Cosmic Jousts, Jupiter’s Giant Past, and Interstellar Microbial Mysteries
Space News TodayMay 22, 202500:18:5717.36 MB

Cosmic Jousts, Jupiter’s Giant Past, and Interstellar Microbial Mysteries

Join Anna in this captivating episode of Astronomy Daily as she delves into the latest cosmic wonders and extraordinary developments in the universe. Prepare for an exhilarating exploration that spans from galactic collisions to the challenges of interstellar travel.

Highlights:

- Cosmic Jousting of Galaxies: Witness an incredible celestial event as two massive galaxies engage in a dramatic collision, with one galaxy's quasar firing a beam of radiation through its companion like a knight's lance. This unique observation sheds light on galactic mergers in the early universe, providing a snapshot of cosmic evolution 11.4 billion years ago.

- Jupiter's Massive Past: Discover groundbreaking research revealing that Jupiter was once twice its current size, with a magnetic field 50 times stronger. This study offers critical insights into the formation of our solar system and the pivotal role Jupiter played in shaping its architecture.

- Interstellar Travel Challenges: Explore the often-overlooked biological complexities of interstellar travel. Physicist Paul Davies discusses the necessity of replicating Earth's intricate ecosystems, focusing on the essential role of microorganisms in sustaining life during long journeys beyond our solar system.

- Unusual Planetary System Discovery: Delve into the peculiar findings surrounding the 2M M1510 system, where a planet orbits perpendicularly to its brown dwarf hosts. This discovery challenges existing theories of planetary formation and highlights the universe's capacity for surprising configurations.

- Tom Cruise's Space Movie Ambitions: Get the latest scoop on Tom Cruise's plans to become the first actor to film a movie in outer space. As his project with SpaceX progresses, the boundaries of filmmaking are set to be pushed further than ever before.

For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) . Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, 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 - Cosmic jousting of galaxies

10:00 - Jupiter's massive past

15:30 - Interstellar travel challenges

20:00 - Unusual planetary system discovery

25:00 - Tom Cruise's space movie ambitions

✍️ Episode References

Galactic Merger Research

[Nature Astronomy]( https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/ (https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/) )

Jupiter's Formation Study

[Caltech]( https://www.caltech.edu/ (https://www.caltech.edu/) )

Interstellar Ecosystem Analysis

[Paul Davies]( https://www.pauldavies.com/ (https://www.pauldavies.com/) )

Planetary System Discovery

[Science Advances]( https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv (https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv) )

Astronomy Daily

[Astronomy Daily]( http://www.astronomydaily.io/ (http://www.astronomydaily.io/) )


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .

Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/27259420?utm_source=youtube

Kind: captions Language: en
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,

00:00:02 --> 00:00:03 your cosmic connection to the stars and

00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 beyond. I'm Anna and today we're

00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 exploring some truly mind-bending

00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 stories from across the universe. Coming

00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 up on today's show, we'll witness a

00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 celestial joust between two massive

00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 galaxies on a collision course with one

00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 firing a beam of radiation through the

00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 other like a night's lance. We'll also

00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 discover that Jupiter, the architect of

00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 our solar system, was once twice its

00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 current size with a magnetic field 50

00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 times stronger than it is

00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 today. Then we'll examine the often

00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 overlooked challenges of interstellar

00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 travel. Not the rockets and propulsion

00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 systems, but the microscopic passengers

00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 that would need to make the journey with

00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 us. Plus, we'll explore one of the

00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 strangest planetary systems ever

00:00:48 --> 00:00:49 discovered, featuring a planet that

00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 orbits perpendicular to everything we

00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 thought we knew about orbital mechanics.

00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 And finally, we'll check in on Tom

00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 Cruz's ambitious plans to become the

00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 first actor to film a movie in actual

00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 outer space. It's a packed episode

00:01:02 --> 00:01:03 exploring the biggest and smallest

00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 wonders of our universe. So, let's dive

00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 right into today's Astronomy Daily.

00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 Astronomers have recently observed what

00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 they're describing as a cosmic joust.

