SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 03
Parker Solar Probe's Historic Journey
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has made history by becoming the fastest man-made object, surviving a record-breaking close approach to the Sun's surface. The probe, travelling at an unprecedented speed of 155,520 kilometres per hour, flew just 6.1 million kilometres above the Sun, providing invaluable data to help scientists understand the Sun's impacts on the solar system, including Earth. This mission marks a significant achievement in space exploration, shedding light on the Sun's mysterious processes and aiding in the search for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Mystery of Ultra Luminous X-Ray Sources
Astronomers have detected unusual flaring activity in an ultra luminous X-ray source, challenging our understanding of these enigmatic cosmic phenomena. Observations reveal flux variations by up to a factor of six over a few hours, offering new insights into the nature of these powerful sources, which could be linked to feeding supermassive black holes or intermediate mass black holes.
Solar Cycle and La Niña Connection
A new study suggests a possible link between the Sun's 11-year solar cycle and Earth's La Niña weather patterns. The findings indicate that solar variability may drive seasonal weather changes, potentially improving predictions of major climatic events like El Niño and La Niña, which have significant impacts on global weather patterns.
January Skywatch
00:00 Stuart Gary talks about NASA's Parker Solar Probe and more
00:39 NASA's Parker Solar Probe survived its close approach to the sun on December 24
05:19 NASA's Parker Solar Probe is 3.8 million miles from the sun
10:52 Astronomers studying an ultra luminous X ray source have detected strange flaring activity
13:12 Solar variability may be driving seasonal weather variability here on Earth
17:19 New study suggests eating more fruits and vegetables could help reduce depression
19:35 A much anticipated United States Congressional hearing on UFOs turned out to be flop
25:23 A new paper claims that one of the biggest mysteries in science doesn't actually exist
35:55 If the universe has an energy field of the right kind, expansion can accelerate
42:59 New findings could provide fresh insights into the enigmatic planet's geological history
45:50 Scientists have identified a new genetic link to autism spectrum disorder
48:29 LG will release a fridge with a transparent OLED door
49:35 Nintendo has announced that it will launch its Nintendo Switch by March 31st
51:06 Microsoft have announced their own version of Apple's Mac Mini with ARM chips
52:25 A new study claims there's evidence for recent volcanic activity on Mars
56:11 Astronomers using radio telescope in Western Australia study supernova 1987A
01:04:08 What exactly caused 87A to go to a blue super giant phase
01:05:12 The long awaited inaugural flight of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser space plane is now expected
01:10:34 Canadian scientists compared prevalence and risk of mental disorders between trans and gender diverse people
01:12:49 Phoenix, Arizona named as America's top location for UFO sightings
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✍️ Episode References
NASA Parker Solar Probe
[NASA Parker Solar Probe](https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe)
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
[Johns Hopkins APL](https://www.jhuapl.edu/)
XMM-Newton Space Telescope
[XMM-Newton](https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton)
NuStar Space Telescope
[NuStar](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/nustar/main/index.html)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
[Chandra](https://chandra.harvard.edu/)
Swift Space Telescope
[Swift](https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
NGC 4559 Galaxy
[NGC 4559](https://www.constellation-guide.com/ngc-4559/)
Earth and Space Sciences Journal
[Earth and Space Sciences](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23335084)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-with-stuart-gary--2458531/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-with-stuart-gary--2458531/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/24931753?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 this is spacetime series 28 episode 3
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 6th of January
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 2025 coming up on SpaceTime more on the
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 fastest man-made object in history
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 NASA's Parker solar probe the mystery of
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 ultra luminous x-ray sources and a
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 possible link between the sun's solar
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 cycle and the linia weather pattern all
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 that and more coming up on
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 Stuart Gary
00:00:30 --> 00:00:37 [Music]
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Mission operations teams have confirmed
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 NASA's mission to touch the sun has
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 survived its record-breaking close
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 approach to the solar surface on
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 December 24th breaking its previous
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 record by flying just 6.1 million Kil m
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 above the sun's surface NASA's Parker
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 solar probe hurdled through the solar
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 atmosphere at a blazing
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 155,50 120 kmph faster than any man-made
00:01:11 --> 00:01:15 object has ever moved a beacon tone
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 received late on December the 26th by
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 NASA's deep space Communications
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 facility at tidb bill in near CRA
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 confirmed the spacecraft had made it
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 through its close encounter safely and
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 was operating nominally the close flyby
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 was the first of Mor to come at this
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 this distance allowing the spacecraft to
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 conduct unrivaled science measurements
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 with the potential to change our
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 understanding of our nearest star by
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 studying the sun closeup scientists can
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 better understand its impacts throughout
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 the solar system including that on
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 technology which we use daily here on
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 Earth and in space it also allows
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 astronomers to learn more about the
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 workings of stars Across the Universe in
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 order to Aid science's search for
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 habitable worlds beyond our home planet
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 but it hasn't been an easy job Journey
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Parker solar probe has spent the last 6
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 years setting up for this moment
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 launched back in 2018 the spacecraft U7
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 flybys of Venus to gravitationally
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 direct it ever closer to the Sun and
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 with its last Venus flyby November the 6
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 the spacecraft finally reached its
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 optimal orbit the oval-shaped orbit
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 brings Parker to an ideal distance from
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 the Sun every 3 months close enough to
