00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 [music] the podcast that brings you the
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 latest news from across the cosmos. I'm
00:00:06 --> 00:00:07 Avery. [music]
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 Today's agenda covers a lot, from
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 [music] Europe's new ambitions in space
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 launch to the strange secrets of star
00:00:17 --> 00:00:18 [music] quakes near black holes.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 >> That's right. We'll also be diving into
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 the very nature of time itself,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 searching for hidden stars that might
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 host intelligent life, and looking at a
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 new mission to monitor the dangers of
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 living on the moon. So, let's get
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 started.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 >> First up, [music] there's big news from
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 the European Space Agency. It looks like
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 they're getting very serious about
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 fostering a commercial launch market.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 >> They certainly are. Member states have
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 committed over€ 900 million e to the
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 European Launcher Challenge. That's more
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 than double what was anticipated.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 >> And what's interesting here is the
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 strategy. This isn't about ISSA directly
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 funding the development of a new rocket.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 Instead, they're acting more like a
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 customer, promising to purchase launch
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 services and co-und upgrades for private
00:01:05 --> 00:01:05 companies.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 >> Right? It's the shift from being the
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 builder to being an anchor client. It's
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 a model that has worked very well for
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 NASA with companies like SpaceX. It
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 stimulates competition and innovation.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 >> Exactly. There's a whole list of
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 companies shortlisted for this,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 including ESAR Aerospace, Rocket
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Factory, Augsburg, and PLLD Space, among
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 others. We're seeing major contributions
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 from countries like Germany, Spain, and
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 the UK.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 >> So, what's the timeline for this? When
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 can we expect to see these new launch
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 services in action?
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 >> The plan is to sign framework agreements
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 in 2026 with the goal of seeing launch
00:01:43 --> 00:01:47 system demonstrations by 2027. If all
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 goes well, we should see actual missions
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 being flown under this program by 2030.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 It's a major step towards European
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 autonomy and space access.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 >> From launching rockets to listening to
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 stars, our next story is truly
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 fascinating. Scientists are using star
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 quakes to uncover the secrets of dormant
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 black holes. And it's rewriting what we
00:02:09 --> 00:02:10 thought we knew.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:14 >> Star quakes? So, you mean astroismology?
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 studying the oscillations of stars.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 >> Precisely. The study focused on two
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 systems, Gaia BH2 and Gaia BH3.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 Each has a red giant star orbiting a
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 quiet black hole. In the Gaia BH2
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 system, the star quakes revealed a
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 puzzle. The star appears young, but its
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 chemical composition says it's old.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 >> That's a contradiction. How did they
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 explain that? The leading theory is that
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 the red giant is actually the product of
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 two stars that merged into one. This
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 would explain its unusually fast spin
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 rate as well. So, it had a dramatic life
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 even before it got captured by the black
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 hole.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 >> Incredible. And what about the other
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 system Gaia BH3?
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 >> That one presented a different kind of
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 mystery. The red giant in that system is
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 ancient and what we call metal pore.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 According to our models, it should be
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 showing starquakes, but it isn't. It's
00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 completely silent.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 >> So, our understanding of how these old
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 stars behave might be wrong.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 >> It suggests that yes, the research is a
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 fantastic example of how studying these
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 companion stars can refine how we
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 measure black hole masses and reveal the
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 complex violent histories these systems
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 can have. Well, from the complex history
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 of stars to the complex nature of time
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 itself, this is a topic that has baffled
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 physicists and philosophers for
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 centuries. As St. Augustine famously
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 said, we know what time is until someone
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 asks us to explain it.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 >> It's one of the ultimate questions. And
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 a lot of the confusion, according to
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 some physicists, comes from mixing up
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 two different concepts, existence and
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 occurrence. Okay, break that down for
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 us.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 >> The universe as a physical object
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 exists, but events within the universe
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 don't exist in the same way. They happen
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 or they occur. The past isn't a place
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 that still exists. And the future isn't
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 a place that's waiting for us. They are
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 just records and probabilities of
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 occurrences.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 >> That makes sense. So, this helps clarify
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 some old philosophical arguments.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 >> It does. Take the ancient Greek
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 philosopher Parmenities who argue that
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 since we can talk about the past and
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 future, they must exist. This new
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 perspective says that's a fallacy based
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 on that core confusion. The same goes
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 for how we often interpret Einstein's
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 concept of spaceime.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 >> Right. People often imagine spacetime as
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 a physical block universe that you could
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 theoretically travel through.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 >> Exactly. But it's more useful to think
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 of spaceime as a map of events. The map
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 is a real useful model, but it's not the
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 territory. The map of your city exists,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 but you can't live in the map. By
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 cleanly separating the existence of the
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 universe from the occurrence of events,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 the so-called mystery of time becomes
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 much less mysterious.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 >> Speaking of searching for things, let's
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 turn our attention to the search for
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 extraterrestrial intelligence or SETI. A
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 new study suggests we can make our
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 search much more effective by accounting
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 for stars that we've been ignoring.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 >> Hidden stars. How can a star be hidden?
