00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 Hello again. Thanks for joining us. This
00:00:01 --> 00:00:05 is a Q&A episode of Space Nuts, where we
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 answer astronomy and space science
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 questions from our audience. Today,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 David wants to know about Mars meteor
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 showers. Penny is asking about fly
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 through missions for Saturn and Jupiter.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 That could be messy. Uh Andy is asking
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 about the gravitational effect of
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 Jupiter on its uh moons, particularly
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 Europa. And Duncan wants to talk about
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 alien civilizations. We will deal with
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 all of that and more on this episode of
00:00:34 --> 00:00:35 Space Nuts.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:39 >> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9
00:00:40 --> 00:00:41 Ignition sequence start.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:42 >> Space Nuts.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:47 >> 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1
00:00:47 --> 00:00:48 >> Space Nuts.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 >> Astronauts report. It feels good.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 >> This is Fred Watson's favorite segment.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 He's back again for more. Professor Fred
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 Watson, astronomer at large. Hello.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 Hello, Andrew. How are you?
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 >> I am quite well. It's been a long time,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:07 like I don't know, two or three minutes.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 >> Hope nobody's guessed that we record
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 these in pairs. But never mind. Never
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 mind.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 >> If they haven't figured it out by now,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 they probably never will.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 >> That's right.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 >> I'm pretty sure most people know how it
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 works. I mean, they just have to look at
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 the shirts we're wearing every week.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:25 That's if they do it on the YouTube
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 channel. Although I don't know if I
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 don't know if they put the video on
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 anymore because um it could be could be
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 a bit bit of a turnoff. So I don't know.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:37 Um anyway, uh all is well with you. I
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 trust
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 >> it is. Thank you. Yes. All good.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 >> I already knew the answer, but we have
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 to ask because you know this is just to
00:01:43 --> 00:01:43 be bal.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 >> Yes, that's it. Exactly. Um what why
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 don't we try and answer some questions?
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 >> Oh, all right. If you must.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 >> Well, you do it. I'm just going to push
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 him in there. Uh, let's go to our first
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 question. It comes from David
00:01:57 --> 00:02:01 >> David Thompson here from Spring in the
00:02:01 --> 00:02:06 UK. Back to Mars. As a child of the 50s
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 and 60s,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 uh, reading the comics
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 at the time, there was always a risk of
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 meteor showers. I'm just wondering given
00:02:18 --> 00:02:23 that Mars atmosphere is not as dense as
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 the Earth's
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 whether smaller meteorites would be able
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 to
00:02:30 --> 00:02:36 hit the surface of Mars and be a real
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 hazard to anybody putting a house there.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 Find the podcast absolutely amazing.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 Everybody have a great day. Bye.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 Thank you, David. Thanks for those kind
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 words. I'm glad you're enjoying the the
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 podcast. Uh so, we're back to Mars. I
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 didn't push him there. I didn't. Um
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 everyone knows I love Mars, but uh yeah,
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 meteor showers. Uh he makes up He brings
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 up an interesting point. It's got a much
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 less significant atmosphere than Earth.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 So, does that mean smaller things can
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 get through?
