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In this episode of SpaceTime, we uncover remarkable revelations about Jupiter, lightning-induced gamma rays, and groundbreaking achievements in spaceflight.
Jupiter's Magnificent Past
A new study reveals that Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, was once twice its current size and possessed a magnetic field 50 times stronger than today. Researchers, led by Konstantin Batygin, used the orbits of Jupiter's small moons, Amalthea and Thebe, to deduce these findings, providing critical insights into the early stages of planetary formation. The implications of this research could reshape our understanding of gas giants and their formation processes across the universe.
Gamma Rays and Lightning
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have detected intense flashes of gamma rays produced by lightning strikes. This phenomenon, known as terrestrial gamma ray flashes, occurs when lightning accelerates electrons to near light speeds, resulting in bursts of radiation. The study, published in Science Advances, sheds light on the high-energy processes occurring in Earth's atmosphere, enhancing our understanding of lightning's power and its effects on our planet.
Precision Formation Flying in Space
History has been made in Earth orbit as two spacecraft from the European Space Agency's Proba 3 mission successfully flew in millimeter-perfect formation for the first time. This precision alignment is crucial for studying the Sun's corona, allowing the two satellites to simulate a single large spacecraft. We discuss the technology behind this mission and its potential to revolutionize solar observations.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (https://www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com/)
✍️ Episode References
Nature Astronomy
https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/ (https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/)
Science Advances
https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv (https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
00:00 This is Space Time Series 28, Episode 64 for broadcast on 28 May 2025
01:00 Jupiter's original size and magnetic field
12:15 Gamma ray flashes unleashed by lightning
22:30 Precision formation flying in space
30:00 Science report: New contact lens technology for night vision
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/27352545?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 This is Spaceime Series 28, episode 64
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 for broadcast on the 28th of May,
00:00:06 --> 00:00:10 2025. Coming up on Spaceime, a new study
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 shows that Jupiter was once twice as big
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 as it is now. How gammaray flashes are
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 unleashed by lightning and spaceflight
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 history made as two spacecraft orbiting
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 the Earth fly in millimeter perfect
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 formation. All that and more coming up
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 on Spaceime.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 Welcome to Space Time with Stuart
00:00:33 --> 00:00:40 [Music]
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 Garry. A new study has found that the
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 solar system's largest planet, Jupiter,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 was once twice as big as it is now and
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 had a far stronger magnetic field.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 and the gas giant has more than 2 and a
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 half times the combined mass of all the
00:01:03 --> 00:01:04 other bodies in the solar system
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 excluding the sun. Its diameter of
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 140 kilm is some 11 times larger
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 than that of Earth and it's a full
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 onetenth the size of the sun's diameter.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 Jupiter is huge. That's why it's often
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 referred to as the king of planets. It
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 circles the sun at an average distance
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 some 5.2 two times further out than the
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 Earth, taking 11.86 Earth years to
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 complete each orbit. The new findings
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 reported in the journal Nature Astronomy
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 suggest that around 3.8 million years
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 after the solar systems formation 4.6
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 billion years ago, at a time when the
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 first solids condensed out of the sun's
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 protolanetary disc, Jupiter was
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 significantly larger and had an even
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 more powerful magnetic field. One of the
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 studies authors, Constantine Badagen,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 says the ultimate goal of the research
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 has been to pin down the early phase of
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 planetary formation. Badajun and
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57 colleagues reached their findings by
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 studying Jupiter's tiny moons, Amla and
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 Thebee. They orbit even closer to
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 Jupiter than Io, the smallest and
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 nearest of the planet's four large
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 Galilean moons. Now, because Amla and
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 Thebee have slightly tilted orbits, the
00:02:11 --> 00:02:12 authors were able to analyze these small
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 orbital discrepancies in order to
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 calculate Jupiter's original size.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 finding it to be about twice that of its
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 current radius with a predicted volume
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 that was equivalent to over 2 times
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 that of Earth. They also calculated that
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 the planet's magnetic field was some 50
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 times stronger than what it is today.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 This new analysis is establishing a
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 clear snapshot of Jupiter at the moment
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 its surrounding solar nebula evaporated.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 And that's a pivotal transition point
00:02:39 --> 00:02:40 where the building materials of planet
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 formation disappear and the primordial
00:02:43 --> 00:02:44 architecture of our solar system was
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 finally locked in. The results add
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 crucial details to existing planet
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 formation theories, suggesting that
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Jupiter, as well as other gas giants