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 >> It's not that they're physically hidden,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 but they're not the primary targets of
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 our surveys. Think about it. When a
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 radio telescope points at a specific
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 star, its field of view is much wider.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 It inevitably captures data from
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 countless other stars in the background
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 and foreground. The study calls this
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 stellar by catch.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 >> Ah, I see. So, we have all this data on
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 stars we weren't even intentionally
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 looking at.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 >> Precisely. The challenge is knowing
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 which stars are in that by catch. To
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 solve this, scientists are using
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 something called the Bisank galactic
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 model. It simulates our galaxy's star
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 populations, allowing them to predict
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 which hidden stars are likely in a
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 telescope's field of view at any given
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 time. So this vastly expands the number
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 of stars we're monitoring for techno
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 signatures without needing any new
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 observations or equipment.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 >> Yes. And it also helps remove human bias
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 from target selection. Projects like
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 Breakthrough Listen can now apply this
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 method to get a much more comprehensive
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 survey of our galaxy. It's a very clever
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 way to maximize the scientific return
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 from the data we're already collecting.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 For our final story, we're coming back a
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 little closer to home, to the moon. As
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 nations like China and the US make
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 serious plans for lunar bases, a new
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 mission from Hong Kong aims to monitor a
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 constant threat, things falling from the
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 sky.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 >> You mean meteoroid impacts. We know they
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 happen, but this mission aims to provide
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 the first ever continuous monitoring of
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 them from lunar orbit.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 >> That's right. The mission is called
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 Wessen, which means moon flashes. It's a
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 lunar orbiter set to launch by 2028. Its
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 primary job will be to watch for the
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 bright flashes caused by meteoroids
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 hitting the lunar surface.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 >> And this data is critical. Without an
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 atmosphere to burn them up, even small
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 pebbles can hit with the force of a hand
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 grenade. These impacts pose a very real
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 threat to future lunar infrastructure
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 and of course to astronauts.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 >> It's a huge engineering and safety
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 challenge. Wesson's data will be
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 particularly valuable for China's
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 ambitious plans to establish a lunar
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 research station. What's also notable is
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 that the telescope for the mission is
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 being designed and built in Hong Kong,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 marking a significant step for the city
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 in space exploration.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 >> It will be a great complement to other
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 monitoring efforts like NASA's
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 Earth-based observations and ISIS
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 proposed Lumio mission. To truly
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 understand the risks of living on the
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 moon, we need that constant closeup
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 view. USAN promises to deliver just
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 that.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 >> And that's all the time we have for
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 today. From commercial rockets to cosmic
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 philosophies, we've covered a lot of
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 ground.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 >> We hope you enjoyed the journey. Join us
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 next time for another edition of
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 Astronomy Daily, where we continue to
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 explore the universe one story at a
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 time. Thanks for listening.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 >> And one quick plug. For more space and
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 astronomy news and all our back catalog,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 just visit our website at
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 astronomyaily.io.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 You can also follow us on social media.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 Just search for Astro Daily Pod on your
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 favorite platforms. That's it for me.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 I'm Avery. Clear skies, everyone, and
00:08:50 --> 00:08:55 keep looking up.
00:08:55 --> 00:09:02 [music]
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 Stories told. [music]