00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 two massive galaxies hurtling toward

00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 each other in deep space. This

00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 remarkable celestial event gives us a

00:01:20 --> 00:01:21 glimpse of a galactic merger as it was

00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 happening 11.4 billion years ago when

00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 the universe was just about 1/5 of its

00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 current age. The observation made using

00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 two powerful telescopes in Chile, the

00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Adakama Largem Submillimem Array and the

00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 European Southern Observatory's Very

00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 Large Telescope reveals two galaxies,

00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 each containing roughly the same number

00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 of stars as our own Milky Way. But what

00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 makes this encounter particularly

00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 fascinating is what's happening at the

00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 heart of one of these galaxies. One of

00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 the galaxies contains a quazar, an

00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 extraordinarily luminous object powered

00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 by a super massive black hole. As gas

00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 and other material fall into this cosmic

00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 monster, it heats up due to friction,

00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 creating a disc that emits extremely

00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 powerful radiation in two opposite

00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 directions. These are called biconical

00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 beams, and one of them is directly

00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 piercing through the companion galaxy.

00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 The researchers have likened this

00:02:17 --> 00:02:18 interaction to medieval knights charging

00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 toward each other in a joust. As

00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 astrophysicist Sergey Balachev from the

00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 Iopa Institute in St. Petersburg puts

00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 it, "One of them, the quazar host, emits

00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 a powerful beam of radiation that

00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 pierces the companion galaxy like a

00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 lance." This radiation lance is actually

00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 disrupting the molecular clouds in the

00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 companion galaxy. The very clouds that

00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 would normally give rise to new stars.

00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 Instead of forming stars, these clouds

00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 are being transformed into tiny, dense

00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 cloudlets that are too small to create

00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 stellar nurseries. It's effectively

00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 wounding its opponent by disrupting the

00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 gas structure necessary for star

00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 formation. The super massive black hole

00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 powering this cosmic joust is estimated

00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 to be about 200 million times the mass

00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 of our sun, far larger than the one at

00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 the center of our own Milky Way, which

00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 is only about 4 million solar masses.

00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 What makes this observation particularly

00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 special is that it's the first time

00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 scientists have witnessed this kind of

00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 phenomenon. A quazar's radiation

00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 directly affecting the molecular clouds

00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 in another galaxy. The unique alignment

00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 of these galaxies from our perspective

00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 on Earth allowed researchers to observe

00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 the radiation passing directly through

00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 the companion galaxy. According to

00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 astronomer Pascar Notre Dame of the

00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 Paris Institute of Astrophysics, these

00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 two galaxies will eventually coalesce

00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 into a single larger galaxy as their

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 gravitational interaction continues. The

00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 quazer will gradually fade as it

00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 exhausts its available fuel. Most

00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 galactic mergers observed by astronomers

00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 occurred later in the universe's

00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 history, making this early cosmic

00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 collision particularly valuable for

00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 understanding how galaxies evolved in

00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 the young universe. It's a dramatic

00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 snapshot of the violent processes that

00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 have shaped the cosmos since its

00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 earliest days. A cosmic joust that will

00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 ultimately end in union rather than

00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 victory for either

00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 contestant. Next, let's take a new look

00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 at one of our cosmic neighbors. Jupiter,

00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 the largest planet in our solar system,

00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 was once even more massive and

00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 magnetically powerful than it is today.

00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 According to a groundbreaking new study

00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 published in the journal Nature

00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 Astronomy, researchers from Caltech and

00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 the University of Michigan have

00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 determined that approximately 3.8

00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 million years after the formation of the

00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 solar systems first solids, Jupiter was

00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 about twice its current size with a

00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 magnetic field 50 times stronger than

00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 what we observe now. This revelation

00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 comes from an ingenious approach that

00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 bypasses traditional uncertainties in

00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 planetary formation models. Rather than

00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 relying on assumptions about gas opacity

00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 or accretion rates, the researchers

00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 focused on something more concrete. The

00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 orbital dynamics of Jupiter's tiny moons

00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 Amla and Theeb. These small moons, which

00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 orbit even closer to Jupiter than the

00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 Galilean moon Io, have slightly tilted

00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 orbits. By analyzing these orbital

00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 discrepancies, Constantine Badigan,

00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 professor of planetary science at

00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 Caltech, and Fred C. Adams, professor of

00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 physics and astronomy at the University

00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 of Michigan, were able to calculate

00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 Jupiter's original dimensions. Their

00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 findings paint a picture of a truly

00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 enormous early Jupiter with a volume

00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 equivalent to over 2 Earths. This

00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 isn't just an interesting factoid. It

00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 provides critical information about a

00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 pivotal moment in our solar systems

00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 development. The research establishes a

00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 clear snapshot of Jupiter at the precise

00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 moment when the surrounding solar nebula

00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 evaporated, effectively locking in the

00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 primordial architecture of our solar

00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 system. Our ultimate goal is to

00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 understand where we come from and

00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 pinning down the early phases of planet

00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 formation is essential to solving the

00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 puzzle, explains bad. This brings us

00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 closer to understanding how not only

00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 Jupiter but the entire solar system took

00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 shape.