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 study the stars mysterious processes but
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 not too close to become overwhelmed by
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 the the sun's heat and damaging
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 radiation the spacecraft will remain in
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 this orbit for the remainder of its
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 primary Mission flying this close to the
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Sun Parker relies on a crucial carbon
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 foam shield in order to protect it from
00:02:43 --> 00:02:44 the extreme heat of the upper solar
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 atmosphere or Corona which can exceed a
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 million de C in the hot but low density
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 Corona Parker's Shield is heated to
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 about 1° CS The Shield was designed
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 to reach temperatures of 1500° C that's
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 hot enough to melt steel while still
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 keeping instruments behind it shaded at
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 a comfortable room temperature of
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 21° by flying through the solar Corona
00:03:09 --> 00:03:10 Parker solar probe can take measurements
00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 that help scientists better understand
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 how this origion gets so hot it can
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 trace the origins of the solar wind the
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 constant flow of charged particles
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 streaming out from the sun and it can
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 discover how energetic particles are
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 accelerated to almost half the speed of
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 light previous passes have already aided
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 scientists in understanding the sun when
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 the spacecraft first passed into the
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 solar atmosphere back in 2021 it found
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 that the outer boundary of the coronal
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 was wrinkled with spikes and valleys
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 that's contrary to what was expected
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 Parker also pinpointed the origin of
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 important zigzag shaped structures in
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 the solar wind known as switchbacks at
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 the visible surface of the Sun the
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Photosphere since that initial pass into
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 the Sun the spacecraft's been spending
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 more and more time in the corona where
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 most of the critical physical processes
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 occur astronomers now understand the
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 solar wind and its acceleration away
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 from the Sun and this close approach has
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 given them more data to understand how
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 it's accelerated closer in Parker solar
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 probes also made discoveries across the
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 inner solar system observations showed
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 how massive solar eruptions called
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 coronal mass ejections vacuum up dust as
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 they sweep across the solar system and
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 other observations have revealed
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 unexpected findings about solar
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 energetic particles flybys of Venus have
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 documented the planet's natural radio
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 misss from its atmosphere as well as the
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 first complete image of its orbital dust
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 ring so far Park is still only
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 transmitted that it's safe and operating
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 nominally but soon it'll be far enough
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 away from the Sun that it'll be able to
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 down link all the data that's collected
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 during this latest solar pass the data
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 that will be coming down from the
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 spacecraft will be fresh information
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 about a place that we as Humanity have
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 never been but which we rely on for our
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 very
00:04:56 --> 00:05:00 existence this report from NASA TV in
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 1958 scientists put a vision that we
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 need to fly a spacecraft within the
00:05:06 --> 00:05:07 atmosphere of the Sun but it is so
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 challenging extremely difficult to
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 realize that it took us six decades to
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 build a system that can fly safely and
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 reliably within the atmosphere of a star
00:05:17 --> 00:05:24 3 2 1 Zer liftoff of the mighty Delta 4
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 heavy rocket with NASA's Parker solar
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 probe a daring mission to shed light on
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 the mysteries of our closest star the
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 sun it looked like we had a hit there
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 for a
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 second yes Nick uh I believe we do have
00:05:40 --> 00:05:46 a detection of Beacon tone
00:05:46 --> 00:05:52 one there it is see it there it
00:05:52 --> 00:05:57 is Parker solar probe is 3.8 3.8 3.8
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 million miles from the surface of the
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 Sun it is so incredible to just realize
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 this is the moment that we designed this
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 mission for 3.8 million miles may not
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 sound that close but if I put the Sun
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 and the Earth 1 M apart Parker solar
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 probe would be 4 cm from the sun it's
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 the closest human-made object to a star
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 and also the fastest traveling at
00:06:22 --> 00:06:27 430 M an hour I mean we're flying
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 through the atmosphere of a star that's
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 not easy to do it's something we've
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 never done
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 before this is our first close encounter
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 with a star and it's really just amazing
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 this area that Parker is going into is
