This episode is brought to you by Saily. Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily eSIM
data plans! Download Saily app and use code 'spacenuts' at checkout.
Space Nuts Q&A Edition - Episode 466
Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in this captivating episode of Space Nuts, where they address intriguing questions from our audience. From unexplained spacecraft noises to the mysteries of the Big Bang, this episode is filled with fascinating insights and cosmic discussions.
Episode Highlights:
- Unexplained Spacecraft Noises: Dive into the mystery of strange noises reported on various spacecraft, including the Boeing Starliner and historical incidents on Space Shuttle Discovery and Shenzhou 5. Explore potential explanations and the quirks of space acoustics.
- Challenging the Big Bang Theory: Join the debate as listener Binny shares his scepticism about the Big Bang and proposes an alternative theory involving a massive rotating black hole. Delve into the evidence for the Big Bang and the cosmic microwave background radiation.
- Planetary Gyroscopes: Discover what happens if a planet is tilted off its axis and whether it could behave like a giant gyroscope. Learn about gravitational forces and the dynamics of planetary rings, with insights into Saturn and Uranus.
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum in Astronomy: Explore the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and their significance in scientific discoveries. Professor Fred Watson shares his insights on the most interesting and impactful wavelengths, from visible light to the 22-centimetre line of hydrogen.
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.
For more Space and Astronomy News Podcasts, visit our HQ at www.bitesz.com (https://www.bitesz.com) .
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts/support. (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts/support.)
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/23860907?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 hi there this is Space Nuts where we
00:00:01 --> 00:00:04 talk astronomy and space science every
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 couple of episodes we hand it to the
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 audience and we answer their questions
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 well we pretend to we just take the
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 questions and basically ask more
00:00:13 --> 00:00:17 questions but uh on today's episode uh
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 we will be talking about those strange
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 noises that are heard on spacecraft we
00:00:21 --> 00:00:22 recently talked about the Boeing
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 Starliner and some of the weird noises
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 coming from that well apparently
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 there've been others according to Seth
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 he wants he wants answers so we'll see
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 if we can figure that one out uh bny has
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 um come back to us saying he doesn't
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 believe in the Big Bang he has another
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 theory which we will discuss uh Jacob uh
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 wants to know what happens if you tilt a
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 planet off its um rotation and whether
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 or not it could become a planet-sized
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 gyroscope and drag everything along with
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 it and electromagnetism is Nate's topic
00:00:53 --> 00:00:57 of discussion on this episode of Space
00:00:57 --> 00:01:03 Nuts 15 seconds guidance internal 10 9
00:01:03 --> 00:01:08 ignition sequence start Space Nuts 5 4 3
00:01:08 --> 00:01:13 2 1 2 3 4 2 Space Nuts asut report feels
00:01:13 --> 00:01:17 good and here with a desire to De
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 decipher is Professor Fred Waton
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 astronomer at Larch hello Fred hi Andrew
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 good to see you again good to see you
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 too I'm still wearing the same shirt see
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 I told you it's the only one I've got
00:01:31 --> 00:01:37 so so am I yeah weird I've got two
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 shirts now um we've got a bunch of
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 questions uh this first one comes from
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 Seth who is from Rhode Island in the
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 United States uh Seth says on episode
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 451 you spoke of noises on Boeing
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 Starliner that were chalked up to audio
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 feedback however there have been two
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 reported similar events Ellison on his
00:01:59 --> 00:02:04 sua uh in 1985 on Space Shuttle
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 Discovery uh he reportedly mentioned
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 hearing strange knocking or metallic
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 sounds while in orbit uh a similar story
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 is tied to a Chinese astronaut Yang Liu
00:02:16 --> 00:02:20 or Lee we uh who um reported hearing
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 unexplained knocking sounds during his
00:02:22 --> 00:02:27 2003 flight on Shinu 5 uh how were those
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 explained what are your thoughts yes I
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 have a I have I think I've figured it
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 out Fred I glad you have yeah ever since
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 that first story about the boing
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Starliner I I've been wondering I think
00:02:41 --> 00:02:42 it was Sandra
00:02:42 --> 00:02:46 bulock Oh really yes that that would
00:02:46 --> 00:02:47 answer the question wouldn't it because
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 that was an obvious answer yes let me in
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 that's what I that's what I reckon
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 yeah should that not be a plausible
00:02:57 --> 00:03:01 Theory um what what else could it
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 be well I I um didn't actually know
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 about those earlier uh episodes of
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 noises coming from spacecraft so I'm
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 really glad that Seth raised our you
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 know raised our awareness of them um my
00:03:15 --> 00:03:16 guess is could be the same sort of thing
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 though because feedback loops occur all
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 over the place and can produce some very
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 strange acoustic effects as with the
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 Starliner um and occasionally you and I
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 get feedback loops that don't do us any
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 good um they don't sound like knocking
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 noises they usually sound more like a um
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 you know repeated sentences or something
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 like that but but I would I would say
