcon heavy rocket from Kennedys launch complex 39.
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A NASA's launch services program based at Kennedy is managing the
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launch service targeted for launch in October moon Europa
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which is believed to have a global ocean beneath its icy
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crust that has more water than all of Earth's oceans combined.
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NASA's Roman Telescope is set to revolutionize our understanding
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of the Milky Way with a detailed survey uncovering over 100
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billion cosmic objects and providing new data on the galaxy
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's structure. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope team has
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announced plans for an unprecedented survey of the
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plane of our Milky Way galaxy.
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It will peer deeper into this region than any other survey
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mapping more of our galaxy stars than all previous observations
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combined. Theres a really broad range of science we can explore
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with this type of survey from star formation and evolution to
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dust in between stars and the dynamics of the heart of the
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galaxy.
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Said Katherine Zucker, an astrophysicist at the Center For
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Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian in Cambridge
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Massachusetts who co authored a white paper describing some of
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the benefits of such an observing program.
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A galactic plane survey was the top ranked submission following
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a 2021 call for Roman survey ideas. Now, the scientific
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community will work together to design the observational program
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ahead of Romans launch by May 2027. There will be lots of
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tradeoffs since scientists will have to choose between, for
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example, how much area to cover and how completely to map it in
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all the different possible.
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Filters said paper, co author Robert Benjamin, an astronomer
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at the University Of Wisconsin Whitewater, while the details of
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the survey remain to be determined.
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Scientists say if it covered about 1000 square degrees a
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region of sky as large as 5000 full moons, it could reveal well
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over 100 billion cosmic objects which would be mainly stars
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observatories with smaller views of space have provided exquisite
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images of other Galaxies revealing complex structures.
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But studying our own galaxy anatomy is surprisingly
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difficult.
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The plane of the Milky Way covers such a large area on the
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sky that studying it in detail can take a very long time.
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Astronomers also must peer through thick dust that obscures
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distant Starlight while weve studied our solar systems
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neighborhood.
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Well, Zucker says we have a very incomplete view of what the
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other half of that Milky Way looks like beyond the galactic
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center observatories like NASA's retired Spitzer space telescope
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have conducted large area surveys of the galactic plane in
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longer wavelengths of light and revealed some star forming
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regions on the far side of the galaxy. But it couldn't resolve
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fine details.
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Like Roman will do, Roman will offer new insights about the
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structure of the central region known as the bulge, the aar that
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stretches across it and the spiral arms that extend from it.
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We'll basically rewrite the 3d picture of the far side of the
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galaxy.
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Zucker said the galactic plane survey is Roman's first
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announced General Astrophysics Survey astronomers from all over
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the world will have the opportunity to use Roman and
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propose cutting edge research enabling the astronomical
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community to utilize the full potential of Romans capabilities
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to conduct extraordinary science. Words of that control.
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We're listening to Astronomy Daily, the podcast and thank you
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again for joining us today on Astronomy Daily. The place for
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all your space, space science and astronomy news from around
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the globe and beyond. I just want to take a moment to remind
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you that you can receive the now famous Astronomy Daily
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Yes, we've made it simple with our own URL and putting your
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gathers all the news from the best sources around the world to
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keep you informed about the latest developments happenings
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and breakthroughs in astronomy and science.
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And while you're there, you can check out all of our past
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episodes as well and there's much more there as well. So I
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hope you'll join us Astronomy Derby with Steve and Halle Space
00:09:59
Space Science And Astronomy.
00:10:05
So where were you on Thursday morning? I know where I was, I
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was watching the Space X next generation mega rocket which
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launched on Thursday morning, headed into orbit on an
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important test flight.
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The purpose of which was to demonstrate new technologies and
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techniques that'll be crucial on the future missions to the moon
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and even beyond that, and this flight which launched on the
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22nd anniversary of the founding of SpaceX company itself.
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Did you know that this was the rocket's third and most
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obviously and most ambitious test according to SpaceX, the
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launch was closely monitored because the enormous booster
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known as Starship is expected to play an important part in NASA's
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return to the moon program. We've been talking about this on
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this show for ages. The rocket lifted off at 9:25 a.m. eastern
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time from SpaceX's star base test site in Boca Chica, Texas.
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This time, SpaceX achieved two major milestones over previous
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Starship tests. The spacecraft successfully reached orbit this
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time then re entered Earth's atmosphere for the first time.
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Just over 40 minutes later.
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This is the furthest and farthest that Starship has ever
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flown. SpaceX. Officials said during their live broadcast of
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the event. However, data suggests that the spacecraft was
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lost during its return to Earth.
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That is before it reached the splash down in the Indian Ocean
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that SpaceX had hoped for after Thursday's test flight
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concluded, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was
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investigating a mishap involving the Starship vehicle and the
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rockets first stage booster known as super heavy, no public
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injuries or public property damage have been reported.
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The agency said in a statement the FAA is overseeing the SpaceX
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led mishap investigation to ensure the company complies with
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its FAA approved mishap investigation plan and other
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regulatory requirements.
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The agency added now the FAA will need to conclude its
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investigation and SpaceX will be required to take any corrective
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actions identified by the agency before Starship can fly again.