00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 What makes this research particularly

00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 valuable is that it provides independent

00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 verification of long-standing planet

00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 formation theories which suggest that

00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 Jupiter and other giant planets formed

00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 via core accretion a process where a

00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 rocky and icy core rapidly gathers gas.

00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 These theories have been developed over

00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 decades by many researchers including

00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Calte Dave Stevenson and this new study

00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 adds crucial specificity to our

00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 understanding.

00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 Understanding Jupiter's early evolution

00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 has broader implications for our solar

00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 systems development. Jupiter's gravity

00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 has often been called the architect of

00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 our solar system, playing a critical

00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 role in shaping the orbital paths of

00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 other planets and sculpting the disc of

00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 gas and dust from which they formed. As

00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Fred Adams notes, it's astonishing that

00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 even after 4.5 billion years, enough

00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 clues remain to let us reconstruct

00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 Jupiter's physical state at the dawn of

00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 its existence. While Jupiter's very

00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 first moments remain obscured, this

00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 research establishes what Badigen calls

00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 a valuable benchmark, a point from which

00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 scientists can more confidently

00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 reconstruct the evolution of our solar

00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 system, bringing us closer to answering

00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 fundamental questions about our cosmic

00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 origins and the processes that made our

00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 planetary neighborhood what it is

00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 today. Our next story today features a

00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 subject I know many of us wonder about.

00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 When we think about interstellar travel,

00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 our minds typically gravitate toward the

00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 technological challenges of propulsion

00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 systems and spacecraft design. But

00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 according to physicist and author Paul

00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 Davies, we're overlooking perhaps the

00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 most critical obstacle to human space

00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 exploration beyond our solar system, the

00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 complex biological requirements for

00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 creating a sustainable ecosystem. In

00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 Davies's analysis, traveling between

00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 stars will inevitably be a one-way

00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 journey, even with the most optimistic

00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 technological advances. This means any

00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 mission would require creating a

00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 completely self-sustaining ecological

00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 environment. It's not simply about

00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 growing enough food and generating

00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 oxygen. It's about replicating Earth's

00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 intricate web of life on a cosmic scale.

00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 The true complexity lies in the

00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 microbial realm. As Davies points out,

00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 almost all terrestrial species are

00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 microbes, bacteria, archa, and

00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 unicellular ukarotes, and they form the

00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 foundation of Earth's biosphere. These

00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 microorganisms aren't merely passengers

00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 on our planet. They're essential

00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 components of our life support system,

00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 recycling materials and exchanging

00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 genetic components in ways we're only

00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 beginning to

00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 understand. Even within our own bodies,

00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 microbes play a crucial role. Your

00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 personal microbiome, the microbial

00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 inhabitants of your gut, lungs, and

00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 other organs, outnumber your own cells.

00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 Without them, you would die. So,

00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 astronauts cannot journey to the stars

00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 without, at minimum, their own

00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 microbiomes. But it gets even more

00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 complicated. Microbes don't exist in

00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 isolation. They form vast networks of

00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 biological interactions that remain

00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 poorly understood. There's horizontal

00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 gene transfer, cell-toell signaling,

00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 viral interactions, and collective

00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 organization that creates an ecological

00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 web of staggering complexity. Scientists

00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 have barely begun to map this intricate

00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 planetary scale information flow. This

00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 raises what Davies calls a Noah's Arc

00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 conundrum with a vengeance. Which

00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 species get chosen for the journey? What

00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 is the minimum complexity of an

00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 ecosystem necessary for long-term

00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 sustainability? At what point does

00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 removing certain microbes cause the

00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 entire system to collapse? The problem

00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 is that we simply don't know. We haven't

00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 identified the smallest self-sustaining

00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 purely microbial ecosystem, let alone

00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 which microbes are crucial for human

00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 survival in space. Imagine compiling a

00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 list of plants and animals to accompany

00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 humans on a one-way mission. cows, pigs,

00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 vegetables, but then consider how many

00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 and which microbial species these

00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 organisms depend on and which other

00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 microbes those microbes depend on. Space

00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 conditions add another layer of

00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 complexity. Research shows that bacteria

