Space Nuts Q&A Edition
Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in this engaging Q&A episode of Space Nuts, where they tackle fascinating questions from our audience. From the cosmic mysteries of dark matter to the practicalities of Space communication, this episode is filled with intriguing insights and stellar discussions.
Episode Highlights:
- Dark Matter and the Cosmic Web: Explore how dark matter interacts with the cosmic web and the gravitational forces that shape our universe. Fred Watson Watson unravels the complex relationship between galaxies and dark matter, shedding light on this cosmic conundrum.
- Synchronising Spacecraft Communication: Discover how we maintain communication with distant spacecraft as they traverse the cosmos. Learn about the challenges of signal delays, gravitational influences, and the ingenious solutions that keep us connected to our spacefarers.
- Asteroid Belts Beyond Mars : Uncover the mysteries of asteroid belts beyond the familiar one between Mars and Jupiter. Delve into the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, exploring their significance and the icy bodies that inhabit these distant regions.
- The Future of Space Wheels : Contemplate the possibility of building a Von Braun wheel or a space station with artificial gravity. Fred Watson Watson discusses the engineering challenges and potential benefits of these futuristic structures.
For more Space Nuts, including our continually updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website (https://www.spacenutspodcast.com) . Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on facebook, X, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok . We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a message or comment on your favourite platform.
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Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/23727696?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 hi there thanks for joining us this is
00:00:01 --> 00:00:05 Space Nuts Q&A where we answer audience
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 questions and on this episode we're
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 going to be talking about the
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 relationship between dark matter and the
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 cosmic web uh we'll also look at a an
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 issue that's been raised about the
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 synchronization of communication between
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 Earth and longdistance spacecraft how do
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 they do that because they're moving at a
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 rate of knots at Great distances away
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 from us so how do we talk to them uh
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 there's also questions about whether or
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 not there's more than one asteroid belt
00:00:34 --> 00:00:38 and can we build a space wheel we'll
00:00:38 --> 00:00:42 tackle all that today on Space Nuts 15
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 seconds guidance is internal 10 9
00:00:46 --> 00:00:51 ignition sequence start Space Nuts 5 4 3
00:00:51 --> 00:00:56 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 one Space Nuts asut
00:00:56 --> 00:00:57 report it feels
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 good here he is again profess uh Fred
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Watson hello Fred hi Andrew how how are
00:01:04 --> 00:01:08 you I'm as good as the last time you saw
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 me good hav even been wearing the same
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 shirt strangely enough it's
00:01:13 --> 00:01:14 extraordinary isn't it it's all Li what
00:01:14 --> 00:01:18 a what a coincidence yeah amazing are
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 you ready to tackle some
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 questions why not all right let's get
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 down to it now our first question or
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 questions come from the same Source uh
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 and it's um it's Ben and uh he's he's
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 got a um a couple of interesting ideas
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 uh he says hi there Andrew and Fred
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 longtime listener but firsttime
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 questioner from Chicago though
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 originally from Australia just in the
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 form of a text is I'm one of the lucky
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 sods who's gotten Co twice in two
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 months and uh can't talk I'm sure some
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 people can appreciate that just have two
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 questions not related and of course one
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 is going to be about Dark Matter uh Fred
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 mentioned in an episode that matter and
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 dark matter don't interact and one way
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 of seeing that was uh some Galaxies have
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 moved uh over time but the blob of dark
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 matter doesn't move with it to
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 paraphrase but if that's the case uh my
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 question is how did Dark Matter form the
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 cosmic web pattern of the universe in
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 the first place if it doesn't move since
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 galaxies are theorized to be held
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 together they using Dark Matter wouldn't
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 then um wouldn't them moving off the
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 Dark Matter blob mean they would start
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 to fly apart that's his first question
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 we'll get to the second one after we've
00:02:43 --> 00:02:47 solved that riddle Fred so that the
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 interaction there is an interaction uh
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 which is via gravity uh the least
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 understood of all the fundamental forces
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 uh and that's why you know if you've got
00:02:58 --> 00:03:02 a a a Universe a baby universe that's
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 got this web of dark matter it because
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 that dark matter has gravitational
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 interaction uh then it will pull the
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 normal matter in so you do get you know
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 the Galaxy strung strung out along the
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 cosmic web as we find today when we
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 observe Galaxy surveys and things of
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 that sort um the point I was making
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 about the lack of interaction of other
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 kinds in other words that you know they
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 don't bounce off one another
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 uh was um a couple of examples where we
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 know that uh clusters of galaxies which
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 are the biggest sort of objects in the
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 universe they've
00:03:42 --> 00:03:46 collided and the gas and and stars in
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 those Galaxies have sort of ground to a
