00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Space Nuts is taking a bit of a break at
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 the moment uh Fred and I will be back uh
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 in the not too distant future with fresh
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 episodes in the meantime enjoy some of
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 uh the key episodes that we have
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 presented over the years major events in
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 astronomy and space science and we'll
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 see you real soon 15 seconds guidance is
00:00:20 --> 00:00:25 internal 10 9 ignition sequence start
00:00:25 --> 00:00:31 Space Nuts 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 Space Nuts as the NS report it feels
00:00:34 --> 00:00:38 good and on the program today we will be
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 discussing uh some work that's been done
00:00:41 --> 00:00:42 through the University of Cambridge
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 where they may have may have
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 accidentally stumbled across evidence of
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 dark energy now we know it exists we
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 know it makes up a substantial part of
00:00:52 --> 00:00:53 the universe we've just never been able
00:00:53 --> 00:00:57 to actually identify it uh directly so
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 have they found Dark Energy have they
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 found evidence of it I mean we know it's
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 there because of the influence it has so
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 we'll look into that uh we're also going
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 to talk about a 201200 year old
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 observatory in Peru it was only recently
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 discovered uh around
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 2005 uh and it still works it still
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 works quite extraordinary I'm your host
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Andrew Dunley and joining me as always
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 is Professor Fred Watson astronomer at
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 large hello Fred good day Andrew how are
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 you doing I am quite well how are you
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 yes very well indeed thank you now let's
00:01:30 --> 00:01:34 move on to our first topic Fred and that
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 is uh Dark Energy we get so many
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 questions about dark matter and dark
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 energy all because of the mystery
00:01:40 --> 00:01:44 surrounding these uh this stuff uh Dark
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 Energy we we talked about how it's
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 probably not well named but um they've
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 been doing some experiments through the
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 University of Cambridge and it looks
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 like they might have stumbled
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 across um the detection of dark energy
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 uh it's not been absolutely confirmed
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 but they they might have you know
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 tripped over it by accident CU they
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 would try to do something else they were
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 that's right so this is an experiment at
00:02:12 --> 00:02:13 the
00:02:13 --> 00:02:17 xenon1t facility which is at Grand saso
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 in Italy uh and it's a it's a a bit like
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 a you know an astronomical telescope
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 it's built as a facility that can be
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 used by many astronomers and they'll
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 come and get their two or three nights
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 or whatever it is on the telescope and
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 then go away and work out the results
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 and a facility like this is similar in
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37 the sense that it's um it has uh access
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 by various uh different researchers and
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 in this case as you've said that these
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 researchers are from the University of
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 Cambridge and they've got basically the
00:02:47 --> 00:02:48 bottom line Andrew is that there are
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 some unexplained results that have come
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 from this experiment um what these
00:02:53 --> 00:02:57 scientist were looking for was evidence
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 of extremely rare interaction ction s
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 between particles of dark matter um
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 which makes up about 27% of the mass
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 energy budget of the universe compared
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 with about 5% for all the stuff we can
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 see yeah um so they were looking for so
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 so we think that dark matter is some
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 species of subatomic particle which we
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 haven't yet identified but that it may
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 on very rare occasions interact IE bash
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 into uh a normal matter particle
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 hydrogen or carbon or whatever um and um
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 the idea of this xenon1t experiment was
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 to try and detect such such collisions
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 um but what they found was a a
00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 background
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 signal that wasn't didn't match any of
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 the um predictions for dark matter but
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 actually um was more like the kind of
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 signals that you might expect from dark
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 energy and that's intriguing because
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 dark energy has always been seen as the
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 harder problem to solve it's um what is
00:04:05 --> 00:04:09 it 68% of the universe is dark energy um
00:04:09 --> 00:04:13 and it's a basically a an energy of
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 space itself that's what we believe
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 that's causing the expansion of the
00:04:16 --> 00:04:22 universe to accelerate but um subatomic
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 physicists they think in terms of dark
00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 energy is being carried by particles um
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 for example gravity which is in some
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 ways the opposite of dark energy because
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 it's a pulling together of of matter and
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 we do understand gravity that uh we
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 don't have a subatomic model for it
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 properly yet but people speculate that
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 it's carried by gravitons uh subatomic
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 particles that carry the the effect of
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 gravity and there may be particles that
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 carry the effect of dark energy and
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 that's what they think they've detected
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 you know it's really funny because when
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 I was reading the article
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 uh I a thought popped into my head and I
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 thought is is it possible that dark
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 energy is simply
00:05:08 --> 00:05:13 anti-gravity um uh no it's not okay and
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 and the reason for that is dark energy
00:05:16 --> 00:05:20 is everywhere um and the effect of
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 gravity is well understood it follows
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 the uh iners Square law so that you know