00:03:11 --> 00:03:15 >> It does. Yes, it does. Uh David's
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 absolutely right. Uh I'm delighted we've
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 got a listener in Horton Lispring. I um
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 used to drive past there very very
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 frequently. It's between Durham and
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 Sunderland in the north of England. And
00:03:26 --> 00:03:30 I was a very very regular user of the
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 A1M which goes right past Horton the
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 spring. Uh and it's lovely to hear your
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 voice, David, and hear that lovely North
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 Durham accent there. Um the answer is
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 yes. Uh uh so because the atmosphere you
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 know the atmospheric pressure on Mars is
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 I think it's 6% of our atmospheric
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 pressure which means that meteorites
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 coming in are going to have a lot less
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 resistance. Um we know of meteorites on
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 Mars. Many have been identified by both
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 Curiosity and Perseverance uh usually by
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 their but by their color, but both those
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 um rovers were equipped with laser
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 zappers that could give us an idea of
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 their content. And some of those
00:04:11 --> 00:04:12 meteorites have been found to be
00:04:12 --> 00:04:16 metallic. Uh so meteorites on Mars are
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 something that happens. And yes, there's
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 probably a higher risk of uh of damage
00:04:20 --> 00:04:24 from an incoming meteorite on Mars than
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 on Earth. um because uh the likelihood
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 is that their terminal velocity uh the
00:04:31 --> 00:04:32 sort of final velocity after they've
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 passed through the atmosphere will be
00:04:35 --> 00:04:36 much higher than it will be on Earth
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 just because of that lower pressure.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 >> Uh and so yes um me meteorite protection
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 might turn out to be quite an important
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 aspect of putting humans on Mars. We
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 haven't had any reports of you know
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 there's how many rovers have been on
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 Mars now? I can think of one, two,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 three, four, five, six.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 >> At least six, probably more like seven
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 or eight. Uh they are um Andrew is
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 googling it as we speak.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:07 >> Yeah.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 >> Six.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 >> Six rovers. Sojourer, Spirit,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 and uh Jirong, the Chinese mission.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 >> The Chinese one. That's right. Yeah,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 that So I did get the right answer. Six.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:25 >> Yeah. Uh yeah, it's um so uh none of
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 those as to the best of our knowledge
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 has suffered any kind of meteoritic
00:05:30 --> 00:05:34 impact. So at least so far so good in
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 terms of our understanding of the
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 meteorite hazard on Mars. But a good
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 question to raise David and gives us
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 always always gives us a chance to talk
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 about Mars. He he did ask about the
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 danger to housing
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 on Mars. They probably won't build
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 houses on Mars like they do on Earth and
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 and the because of the radiation issues,
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 they're probably going to have to go
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 underground which would um protect them
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 from anything like that. But there will
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 be surface something or other there one
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 day.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 >> So that's infrastructure.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 >> Yeah. Perhaps domes that they could be
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 susceptible maybe. Yeah, it looks like I
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 mean what what we imagine is something
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 like White Cliffs in uh Western New
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 South Wales where people live
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 underground.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:20 >> They do.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 >> And that's just to get out of the heat.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 Um
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 >> so
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 >> that's that's radiation.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 >> Yes, it is solar radiation. That's
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 right.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:30 >> Yeah, indeed.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 >> Yeah. I thought of another question. Um
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 we Yeah, here it is. Uh we are
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 constantly monitoring for big objects
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 that could be threatening to Earth,
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 things that could destroy cities or
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 regions or god forbid the planet itself
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 as we know it. Uh what about Mars? Do we
00:06:48 --> 00:06:49 keep an eye on anything that might hit
00:06:50 --> 00:06:55 that? Um so yes to some extent if you
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 you know if you can identify near-Earth
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 objects uh and look at their orbits you
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 would certainly find out um from the
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 analysis very quickly if there was any
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 risk of one of those hitting the planet
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 Mars but there's probably many small
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 objects in the vicinity of Mars because
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 it's closer to the asteroid belt than we
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 are uh which are undetectable from the
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 distance of Earth. Uh, you know, objects
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 that might even be as big as Phobos,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 Mars's biggest moon.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 >> Uh, we we we would be able to detect
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 that from Earth quite easily. But, um,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 as we obviously can, it was discovered