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 around other stars, were all formed
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 through a process of core accretion, in
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 which rocky and icy cores are first
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 established and then rapidly gather
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 surrounding gas. This spaceime still to
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 come, a new study describes how gammaray
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 flashes in Earth's atmosphere are
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 unleashed by lightning. And spaceflight
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 history's been made in Earth orbit with
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 two spacecraft successfully flying in
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 millimeter perfect formation for several
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 hours for the first time. All that and
00:03:20 --> 00:03:31 more still to come on Spaceime.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:38 [Music]
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 Scientists have detected intense flashes
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 of high energy gamma rays associated
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 with the collision of two bolts of
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 lightning. Lightning is a phenomenon
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 that's fascinated humanity since time
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 immemorial, providing a stark example of
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 the power and unpredictability of the
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 natural world. Although the study of
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 lightning can be challenging, scientists
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 have in recent years made great strides
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 in developing their understanding of
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 this extreme spectacle. Now, a report in
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 the journal Science Advances has
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07 described for the first time
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 observations of an intense burst of
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 radiation known as terrestrial gammaray
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 flash synchronized with a lightning
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 discharge. The study's lead author Yuki
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 Wada from the University of Asaka says
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 the ability to study extreme processes
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 such as terrestrial gammaray flashes
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 originating from lightning allows
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 scientists better understand the high
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 energy processes occurring in Earth's
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 atmosphere. It's been hypothesized that
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 terrestrial gammaray flashes arise from
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 lightning discharges as a result of the
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 acceleration of electrons to very high
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 speeds. However, the transient nature of
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 this phenomenon which only lasts for
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 micros secondsonds has always made it
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 difficult to study the hypothesis. So
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 wider and colleagues developed a
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 multi-ensor setup designed specifically
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 to detect optical radio frequency and
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 high energy radiation events. They were
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 able to observe two discharge paths of
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 lightning. one descending from the
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 thundercloud to the groundbased
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 transmission tower and one ascending up
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 in the opposite direction. Wider and
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06 colleagues found that terrestrial
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 gammaray flashes occurred just before
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 the two discharge paths met creating a
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 highly concentrated electric field that
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 accelerated electrons in the air to near
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 the speed of light. The first
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 terrestrial gammaray flash photon was
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 observed 31 micros secondsonds before
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 the collision of the discharge paths and
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 the full burst lasted for 20 micros
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 secondsonds after they emit to form the
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 lightning strike. The study contributes
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 crucial data to the long-standing
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 mystery of how lightning generates
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 enough energy to produce gamma rays
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 phenomenon normally associated with
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 outer space events like supernova or
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 black holes. The study also supports
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 emerging theories about lightning leader
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 dynamics and the potential role of
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 thermal runaway or relativistic feedback
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 in these extreme bursts. This spaceime
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 still to come, spaceflight history made
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 in Earth orbit with two spacecraft
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 successfully flying in millimeter
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 perfect formation for several hours for
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 the first time. And later in the science
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 report, researchers develop a new type
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 of contact lens, one that will help you
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 see in the dark. All that and more still
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 to come on
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 [Music]
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 Spaceime. Today's episode of Spaceime is
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 brought to you by Insta 360, the game
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 changer in 360° camera technology. Now,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 if you've ever wondered how some
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00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 well, that's probably Insta 360 magic.