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 that was would be a strong Contender for
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 what they might be
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 um other than that you know if you if
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 you hear some regular noise coming from
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 within a spacecraft it's clearly not
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 just a single uh you haven't hit a
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 micrometeoroid or something like that
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 it's um something with a bit more uh
00:04:01 --> 00:04:05 repeatability to it so uh a feedback
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 loop would seem to me to be the best way
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 to explain it the description of the
00:04:10 --> 00:04:15 noise on um the Chinese spacecraft that
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 Seth mentioned uh was described as the
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 sound of a hammer hitting an iron bucket
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 it doesn't sound doesn't sound like
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 feedback does sound like Sandra bulock
00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 it doesn't sound like feedback uh and if
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 it's happened more than once um yeah
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 that now the story I've read is they
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 never found the source of the
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 sound okay so um that makes it easy for
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 us to answer Seth's question in that
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 regard we don't know because they don't
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 know but it is um it is a documented
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 incident yeah you know
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 um in in
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 Earthly
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 circumstances the thing that sounds most
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 like somebody hitting a bucket with a
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 hammer is when you get a water hammer in
00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 your pipes at home um I don't know
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 whether you've ever had a water hammer
00:05:10 --> 00:05:11 but
00:05:11 --> 00:05:16 I and it it's quite uh it sounds quite
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 terrifying actually it's as though
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 somebody's battering the house with a
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 battering ram now there will be fluid
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 pipes on board spacecraft uh whether you
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 could get a fluid Hammer set up like
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 that I don't know
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 but um it it's that sort of thing again
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 that's a sort of feedback grop it's a
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 kind of resonance of the pressures
00:05:37 --> 00:05:41 within the within the the PIP work yeah
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 could be that um I'm trying to find the
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 other um spaceship that uh he referred
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 to but um 1985 it was so that's going
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 back a
00:05:53 --> 00:05:57 fairway um but yeah there have been um
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 metallic uh sounds reported uh on
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 several spacecraft that have been logged
00:06:03 --> 00:06:07 since 1961 so yeah it could it could be
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 the the water circulation system it
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 could be the could be the toilet you
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 know some of those early ones didn't
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 have toilets yeah oh yeah you just had
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 to do it in the suit um yeah well
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 that'll make me make grinding sounds I'm
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 pretty sure of that but
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 um it's um yeah it's a good theory
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 though Fred I don't think they've ever
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 really figured them out except for the
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 Boeing Starliner which they they did put
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 down to a feedback loop through the
00:06:37 --> 00:06:41 audio system so um yes Seth we can't
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 give you an absolute answer on that but
00:06:44 --> 00:06:50 Fred's Theory could hold
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 water job no I'll still side with Sandra
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 Bullock though uh thanks Seth great uh
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 great question let's go to our next
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 question from bie hello Professor Watson
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 and Andrew this is bie Matthew uh I'm a
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 ment engineer by
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 profession I accidentally started
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 listening to your podcast and I love
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 every episode of it since then I've
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 never stopped listening to it it gets me
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 out of boredom when I'm working alone in
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 my
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 department um I love your show uh keep
00:07:21 --> 00:07:25 up the good work and my question is
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 um um I don't believe in uh Big Bang I
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 don't think the universe started up just
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 by B back
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 um uh no matter whatever the cosmic B uh
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 where background evidence shows or
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 whatever it is but I don't believe in
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 that maybe the you if you look at the
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 astronomical things everything rotates
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 everything so I think the
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 universe uh is like a planet which is
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 rotating a big massive black hole which
00:07:56 --> 00:08:01 may um explain the dark energy or the DC
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 matter can you put some light on it
00:08:04 --> 00:08:08 thanks the thanks for the getting me to
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 give you the questions and love your
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 show thank you thank you Benny if it's a
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 large black hole no we can't put any
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 light on
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 it um I'm going to I'm just going to say
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 something tongue in cheek it's not it's
