- Stunning Sculptor Galaxy Images: In this episode, we unveil breathtaking new images of the Sculptor Galaxy, captured using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at the Very Large Telescope in Chile. These intricate visuals reveal the galaxy's complex systems and have already led to the discovery of 500 new planetary nebulae, shedding light on the processes that govern star formation and galactic structure.
- Insights into Sagittarius A: We discuss groundbreaking findings regarding the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Milky Way, Sagittarius A. New analyses from the Event Horizon Telescope indicate that it is spinning almost at maximum speed, with its rotational axis pointed directly at Earth, challenging existing theories about black hole behaviour.
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory Launch: Anticipation builds for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to conduct the most comprehensive survey of the night sky ever attempted. With its remarkable technology, this observatory aims to catalogue billions of stars and galaxies, marking a significant milestone in astronomical research.
- Firefly Aerospace's Ocula: Firefly Aerospace is preparing for its next lunar mission, introducing Ocula, a new high-resolution lunar imaging service. This innovative technology aims to provide unprecedented imagery of the lunar surface, paving the way for future exploration and research.
- Bogong Moths' Stellar Navigation: Fascinating research reveals that the Bogong moth may be the first insect known to use stars for long-distance navigation. This discovery highlights the intricate connections between life on Earth and the cosmos, especially in the face of challenges like light pollution.
- SpaceX Starship Incident: We conclude with breaking news about SpaceX's latest Starship vehicle, which exploded during a test at the Starbase site in Texas. Thankfully, all personnel are safe, and the company is working to secure the test area.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - Stunning Sculptor Galaxy images
10:00 - Insights into Sagittarius A
20:00 - Vera C. Rubin Observatory launch
25:00 - Firefly Aerospace's Ocula
30:00 - Bogong moths' stellar navigation
35:00 - SpaceX Starship incident
✍️ Episode References
Sculptor Galaxy Images
[Astronomy Journal](https://www.astronomy.com/)
Sagittarius A Research
[Event Horizon Telescope](https://eventhorizontelescope.org/)
Vera C. Rubin Observatory
[Rubin Observatory](https://www.rubinobservatory.org/)
Firefly Aerospace Ocula
[Firefly Aerospace](https://www.fireflyspace.com/)
Bogong Moths Navigation
[Nature](https://www.nature.com/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Hey there, space enthusiasts. Welcome to
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast for all
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 the latest happenings in the cosmos and right
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 here on Earth too. I'm your host, Anna, and
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 I've got a really exciting episode lined up
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 for you today. We're going to dive into some
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 truly stunning new images of distant
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 galaxies, talk about some groundbreaking new
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 space missions that are just around the
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 corner, and even get this, learn about a
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 surprising animal adaptation right here on
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 our own planet that involves, you know,
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 stars. So buckle up because we're about to
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 explore the universe one fascinating story at
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 a time. Let's get started.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 Alright, let's kick things off with some
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 absolutely breathtaking news from the cosmos.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 Astronomers have managed to capture what is
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 truly an unprecedented and intricate image of
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 the Sculptor Galaxy. This isn't just any
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 picture, it's painted in thousands of
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 colours, revealing all these amazing complex
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 details of galactic systems. This
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 incredible shot of the galaxy, which is also
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 known as NGC 253 and is about 11
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 million light years away. That's a pretty
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 good distance, right? Was actually collected
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 or MUSE instrument, located at
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 the Very Large Telescope, the VLT in Chile.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 What's really cool is that beyond just giving
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 us this galaxy wide view, the image shows
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 these super intricate details of NGC
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 253. It's hoped that this kind of detail
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 can really help reveal the finer points of
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 the poorly understood and often complex
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 systems that galaxies actually are.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 As team leader Enrico Conju from the
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 Universidad de Chile put it, the Sculptor
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 Galaxy is in a sweet spot. He explained that
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 it's close enough that we can resolve its
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 internal structure and study its building
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 blocks with incredible detail, but at the
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 same time big enough that we can still see it
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 as a whole system. To get this kind of
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 detail, covering 65 light years of the
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 90 light year wide galaxy required a
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 lot of work. We're talking 100
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 exposures collected over 50 hours of Muse
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 observing time. But honestly, that effort
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 was totally justified by the unprecedented
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 detail we're seeing. Team member Katherine
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 Krekel from Heidelberg University in Germany
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 noted that they can zoom in to study
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 individual regions where stars form at nearly
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 the scale of individual stars. But we, we can
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 And speaking of discoveries, an initial look
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 at this image has already yielded some
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 amazing results. The team has been able to
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 find 500 new planetary nebulae within the
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 image. These are shells of gas and dust
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 ejected from stars like our sun after they
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 die and go into that puffed out red giant
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 phase. This is pretty extraordinary
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 because finding detections like this beyond
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 the Milky Way and its immediate neighbours is
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 really rare. Fabian Scheuerman, another
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 Heidelberg University researcher, pointed out
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 that beyond our galactic neighbourhood, we
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 usually deal with fewer than 100 detections
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 per galaxy. Now, despite the name, these
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 planetary nebulae have absolutely nothing to
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 do with planets, just to be clear. But they
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 could be really fruitful in the future
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 because astronomers can actually use them to
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 make distance measurements. Adam Leroy,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 a researcher from Ohio State University and a
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 team member, explained, finding the planetary
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 nebulae allows us to verify the distance to
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 the galaxy, a critical piece of information
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 on which the rest of the studies of the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 galaxy depend. The team isn't done with