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00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 everything around you at once, forward,
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00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 kicker. You don't even have to aim. Just
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00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 then reframe your shot after the fact
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 with the Insta 360 apps AI powered
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00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 links in our show notes. Head to
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00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 spacetime. And now it's back to our
00:08:22 --> 00:08:29 show.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 Spaceflight history's been made in Earth
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 orbit with two spacecraft successfully
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 flying in millimeter perfect formation
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 for several hours for the first time and
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 without any control from the ground. The
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 European Space Ay's Prober 3 mission
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 achieved the precision alignment which
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 is needed in order to carry out its
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 mission to study the sun's outer
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 atmosphere, the corona. You see, the two
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 Prober 3 spacecraft, which include a
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 chronograph orbiter and an occultter
00:08:53 --> 00:08:57 orbiter, need to fly exactly 150 m apart
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 in perfect formation in order to
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 simulate a single giant
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 spacecraft. Earlier this year, the first
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 step of the mission was successfully
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 completed. Using a set of positioning
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 instruments, flight operations managers
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 were able to align the two spacecraft in
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 formation and then monitor them as they
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 maintain their relative position
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 autonomously. Now following more
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 fine-tuning and testing, the team have
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 achieved the desired level of precision
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 they need, making Prober 3 the world's
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 first ever precision formation flying
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 mission. Issa Prober 3 systems engineer
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 Rafael Rugo says the task was carried
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 out at an orbital altitude of 50
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 kilm. Here Earth's gravitational pool
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 small enough so that very little
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 propellants needed to maintain flight
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 formation. But then the formation's
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 broken and needs to be acquired again
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 over the next orbit in a repeating
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 cycle. Now the ultimate goal is for the
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 two spacecraft to align with the sun so
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 that the 1.4 m disc carried on the
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 Acculta spacecraft casts a 5 cm shadow
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 onto the optical instrument aboard the
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 chronograph spacecraft thereby allowing
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 it to study the faint solar corona sun's
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 outer atmosphere. The spacecraft are
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 able to measure and control their
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 relative position using a visually based
00:10:06 --> 00:10:07 system which includes a wide-angle
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 camera on the Acculta, tracking a set of
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 flashing LED lights on the chronograph
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 spacecraft. Once the satellites get
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 close enough to each other, a narrow
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 angle camera locks onto the same set of
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 lights, enabling more accurate
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 positioning. Then a fine degree lateral
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 and longitudinal sensor lasers used to
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 achieve the millimeter accuracy needed
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 for the mission. that laser is fired
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 from the Acculta spacecraft and
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 reflected by the chronograph's
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 retroreflector back to the Acculta where
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 it's detected. Finally, a shadow
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 position sensor measures light intensity
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 around the chronograph aperture to
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 ensure the spacecraft stays in the
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 shadow cast by the Acculta spacecraft.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:48 This report from TV
00:10:48 --> 00:10:52 probin for let's try issa's family of
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 experimental small
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 satellites over the last two decades.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 Proba missions have pushed forward
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 spaceflight technology while gathering
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 valuable science data. The next in the
00:11:03 --> 00:11:07 series, Prober 3, is the most ambitious
00:11:07 --> 00:11:11 yet. Two satellites fly together as one
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 with millimeter level control of their
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 positions within a precise formation. In
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 the process, one will eclipse or block
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 the sun for the other. to reveal our
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 stars faint surrounding coronal
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 atmosphere for scientific
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 observation. Prober 3 requires a unique
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 orbit. The occulta spacecraft with its
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 1.4 m diameter occulting disc could
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 observe the sun in
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 eclipse. The satellite's orbit is highly
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 elliptical taking them to a maximum of
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 60 km from Earth.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 Gravitational, magnetic, and atmospheric
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 pertubations are much lower this far
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 out. This will make possible the precise
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 positioning needed for formation flying
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 and observing the sun's corona. At this
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 stage, it is important that the prob 3
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 satellites perform a series of maneuvers
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 to position themselves in relatively
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 safe orbits with respective to each
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 other.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 Achieving this nullifies any risk of the
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 pair either drifting away from each
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 other or colliding. The separation
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 between spacecraft will be as short as
00:12:22 --> 00:12:27 25 m and as long as 250 m with a nominal
00:12:27 --> 00:12:31 separation of around 150 m. The pale
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 determine their relative positions using
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 a suite of metrologies including radio
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 links, satellite navigation and a
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 visualbased system with optical tracking