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 as you move away from it the the gravity
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 drops off with the square of the the
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 distance dark energy is not like that
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 it's everywhere yeah so it is different
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 but its properties are similar in the
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 sense that uh If gravity is an
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 attractive Force if I can put it that
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 way dark dark energy isn't it's a
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 repulsive
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 force and in that way yeah they they
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 seem to be opposites to each other in
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 that respect that's the thing but it's
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 not anti-gravity uh because to have
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 gravity you need matter and we don't
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 seem to need matter for Dark Energy it's
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 just there okay wow and they're going to
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 um do some tweaking of the experiment as
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 I understand it to see if they can now
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 hone in on this because it's it's not
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 absolutely certain that this is what
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 they've discovered is it no that's right
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 and these things never are they're
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 they're
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 um you know what you what you have to do
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 you get something that looks
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 suspicious uh and then you exactly as
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 youve said you home in on it to try and
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 um really kind of tease it to death to
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 to to find out what's actually lurking
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 there whether it is a real observation
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 or something different and a classic
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 example of that was couple of years ago
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 there were two experiments at CERN that
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 gave results that suggested that uh a
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 subatomic particle had been discovered
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 that that might um lead to the the proof
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 of super symmetry which is another
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 theory that doesn't have any uh any
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 physical um observations behind it at
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 the moment but both of those
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 observations even though they were done
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 on two different instruments uh they
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 just they they disappeared they when
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 they looked more more closely they the
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 signals weren't there and and I should
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 explain that this is all measured in
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 terms of probability um you know what
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 what the probability is of this being
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 real and for it to be reported as a a
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 real effect it needs a very high
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 probability indeed well they're going to
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 try and replicate this and the the part
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 of the story that really made my eyes
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 pop out was you we think we might be
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 able to get an answer within a
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 decade that's pretty soon for this sort
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 of thing
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 yeah I guess so all right uh something
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 to watch with interest and uh may slow
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 down the number of questions we get
00:07:50 --> 00:07:54 about it well yeah wouldn't it be great
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 if we could pin down dark energy and
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 what will be even greater um is that
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 that really that would be new physics so
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 it's beyond the theory of relativity
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 that could open up all kinds of
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 possibilities yeah couldn't it
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 wow okay uh now let's talk about this uh
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 Peruvian Observatory that was discovered
00:08:12 --> 00:08:16 in 2005 and has hit the news again
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 what's the story with this one Fred yeah
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 this is something very very close to my
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 heart Andrew um and the reason is that
00:08:24 --> 00:08:29 uh mani and I led I think the first uh
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 tourist expedition to this site back in
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 2007 wow it was our it was our first our
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 first science tour uh and we had the one
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 of the archaeologists who is responsible
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 for the discovery Ivan gy uh Peruvian
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 scientist he came with us so we got a
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 firsthand look at it and honestly it is
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 such a haunting place that it's stayed
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 with me ever since um if anybody's
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 interested in following up my experience
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 in that I think it's chapter three of uh
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 of star craving mad my book about
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 astronomy travels uh is devoted to this
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 place and what it was what it was all
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 about so what what we're talking about
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 is is this is about 370 kilometers north
00:09:10 --> 00:09:15 of Lima it's um it's a in the um the the
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 kasma valley is the river valley name
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 and this is a place where a river flows
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 down from the Andes and of course it it
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 comes and goes um very strongly with the
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 snow melt in the Andes right and and
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 Hudd around the river uh fertile areas
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 with little villages in them but also so
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 you you you only have to walk 3 400
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 meters away from the river and you're in
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 desert and it's proper sandy desert yeah
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 I thought from the video it looked
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 really desolate it it is utterly
00:09:45 --> 00:09:49 desolate but at the same time uh 2
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 years ago and in fact at least a
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 thousand years before that because there
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 are other artifacts there uh it was a
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 thriving Center of population
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 with a probably a religion that's
00:10:03 --> 00:10:07 demanded huge constructions and there
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 there there's evidence of plazas on a
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 mammoth scale half a kilometer across
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 you know uh and and other structures
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 having been there but in the middle of
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 all this there's a hill uh which is runs
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 north south pretty well exactly north
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 south almost like um you know Hogs back