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 not an insult but um it reminds me of an
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 old joke that a um a comedian told years
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 and years ago about a player in the
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Indian cricket team um whose name was
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 bny and he referred to him as rubbish
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 bie and I'm you know I was just going to
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 say your question's rubbish
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 bny but I'm I'm just kidding around it
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 doesn't it doesn't mean it Benny it
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 doesn't mean it no I don't no no Billy
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 Birmingham was the comedian's name he
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 used to do these uh these these
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 augmented Cricket commentary um comedian
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 things and um there were yeah he he gave
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 he all altered all the names of the
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 players um so they were a little bit
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 insulting and there was one player in
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 the Indian team that he used to call
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 rubbish bny because his name was bny so
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 um anyway I thought I'd yeah just as
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 soon as I heard bny's name that popped
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 into my head sorry about that um so no
00:09:18 --> 00:09:22 big bang um oh and then and Binny said
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 he accidentally found us that's how
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 everyone finds us no one actually tries
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 to find us on purpose binnie it's just
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 not done but but it's lovely that um
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 you've you've become a Space Nuts offici
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 B so welcome welcome to the family no
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 he's just left us I've insulted probably
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 after all that I wouldn't be
00:09:41 --> 00:09:46 surprised no no big bang um but a big
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 black hole at the center of the universe
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 that we are rotating around I think yeah
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 it's interesting thinking I I I do think
00:09:55 --> 00:09:59 anybody who throws away the Big Bang has
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 got to have a plausible uh explanation
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 for the cosmic microwave background
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 radiation I knew you'd go there yeah
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 knew it yeah well yeah it's where you
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 where you'd go you're a cosmologist as
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 well Andrew you know the answer to all
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 these um so and until so when I when I
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 was at school um you know in the early
00:10:22 --> 00:10:27 60s uh there were it was an the
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 1860s come
00:10:30 --> 00:10:34 uh well yes actually that's what it felt
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 like um it was a there were two
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 competing theories for the for the the
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 universe one was the Big Bang Theory uh
00:10:42 --> 00:10:47 which was um not new but had been
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 postulated um in the late 20s and early
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 30s so 30 years before or something like
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 that there was the Big Bang Theory but
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 also the steady state Theory and the
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 steady state Theory
00:11:00 --> 00:11:05 said that the universe is expanding but
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 it never had a beginning uh and uh it
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 and space is being created all the time
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 Matter's being created all the time and
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 it was espoused by some big names in the
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 world of astronomy and astrophysics one
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 of them was Professor s Fred Hoy who was
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 one of the most notable physicists of
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 his day astronomers of his day and
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 actually uh a Leading Light in creating
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 the Anglo Australian telescope he was
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 the person who first greeted uh the
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 Prince of Wales the then Prince of Wales
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 now the King when he turned up to open
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 the telescope in
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41 1974 so a very big name but an offici
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 officio of the steady state the in fact
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 it's due to fret that we have the term a
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 big bang because he he U mocks it on a
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 BBC Radio program um which later it
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 turned into a little book it's up on the
00:11:55 --> 00:11:59 shelves behind me there oh yes say yeah
00:11:59 --> 00:12:03 glad you did um it's uh and he quotes
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 that you know Big Bang in inverted
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 commas oh ho it was they call it the Big
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 Bang um but what clinched the Big Bang
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 was just a few years later 1966 if I
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 remember rightly was the discovery of
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 this background of microwaves from the
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 whole Sky which had been pred predicted
00:12:21 --> 00:12:25 by people who were you know believe that
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 there had been a Big Bang Theory so the
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 the cosmic microwave background r ation
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 is what kned the steady state theory on
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 the head uh and there are still a few
00:12:35 --> 00:12:39 people who espouse it um and maybe B is
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 one but uh it's very hard to explain the
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 cosmic microb background radiation um
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 somebody open the door before they stop
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 cooking oh that was that's what usually
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 happens that's the old periton Theory as