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 of blinking
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 lights. Once sufficient accuracy has
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 been achieved, the final step deploy the
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 most precise measuring system of all,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 the laser metrology system known as the
00:12:54 --> 00:12:58 fine lateral and longitudinal sensor.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 With this laser link, the total
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 three-dimensional formation can attain
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 millimeter level
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 control. At this point, the Eula lined
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 up with the sun will cast a perfect
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 shadow for sustained observation of the
00:13:12 --> 00:13:16 sun's otherwise invisible corona.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 Once the occult shadow is maintained in
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 just the right spot on the face of the
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 other satellite, it will be safe for the
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 coronagraph to open its protective door
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 and start scientific observations of the
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 sun's
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 corona. Solar scientists travel the
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 world to glimpse brief solar eclipses,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 but Proer 3 will create eclipses on
00:13:38 --> 00:13:43 demand.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:53 This spaceime
00:13:53 --> 00:14:00 [Music]
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 And time now to take another brief look
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 at some of the other stories making news
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 in science this week with a science
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 report. Scientists have developed a new
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 type of contact lens, one that will help
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 you see in the dark. A report in the
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 journal cell claims the lenses work by
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 converting infrared light otherwise
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 imperceptible to the human eye into
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 visible light. And unlike night vision
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 goggles, these lenses don't need an
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 external power source. The technology
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 behind the lenses rely on nano particles
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 that absorb infrared which the authors
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 bonded with non-toxic polymers used in
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 standard contact lenses. When tested on
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 people, participants could detect the
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 location of flashing infrared lights,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 which they wouldn't be able to see
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 without the contacts. Now, additionally,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 the authors say they could alter the
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 nanop particles to convert different
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 wavelengths of light into different
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 colors, thereby allowing colorblind
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 people to see color. Now, currently, the
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 lenses can only detect infrared light
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 projected from an LED light source, but
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 researchers are now working on a version
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 that could detect lower levels of
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 infrared light out in the
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 wild. It turns out the humpback world's
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 epic migrations to tropical waters from
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 the Great Southern Ocean are not as
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 essential as previously thought for
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 giving birth. A report in the journal
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 Frontiers and Marine Science documented
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 newborn calves around Australia and New
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 Zealand with the southernmost found at
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 Port Arthur and Tasmania. That's 1500
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 kilometers further south than what it
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 was previously thought humpac whales
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 could carve. And the highest latitude
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 births recorded by Humpac Wales were
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 recorded even a little bit further north
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 Kikor in New Zealand. The authors say
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 it's very likely that this pattern of
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 births along the so-called humpback
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 highways always existed, but it was
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 obscured when the population crashed due
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 to
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 whailing. A Microsoft artificial
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 intelligence called Aurora has been
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 shown to outperform existing Earth
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 system forecasts, predicting extreme
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 events, including weather, air quality,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 ocean currents, sea ice, and hurricanes.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 Existing methods need to analyze decades
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 worth of data that require huge amounts
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 of computing power. A report in the
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 journal Nature claims all that data was
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 fed into Aurora and the AI successfully
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 outperformed seven forecasting centers
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 in predicting the route of cyclones 5
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 days in advance with 100% accuracy and
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 92% accuracy for 10-day forecasts. Even
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 better, training Aurora only took 2
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 months, whereas existing methods can
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 take years. Of course, it was only
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 possible to train the AI so quickly
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 because all that data used to train the
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 AI had already been collected by
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 existing Earth forecasting
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 centers. Google have held their major
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 artificial intelligence showcase IO
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 2025. With the details, we're joined by
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 technology editor Alexo from
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 techadvice.life.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 Yes. Well, they've had their major
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 Google IO 2025 event and this is where
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 they announced a lot of new things about
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 AI. So, one of the first changes that
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 people in the US will see on the Google
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 homepage, instead of seeing the I'm
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 feeling lucky button, it will be AI
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 search. And this is where you're
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 effectively talking to Gemini and
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 getting a full AI agent similar to what
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 you get with chat GPT or by going to
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 gemini.google.com. And it will expand
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 what you get with the AI overviews and
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 be a full-on assistant right there on