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 in the 1800s. Uh but you know if you had
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 something that was only a few tens of
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 meters across uh which could pose a
00:07:39 --> 00:07:44 hazard uh to houses on Mars um that uh
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 would be hard to detect from the
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 distance of Earth unless it be unless it
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 was also a near-Earth object. So it was
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 coming uh close to closer to our
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 telescopes.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 >> Yeah. Uh there'd be nothing much we
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 could do about a big thing hitting Mars
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 anyway is there? Or there'd be a good
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 experiment if we wanted to test our
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 capabilities. Well, that's right. If
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 there was, you know, the the bigger ones
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 are the the ones that we know more
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 about, uh, because they're easier to
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 see. Uh, if something like that was
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 looking as though it might collide with
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 Mars,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 >> yes, it might be a good time to test out
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 the theories that were put into place
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 with the Dart mission a few years ago,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 see whether it'll actually work on
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 something a bit bigger than that.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 One can only wonder, but um hopefully we
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 don't ever have to put it to the test
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 for for ourselves. But uh yeah, you just
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 never know. There's always something
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 going on out there. There's so much
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 stuff bumping into it. There's something
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 else out there. It's it's only a matter
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 of time before one of them carines into
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 our sector and becomes a potential
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 threat. Although we seem to be finding
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 them more and more now, don't we
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 >> with with and that's the the good news
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 part of this story. two good news sides
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 of this story. One is that the big ones
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 are the easiest to find and the other is
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 that we've been finding these things now
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 for the last 40 years and have a good
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 idea of what the Earth's environments
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 like.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 >> Yeah, great to hear from you, David.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Great question and uh thanks for sending
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 it in. Our next question comes from
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 Penny. It's a short quick one. I think I
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 know where this one might go too in
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 terms of an answer. As Saturn and
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 Jupiter are gas giants, are there any
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 plans to fly a spacecraft through the
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 middle of one or both of them?
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 Interesting question, Penny. Uh I do
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 recall um when you're talking about u
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 comet or asteroid impacts, the um the
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 impact with Jupiter uh many many years
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 ago that we we almost got footage of. It
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 was just quite not quite the right
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 angle, but we did see the aftermath of
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 it.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:50 That's Schumaci the second one Jupiter
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 back
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 >> can't remember what year 94 I think it
00:09:53 --> 00:09:59 might have been um so uh the issue is
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 that um the gas giant aspect of these
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 planets is really just their outer
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 envelope that's gassy u and we don't
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 really know what's underneath that. Uh
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 the likelihood is there will be a solid
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 core there. Uh it may be rocky. Some
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 have suggested that it will be made of
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 metallic hydrogen which is hydrogen in a
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 very unusual form. Uh so you've got a
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 core of something called metallic
00:10:26 --> 00:10:30 hydrogen. So um flying through is not
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 anything that's planned because it would
00:10:32 --> 00:10:36 be impossible. But even if these gas
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 giants were sort of gaseous all the way
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 through, it still would be a very hard
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 thing to achieve because you're entering
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 an atmosphere that you'd have to slow
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 the rocket the spacecraft down
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 enormously in order to prevent it from
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 just melting by friction with the
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 atmosphere, which is what happened to
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 Cassini. Cassini was plunged into
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 Saturn's atmosphere at the end of its
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 mission in 2017. uh it didn't burn up
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 because there's no oxygen in Saturn's
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 atmosphere, but the friction made it
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 melt. Basically, it just melted and fell
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 to pieces. In fact, NASA produced uh
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 some real tearjerker footage of what
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 that might have looked like,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 >> which we saw uh often at the end of the
00:11:19 --> 00:11:23 Cassini mission. uh you know this thing
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 which had performed valiantly for the
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 previous 13 years and done a marvelous
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 job at revolutionizing our knowledge not
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 just of Saturn and its rings and moons
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 but also the way planets form and things