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 well
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 yes from Parks um and but there are um
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 some Modern scientists who do espouse
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 the idea of the universe being a black
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 hole uh so it it's I think Roger Penrose
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 is one uh his theory says that
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 um I think he still has big bangs in
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 them though I think they're exploding
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 black holes but basically everything's a
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 black hole Yeah Yeah so it's uh
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 interesting interesting to hear your
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 your thoughts B and um take no notice of
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 the awful things that that Andrew says
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 about people's
00:13:27 --> 00:13:31 names fair point but but um maybe maybe
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 he can um you know go back and start
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 digging up some proof and then we talk
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 about it
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 again the question is always where's the
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 evidence where's the evidence yes yes
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 thanks Benny great to hear from you
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 don't let anything I said stop you from
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 asking questions again in the future
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 please um lovely lovely for you uh to
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 have um contacted us this is Space Nuts
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 uh with Andrew Dunley and Professor Fred
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 Watson
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 let's take a little break from the show
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 to tell you about our new sponsor
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 s now as you're probably Weare U my wife
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 and I have done a fair bit of traveling
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 in recent times one of the pitfalls we
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 find is internet access especially when
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 we're out and about we uh you know we
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 want to stay in touch or we want to send
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 a photo to the kids or we want to do a
00:14:20 --> 00:14:24 Snapchat or something like that um most
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 recently in Turkey we uh we bought uh
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 International roaming from our current
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 carrier which was not cheap and we did
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 the same some years ago with our
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 previous carrier which was even more
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 expensive I mean some of these things
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 can run in at 10 bucks a day uh which is
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 an awful lot to pay for very limited
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 services so what's the better option the
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 better option is to buy yourself an eim
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 from a company that specializes in
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 overseas internet connectivity and that
00:14:57 --> 00:15:04 is s s a i l y now s is an organization
00:15:04 --> 00:15:08 that's available through uh60 countries
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 and eight regions around the world which
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 gives them a very strong presence it's
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 also not expensive if you're traveling
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 internationally soon and this is
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 something you'd like to get hold of
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 bearing in mind that there's a big
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 discount at the moment for Space Nuts
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 listeners just download the s app on
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 your device whether it's Android or
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 Apple choose your plan and don't forget
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 to use the code word Space Nuts when
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 you're ready to pay and you'll get a
00:15:35 --> 00:15:39 15% discount that's the s app download
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 that on your device and they have 24hour
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 7-Day a week support and if it doesn't
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 work you'll get a full refund but uh
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 they're pretty sure that you'll get the
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 best out of their service so if you
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 traveling soon and you need access to
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 the internet uh via a carriage service
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 in another country this is the way to do
00:15:59 --> 00:16:03 it download the s app today choose your
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 plan and don't forget the Space Nuts
00:16:06 --> 00:16:10 code word for that 15% discount on the S
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 service wherever you're going in the
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 world I'm sure you won't be disappointed
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 it's backed by
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 nordvpn uh a great company that backs
00:16:19 --> 00:16:23 its products 100% find out more about s
00:16:23 --> 00:16:27 in our show notes now back to Space Nuts
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 3 2
00:16:30 --> 00:16:34 Space Nuts our next uh question comes
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 from Jacob living in
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 Sydney uh I think that's his name not
00:16:38 --> 00:16:42 where he's from uh as um as we can see
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 despite space being 3D a lot of our
00:16:44 --> 00:16:48 space tends to prefer being 2D discs
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 whether it be a Galaxy or a
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 protoplanetary disc my question is would
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 these discs act as gyroscopes let's say
00:16:56 --> 00:17:00 I rotate Saturn 90° about its access
00:17:00 --> 00:17:04 that aligns uh with its uh that aligns
00:17:04 --> 00:17:08 with its disc would the disc follow and
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 eventually lie on the extra 90° or would
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 it be unaffected I think I know what
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 he's saying so you got Saturn you got
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 the discs if you tilt the planet does
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 the dis follow in a gyroscopic
00:17:22 --> 00:17:26 manner yes so um it does actually uh to