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 the most famous homepage in the world.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 You'll also be able to use that with
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 Google Chrome. It will be able to
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 navigate multiple tabs for you. Be able
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 to tell you what's on a web page. You
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 can question that and talk to it. They
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 were showing a demo where your assistant
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 could ring up a store and get
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 information about items in stock and
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 come back to you and uh actually take
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 actions for you. Now, these are still
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 coming, you know, later this year. I
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 mean, the Google homepage update is
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 available now for those in the US. the
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 Gemini live app itself that gives you
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 the ability to not just speak to the
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 chatbot like you could with Chat Gibbbit
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 or Grock but also now you can see so
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 we've spoken about this before but this
00:17:51 --> 00:17:55 previously was made exclusive to the S25
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 range and Google Pixel phones then it
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 was expanded to more Android phones and
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 now it's available to all effectively
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 modern Androids going back several years
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 and also iOS. Now I have tested it on my
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 phone with iOS and I don't have the
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 camera icon there yet. It's probably
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 something that is waiting for an update
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 uh to come, but you'll be able to hold
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 your phone up to anything and ask
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 questions about it. Identify plants,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 animals, uh looking at instructions on
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 how to put together some IKEA furniture,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 whatever it might be. This is like
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 talking to a a robot except you're
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 holding the phone in your hand. But
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 there's plenty more. I mean, Google Beam
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 is an update for Project Starite, which
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 was a the ability to talk to people in
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 what appeared to be like a 3D way, even
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 though you were sitting in front of a 2D
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 television screen. Now, HP is going to
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 launch these big TV screens/ monitors
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 with six cameras that will take images
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 from various viewpoints around you and
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 and simulate a 3D image. So you will
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 feel as though you are actually talking
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 to that person in a way that is more
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 engaging and more real than just the way
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 we do with Zoom and Google Meets and and
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 uh FaceTime and Skype. Another example
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 of Google's proess was with the Google
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 Meet Zoom equivalent where somebody was
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 speaking in Spanish, somebody was
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 speaking in English. And a couple of
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 seconds after you start speaking in your
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 language, it's being converted into
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 Spanish if you're speaking English. And
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19 it's being done in your tone of voice.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 In the demo, it was very quick and
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 lifelike is effectively pretty much in
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 real time. Updates to Imagine 4, the
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 image editor. V3, the video editor, were
00:19:29 --> 00:19:31 now delivering much more realistic
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 images. And with the video, it could
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 pair that with audio that would match
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 the physics of what was on screen. So
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 they had a gentleman in a boat. the
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 waves were crashing uh you know or just
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 moving and you could hear them. It was
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 very realistic. And they've actually now
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 got a thing called Flow which takes all
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 of their tools together and can make
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 movies for you just by describing each
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 scene and you can extend a scene and
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 export the clips. Really quite
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 incredible. Also an Android XR headset
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 that's extended reality being made with
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 Samsung and Qualcomm. Looks very much
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 like the Apple Vision Pro except of
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 course it's running Android. And then
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 also these glasses looking like a pair
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 of black rimmed Ray-B bands for example
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 and there was a camera and you could
00:20:12 --> 00:20:15 talk to Gemini and you could see images
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 that popped up and were translucent so
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 you could see through them but they were
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 in your field of view. You could pick up
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 a map for example and and see the
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 directions. If you look down you would
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 actually see a little map displayed
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 there and you could speak and see
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 subtitles of what somebody else was
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 saying and have that translated into
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 another language. Lia 2 was audio. I was
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 part of the uh suite that creates the
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 videos and that was able to make this
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 orchestral beautiful sounding rich
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 music. Pretty amazing stuff. It's
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 effectively all available now. How long
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 it will take until it comes to Australia
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 is yet to be seen. The Flow video
00:20:46 --> 00:20:49 creation tool is part of Google Gemini
00:20:49 --> 00:20:53 Ultra. Now, this is in US dollars,
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 $249.99 a month. First three months are
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 at half price. There was also a a pro
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 version for about 20 bucks. And uh
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 there's clearly it's free as well, but
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 if you want more rate limits as it were
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 and the ability to do more with the
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 latest tools as they come out, I mean
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 this is next level stuff. That's Alex
00:21:09 --> 00:21:19 Haravo from techadvice.life.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:27 [Music]
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