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 like that. Uh this footage of uh Cassini
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 hitting the top of Saturn's atmosphere
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 and having its antennas ripped off and
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 eventually just melting into becoming
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 part of the atoms of the atmosphere of
00:11:46 --> 00:11:50 Saturn. And that is you, you know, any
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 mission to try and penetrate down
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 through the atmosphere would would
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 struggle uh because of the the rapid
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 increase in density, the fact that
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 you've got to slow the spacecraft down
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 in order to stop it just burning up by
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 friction. Um, I think one of the Jupiter
00:12:07 --> 00:12:11 missions, I can't remember which one,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 might have been Galileo, um, actually
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 sensed as it hits Jupiter's atmosphere
00:12:17 --> 00:12:21 to burn up again or to to melt. I think
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 there were sensors on board that were
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 giving us some readings of what the
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 conditions were like.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 >> Yeah. Um,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 I I think the other big problem would be
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 pressure, wouldn't it? if you tried to
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 fly through.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:37 >> Yeah. So, the pressure just goes up um
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 probably exponentially at some level.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 >> Yeah. Uh and Penny might be interested
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 to know that there are some missions
00:12:44 --> 00:12:48 slated for um the near future. Uh Europa
00:12:48 --> 00:12:52 Clipper uh which will launch in or it's
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 already launched should be 20 yeah 2030.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Uh there's the juice mission which
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 launched in 2023 which arrives in 2031
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 and Dragonfly
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 um with with the um with the helicopter
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 um
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 >> off to Titan.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:12 >> Yeah, we'll launch in 2028. So they
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 they're more interested in some of the
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 um moons around those gas giants, but um
00:13:18 --> 00:13:22 yes, they are fascinating. And of
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 course, we're most interested in Europa
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 Clipper because we want to know if
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 anything's living in the ocean.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 And maybe there is, maybe there isn't.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 Who knows? It could just be made of
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 jelly. We we don't really know. Uh
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 although the juice mission is more
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 likely to figure all that out. Uh boom
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 boom. Um thank you, Penny. Lovely to
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 hear from you. This is Space Nuts Q&A
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 edition with Andrew Dunley and Professor
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 Fred Watson.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 Let's take a break from the show to tell
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00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 >> Okay, we checked all four systems and
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 with the go.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 >> Space nuts. And speaking of uh Europa
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 and Jupiter, we've got a a question now
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 from Andy. This is Andy, the train
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 driver from London. Uh just got a
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 question about Europa. I know Europa
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 erupts because it's being sort of
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 squeezed by the gravity of Jupiter,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 but what I don't understand is if Europa
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 is being affected by Jupiter's gravity,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 why is it not just being pulled closer
00:15:53 --> 00:15:57 to Jupiter? I thought gravity pulls
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 things down. Like when you throw a ball
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 in the air, gravity pulls it back down.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 I don't understand how Europa is being
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 squeezed. Uh that suggests to me that
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 it's being affected by gravity from all
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 directions. So I squeeze it like a like
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 you could squeeze a tennis ball. Maybe
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 you can shed some light on this or tell
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 me that I'm barking up the wrong tree.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 Anyway, thanks for the podcast, guys.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 Really interesting. Uh and see you on
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 the next one. It's Jord's job to bark up
00:16:26 --> 00:16:30 the wrong tree. But um that
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 >> nicely done, Andrew.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 >> Um your point is well taken, Andy. Uh
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 it's not just Europa, though. Uh there
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 are several moons orbiting the gas
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 giants that that do get that squeeze
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 effect. Titan, I think, is is one of
00:16:43 --> 00:16:47 them. And um oh, look, probably all of
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 them to some degree, but Europa, yeah,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:53 it's it's it's in a difficult position.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 Uh, it's a good question though. Why
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 don't they just get sucked in? Like our
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 moon doesn't, but we're not a gas giant.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 >> No. Same thing happens to our moon,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 though. Um, so, uh, it's actually
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 probably I think the moon that Andy's
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 thinking of is Io, which is the
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 innermost of the of the moons, the the
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 big moon, big four moons of Jupiter. And
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 it is the one that gets the most
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 squeezing and squashing u because of its
00:17:19 --> 00:17:23 uh proximity to to Jupiter. Europa
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 probably also has the same phenomenon
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 and there there may be eruptions of it
00:17:28 --> 00:17:32 on Europa that possibly um a bit like
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 Enceladus where you've got stuff
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 streaming out through the cracks in the