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 just so crucial to our understanding of
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 the Sun and its impact on the earth that
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 solar interaction that space weather
00:06:48 --> 00:06:49 those billions of tons of material that
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 the sun can throw at us interacts with
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 our power grids can interact with our
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 technology so it's really important to
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 understand them at their source and how
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 they get all that energy when we were
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 thinking about designing a spacecraft to
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 go to someplace that had never been
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 before and it's actually going there to
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 study the Sun and so you're kind of
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 saying what am I designing what are the
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 environments designing for it has to go
00:07:12 --> 00:07:16 from the deepest coldest space to a very
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 warm area and keep everything working at
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 a little bit above roof temperature it's
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 designed to go to such an extreme
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 environment you look at it and it
00:07:25 --> 00:07:26 doesn't quite look like most other
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 spacecraft the whole thing is designed
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 such such that the heat shield is taking
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 most of the brunt of the heat of the Sun
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 the heat shield will be at about,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 1800° Fahrenheit and it's protecting the
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 spacecraft so the spacecraft is actually
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 basically a room temperature this is
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 such a great feat of engineering and it
00:07:45 --> 00:07:49 really shows how capable we are in space
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 this is something that we've been
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 wanting to do since 1958 when it was
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 first mentioned and the technical
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 problems that had to be overcome in
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 order to achieve it it's just Monumental
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 to be able to get a spacecraft this
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 close to the Sun to get close to the
00:08:05 --> 00:08:10 sun is not easy it looks like from Earth
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 to the Suns not that far uh the key
00:08:13 --> 00:08:17 issue is energy in order for Parker to
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 get close to the sun we needed to lose a
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 lot of Parker's speed possessed at
00:08:23 --> 00:08:27 Earth's orbit fortunately I was able to
00:08:27 --> 00:08:31 create a trajectory with seven Venus Fly
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 by the mission uses Venus in order to
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 actually change its angular momentum and
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 slow down to actually go closer and
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 closer to the sun over the course of
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 about 6 years and the Seven flybys we
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 were able to move closer to the Sun and
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 each time unraveling a little bit more
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 of the uh Mysteries of the Sun as we get
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 data from places that no spacecraft has
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 ever been
00:08:53 --> 00:08:57 before it's the only star in our galaxy
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 that we can actually go visit and that's
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 what makes makes it so magical by flying
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 within the atmosphere of the sun we are
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 basically tracing the Fingerprints of
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 the physical mechanisms of the sun we
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 now view the sun in a different way when
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 you look at images from Parker solar Pro
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 oh my goodness they are extremely
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 extremely complex and that complexity
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 for us it's a new science that we need
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 to investigate we need to understand the
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 things that we've learned over the years
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 that Parker has been in orbit have been
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 amazing they've challenged our ideas
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 about how the solar wind is made about
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 how the Sun Works about some of these
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 fundamental things that are going on
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 there's a lot of Pride and excitement uh
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46 for this closest approach so much effort
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 and so many people have worked on this I
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 think it really took the teamwork and
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 Synergy of Engineers and scientists and
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 um administrators and and a lot of
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 different people to think this Mission
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 up and in that report from n V we heard
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 from Parker project scientist nor waafi
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 laboratory NASA's science Mission
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 directorate Chief Nikki Fox NASA's
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 heliophysics director Joseph Westlake
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 Kelly K also from NASA heliophysics and
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 from John's Hopkins Applied Physics
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 laboratory lead heat engineer Betsy
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 cogden mission systems engineer John
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 werzberger and Parker Mission engineer
00:10:23 --> 00:10:27 Yan pinga this is spacetime still to
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 come astronomers to protect unusual
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 flaring activity in a mysterious object
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 known as an ultr luminous x-ray source
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 and a possible link between the sun's
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 solar cycle and Earth's Lear in your
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 weather patterns all that and more still
00:10:40 --> 00:10:47 to come on
00:10:47 --> 00:10:55 [Music]
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 SpaceTime astronomers studying a
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 mysterious object known as an
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 ultraluminous x-ray Source have detected
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 strange flaring activity first
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 discovered back in the 1980s by the