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 type Hill yeah uh with a curved top it's
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 two or 300 meters long and on top of
00:10:30 --> 00:10:34 that are 13 towers built to very exact
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 proportions their damage now earthquake
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 damage tends to knock the corners of
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 structures like this so most of them
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 have got some earthquake damage but um
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 those Towers have actually been known
00:10:45 --> 00:10:49 for for many decades uh but it was only
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 in 2005 as he said and actually
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 published in 2006 that Ivan gy and
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 another um well-known archo astronomer
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 that's the ancient as omy uh who's at
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 the University of Leicester Clive
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 Ruggles and I was actually talking to
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 Clive last week because he did a talk
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 for us um a great speaker and a great
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 scientist as well so Ivan and Clive
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 figured out that what these towers were
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 for was a calendar essentially um so
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 what you've got is um they identified
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 two places one to the east of the roow
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 of towers one to the west of it where If
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 You observe the sunrising
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 uh on one side and setting on the other
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 side uh those Towers act as a kind of
00:11:34 --> 00:11:38 calibration of the Horizon um so the sun
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 comes up slightly differently every day
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 Y and by looking at those where it
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 crosses those Towers you can see exactly
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 what the date was um so an enormous
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 amount of effort went into understanding
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 that and building it uh and we're left
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 with this you know this record of a
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 civilization about which we know very
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 little um they're well pre- inor the
00:12:02 --> 00:12:06 incor were in the um 14th 15th centuries
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 um 15 16th I think
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 actually uh but this is uh this is a
00:12:10 --> 00:12:14 different civilization um what uh is is
00:12:14 --> 00:12:18 really striking though is that um you
00:12:18 --> 00:12:21 could if you make your observations
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 carefully you could work out what day it
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 was within a year now they didn't have a
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 modern calendar then but they would have
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 perhaps um worked out the dates by when
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 the sun crossed this uh you know they
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 crossed the different towers and what it
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 seems to have been all about Andrew and
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 this is a slightly gruesome part of this
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 was ritual Warfare um uh it was about
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 the gods telling them that they had to
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 go and beat up the neighbors because
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 they' get the water if they didn't and
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 they had these ritual Wars which were
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 were
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 absolutely scathing they were ghastly
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 gruesome and there's a another Temple
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 not very far from chano which we also
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 visited that's uh full of um murals
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 carved murals that look as though
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 they've been made yesterday this is more
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 than 3 years old but it shows
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 dismembered bodies and it's just uh very
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 accurate and really Grim to look at um
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 so that was what it was all about uh
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 which is bizarre to our understanding
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 but it's an extraordinary thing the
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 reason why it's in the news again Andrew
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 to get to the point is that it's just
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 been given world heritage listing
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 oh yeah thanks to Clive and and other
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 people it really needs protection it is
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 such an iconic site magnificent it must
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 have been a thrill to get to see it
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 unbelievable yeah yeah unbelievable
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 amazing all right uh you can learn more
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 about it by um jumping online there's
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 lots of Articles and yeah it's easy to
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 find uh I think the University of
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 Leicester has published a story about it
00:13:55 --> 00:13:59 as well so yeah go and dig that one up
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 you're listening to Space Nuts my name's
00:14:02 --> 00:14:07 Andrew Dunley with Professor Fred
00:14:07 --> 00:14:11 Watson and I feel fine Space Nuts hello
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 again space Nutters this is Anna from
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 astronomy daily the podcast stopping by
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 again with a couple of the important
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 stories we've been following over the
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 past week today we've got some exciting
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 updates about NASA's Parker solar probe
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 and the Mars sample return Mission let's
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 start with some history making
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 in an incredible feat of engineering and
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 scientific achievement NASA's Parker
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 solar probe has just shattered its own
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 records by making its closest ever
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 approach to the sun on December 24th
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 2024 this remarkable spacecraft soared
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 through the solar atmosphere at a
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 mindboggling speed of 430
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 mph making it the fastest human-made
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 object in history to put that in
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 perspective you could Circle Earth 17
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 times in just one hour at that speed the
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 probe flew just 3.8 million miles above
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 the sun's surface which might sound like
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 a safe distance but consider this it's
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 flying through temperatures that could
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 melt steel the spacecraft's specially
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 designed carbon foam Shield protects its
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 sensitive instruments while enduring
00:15:15 --> 00:15:20 temperatures of up to 2 de F that's
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 about a quarter as hot as the sun's
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 surface itself the mission team received
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 confirmation late on December 26th when
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 the probe phoned home so to speak to
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 report that the spacecraft had survived