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 in the ice.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 >> Uh but the the genuine volcanic
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 eruptions which they really are it's hot
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 lava uh is what take place on Eio the
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 innermost of those moons. So um the way
00:17:48 --> 00:17:52 to understand this uh is to real
00:17:52 --> 00:17:56 recognize that if you've got an object
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 in a very strong gravitational field
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 first of all let me just clarify the
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 reason why objects in orbit around other
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 objects don't just get pulled in. They
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 are getting pulled in but they've got a
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 forward motion that compensates for the
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 for the pull. So basically the the
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 motion of the object through space uh is
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 what balances out the gravity of a giant
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 like Jupiter. And so that you know the
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 the greater the gravity of a of a planet
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 the faster it satellites have to orbit
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 in order not to not to fall in. Um and
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 so that's that's the mechanism that
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 stops these things just immediately
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 being sucked in to Jupiter. They're
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 already moving and that comes about. Why
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 are they moving? Because they were
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 formed that way with the the way the,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 you know, the planets and their
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 satellites evolved, the way they formed.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 They're basically swirling around right
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 from the start. And that swirling motion
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 is what stops which is fossilized in the
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 in the planets themselves and and the
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 moons of the planets and stops them
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 falling into their parent object. But
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 the the squeezing and squashing comes
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 from what we call a tidal effect. And it
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 is actually exactly the same thing that
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 gives rise to tides on the earth. Uh but
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 let's concentrate for a minute on Io.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 Here's this little world
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19 right next to gas giant Jupiter. One
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 side of EO is feeling the gravitational
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 pull of Jupiter. The other side is as
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 well, but it's feeling slightly less
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 because it's further away because the
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 gravitational pull falls off as as the
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 distance squared. One over the distance
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 squared. So um further on the farther
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 side of EO from Jupiter it's going to
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 feel less force and that is what con
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 contributes to this tension that there
00:19:45 --> 00:19:49 is uh and basically elongates the planet
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 slightly in the direction of Jupiter.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 Now
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 why we talk about squashing and
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 squeezing is that throughout the orbit
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 of Vo which is not a planet it's a
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 satellite but around the orbit of Vo as
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 it goes around is not circular. So
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 sometimes that force is greater than
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 others that tension that's trying to
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 pull it apart. Uh it's greater than at
00:20:11 --> 00:20:15 other times and and basically it's that
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 squashing uh stretching really is the
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 best word for it. As it goes round as it
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 goes around Jupiter uh that change in
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 the stretch force that's being applied
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 is what generates the heat that causes
00:20:27 --> 00:20:30 these eruptions to continually take
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 place. So and that's called the tidal
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 effect. the fact that one side of a body
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 feels a different gravitational force
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 from the other. It's what makes us
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 susceptible if we fall into a black hole
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 to spaghettification.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 Spaghettification is just a nicer word
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 than tidal effects.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 >> Yeah. So, you've got a real combination
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 of of factors.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 >> Yeah, that's right. You you've got the
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 the the gravitational effect, you've got
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 orbital dynamics.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 >> Yep.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 >> Um all sort of coinciding to keep these
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 things from falling into the planet, but
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 there's a tug of war going on.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 >> Yeah. Uh I I saw a really good
00:21:03 --> 00:21:06 demonstration online oh probably three
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 or four weeks ago on on how the tides
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 work on Earth. And of course most people
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 and I must confess guilt here assume
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 that the moon causes the water to rise
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 and then fall. But it's not. It's the
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 fact that the Earth is rotating, the
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 moon is orbiting, and there's always a
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 wave. It's just always there. And it's
00:21:27 --> 00:21:30 just that when it um when the moon
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 reaches your vicinity that that lump of
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 water comes up.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 >> Yeah.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 >> And goes down again. It's it's not the
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 water so much rising. It's just it's
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 always risen in proximity to the moon.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 >> Am I right?