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 Einstein Observatory ultraluminous x-ray
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 sources are Point sources of intense
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 x-ray energy they're less luminous than
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 active Galactic nuclei which are caused
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 by feeding super massive black holes but
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 consistently more luminous than any
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 known Stellar process although the Milky
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 Way galaxy has no known ultraluminous
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 x-ray sources most galaxies that have
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 been studied surf have at least one and
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 some of several astronomers used the xmm
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 Newton Newar Chandra and Swift space
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 telescopes to observe an ultraluminous
00:11:38 --> 00:11:42 x-ray Source known as X7 it's one of two
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 ultraluminous x-ray sources the other
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 designated X10 located in the
00:11:46 --> 00:11:50 intermittent spiral galaxy NGC 4559 some
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 29 million light years away in the
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 constellation coma brenes a report on
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 the prepress physics website archive.org
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 says x7s long term x-ray light curve
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 shows flux variations up to a factor of
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 six over just a few hours now this sort
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 of activity wasn't seen in any earlier
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 x-way observations of X7 and it
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 manifests only when the source is at its
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 highest observed luminosities during the
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 peck of these flares the Luminosity was
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 a factor of three higher than pre-flare
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 Luminosity that indicates the maximum
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 variability of the source conspan almost
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 an order of magnitude right now
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 astronomers think that most
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 ultraluminous x-ray s ources are in fact
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 background quazar powerful Jets produced
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 by feeding super massive black holes but
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 another source could be feeding
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 intermediate Mass black holes while a
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 third possibility are unusually bright
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 Supernova remnants at least on short
00:12:43 --> 00:12:47 time scales this is spacetime still to
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 come a possible link between the sun's
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 solar cycle and Earth's learning your
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 weather patterns and later in the
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 science report the discovery of a
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 spectacular 166 million year old
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 dinosaur tra way in Oxfordshire all that
00:13:01 --> 00:13:08 and more still to come on
00:13:08 --> 00:13:18 [Music]
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 SpaceTime a new study shows a
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 correlation between the end of the Suns
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 11U solar cycle and a switch from El
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 Nino to Lino weather patn in the Pacific
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 Ocean the the findings reported in the
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 journal Earth and space Sciences suggest
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 that solar variability may be driving
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 seasonal weather variability here on
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 Earth now if this connection holds up it
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 could significantly improve the
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 predictability of the largest El Nino
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 and Lino weather events these have major
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 seasonal climatic effects on Earth for
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 example eastern Australia becomes drier
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 and more drought prone during an elino
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 while it becomes wetter and more flood
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 prone during a Lino event and the
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Southern United States tends to be
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 warmer and drier during linia or the
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 northern us tends to be colder and
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 wetter the sun's 11U solar cycle
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 involves a regular polarity flip at the
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 sun's magnetic field at solar minimum
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 the Magnetic North Pole becomes magnetic
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 South and the Magnetic South Pole
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 becomes magnetic north and this
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 coincides with a steady increase in
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 sunspot activity solar flares and
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 coronal mass ejections on the sun's
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 surface these climax around solar
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 maximum about 5 and 1 half years after
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 solar minimum the violent upheaval then
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 gradually dissipates as the sun moves
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 back to solar minimum and the start of
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 the next solar cycle the appearance and
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 disappearance of sunspots the outwardly
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 visible signs of solar variability have
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 been observed by humans for hundreds of
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 years the waxing and waning of the
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 number of sunspots takes place over
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 approximately 11e Cycles but these
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 Cycles do not have distinct beginnings
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 and ends this fuzziness in the length of
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 any particular solar cycle has made it
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 challenging for scientists to match up
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 the 11year solar cycle with changes
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 happening on Earth in this new study the
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 authors rely on what they're describing
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 as a more precise 22-year clock for
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 solar activity this 22-year cycle begins
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 when oppositely charged magnetic bands
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 that wrap around the sun appear near the