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 this image of the Sculptor Galaxy just yet,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 by the way. The next step for these
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 astronomers is to explore how hot gas flows
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 through NGC 253, changing its
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 composition and helping to create new stars.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 Enrico Konju wrapped up by saying
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 how such small processes can have such a big
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 impact on a galaxy whose entire size is
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 thousands of times bigger is still a mystery.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 Their fascinating research was published just
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 recently in the journal Astronomy and
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 Astrophysics.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Moving on to our own galactic backyard, we
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 have some absolutely wild news about the
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 supermassive black hole at the heart of our
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 Milky Way. Sagittarius A, or CESKAR
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 A for short. New analysis of
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 data collected by the Event Horizon
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 Telescope, or eht, reveals that
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 this monster black hole is actually spinning
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 almost as fast as physics allows. And get
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 this, its rotational axis is pointed right in
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 Earth's direction. These findings are pretty
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 groundbreaking and honestly, they kind of
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 challenge some existing theories about how
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 black holes behave. It gives us these
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 incredible new insights and into the centres
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 of galaxies. So how did they figure this out?
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 Well, astrophysicists
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 developed and applied a brand new method to
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 really tease out the secrets hidden in those
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 supermassive black hole observations from the
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 eht. You might remember the EHT
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 collaboration from when they gave us the very
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 first direct images of black hole shadows.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 First M, um, 87 star in a galaxy
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 55 million light years away. And then of
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 course, our own Sagittarius A.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 These images are truly incredible, but they
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 are also super difficult to interpret. So
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 to understand what they're looking at,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 scientists use simulations. They basically
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 build a bunch of virtual characteristics and
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 then figure out which ones look most like the
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 actual observational data. This technique has
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 been used a lot with EHT images, but now it's
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 been taken up a notch. A team led by
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 astronomer Michael Janssen used high
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 throughput computing to develop millions of
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 simulated black holes. Then they
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 used all that data to train a neural network,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 which helped them extract as much information
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 as possible from the EHT data and really
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 identify the properties of these black holes.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 Their results show, among other things, that
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 Sagittarius A isn't just spinning at close to
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 its maximum speed, but also that the glow
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 around it is generated by hot electrons.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 Perhaps the most intriguing part is that the
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 magnetic field in the material swirling
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 around Sagittarius A doesn't seem to be
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 behaving in a way that's predicted by current
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 theory. They also looked at M
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 M87 and found that it's also
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 rotating rapidly, though not quite as fast as
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 Sagittarius A. But here's the Twist. With M
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 M87, it's rotating in the
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 opposite direction to the material swirling
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 in a disc around it. Scientists think this
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 could be because of a past merger with
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 another supermassive black hole. As
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 Janssen put it. That we are defying the
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 prevailing theory is of course, exciting. He
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 also added that he sees their AI and machine
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 learning approach as just a first step, with
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 more improvements and data expected,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 especially once the Africa millimetre
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 telescope joins in. This incredible
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 research was detailed in three papers
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 published in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 Speaking of groundbreaking research and
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 pushing the boundaries of what we understand,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 let's look forward to a truly monumental
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 event in astronomy. The astronomical
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 community is eagerly awaiting another
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 historic moment with the Vera C. Rubin
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 Observatory. This incredible new generation
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 telescope, named after the trailblazing
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 astronomer Vera Rubin, who, if you
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 remember from earlier, was instrumental in
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 uncovering the existence of dark matter
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 through her observations of galactic rotation
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 and is poised to continue her revolutionary
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 work. It's been under construction in Chile's
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 Atacama Desert, and honestly, it's a
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 technological marvel. The Rubin Observatory
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 is set to conduct the most comprehensive
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 survey of the night sky ever attempted.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 Imagine this. It's going to photograph the
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 entire visible southern sky every few nights
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 for a full 10 years. At its heart is the
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 world's largest digital camera, packing an
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 astounding 3.2 billion pixels.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 To give you a sense of scale, it features an
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 8.4 metre primary mirror with a three
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 mirror design, providing an exceptionally
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 wide 3.5 degree field of view. That's like
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 seven times the area of the full moon. Its
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 LSST camera, the Legacy Survey of Space and
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 Time camera, is made up of 189
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 individual CCD sensors, weighs in at