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 Hal in the pileup so what you end up
00:03:52 --> 00:03:56 with is a is a Big Blob of Galaxy debris
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 except it's not Dey it's much the same
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 as it was before interacting but they're
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 gravitationally probably pulling one of
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 them apart and things like that so you
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 got two two Galaxy clusters they Collide
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 and you you you get the smash up there
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 which you can identify as being two
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 different galaxy clusters colliding but
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 the dark matter from each of those uh
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 because each of those clusters would
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 have had its own Dark Matter Halo the
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 dark matter just carries on it doesn't
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 interact either apparently with itself
00:04:28 --> 00:04:32 or with the debris the the the normal
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 matter uh so so what you've got is
00:04:35 --> 00:04:39 a a scenario where you've got a a new
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 cluster of galaxies that's been formed
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 from the two colliding clusters and on
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 either side of it is a blob of dark
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 matter which is the dark matter from the
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 two original clusters that's just
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 carried on goinging because it doesn't
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 impact the the the normal matter it does
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 gravitationally so it'll T tend to have
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 a gravitational influence on it but the
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 Dark Matter basically just just carries
00:05:00 --> 00:05:05 on it's very confusing FR I I I I can
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06 understand why we get so many questions
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 about it because it just doesn't seem to
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 make
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 sense no um so so the only thing that
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 makes sense is that um the particles of
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 dark matter and normal matter don't sort
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 of bounce off one another but they do
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 have a gravitational effect on each
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 other that's really the the way to put
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 it okay that makes it sound a little bit
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 more simple I hope uh now Ben's second
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 question um which is for
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 spacecraft uh communicating with them
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 takes obviously longer and longer the
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 further they are away with all the
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 planets moving all the time along the
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 gravitational along with gravitational
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 differences uh the further or even
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 closer to other orbital bodies how do we
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 keep the spacecraft synced to Earth
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 perfectly uh would we for spacecraft
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 very far away have to pinpoint uh or
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 Point telescopes further ahead of where
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 they will be if it takes hours for the
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 signal or uh if it's close to a body
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 like uh the Parker solar probe would
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 that not mess with the signals with
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 delays or possible or possibly the
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 signal bending somehow I'm sure these
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 are taken into account but I just wonder
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 how people plan for it I know telescopes
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 account for this with red shift but I
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 wasn't sure how two communication with
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 satellite probes works that's a really
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 interesting question because we take for
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 granted that we can still communicate
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 with voyager and it's Way Beyond
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 anything else that we've set out so
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 far that's right it's a 22 life hours
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 away at the moment I think if I remember
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 rightly so yeah so it is a good question
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 but um uh it it can all be compensated
00:06:54 --> 00:06:59 for um and in fact Ben mentions the
00:06:59 --> 00:07:04 bending of signals uh and uh there's a
00:07:04 --> 00:07:08 classic case uh of I think it was the
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 Cassini spacecraft when it was on its
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 way to Saturn this is in the early
00:07:13 --> 00:07:19 2000s um it uh was at one point behind
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 the sun to us but we could still see the
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 signals because they were being bent by
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 the gravitational effect of the sun uh
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 just like light it is um you know it's
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 the general relativity says that gravity
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 will will alter the direction of a beam
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 of light or a beam of radiation and that
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 was one of the ways actually the Cassini
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 observations of signals coming from the
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 you know the spacecraft being on the
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 back side of the Sun but still being
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 able to see the signals um was one of
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 the again one of the confirmations of
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 gravitational deflection of light uh
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 once again you know under pinning uh
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 relativity's absolutely fundamental
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 place in our understanding of the
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 universe uh and yes if you if you had a
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 spacecraft that was moving uh across our
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 line of sight and occasionally they are
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 doing because they're you know if you've
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 got gravitational slingshot Maneuvers
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 that might well put the spacecraft on