00:15:19 --> 00:15:23 Stars polar latitudes now over the cycle
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 these bands migrate towards the solar
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 equator causing sunspots to appear as
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 they travel across mid- latitude D the
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 cycle ends when the bands meet in the
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 middle mutually annihilating one another
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 in what the authors are calling a
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 Terminator event and it's these
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 Terminators which provide exact guide
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 posts for the end of one solar cycle and
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 the beginning of the next the authors
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 then impose these Terminator events
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 oversee surface temperatures in the
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 tropical Pacific stretching back to
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 1960 amazingly they found that the five
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 Terminator events that occur between
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 that time and 2010 2011 all coincided
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 with a flip from an El Nino when the
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 central eastern Pacific Sea surface
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 temperatures are warmer than average to
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 a Lin when the central eastern Pacific
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 Sea surface temperatures are cooler than
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 average and the end of the most recent
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14 solar cycle 24 in 2019 also coincided
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 with the beginning of a Lor event the
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 authors then undertook a number of
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 statistical analyses to determine the
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 likelihood that this correlation was
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 just a fluke finding there was only one
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 in 5 chance or less of all five
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 Terminator events included in the study
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 randomly coinciding with the flipping
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 ocean temperatures now that a sixth
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 Terminator event and the corresponding
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 start of the new solar cycle 25 in late
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 2019 also coincided with a Lenor event
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 the chances of it all being a random
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 occurrence becomes even more remote
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 while the authors haven't determined
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 what causes this apparent correlation
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 they're looking at the influence of the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 sun's magnetic field on the amount of
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 cosmic rays that penetrate the solar
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 system and ultimately bombard the Earth
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 however a robust physical link between
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 cosmic ray variations in climate has yet
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 to be determined this is
00:17:04 --> 00:17:18 [Music]
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 spacetime and time now to take a brief
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 look at some of the other stories making
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 new in science this week with a science
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 report a new study has found increases
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 in ambient air pollution ution
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 especially if sustained for several days
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 appears to correlate with a higher risk
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 of hospitalization for people suffering
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 from schizophrenia the findings reported
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 in the Journal of the American Medical
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 Association looked at over 800
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 hospitalizations for schizophrenia in
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 250 Chinese cities and short-term
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 increases in a range of air pollutants
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 scientists found the link was strongest
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 for nitrogen dioxide pollution which
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 could account for over 6% of
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 hospitalizations the authors say that
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 these short short-term relative
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 increases rather than only absolute
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 concentrations of air pollution should
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 be factored in when targeting
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 intervention
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 strategies a new study suggest that
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 eating more fruits and vegetables could
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 help reduce depression although the
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 benefits of high fruit and vegetable
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 intake has previously been reported few
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 Studies have focused on adults aged over
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 45 the new research by the University of
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 New South Wales assist associations
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 between fruit and vegetable intake and
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 depressive symptoms over 11 years in
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 3 twins from Australia Denmark
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 Sweden and the United States the
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 findings published in the journal
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 scientific reports shows that higher
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 intakes of both fruit and vegetables
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 were associated with lower symptoms of
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 depression over time a low intake of
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 fruit on average is considered to be 0.3
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 serves per day while a low intake of
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 vegetables is considered to be 0.5
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 serves daily whereas high fruit intake
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 was 2.1 serves per day and high
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 vegetable int take was too serves daily
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 interestingly the total fruit and
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 vegetable consumption in the high
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 category still fell notably below the
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 dietary recommendations for most
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 countries paleontologists have released
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 details of a 166 million euro dinosaur