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Now, we've seen this process before following Starship
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flights. So that's not unusual despite the undesired ending
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SpaceX called it a phenomenal day.
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The company adjusted the targeted lift off time Thursday
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morning but starships launch started smoothly and about three
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minutes into the flight. The super heavy first stage booster
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successfully separated from the upper stage Starship spacecraft.
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However, super heavy did not accomplish what it called a
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final burn as it back to Earth causing it to splash down hard
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in the Gulf Of Mexico. SpaceX said during the Webcast SpaceX
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had also hoped to demonstrate several other processes and
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capabilities during the flight including opening and closing
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the vehicle payload doors and transferring propellant between
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two of the Starship tanks in orbit.
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The company said that it will need to analyze post flight data
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to determine if these objectives were in fact achieved. SpaceX
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also intended to fire one of the starships raptor engines while
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in space but opted to skip that portion of the process.
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Many of the techniques attempted during the Starship third flight
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would help SpaceX carry out future missions to deploy
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satellites as well as set the stage for moon missions as part
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of NASA's Artemis program.
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The company also said that many of the objectives will help
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develop Starship into a fully reusable system that is SpaceX's
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eventual plan, but it was not the intention for this test
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flight Starship was selected by NASA to carry astronauts to the
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lunar surface in the upcoming Artemis three mission which
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would launch in 2026 starships debut flight.
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Last April ended with the rocket exploding several its after lift
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off. A second Starship launch in November achieved several
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milestones including separation of the first stage booster and
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upper stage spacecraft.
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But the company lost contact with the vehicle shortly after
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this third flight has proved to be vastly more successful in
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achieving a greater scope of planned objectives and appears
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to be a positive step forward for SpaceX, NASA and Artemis as
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well.
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Now, I know what you're asking, you all want to know when the
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next solar eclipse is going to occur. Well, I can tell you the
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next solar eclipse will be a total solar solar eclipse on
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April 8 2024 and it's a big one and it will be visible. Now,
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you're going to have to really sit down for this one.
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It will be visible from Mexico across 14 US states and south
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eastern Canada. Now, just imagine that for a moment. That
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's quite a path across the globe of the world exactly six years,
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seven months and 18 days. But who's counting after the same
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type of solar eclipse crossed the US from Oregon through South
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Carolina on August 21 2020 2017. And this solar eclipse will be
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visible to millions of people.
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Yes. Millions. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is
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positioned between the Earth and the sun and cast a shadow over
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the Earth. They can only occur during the phase of the new moon
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and make for an interesting sky watching target. There are four
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types of solar eclipses depending on how the moon and
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the sun and the Earth are aligned at the time of the
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event.
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A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after
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a lunar eclipse. One, a total solar eclipse. And that is the
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sun is fully obscured by the moon two partial solar eclipses
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when the moon doesn't fully block the sun. So only a portion
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of the sun is obscured and here the moon appears to take a bite
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out of the sun.
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Three annular solar eclipses. The moon is centered in front of
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the sun but doesn't quite cover the entirety of the surface as
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seen in a total solar eclipse. A ring of fire shines around the
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moon and for hybrid solar eclipse, the rarest of solar
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eclipses and is a combination of a total and annular eclipse
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sometimes known as an A T eclipse and is produced when the
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moon's shadow moves across the Earth.
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These begin as one type of eclipse and transitions to
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another. Now, according to the educational website Space Space
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Edge Academy, 28% of solar eclipses are total, 35 are
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partial, 32 are annular and only 5% are hybrid.
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And a total solar eclipse will darken the skies over Mexico and
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the US and Canada on April 8 2024. And that will be something
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to see. It comes just six months after the impressive annular
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solar eclipse which swept across eight states in the US South
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West, as well as Mexico, Guatemala, Belize Honduras,
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Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil.
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During the total solar eclipse, the moon will cover 100% of the
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sun's disc as viewed from the narrow path of totality that
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stretches from Sinaloa, Mexico through the US to Newfoundland
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Canada, those just outside the path will experience a partial
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solar eclipse where the moon appears to take a bite out of
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the sun.
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Now, if you miss this one, there is another chance to see another
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eclipse this year, the second solar eclipse of 2024 will be an
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annual ring of fire eclipse visible in South America to see
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the best of this one. You must be located somewhere along the
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path of Annular which cuts through Argentina and Chile on
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October the second.
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And that's all she wrote for another episode of Astronomy
00:18:19
Daily.
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That's right. Halley, once again, thanks for staying with
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us for another episode. I really hope you enjoyed the stories
00:18:26
that we chose from the Astronomy Daily newsletter for you today
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and don't forget you can get the Astronomy Daily newsletter in
00:18:33
your email each day just by going to Astronomy Daily Dot IO
00:18:37
and popping in the slot provided. It is terrific.
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Sure is. It's why Steve always sounds like he knows what he's
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talking about.
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Hey, that's not the only reason.
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Yeah. Otherwise it's just guitars this and lasagna that
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folks you should hear him on a bad day.
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Ok. Ok. Say goodbye, Hallie.
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See you later. Everyone. See you next time.
00:19:02
Who bury the podcast with your host, Steve Duncan.
00:19:07
What's wrong with guitars and lasagna? Oh, honestly.