00:21:44 --> 00:21:47 >> Uh you are. You're partly right because
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 it's a bit more
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 >> I knew I missed something.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52 >> Yeah. And the that doesn't explain the
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 bulge on the other side because as you
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 know you get a high tide every every 20
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 hours not every 24 hours.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 >> And that's because um again it's the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 tidal effect. So the moon's pulling on
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 the ocean on the near side. It's also
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 pulling on the earth itself and that
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 leaves behind the water on the other
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 side. So you get a bulge
00:22:14 --> 00:22:18 on each side. That's works.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 >> Fascinating. Yeah. Yeah, it's worth
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 looking up that demo. Um I didn't read
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 the fine print obviously, but uh yeah,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 that that makes sense. So the water's
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 being pulled, sort of dragging with it,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 and then the water is being left behind
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 on the other side. So you got two
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 bulges.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 >> Two bulges. Exactly. So
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 >> it's fascinating.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 >> So
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 >> um and that's what's happening to all
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41 these these moons in various ways. If
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 they have not water, something else is
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 being
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 >> Well, that's right. It's the rock. The
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 rock does it as well. The same is true
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 on Earth. We the rock goes up and down
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 as well. I've got a question for Andy,
00:22:50 --> 00:22:53 though. Um if he's um ever getting back
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 to us, I'd like to know what sort of
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 trains he drives.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 >> Uh because um yeah, I'm a bit of a train
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 nerd myself.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 >> Train train drivers are my heroes.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 >> Yeah. I live next door to a retired
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 train driver. So
00:23:07 --> 00:23:10 >> yeah. Um but when we flew into do the
00:23:10 --> 00:23:14 other day, I looked down at the rail
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 maintenance facility. It's it's a brand
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 new system uh facility that's just been
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 built in do and they're fitting out all
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 the new regional trains and you can see
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 them all lined up bright red all
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 >> getting ready to go. They're putting all
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 the furniture in them and uh uh the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:33 Wi-Fi systems and yeah uh they'll be
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 rolled out pretty soon. Not not exactly
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 sure when, but um the plan is soon.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 That's the answer to the question
00:23:39 --> 00:23:43 officially. Have you um have you ridden
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 on um new metro trains here in Sydney?
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 >> Yes, I have. Yes.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 >> So, you'll know that they drive 100
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 kilometer now with no driver. You can
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 stand at the front, look out the front
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 window, and pretend you're driving it.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 >> Yeah. And I've done that in a taxi in
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 San Francisco.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 >> Oh, yes, you have.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 >> Drives driverless taxis.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 >> Driverless taxi.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 >> That's next level. That's just amazing.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 But yeah. Yeah.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 >> Pretty incredible stuff.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 >> Thanks, Sandy. Um really enjoyed that
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 question. And uh yeah, if you want to
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 tell us what sort of train you drive,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 send us another message. We'd um we'd
00:24:13 --> 00:24:16 love to find out.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:20 >> I'm going to step off the land now.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:25 That's one small step for man,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 one lead for mankind.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 >> Space nuts.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 >> Our final question today, Fred, comes
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 from Duncan. He said, "I've heard that a
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 group of astrophysicists have calculated
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 that there are an estimated 1 alien
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 civilizations spread across the Milky
00:24:43 --> 00:24:46 Way, but the Milky Way is 100 light
00:24:46 --> 00:24:49 years across. How far away would an
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 advanced civilization have to be in
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 practical terms to be uncontactable?"
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 Uh, in other words, uh, are we
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 realistically given the distances
00:24:59 --> 00:25:02 involved effectively alone?