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 the trajectory that's going across our
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 line of sight you do need to aim your
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 your radio telescope ahead of it you've
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 got to you've got to take it into
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 account and people do that and it's
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 completely routine so um because we
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 understand what the orbits are doing
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 it's a it's basically a
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 routine uh you know a routine um
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 maneuver or maneuver of of telescope
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 operators probably the person to talk to
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 about this is Glenn Nagel who uh looks
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 after the tidbinbilla tracking station
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 one of NASA's deep space tracking
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 network uh which is not far from
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 camera I might talk to him about it next
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 time I see him yeah well why not um so
00:09:00 --> 00:09:04 Ben was pretty spot on with his um
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 yes uh Ben goes on to say thank you for
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 answering this rambling and for the
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 wonderful podcast uh he said um I also
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 worked for the ABC in altimo for a while
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 that's in Sydney so maybe we crossed
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 paths Andrew and never knew it I was in
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 the dark corner of The
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 Newsroom uh Ben I never got to The
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 Newsroom much I think I actually only
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 entered The Newsroom once in my life and
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 I could feel the tension the moment I
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 walked in I I I know um they talk about
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 the atmosphere of places creating
00:09:39 --> 00:09:44 certain um awareness amongst humans uh
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 I've never felt more intimidated than
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 the day I walked into the ABC radio
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 Newsroom I could
00:09:50 --> 00:09:55 feel how I don't know um how how how
00:09:55 --> 00:10:01 deep the place was um as an Observer and
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 that's where they make all the news and
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 current affairs programs for uh ABC New
00:10:05 --> 00:10:10 South Wales and I yeah um you look I I
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 don't envy you being there I couldn't
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 have worked in that environment it was
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 just too too much for me I liked my
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 little Regional radio job out out in the
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 sticks much more much more
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 relaxed thank you Ben great to hear from
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 you and hope all is well in Chicago this
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 is Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and
00:10:28 --> 00:10:33 professor
00:10:33 --> 00:10:37 Watson Space Nuts Let's uh get some
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 audio questions sorted out Fred and one
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 of our regular cender iners is Sandy
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 from I'm going to say Melbourne I said
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 that last time and I was wrong or was it
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 Brisbane I don't know sand somewhere Hi
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 friend Andrew it's sand here from
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 Melbourne again um my question today is
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 about the asteroid belts between Mars
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 and Jupiter um as I understand that's
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 where the the the the primary asteroid
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 belts are um
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 now is there any other asteroid belts
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 that's past the orbit of Jupiter um so
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 I'm referring to perhaps out towards
00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 Neptune that sort of um or Uranus sort
00:11:15 --> 00:11:20 of uh sort of distance um I'm assuming
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 the answer is no um and if the answer is
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 no how come they've sort of Messed
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 together
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 between Jupiter and Myers and not
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 further out thank you thanks Sandy if
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 you've got asteroids around Uranus I
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 think you should say doctor but they're
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 more likely to be hemorrhoids sorry I
00:11:39 --> 00:11:44 couldn't help it um yeah yeah it look
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 like I like the question um because my
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 first thought is well hang on the
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 asteroid belt yes know all about that is
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 there another one out there and I just
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 thought well is the Kyper belt but is
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 not the same is it or is it the
00:11:57 --> 00:12:01 same uh yeah and you're right Andrew um
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 that it's true that there are other
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 asteroid belts and they're they're quite
00:12:05 --> 00:12:12 different in character um so uh sad is
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 right that the main asteroid belt uh is
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 the one and the most highly populated is
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 the one that lies between the orbits of
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 Mars and Jupiter uh and that's been
00:12:23 --> 00:12:27 known about since the early 19th century
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 the first one of those series was
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 discovered on the 1st of January
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 18001 and that set the path for you know
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 the understanding that there is a belt
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 of small objects between between Mars
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 and Jupiter we used to call them minor
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 planets in fact when I my MSC thesis is
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 called the determination of minor planet
00:12:46 --> 00:12:51 lits where you go um so um that's what
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 we now call the main asteroid belt
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 actually um sun is right because he's
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 he's talked about it as being multiple
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 belts and in a way are different