00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 can change their gene expression in zero

00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 gravity. Michelle Leven's experiments

00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 with plenaria worms that had flown on

00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 the space station revealed that some

00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 returned with two heads instead of the

00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 normal one. How might other organisms

00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 change in the harsh environment of

00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 space? Davey suggests our best hope may

00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 lie not in cataloging genes, but in

00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 discovering the underlying principles

00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 governing the flow and organization of

00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 information in living systems, what he

00:10:29 --> 00:10:33 calls the software of life. If we can

00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 identify universal informationational

00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 patterns in biology, we might create a

00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 transplantable ecosystem robust enough

00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 to withstand space conditions. Without

00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 solving these fundamental biological

00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 challenges, our dreams of establishing

00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 permanent human settlements beyond our

00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 solar system may remain just that,

00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 dreams. The tiniest organisms may pose

00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 the biggest obstacles to our cosmic

00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 ambitions. Next up today, will the

00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 cosmos ever stop surprising us? I hope

00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 not. In what might be the most unusual

00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 planetary arrangement ever discovered,

00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 astronomers have recently identified a

00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 system that defies our conventional

00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 understanding of how planets form and

00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 orbit. The system, informally known as 2

00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 M1510, features what appears to be a

00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 planet tracing an orbit that carries it

00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 directly over the poles of two brown

00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 dwarfs that are orbiting each other.

00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 If you're having trouble visualizing

00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 this, imagine two spinning tops circling

00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 each other on a table while a marble

00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 rolls around them in a path that goes

00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 over and under the table. It's a

00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 configuration that until now existed

00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 only in theoretical models. In typical

00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 planetary systems like our own solar

00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 system, planets orbit their stars in a

00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 relatively flat plane that aligns with

00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 the stars equator. This makes sense

00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 because planets form from the same

00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 rotating disc of material that formed

00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 the star. Everything stays nice and

00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 orderly, moving in roughly the same

00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 plane. But candidate planet

00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 2M1510b breaks all these rules. Its

00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 orbital plane appears to be

00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 perpendicular at a 90° angle to the

00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 plane in which its two host brown dwarfs

00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 orbit each other. Brown dwarfs

00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 themselves are fascinating objects, too

00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 massive to be considered planets, but

00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 not massive enough to sustain the

00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 nuclear fusion that powers stars.

00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 They're cosmic inbetweeners, and this

00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 system has two of them at its center,

00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 with a third brown dwarf orbiting at an

00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 extreme distance. The detection method

00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 for this perpendicular planet is itself

00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 remarkable. Most exoplanets today are

00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 found using the transit method, where we

00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 detect tiny dips in starlight as planets

00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 cross in front of their stars. But that

00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 wouldn't work in this unusual orbital

00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 arrangement. Instead, researchers used

00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 what's called the radial velocity

00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 method, measuring subtle shifts in the

00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 brown dwarf's light spectrum caused by

00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 the gravitational pole of the orbiting

00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 planet. More specifically, they detected

00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 how the planet subtly alters the 21-day

00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 mutual orbit of the brown dwarf pair.

00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 After extensive analysis, the research

00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 team concluded that only a polar

00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 orbiting planet could explain these

00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 perturbations. This discovery is

00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 significant because circumbinary

00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 planets, those orbiting two stars at

00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 once, are already quite rare. Of the

00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 more than 5 confirmed exoplanets,

00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 only 16 are known to orbit binary

00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 systems, with most discovered by NASA's

00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 now retired Kepler Space Telescope. A

00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 circumbinary planet in a polar orbit

00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 takes this rarity to another level

00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 entirely. Scientists have previously

00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 observed debris discs and protolanetary

00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 discs in polar orbits which led to

00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 speculation that polar orbiting planets

00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 might exist.

00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 2M510 appears to be the first confirmed

00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 case validating these theoretical

00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 predictions.