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 3200 kilogrammes and operates at
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 a chilling minus 100 degrees Celsius to
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 minimise electronic noise. Located
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 high up at over 2 metres
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 elevation on Chile's Caro Pachon.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 This observatory isn't just going to search
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 for the subtle effects of dark matter. It's
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 going to catalogue billions of stars and
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 galaxies, track dangerous asteroids,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 and monitor the universe's constant changes
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 in real time. When it finally begins
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 operations, the Rubin Observatory is expected
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 to generate more astronomical data in its
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 first month than all previous telescopes
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 combined have collected throughout history.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 That's a lot of data. It can even slew
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 between targets in just five seconds and will
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 operate using six optical filters, completing
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 a full sky survey every three nights. With
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 just 15 second exposures. Over its 10 year
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 mission, it's estimated it will catalogue 20
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 billion galaxies and 17 billion stars.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 It really is incredible to think about how
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 far we've come in just over 400 years since
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 Galileo first peered at the universe through
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 his telescope. And now we're on the cusp of
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 another incredible milestone. So mark your
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 calendars for June 23, 2025
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 at 15:00-clock UTC. That's when the
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Rubin Observatory will unveil its first
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 spectacular images in what they're calling
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 the first look event. This event will be
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 live streamed via YouTube, allowing people
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 worldwide to witness this exciting moment
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 together. It represents more than just
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 another technological achievement. It
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 symbolises our relentless pursuit to
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 understand the universe, carrying forward
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 Vera Rubin's legacy of discovery into an age
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 where the observatory that carries her name
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 will give us a whole new view of the cosmos.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 Definitely check that out. When it drops.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 Okay. From massive new observatories, we're
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 going to pivot a bit to something else that's
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 really exciting in space exploration. Firefly
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 Aerospace is getting ready for its next
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 mission to the moon. And they're hoping to
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 once again make history. But this time,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 even before they reach the lunar surface, the
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 company recently unveiled something super
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 cool called Ocula, which is a new lunar
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 imaging service. They're aiming to become the
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 very first company to offer this type of high
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 resolution imaging capability in lunar orbit
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 from a commercial provider. How awesome is
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 that? Jason Kim, the CEO of Firefly
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 Aerospace, said that this idea, you know,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 getting more imagery of the lunar surface,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 looking for minerals, understanding activity,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 or even doing space domain awareness has
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 always been something they were exploring. He
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 thinks Ocula will be super beneficial for
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 NASA as well as for science, commercial and
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 national security missions out there. And
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 here's a fun fact for you. Like a lot of
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 Firefly Aerospace's hardware and software,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 this new imaging service also pays homage to
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 the movie Serenity, which is a sequel to the
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 sci fi series Firefly Ocula
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 is actually the name of one of the spaceships
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 in the film, Kim said. It's just a great name
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 for a game changing mission like this, and
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 it's fitting for what they're doing. It's the
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 first of its kind, the first commercial
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 mission to do this imaging and mapping around
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 the moon. Now, unlike their
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 previous Blue Ghost Mission 1, which landed
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 on the earth facing side of the moon, Blue
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 Ghost Mission 2 is going to try a landing on
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 the far side. But before it even attempts
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 that landing, it will deploy the Elytra
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 spacecraft with Ocula on board.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 Ocula's telescope is designed to capture
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 incredible 0.2 metre
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 resolution images of the moon's surface from
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 an altitude of 50 kilometres. The goal
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 is to eventually develop a whole
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 constellation of these in lunar orbit, which
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 would offer a high revisit rate to a bunch of
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 different parties. Firefly is already seeing
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 a lot of demand and interest in the data
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Ocula will gather. They're developing
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 this Ocula technology in partnership with
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 California, which is pretty cool. Beyond Blue
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 Ghost Mission 2, which is targeting a launch
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 in 2026, Firefly also
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 plans to fly Ocula on the Elytra 3 vehicle,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 supporting a Department of Defence project no
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 earlier than 2027. And get this,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 Kim even mentioned the possibility of
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 deploying the Ocula technology for future
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 Mars exploration missions too. That's
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 like a huge leap, right? It just shows
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 you how versatile and exciting this new
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 capability could be.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 Okay, so speaking of exciting missions, we
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 have another update with some good news
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 regarding Axiom Space's AXE 4 private
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 astronaut mission to the International Space
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 Station. After a couple of unexpected delays,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 it looks like it's back on schedule for a