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 to answer the last part first uh but
00:17:29 --> 00:17:33 it's not to do with gyroscopic forces um
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 and galaxies for example don't exhibit
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 gyroscopic forces because they're
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 they're not solid objects they're just
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 individual objects um orbiting a center
00:17:43 --> 00:17:47 center of the Galaxy uh but with planets
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 so if you if you did tilt Saturn on its
00:17:50 --> 00:17:54 side uh and and it kept on rotating that
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 way so its axis was basically pointing
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 towards the Sun for
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 example um what would happen to the
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 Rings uh
00:18:00 --> 00:18:04 eventually um the Rings would follow it
00:18:04 --> 00:18:08 uh because it's the the fact that Saturn
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 is rotating which gives it an equatorial
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 bulge it's its shape is something called
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 an oblate spheroid so it's fatter at the
00:18:15 --> 00:18:18 equator than at the poles that means
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 that the gravitational pull is very much
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 orientated towards the equator and
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 that's what pulls the Rings into an
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 equatorial Orit and again rings are made
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 of of um they're solid objects but
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 they're sorry the Rings are not solid
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 objects they're made of individual
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 particles gazillions of them mostly ice
00:18:38 --> 00:18:42 in fact U and it's that gravitational
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 influence of of Saturn's equatorial
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 bulge that makes the ring system so thin
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 there it's only 100 meters thick uh and
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 you know
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 250 kilometers across it's a very
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 weird shape indeed a blade likee
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 structure in space uh so
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 Gyros what what we normally think of as
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 gyroscopic
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 forces uh don't come into play they're
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 replaced by other forces basically so um
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 you could almost you know if you were
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 some super being watching Saturn tilt on
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 its side and you could see what the
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 Rings would do it would almost look like
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 that that they'd follow because of
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 gyroscopic motion but it's actually
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 because it's because they're um uh
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 they're being pulled towards the equator
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 Saturn okay yeah okay so it's more
00:19:26 --> 00:19:31 gravitational or yeah that's right yeah
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 okay um Al so he was right it would
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 happen but not for the same reasons he's
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 considering there is an example of it
00:19:36 --> 00:19:40 though isn't there with the ring around
00:19:40 --> 00:19:45 um Uranus uh and that is um because it's
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 it's on its side and the ring around
00:19:47 --> 00:19:50 that planet is vertical yeah y the ring
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 the follows the equator of Uranus here
00:19:52 --> 00:19:56 yeah yep indeed all right um that spun
00:19:56 --> 00:20:00 me out that one uh thank you Jacob
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 okay we checked all four systems and It
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 Go space Nets we have one more question
00:20:06 --> 00:20:09 and this one comes from Knight hey FR
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 and Andrew it's knight from The Glass
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 House mountains back again with another
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 question this one's a three-parter but
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 it's an opinion piece for Professor
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20 Watson so the first one is which part of
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 the electromagnetic spectrum so like
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 infrared visible ultraviolet etc etc uh
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 did you find most interesting to anal
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 and work with in your professional
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 career and then the second third might
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 get you into some hot water with some of
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 your colleagues because I want you to
00:20:37 --> 00:20:43 pick one specific part um but which part
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 of the electromagnetic spectrum do you
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 think has contributed most significantly
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 to scientific discoveries thus far and
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 then lastly which part do you think will
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 contribute most uh to science astronomy
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 and physics going forward thanks guys
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 love the podcast wow that's a different
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 question that's really how they field I
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 think it's one of the best questions
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 we've had is that wow good call yeah
00:21:07 --> 00:21:10 yeah yep I like that one very much so
00:21:10 --> 00:21:14 well done mate um yes all right um most
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 interesting EM spectrum is I think the
00:21:17 --> 00:21:21 first part of his question so um I have
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 to say uh all my comments from here
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 onwards are going to be biased by the
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 fact that my career has been spent in
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 the optical Spectrum with a few course
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 um a few um wanderings or meanderings
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 into the infrared which is the rer than
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 red part of the optical Spectrum uh but
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 the technology that astronomers use uh
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 certainly in the past tended to limit
00:21:44 --> 00:21:47 them to having expertise in just one
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 type of astronomy so you've got radio
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 astronomers you've got x-ray astronomers