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 families within those asteroid belts
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 within that main asteroid belt if I put
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 it that way um we talked about some of
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 those in the in the last episode of
00:13:08 --> 00:13:12 Space Nuts uh now um as regards other
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 asteroid belts yes there
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 are uh and as you said Andrew the ciper
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 Bel is what really comes to mind and
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 that's just one of a number of different
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 groups of icy asteroids which are beyond
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 the orbit of Neptune which is why
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 they're called trans neptunian objects
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 one of the bigger ones is called Pluto
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 uh but it is just one of the bigger ones
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 um uh and there are different families
00:13:37 --> 00:13:41 within that uh that group of transnet
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 uniion objects um there are objects
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 called uh classical Coco Bel objects
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 there are objects called resonant
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 objects where they have a resonance with
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 the orbit of Neptune and then the most
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 distant ones are called scattered dis
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 objects so these are three different
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 groups of objects which are in that
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 outer asteroid belt uh they have a
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 different formation we think from uh
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 from uh the inner asteroid belt because
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 they're they're mostly icy those objects
00:14:10 --> 00:14:14 as we know Pluto is um and that means
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 that what we're seeing is a family of of
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 objects that really are the remnants of
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 the of the of the cloud of dust and gas
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 from which the solar system formed it's
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 uh the outer extremities objects that
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 have never been warmed up by the sun the
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 star that formed in the middle whereas
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 the asteroid belt is principally Rocky
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 objects um and we think it's just a sort
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 of um cloud of debris that's been
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 shephered into that particular orbit
00:14:42 --> 00:14:46 between Mars and Jupiter by the huge
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 gravitational pull of Jupiter Jupiter's
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 gravitational influence is enormous on
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 the other planets and the minor planets
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 and we think that's what it is there's a
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 a region between Mars and Jupiter where
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 D has collected and probably it's still
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 primordial de it's the rocky material
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 from which the planets were made uh but
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 it was never able to form a planet
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 because there's this giant right next to
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 it as gravity is kind of swishing it
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 around a lot yeah so yes logical reasons
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 why we understand these different sorts
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 of belts what about the art
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 cloud yeah would that be a an asteroid
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 belt of some kind I'm meant to mention
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 the O Cloud thank you for reminding me
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 Andrew it's that's a more of a a sphere
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 of objects rather than a belt of objects
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 I mean we think of a belt as being
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 within the plane of the solar system as
00:15:35 --> 00:15:39 indeed the asteroid belt is the the uh
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 trans neptunian objects are much more
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 highly inclined in their orbits so
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 they're not really a belt but they're
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 more like a belt than the O Cloud which
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 is thought to be something that
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 surrounds the solar system completely um
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 and is Yes again it's the outer edges of
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 this blob of gas and dust from which the
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 solar system formed so the the Y cloud
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 is where the Comets come from uh they
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 are mostly made of ice so that's the the
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 big difference yeah all right so the
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 answer to Sand's question is yes
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 is it's it's yes and uh it's big time
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 yes really because we've got you know um
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 so much more that we now know about the
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 solar system and it its various families
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 of minor objects small objects um which
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 are important to us because these things
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 occasionally collide with the Earth so
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 it's why we need to know about it would
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 it be logical to suggest that these
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 kinds of belts exist in other solar
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 systems yeah I think so um there the
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 problem with trying to discover them is
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 that the objects in them are so small
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 that they you know trying to detect them
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 from from the distance that we are which
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 is measured in light years rather
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 millions of kilometers as we are in the
00:16:52 --> 00:16:56 solar system uh that's a difficult T
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 task but maybe one day we'll find some
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 evidence is actually evidence there's
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 evidence of um comic clouds for example
00:17:03 --> 00:17:07 around one one star foral law uh if I
00:17:07 --> 00:17:11 remember rightly had a an object uh that
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 was in its protoplanetary dis that's the