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 launch this coming Sunday, June 22nd. This
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 mission, AXE 4, is Axiom's fourth
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 crewed flight to the ISS. It was actually
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 supposed to launch back on June 11th, but
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 then they found a liquid oxygen leak in the
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 Falcon 9 booster, which pushed things back a
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 day. And then, believe it or not, they found
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 another leak, but this time it was at the ISS
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 itself in the Zvezda Russian service module.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 Zvezda has been a bit leaky for a while,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 apparently, but this new pressure signature
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 prompted an indefinite delay for Axe 4, just
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 out of an abundance of caution, you know. But
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 good news, it seems like the appropriate
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 repairs have been made. NASA said that after
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 the most recent fix, pressure in the transfer
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 tunnel has been stable, which could mean
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 those small leaks have been sealed. They're
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 still evaluating it to be super sure, but
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 it's looking positive and the fixes to the
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 Falcon 9 booster are definitely complete.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 SpaceX even did a new fueling test, a wet
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 dress rehearsal and the rocket is ready to
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 go.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 Alright, from super cool space missions to
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 something a little closer to home, but no
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 less amazing. Let's talk about the incredible
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 journey of the Bogong moth. Scientists
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 have actually discovered that this Australian
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 moth might be the first insect ever known
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 to use stars for long distance navigation.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 Yeah, you heard that right, stars. Every
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 spring, billions of these brown Bogong
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 moths migrate around a thousand kilometres
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 or, or about 620 miles north to
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 the Australian Alps. They hide in cool caves
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 there to avoid the heat. And then in the fall
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 or autumn, as they say in Australia, they
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 head back to their breeding grounds. The
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 big question for a long time was how do they
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 travel to a place they've never visited
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 before? Well, researchers now believe the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 answer is stellar navigation. We already knew
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 they could use Earth's magnetic field to
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 navigate, but it seemed like they needed
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 visual landmarks too. And what's a more
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 obvious visual landmark at night than the
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 Milky Way? To test this, the scientists
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 captured some moths, put them in a
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 planetarium like flight simulator, which
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 sounds like something out of a sci fi movie,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 doesn't it? And blocked Earth's magnetic
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 field, forcing the moths to rely on their
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 eyesight. And guess what? The moths flew
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 in the correct migratory direction based on
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 the stars. Their brains were even most active
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 when they were flying the right way in the
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 simulation. It's truly wild.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 This is a pretty big deal because while some
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 insects use stars for short distance
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 movements, the Bogong moth is the first known
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 to use them for these epic long distance
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 journeys. Understanding how these little guys
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 navigate is also super important for their
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 conservation. Especially with light pollution
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 becoming a bigger issue. Urban lights can
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 really disorient them. There was even a time
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 when a whole cloud of moths grew briefly took
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 over the Australian Parliament. It just shows
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 you how intricately life on Earth connects
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 with the celestial sphere.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 And before I wrap up this episode, some late
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 breaking news. SpaceX's newest Starship
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 vehicle just went up in smoke. The company
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 was testing a starship upper stage at its
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 Starbase site in South Texas on Wednesday
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 night to prepare for the mega rocket's
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 upcoming 10th flight test. But something went
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 very wrong. Dreadfully wrong. The
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 vehicle exploded, sending a massive fireball
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 high into the dark Texas skies. Video
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 from sources such as
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 NASASpaceflight.com showed the vehicle,
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 designated Ship 36, exploded just after
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 midnight Eastern while on a test stand at a
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 site known as Massey's, several kilometres
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 west from the company's launch pads at
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 Starbase Texas, SpaceX said in a statement
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 about 90 minutes after the incident. A safety
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 clear area around the site was maintained
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 throughout the operation and all personnel
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 are safe and accounted for. The company added
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 it was working to secure the test site in
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 cooperation with local officials and that
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 there were no hazards for people in the area.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 And with that news, we come to the end of
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 another episode of Astronomy Daily. I mean,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 it's just amazing how much is happening out
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 there, isn't it? From galaxies painted in a
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 thousand colours to moths navigating by the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 stars, there's always something new and
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 incredible to discover. Thank you so much for
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 tuning in. I've been your host. Anna before
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 you go, remember to visit our website at
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 astronomydaily IO. That's
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 astronomydaily IO. There you can sign up for
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00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 tomorrow with more cosmic wonders. Until
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 then, keep looking up.