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 trackway and covered in an Oxford she
00:19:17 --> 00:19:20 Limestone Quarry the footprints belong
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 to a herbivorous ctsa surus caod and a
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 Megalosaurus theropod carnivore and were
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 made in what was once a warm shallow
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 Lagoon they were discovered by a quarry
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 worker clearing clay with a
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 scientists have now Unearthed around 200
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 large Footprints in five separate
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 trackways in the Quarry stretching up to
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 150 m in
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 length well it seems a much anticipated
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 United States Congressional hearing into
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 evidence for the existence of
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 unidentified anomalous phenoma has
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 turned out to be a major flop with
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 nothing but third person hearsay and
00:19:53 --> 00:19:57 vague unsubstantiated claims it was
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 meant to be the big reveal were those
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 behind all the UFO claims and there
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 exposing the cover up would come forward
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 and tell all under Congressional
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 protection from prosecution hope for
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 actual heart evidence such as the
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 presentation of actual alien technology
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 or firstperson testimony was
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 nonexistant Tim mendum from a strange
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 skeptic says he for one isn't surprised
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 this is the latest Hearing in the US
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 Congress the house Review Committee
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 always sort of interviews all these
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 different sort of government departments
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 most countries have the say how are you
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 going are you spending money correctly
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 blah blah blah and so this one's popped
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 up about UFOs same as one last year
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 popped up about UFOs with people who are
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 reasonable authorities at least in their
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 proper career jobs the people who sound
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 good retired rear Admiral I think was
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 one of these speaking to this Congress
00:20:44 --> 00:20:48 committee about the UFO or UAP as it's
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 called these days work that being
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 undertaken by the government and these
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 people always saying that the
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 government's covering up they got the
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 technology if worst case they got the
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 alien bodies Etc and they're developing
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 all these products and one day all of
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 this is going to be revealed and the
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 trouble is these people who do front up
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 to Congress hearings Etc I don't think
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 they've ever seen it but they've heard
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 about it and so it's all third party
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 third person testimony they don't but I
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 know someone who did or I know someone
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 and they know someone have seen an alien
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 body or something UFA proponents have
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 been talking this way for 70 years at
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 any day now the evidence is going to be
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 revealed and everyone would be shocked
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 at the government cover up and that they
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 really do have spaceships under the
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 Nevada desert or something like that and
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 it hasn't happened and this was no this
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 was the great day for the big reveal and
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 nothing was revealed it's just claims
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 including some of the people who were
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 there supposedly going to have a big
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 reveal we're pointing out that yeah you
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 know there's unidentified things out
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 there but you know maybe they'll be
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 identified and that's the whole problem
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 that's what UFOs and uaps are they're
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 unidentified and the only reason they
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 being called up as aliens is because we
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 don't know what they are they very well
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 might be identified one day and most of
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 these things are identified the vast
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 majority but yep some will probably
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 remain unidentified not enough witness
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 testimony bit unreliable no record of
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 them etc etc etc or just unclear vague
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 sort of thing that they couldn't be
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 identified unidentified this was a big
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 thing UI Community saying fantastic it's
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 all going to be revealed someone's going
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 to drop the information on the on the
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 desk in front of Congress and say here
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 you go here's the evidence here's where
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17 it's at or the photos or whatever no
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 didn't happen didn't happen last year
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 hasn't happened anything definitive
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 anything that hasn't been questioned for
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 70 years and yet they keep saying any
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 day now any day now it'll be revealed
00:22:27 --> 00:22:30 within 12 12 months and I've heard gilo
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 people say that all the time and they
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 always find excuses mainly because the
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 government's cover up is very good or