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 Uh yes is the answer.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 >> Yeah.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:08 >> Uh and it's not just about the distance.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 It's also about the time.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 >> Um because a thousand civilizations
00:25:13 --> 00:25:16 with a in a galaxy that's 12 billion
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 years old. Uh they might well have
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 turned up and gone long ago or still be
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 in the future.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:25 >> Assume that we all coexist.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 >> That's right. And we probably don't.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 There's actually um a really nice piece
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 now. Let me see if I can find it. Uh to
00:25:32 --> 00:25:37 direct uh Duncan to it. Uh it's um on
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 one of the um SP the science media came
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 in today. So actually I think is where
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47 is it? Sorry, I've lost it. Uh yeah. Uh
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 it's it's basically a summary of
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 thinking by the likes of uh Richard
00:25:52 --> 00:25:56 Fineman uh and other great minds. Um and
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 the bottom line is it's exactly what
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 I've been saying. It's not just the
00:26:00 --> 00:26:04 distances, it's the time uh that you're
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 the era in which you live. And it's very
00:26:07 --> 00:26:11 unlikely that we'd find communicable
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 civilizations
00:26:13 --> 00:26:16 um within the same time zone that we're
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 living in, if I can put it that way.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 It's actually on uh it is on again on
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 the brighter side of news. Uh and the
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 headline is a really very very
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 thoughtful article, well worth a read.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 Interstellar travel is impossible and
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 aliens haven't visited the earth,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 physicists say. And it's because the
00:26:33 --> 00:26:36 laws of physics basically make any kind
00:26:36 --> 00:26:39 of travel uh or or even communication
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 extremely difficult. The laws of physics
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 are very rigid uh worth having a look
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 at.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 >> Yeah. Yeah. Indeed. Uh although there's
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 this new book that I know that's been
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 written that kind of is counter to all
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 that, but you can do that in science
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 fiction
00:26:54 --> 00:26:57 >> quite. So yeah, that's that's why it's
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 called science fiction.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 >> Yes, that's that's what it is. Uh by by
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 way of example though, if I may, um
00:27:05 --> 00:27:09 Duncan, uh if you were to be aware of a
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 an advanced communicative civilization
00:27:11 --> 00:27:14 on a rocky planet orbiting Alpha
00:27:14 --> 00:27:17 Centator, for example,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:21 um and you sent them a message, it would
00:27:21 --> 00:27:25 take, I'm just trying to remember, 4.37
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 years to get there. And that means a
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 return message if they answered you
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 immediately
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 would mean that you would not get a
00:27:34 --> 00:27:38 reply for 8.74 years. Yep. Give or take.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 But let's round that out to a decade
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 because you know what the bureaucracy is
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 like around Alphasi. They're not going
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 to you know they're going to they're
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 going to take a couple of years to
00:27:46 --> 00:27:50 figure out what they want to say.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 >> But that's the reality of it, isn't it?
00:27:51 --> 00:27:54 And that's our nearest potential
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 >> y
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 >> neighbor.
00:27:56 --> 00:28:00 It's it's it's true and um I mean the
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 point that this article makes is uh you
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 know we we live in a bubble of radio
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 radiation which are all the trans
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 transmissions from earth that's now
00:28:10 --> 00:28:14 basically 100 uh light years in rad in
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 radius because we've been sending radio
00:28:16 --> 00:28:19 transmissions for about 100 years. Um
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 and all right what's that 100 divided by
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 it's a thousandth of the diameter of the
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 galaxy. Uh and so you know it's hardly
00:28:27 --> 00:28:32 any distance at all. Uh so yeah it's
00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 it's an unc in a way an uncomfortable
00:28:35 --> 00:28:38 reality. Uh to all intents and purposes
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 we're alone. We're uncontable. We are
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 alone. That's it. Good side cuz we're
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 unlikely to be picked on by any
