Space Nuts Episode: Dark Energy Discoveries, Ancient Peruvian Observatories, and Solar Proximity #482
Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson as they explore groundbreaking discoveries in this fascinating episode of Space Nuts. From potential evidence of dark energy to the mysteries of an ancient Peruvian observatory, and the record-breaking feats of NASA's Parker Solar Probe, this episode is packed with cosmic insights and historical wonders.
Episode Highlights:
- Dark Energy Detection: Dive into the latest research from the University of Cambridge, where scientists may have accidentally stumbled upon evidence of dark energy. Explore the significance of this potential discovery and its implications for the future of physics.
- Ancient Peruvian Observatory: Discover the story behind a 2,200-year-old observatory in Peru, recently granted World Heritage status. Learn about its role in ancient civilization and the remarkable precision of its astronomical alignments.
- Parker Solar Probe's Record-Breaking Mission: Marvel at NASA's Parker Solar Probe as it makes its closest-ever approach to the Sun, achieving unprecedented speeds and providing new insights into solar physics. Understand how this mission is reshaping our knowledge of the Sun's mysterious processes.
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Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.
00:00 - Space Nuts is taking a bit of a break at the moment
01:30 - University of Cambridge scientists looking for detection of dark energy using Italian telescope
08:07 - Peruvian observatory that was discovered in 2005 has hit the news again
14:26 - NASA's Parker Solar Probe made its closest ever approach to the Sun
17:29 - NASA is getting ready to announce major changes to its Mars sample return mission
18:56 - From record breaking solar encounters to the evolving plans for Mars
✍️ Episode References
University of Cambridge
[University of Cambridge](https://www.cam.ac.uk/)
Gran Sasso National Laboratory
[Gran Sasso National Laboratory](https://www.lngs.infn.it/en)
University of Leicester
[University of Leicester](https://le.ac.uk/)
NASA Parker Solar Probe
[NASA Parker Solar Probe](https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe)
NASA Mars Sample Return Mission
[NASA Mars Sample Return Mission](https://mars.nasa.gov/msr/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/24838307?utm_source=youtube
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