00:21:50 --> 00:21:53 you've got gamar Ray astronomers and all
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 the rest of it microwave astronomers now
00:21:55 --> 00:21:58 we we have access to all parts of the uh
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 elect magnetic Spectrum the bid I know
00:22:00 --> 00:22:03 best is visible light the optical
00:22:03 --> 00:22:06 Spectrum but it is also and I'm not just
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 saying this because I worked in it it's
00:22:08 --> 00:22:13 the best bit as well um for two reasons
00:22:13 --> 00:22:19 um one is that the optical spectrum is
00:22:19 --> 00:22:23 very very rich in the chemical
00:22:23 --> 00:22:27 signatures of atoms so uh if you want to
00:22:27 --> 00:22:30 find out you know what where the
00:22:30 --> 00:22:35 hydrogen is uh in a in a in the universe
00:22:35 --> 00:22:38 um should perhaps I should perhaps let
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 me pick another example oxygen rather
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 than hydrogen or sodium I'll get back to
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 hydrogen in a minute um all of those
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 things they they emit their light in the
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 optical Spectrum when they get excited
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 as as do most atoms actually you get an
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 optical spectrum of the light um it's so
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 that's why for example we see
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 those characteristic orange yellow
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 street lights which were they're out of
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 fashion now but they were formed by
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 glowing sodium uh so that's you know
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 that's telling us that there's sodium
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 there because of the specific colors
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 that you've got in that and likewise uh
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 throughout the whole Optical Spectrum
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 there's the signature of pretty well all
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 the elements in there now when it comes
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 to
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 molecules uh signatures of molecules
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 tend to be more in the infrared spectrum
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 because the because molecules come
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 together in cooler environments uh than
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 the atmosphere of a star some stars are
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 cool enough that you can form some
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 molecules there titanium oxide is one of
00:23:37 --> 00:23:41 them but um um if you want to analyze
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 molecules you go to the infrared but for
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 the elements themselves and that's the
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 most important bit really uh the
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 chemical elements you've got to go to
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 the optical
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 Spectrum uh so uh now the next bit of
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 Nate's question if I remember rightly
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 was what part of the spectrum do you you
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 think has made the biggest contribution
00:24:00 --> 00:24:04 yeah um to uh to that and
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 um this I'm going to split here into two
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 uh because it's certainly true that
00:24:10 --> 00:24:13 without Optical spectroscopy we wouldn't
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 have known about the chemistry of stars
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 at all uh and it was the the first
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 person who turned a spectroscope to
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 analyze the light of the of the coming
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 from the Stars man called William
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 Huggins back in the 1860s if I remember
00:24:27 --> 00:24:30 rightly he observed the stars with a
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 spectroscope and realized that the the
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 chemical elements in the Stars had the
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 same signature as chemical elements here
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 on Earth so he was the person who was
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 able to say we know what the stars are
00:24:39 --> 00:24:42 made of um and that was the birth of
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 astrophysics so that that clearly is of
00:24:44 --> 00:24:47 Paramount importance but I nominate a
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 second one uh let me guess let me guess
00:24:50 --> 00:24:54 the the Indigo
00:24:54 --> 00:24:59 bit the Indigo bits G it's not real no
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 damn it used to be yeah it used to be
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 Roy Biv didn't it the Richard of York
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 gained battles in vain red orange yellow
00:25:05 --> 00:25:08 green blue indigo violet except IND
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 Indigo was something put in so that you
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 could make it sound all right there's
00:25:13 --> 00:25:16 not it's not really there goes red so
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 it's six Spectrum colors rather than
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 seven I'm sure people chose seven just
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21 because Seven's a sort of magic number
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 with days of the week and all the rest
00:25:22 --> 00:25:26 of it anyway ex that's another story um
00:25:26 --> 00:25:29 I I'd nominate uh and and I perhaps
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 would nominate this as being the one
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 that's going to be most important in the
00:25:32 --> 00:25:37 future as well and that is the 22 cm
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 line of
00:25:39 --> 00:25:44 hydrogen by that what I mean is uh a uh
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 it's a a signal that has a specific
00:25:47 --> 00:25:54 wavelength 22 cm uh
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 42420 megahertz if I remember rightly
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 most most radio astronomers thinking
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 frequencies rather than wavelength but
00:26:00 --> 00:26:05 that's that is a feature uh in the radio
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 spectrum that is produced by Cold
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 hydrogen so you don't need hydrogen to
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 be excited by stars you just need it to
00:26:12 --> 00:26:16 be sitting there in space cold um and
00:26:16 --> 00:26:19 what you get is this signal of that
00:26:19 --> 00:26:22 emits at a wavelength of 22 CMS it's in
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 the near near radio spectrum the short
00:26:24 --> 00:26:27 wavelength radio spectrum uh and that
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 has allowed us to