00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 The international research team led by

00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 Thomas A. Brooft from the University of

00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 Birmingham published their findings in

00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 the journal Science Advances in April

00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 with the planet officially entered into

00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 NASA's exoplanet archive on May 1st of

00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 this year. This bizarre system

00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 challenges our understanding of

00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 planetary formation and orbital

00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 dynamics, suggesting that the universe

00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 has many more surprises in store as we

00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 continue to explore the cosmos. It

00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 reminds us that nature often finds ways

00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 to create arrangements far more exotic

00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 than what we might

00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 imagine. Finally, today, this news will

00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 horrify some and delight others. In the

00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 realm of space exploration, one unlikely

00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 pioneer may soon make the transition

00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 from movie star to actual astronaut. Tom

00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 Cruz, known for performing his own

00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 deathdeying stunts in the mission

00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 Impossible franchise, appears to be

00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 inching closer to perhaps his most

00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 ambitious project yet. filming a movie

00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 in actual outer space. According to

00:14:49 --> 00:14:53 Cruz's IMDb page, an untitled Tom Cruz

00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 SpaceX project is currently listed in

00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 pre-production. The tantalizing

00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 description states that Cruz and

00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 director Doug Lyman planned to travel

00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 far beyond Earth to film the first ever

00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 Hollywood motion picture in outer space.

00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 While no official launch date has been

00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 announced, this development suggests the

00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 long rumored space movie may indeed be

00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 moving forward. The concept first gained

00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 traction back in 2020 and 2021 following

00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 a successful SpaceX NASA rocket launch

00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 from Cape Canaveral. NASA confirmed at

00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 the time that they were in discussions

00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 with crews about filming a movie aboard

00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 the International Space Station, though

00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 updates about this potential

00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 collaboration have been scarce since

00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 then. Interestingly, during SpaceX's

00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 Inspiration 4 mission in September 2021,

00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 the fourperson civilian crew, which

00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 included Jared Isaac man, who would

00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 later become President Trump's pick to

00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 lead NASA, actually spoke with Cruz via

00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 a Zoom call during their orbital flight.

00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 At that time, reports suggested Cruz was

00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 set to fly on a different Crew Dragon

00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 mission to film scenes for an upcoming

00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 movie.

00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 While Cruz would be the first Hollywood

00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 actor to film in space, he wouldn't be

00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 the first to shoot a feature film there.

00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 That distinction belongs to Russian

00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 actress Julia Parasild and director Clim

00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 Shopeno, who traveled to the

00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 International Space Station in October

00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 2021 to film scenes for The Challenge, a

00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 drama about a surgeon sent to space to

00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 save a cosminaut suffering from a heart

00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 attack. Released in 2023, it became the

00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 first featurelength film with

00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 professional actors shot in space. For

00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 Cruz, who turned 63 this year and is

00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 fresh off the success of Mission

00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 Impossible: The Final Reckoning, A

00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 Journey to Space would represent the

00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 ultimate frontier in his career of

00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 pushing physical boundaries. The actor

00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 has already hung from airplanes, scaled

00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 the world's tallest building, and

00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 performed halo jumps from extreme

00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 altitudes. Space would certainly be the

00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 next logical, if extraordinarily

00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 ambitious, step. Whether this project

00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 ultimately launches remains to be seen,

00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 but one thing seems certain. If anyone

00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 in Hollywood has the determination and

00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 influence to make filming in space a

00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 reality, it's Tom

00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 Cruz. And that wraps up another

00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 incredible journey through the cosmos on

00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 today's episode of Astronomy Daily. From

00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 those two galaxies engaged in a cosmic

00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 joust billions of years ago to Jupiter's

00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 surprisingly massive past to the complex

00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 microbial challenges of interstellar

00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 travel. The universe continues to amaze

00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 and humble us with its mysteries. We

00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 also explored that fascinating

00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 perpendicular planetary orbit in the 2

00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 M1510 system, a configuration

00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 astronomers had only theorized until

00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 now. And of course, Tom Cruz's potential

00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 journey to become the first Hollywood

00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 actor to film in actual space certainly

00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 pushes the boundaries of what's possible

00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 when human ingenuity meets cosmic

00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 ambition. The universe is vast,

00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 mysterious, and full of stories waiting

00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 to be told. If you want to stay on top

00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 of all the latest developments in space

00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 and astronomy, I encourage you to visit

00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 our website at

00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 astronomydaily.io, where you can sign up

00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 for our free daily newsletter. Our site

00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 features a constantly updating news feed

00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 with the latest discoveries and

00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 breakthroughs in cosmic exploration.

00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 Don't forget to subscribe to Astronomy

00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 YouTube, or wherever you get your

00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 podcasts to ensure you never miss an

00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 episode. This has been Anna, your guide

00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 to the cosmos, and I'll be back tomorrow

00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 with more fascinating stories from the

00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 final frontier. Until then, keep looking

00:18:33 --> 00:18:37 up.

00:18:37 --> 00:18:41 Stories been told.