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 disc of stuff that's going to form
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 planets that actually broke up into into
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 pieces and it's thought to have been an
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 asteroid Collision uh and we've also
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 seen there's a very peculiar star that
00:17:25 --> 00:17:29 has a brightness range that changes and
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 the thinking is that we're seeing a
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 cloud of comets passing in front of it
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 so yes the evidence is there right okay
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 thank you Sandy great question and uh
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 yes you were
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 right okay we checked all four systems
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 and It Go space Nets our final question
00:17:47 --> 00:17:51 today comes from Steve hi guys it's
00:17:51 --> 00:17:55 Steve here from Liverpool in England uh
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 actually just across the river from
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 Liverpool so technically plastic
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 scul um just a question reference um do
00:18:03 --> 00:18:07 you ever think a a Von Brawn wheel or
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 you know wheel space station will ever
00:18:09 --> 00:18:13 be built um it's within our capabilities
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 now I think um you know with multiple
00:18:15 --> 00:18:18 launchers a modular design um they could
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 even sell different modules to hotels
00:18:21 --> 00:18:25 Etc but uh do you think it'll ever be
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 built thank you take care and carry on
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 with the show cheers good on you Steve
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 thank you I'll be visiting Liverpool
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 sometime next year can't wait can't wait
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 got the Beatles Experience Andrew it's
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 great that's exactly what I'm going to
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 do yeah going to do the Beatles tour
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 yeah um space wheel the first time I
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 ever became aware of a space wheel Fred
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 was when I was a kid and I used to watch
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 a TV show called space Patrol it was one
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 of those marionette type um oh yeah
00:18:54 --> 00:18:58 shows uh yeah they um um Captain Scarlet
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 was was probably the most famous of the
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 shows this one was called space Patrol
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 and uh one of the spaceships was
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 actually a space
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 wheel um that I don't remember much more
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 about it than that um I do remember a
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 strange space creature called gabbler
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 and they were trying to take teach him
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 to say medicine but he kept saying
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 pencil instead don't look I don't know
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 why that's stuck in my head say pencil
00:19:25 --> 00:19:29 no say medicine gabbler say pencil or
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 was it say pencil gabbler he'd say
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 medicine it was yeah it was just Weir
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 some weird Interstellar
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 bird I've got some strange memories from
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 my childhood but that one sticks out
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 because of the space wheel um do you
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 think we'll ever build
00:19:45 --> 00:19:52 one uh I do um because it is uh you know
00:19:52 --> 00:19:56 the most direct way of trying to provide
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 well it's the only way we know of trying
00:19:57 --> 00:20:00 to provide artificial gravity in a
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 spacecraft that's away from the earth
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 you've got to be very careful about it
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 though because uh there are only certain
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 limits between which you can build it in
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 terms of diameter and how fast it
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 rotates um uh what gives me some
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 confidence in this is a conversation I
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 had it's quite a number of years ago now
00:20:17 --> 00:20:21 but with um the husband of Linda spilker
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 Linda spilker was the mission scientist
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 for Cassini for the Cassini space
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 mission her husband Tom is the space
00:20:27 --> 00:20:30 engineer uh contracted to NASA he was at
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 the time I guess he probably still is
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 and his speciality is space Wheels it's
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 sort of Designing uh the possibility of
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 these large uh rotating structures in
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 space that will give you artificial
00:20:43 --> 00:20:47 gravity um I you know I when I think of
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 the future of humankind um I I tend to
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 think of them not as colonizing Mars
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 which I think would be a bad thing to do
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 but I think of them building Mega
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 structures in space which might have
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 artificial dvy a bit like the Halo World
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 from that very well little uh early game
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 oh yeah was in the early years of the
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 century love loved playing that game
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 with the boys when they were at home and
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 uh course they made it into a TV series
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 although that got canned after two
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 seasons but uh yeah it's become a huge
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 franchise did you know I might have
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 mentioned this before but in Halo there
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 was a private chips
00:21:24 --> 00:21:28 Duo one of the characters yeah private
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 chips Duo cuz and he had an Australian
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 accent well there you go so he appeared
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 in in the first version of the Halo
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 video game private chips dubo CU I'm
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 from Duo this is where I am so yeah so
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 somebody must have yeah it's a great