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 the gas in the universe the cold gas in
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 the universe and in particular our Milky
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 Way uh we know about the spiral
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 structure of the Milky Way because we
00:26:36 --> 00:26:39 can trace the the the cold hydrogen in
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 it which which that lies along the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 spiral arms the reason why I'm pointing
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 it as being something important for the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 future is that the square kilometer
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 array the biggest telescope in the world
00:26:49 --> 00:26:53 that was Jordi agreeing with me I heard
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 yeah um actually remind me to tell you
00:26:55 --> 00:26:58 some other news about pets in a minute
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 uh but yeah the reason why it's
00:26:59 --> 00:27:04 important for the future is um that uh
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 the square kilometer array is basically
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 built so that it can look at that
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 wavelength at different red shifts in
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 other words see it as it was emitted
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 before the first stars formed so you can
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 look back in time to when the early
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 Universe was just filled with glowing H
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 with cold hydrogen that wasn't glowing
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 uh and that hydrogen can be traced by
00:27:26 --> 00:27:29 this 22 cm line so we can map it we'll
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 be able to map the hydrogen in the
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 universe before the Stars first stars
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 formed which is going to be quite
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 extraordinary so yeah great question
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 from Nate there and interesting answers
00:27:39 --> 00:27:43 as well I think yeah yeah uh so um yeah
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 I think he covered everything for him in
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 fact that last answer covered the two
00:27:47 --> 00:27:49 parts of the second half of the question
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 so that's that's really good of course
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 uh I know I prompted Nate to ask this
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 question he's in the Glass House
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 mountains so on a sunny day they do see
00:27:56 --> 00:27:59 a lot of spectrums
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 yeah it's a really interesting landscape
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 up there The Glass House M it is isn't
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 it yeah yeah very you driving through it
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 you go what this just doesn't look right
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 something weird going on here yeah
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 they're quite striking mountains they
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 are um you said just you had some
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 information yes just a little bit of
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21 news yes yesterday so yesterday was my
00:28:21 --> 00:28:25 last day at uh at industry house in
00:28:25 --> 00:28:29 Cambra uh but sadly it was also muscat's
00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 last day on Earth because he passed away
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 yesterday he's been suffering from
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 kidney failure and he'd reached the end
00:28:36 --> 00:28:39 of the road so it was a very sad day on
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 a double count there so yeah the feels
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 very very empty at the moment without
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 yeah more mus pottering around that must
00:28:46 --> 00:28:49 have been Jordi crying yeah Jordi I
00:28:49 --> 00:28:52 think jordy's noticed you know that this
00:28:52 --> 00:28:54 little Chum isn't there uh they didn't
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 have the best of relationships but they
00:28:56 --> 00:28:59 kind of tolerated one another
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 yeah well that's generally how it goes
00:29:00 --> 00:29:03 in all most households even between
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 husbands and wives I think but anyway
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06 that's another
00:29:06 --> 00:29:09 story I'm sorry to hear about Muscat
00:29:09 --> 00:29:12 yeah news yeah indeed uh thank you Nate
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 thank you Jacob bny and Seth for
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16 contributing don't forget if you would
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 like to send us questions you can do
00:29:18 --> 00:29:21 that on our website just go to Space
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 Nuts podcast.com or SPAC nuts. if you
00:29:24 --> 00:29:27 click on the AMA tab or the AMA Link at
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 the top
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 uh it will give you an option to send a
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 text question or you can if you've got a
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 device with a microphone hit the start
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 recording button and you'll be able to
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 record a question don't forget to tell
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 us in either case who you are and where
00:29:40 --> 00:29:43 you're from and um while I'm at it if
00:29:43 --> 00:29:46 you are listening to us on whatever
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 podcast platform please leave a review
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 they always help I don't know how I
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52 don't know why but apparently they do uh
00:29:52 --> 00:29:55 thank you Fred as always great to talk
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 we'll talk again soon I hope great I
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 think yeah that's a good idea let's do
00:29:59 --> 00:30:02 that do um I was just going to not do it
00:30:02 --> 00:30:05 again uh but yeah I think we should um
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 Professor Fred Watson astronomer at
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 large and thanks to H in the studio for
00:30:09 --> 00:30:13 being there and not here and for me and
00:30:13 --> 00:30:16 dle thanks for your company catch you on
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 the very next episode of Space Nuts
00:30:18 --> 00:30:21 bye-bye Space Nuts you'll be listening
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 to the Space Nuts
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 podcast available at Apple podcasts
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29 Spotify IH radio or your favorite
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 podcast player you can also stream on
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 demand at bites.com this has been
00:30:34 --> 00:30:37 another quality podcast production from
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 bites.com