00:28:44 --> 00:28:48 voracious uh aliens. But Yep.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:51 >> Yeah. Um yeah. I think we got to be
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 realistic about it. Even if there are a
00:28:53 --> 00:28:56 thousand alien civilizations with
00:28:56 --> 00:29:01 advanced technology in our our galaxy,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 we are probably never going to be in a
00:29:03 --> 00:29:06 position to communicate with them or and
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 and certainly not be able to travel to
00:29:07 --> 00:29:12 them in any um meaningful way. And so
00:29:12 --> 00:29:15 even if we're not alone, we are alone.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:19 >> Yes, that's right. Exactly. um you know
00:29:19 --> 00:29:22 that of that uh thousand civilizations
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 maybe 500 of them have been and gone and
00:29:24 --> 00:29:28 500 of them are yet to evolve.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 >> Do do you um concur with that estimation
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 or you don't think it's
00:29:32 --> 00:29:36 >> um I look uh I have seen similar figures
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 being quoted uh not that there's that
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 number of civilizations but that there
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 might be that sort of number of
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 habitable planets that might be
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 earthlike.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 Um,
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 >> we don't know whether being Earthlike
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 necessarily means you evolve an
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52 intelligent species.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 >> Of course, it has done it once, but
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 >> but the only time
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 >> could be and because the circumstances
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 have to be perfectly right. Although we,
00:29:59 --> 00:30:02 you know, we're assuming humanoid type
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 carbon based life forms, but there could
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 be others out there that were created a
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 completely different way.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 >> Yeah. So,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 yeah, that's that's the stuff of
00:30:11 --> 00:30:13 imagination at the moment, but it's a
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 possibility, I suppose. Uh, and of
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 course we'll look like deals next week
00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 when a massive alien mother ship sets
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 itself down on top of the White House.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 And
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 >> yeah, to rescue us all.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 >> Maybe,
00:30:28 --> 00:30:31 maybe. Oh gosh. Thanks, Duncan. Thanks
00:30:31 --> 00:30:33 to everybody who sent in questions.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 Please send them in to us. Oh, I I do
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 have a bit of homework sort of. Um, we
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 got a question twice now. I've received
00:30:39 --> 00:30:42 it from Mike in New York. Uh Mike, you
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 you sent us a question in about black
00:30:44 --> 00:30:47 holes, uh an audio question. The whole
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 guts of the question got cut off somehow
00:30:49 --> 00:30:52 and so we got the the first we got your
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 preamble, then you started asking the
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 question, then there was about 5 hours
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 of nothing, probably about four, you
00:30:58 --> 00:31:01 know, 20 seconds, and then we heard you
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 say goodbye. So, we don't actually have
00:31:02 --> 00:31:05 the question. So, if you'd like to send
00:31:05 --> 00:31:07 it again, uh please do. Uh, I don't know
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 what happened there, but um, you know,
00:31:09 --> 00:31:11 it's the internet, so that's what that's
00:31:11 --> 00:31:14 what happened there. Uh, but yeah, Mike
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 um would love to get that question so we
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 can run with it. And any questions you
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 want to send in via the ask me anything
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 tab at the top of our website,
00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 spacenutspodcast.com,
00:31:23 --> 00:31:25 spacenuts.io.
00:31:25 --> 00:31:27 And don't forget to tell us who you are
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 and where you're from. Thank you, Fred,
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 as always. It's been a lot of fun.
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 >> Absolutely. It's great questions. Good
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 to hear everybody's voice and um, nice
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 to see their questions. Thank you.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:39 Indeed. Uh that's Professor Fred Watson,
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 astronomer at large. And thanks to Hugh
00:31:40 --> 00:31:43 in the studio. Um couldn't be with us
00:31:43 --> 00:31:46 today. He got stopped by border security
00:31:46 --> 00:31:48 and they realized he was an alien. He
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 comes from New Zealand. It made sense.
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 So he's been arrested. Uh he might be
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 back next week. And from me, Andrew
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 Dunley. Thanks for your company. We'll
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 catch you on the next episode of Space
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 Nuts. Bye-bye.
00:31:58 --> 00:32:01 >> Space Nuts. You've been listening to the
00:32:01 --> 00:32:04 Space Nuts podcast
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