00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 name love it and he he didn't get killed
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 off he wasn't you know he wasn't a red
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 shirt sorry I'm getting I'm digressing
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 space Wheels yes but you're right that
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 was the Halo was a space wheel a big one
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 yeah huge if we could Master the
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 engineering to build something like that
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 I think that's a far better way than
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 colonizing some some other world that
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 might have you know rudimentary M
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 microscopic life on it so if you built a
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 space wheel um and as you said you got
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 to be careful because of size and speeds
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 and and creating that one andng effect
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 would bigger be better because you
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 wouldn't have to rotate it nearly as
00:22:23 --> 00:22:26 fast or I don't know yeah yeah it's a
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 it's a fine line between the two it's uh
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 I looked at some of the work that Tom
00:22:31 --> 00:22:34 spiler has done and uh you know you
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37 you've you want it big enough uh that it
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 mimics gravity rather than making you
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 feel sick which is what happens with the
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45 smaller ones um and you know you want
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 you want to uh ensure that if you if you
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 drop something in this artificial
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 gravity it just goes directly downwards
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 rather than moving sideways which if
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 it's too small and rotating too quickly
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 then it would do or movingly
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 I'm just thinking all these questions as
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 I go but um if you did build a space
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 wheel in orbit around Earth as a hotel
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 or whatever A Research Center probably
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 both in years to come and who knows what
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 else but uh would you would you have it
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 pointing at Earth on its axis or on its
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 wheel because if you if you had it sort
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 of um wheel up then you'd be standing
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 with your feet in proximity to Earth but
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 if you put it on its axis you'd actually
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 be standing
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 sideways
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 yes I think what do both couldn't you
00:23:35 --> 00:23:40 yeah you could I I think you'd um you
00:23:40 --> 00:23:44 you you know I I'm guessing here that
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 what you'd want to do is really align it
00:23:45 --> 00:23:50 up in terms of where the sun is um so if
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 you had it with its axis pointing
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 towards the Earth but in a geost orbit
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 so it was going around the earth once a
00:23:58 --> 00:24:02 day um that would mean that you'd sort
00:24:02 --> 00:24:07 of mimic the 24-hour cycle of Night and
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 Day uh in a way that you wouldn't if it
00:24:09 --> 00:24:13 was some other way that's a good thought
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 yeah actually that's a really good
00:24:14 --> 00:24:18 thought yeah I you know trust you to
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 come up with a better idea than me yeah
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 I'm glad you did um that makes perfect
00:24:22 --> 00:24:27 sense so uh the answer is yes probably
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 um it will happen why hasn't it happened
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 yet I think they've been focused on
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 other things Fred I suppose it's it's uh
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 fairly significant engineering you know
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 it's
00:24:37 --> 00:24:40 um there was certainly talk of uh early
00:24:40 --> 00:24:43 in the idea of sending people to Mars
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 probably a couple of decades ago of of
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 making two spacecraft that are tied
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 together uh and rotate about their
00:24:49 --> 00:24:52 common center of gravity and that
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 basically provides artificial gravity
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 but even that turned out to be just a
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 little bit the engineering we've got at
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 the
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 moment although we sound like we're
00:25:02 --> 00:25:05 going to get there uh thanks Steve hope
00:25:05 --> 00:25:08 you're well hope all as well in uh in
00:25:08 --> 00:25:11 Liverpool and thanks for your questions
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 we've got a whole bunch of new questions
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 that have come in that we're going to
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 get through uh that doesn't mean you
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 should not send them to us so go to our
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 website Space Nuts podcast.com or SPAC
00:25:21 --> 00:25:24 nuts. IO and have a look around while
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 you're there but if you've got a device
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 with a microphone like a smart
00:25:28 --> 00:25:32 smartphone or a computer or a whatever
00:25:32 --> 00:25:35 um you can send us audio questions just
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 don't forget to tell us who you are and
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 where you're from or you can send us
00:25:38 --> 00:25:42 text questions via the AMA link on our
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 homepage uh and that's about it Fred
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 thanks so much for answering all those
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 questions for us
00:25:47 --> 00:25:51 today it's a pleasure it's what I do so
00:25:51 --> 00:25:54 I'm delighted to do that all right and
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 we'll catch up with you again real soon
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 Prof Fred Watson at large and here in
00:25:59 --> 00:26:02 the studio who um I think was taking the
00:26:02 --> 00:26:06 bins out when we started this episode I
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 got to do that as
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 well thank you Andre I got to do it
00:26:10 --> 00:26:13 tomorrow uh and from me Andrew Dunley
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 thanks for your company catch you on the
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 next episode of Space Nuts until then
00:26:16 --> 00:26:19 bye-bye Space Nuts you'll be listening
00:26:19 --> 00:26:22 to the Space Nuts
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