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 this daring encounter and is operating
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 perfectly normally this success marks
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 the beginning of a new phase in solar
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 exploration as the probe will continue
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 to make similar passes every 3 months
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 giving scientists unprecedented access
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 to study Our Stars most mysterious
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 processes up close this groundbreaking
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 proximity to the sun is giving
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 scientists an unprecedented opportunity
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 to unlock some of Our Stars greatest
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 Mysteries by flying directly through the
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 solar Corona the sun's superheated outer
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 atmosphere the Parker solar probe is
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 collecting data that's revolutionizing
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 our understanding of solar physics
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 previous passes have already challenged
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 what we thought we knew about the sun
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 scientists were surprised to discover
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 that the outer boundary of the corona
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 isn't smooth as previously believed but
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 actually wrinkled with spikes and
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 valleys the probe also solved a
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 long-standing mystery about strange
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 zigzag patterns patterns in the Solar
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 Wind Called switchbacks tracing their
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 origin to the sun's visible surface the
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 spacecraft is helping us better
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 understand how the corona reaches its
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 puzzling temperature of over a million
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 degrees Fahrenheit far hotter than the
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 sun's surface it's also revealing new
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 details about how the solar wind
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 accelerates to incredible speeds as it
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 flows outward through our solar system
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 these discoveries aren't just
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 academically interesting they're crucial
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 for understanding how solar activity
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 affects our technology on Earth and our
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 future space exploration efforts and
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 we're just getting started each close
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 pass through the corona gives scientists
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 more time to study these critical
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 processes where they actually happen the
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 data being collected now will take us
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 closer than ever to understanding the
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 fundamental physics that drive Our Stars
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 Behavior potentially revolutionizing our
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 ability to predict and prepare for solar
00:17:25 --> 00:17:29 events that could impact life on Earth
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 next up big changes are coming for
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 NASA's ambitious Mars sample return
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 Mission the space agency is getting
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 ready to announce a major overhaul of
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 the project in early January and it's
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 all about making the mission more
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 practical and cost effective the
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 original plan which would have cost
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 around 11 billion and wouldn't have
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 brought samples back until 2040 was
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 deemed too expensive and too slow by
00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 NASA administrator Bill Nelson that
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 timeline was particularly problematic
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 since NASA aims to Have astronauts on
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 Mar Mars by the 2040s and scientists
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 want to study these samples before
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 sending humans to the red planet NASA
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 has been exploring alternative
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 approaches reaching out to various
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 industry Partners including big names
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 like blue origin SpaceX and Northrup
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 Grumman by involving private companies
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 rather than relying solely on NASA
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 centers they're hoping to significantly
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 speed up the timeline and reduce costs
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 the mission is crucial because it would
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 be the first time we've ever returned
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 samples from Mars to Earth for detailed
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 study
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 the stakes are high for this project the
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 perseverance Rover is already on Mars
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 collecting samples in special tubes but
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 getting them back to Earth requires a
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 complex series of steps involving
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 multiple spacecraft and launches the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 challenge now is finding a way to
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 complete this ambitious goal without
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 breaking the bank or waiting until 2040
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 with major briefings already underway we
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 should know soon what this reimagined
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 Mars sample return Mission will look
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 like and that's it from me for this
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 episode of Space Nuts I'm Anna and I've
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 thoroughly enjoyed sharing these
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 incredible developments with you today
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 from record-breaking solar encounters to
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 the evolving plans for bringing pieces
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 of Mars back to Earth it's an exciting
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 time for space science don't forget to
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 visit astronomy daily. IO for your daily
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 fix of space and astronomy news updates
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 we're constantly updating the site with
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 the latest discoveries Mission updates
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 and Cosmic wonders until our next
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 adventure through the cosmos keep
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 looking up and stay curious about the
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 Mysteries that surround us in spaceace
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 nuts you'll be listening to the Space
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 Nuts
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 podcast available at Apple podcasts
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 Spotify ihart radio or your favorite
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 podcast player you can also stream on
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 demand at bites.com this has been
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 another quality podcast production from
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 bites.com