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 people are frightened to reveal the
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 truth that they know because they're
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 going to be sacked or intimidated or
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 what or laughed at whatever that might
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 be true also might be true that they
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 don't know anything and there are people
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 who making wild claims that they haven't
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 then just substantiated journalists who
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 saying it's off the Record or I don't
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 want to reveal my sources Australian
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 journalist who's been doing this for a
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 couple of years pointing out that
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 there's 11 12 13 enormous spaceships
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 buried around the earth often with a big
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 building on top of them um people were
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 wondering where which buildings Etc and
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 they did say not in the US so it might
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 be under the Sydney Opera house or
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 something or CERN in Europe or the
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 Vatican or who knows what and all you
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 have to do is ask well where are they
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 surely we can sort of put a little hole
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 down and find this things that oh no I
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 can't do that because we reveal the
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 sources don't reveal the sources just
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 tell us where it is and then we can go
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 and have a look is this enormous I mean
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 really normous the are building siiz
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 flying sources are buried somewhere they
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 should be pretty easy to find but no 70
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 years no evidence put forward always
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 going to be any day now that excuse is
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 used every time to raise journalists and
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 raise the interest of newspapers and
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 shock jocks and that sort of stuff
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 course the latest ones are the drones
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 flying over us bases that have been uh
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 in the headlines of late and I looked at
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 those pictures and straight away I said
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 well that's a highflying airliner an
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 Airbus or or a boing 737 or something
00:23:53 --> 00:23:56 and lo and behold a week later Mick West
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 comes out with exactly the same
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 conclusion so yes yeah yeah Mick W is
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 very useful he did the same with the the
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 famous Pentagon videos that were these
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 Top Secret videos that everyone knew
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 about and they were they finally
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 released them and said here they are
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 this is what some of our Pilots have
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 seen I think Nick spent about five
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 minutes on each of them and explain what
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 they were so he it's very much worth
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 seeking out mck west pedon don't want to
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 admit anything because what it does it
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 shows just how inefficient the most
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 advanced Optical technology we have on
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 our most advanced fighter jets really is
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 yeah that's right yeah yeah it it it uh
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 picks up a lot of things which they
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 should know better as to what they are
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 but the truth is out there and it's
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 amazing actually some of these people in
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 this latest Congress hearing said
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 exactly that the truth is out there all
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 we have to do is find it Well maybe the
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 truth is not out there by saying this
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 exists but I have no evidence for it
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 doesn't mean it exists it just means
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 that you don't know what you're talking
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 about one thing I found through my many
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 years on this planet studying you people
00:24:49 --> 00:24:52 is that most politicians and and most
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 senior bureaucrats aren't playing some
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 four-dimensional mavian chess game they
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 really aren't that bright and they
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 really are just doing the first thing
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 that comes to mind yes that's right I
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 mean the the people asking the questions
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 at these Congress things you get both
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 sort people asking with a Ry smile is
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 this what you're claiming and someone
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 else with their Wise Eyes Wide Open
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 saying wow this must be true they do
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 they run a gamut of brightness or lack
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 of brightness and the people they're
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 interviewing people who who are
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 presenting giving evidence tend to have
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21 a bit better qualifications than the
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 politicians do so naturally the
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 politicians believe them that's Tim mum
00:25:25 --> 00:25:28 from Australian Skeptics
00:25:28 --> 00:25:42 [Music]
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 and that's the show for now SpaceTime is
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00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 with Stewart gary.com space time's also
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00:26:32 --> 00:26:36 Stewart gary.com for full details you've
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 been listening to SpaceTime with Stuart
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 Gary this has been another quality
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