SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 06
Formation of Pluto-Charon Binary System
A new study reveals that the formation of the Pluto-Charon dwarf planet binary system may mirror that of the Earth-Moon system. The research, published in Nature Geoscience, suggests that both systems feature a secondary body significantly large in comparison to the primary, unlike other moons in our solar system. The findings could explain Pluto's active geology and potential subsurface ocean, highlighting the significance of giant impacts in shaping planetary bodies.
BepiColombo's Final Mercury Flyby
The BepiColombo spacecraft has completed its final close flyby of Mercury, passing just 295 kilometres above the planet's surface. This manoeuvre marks the last gravity assist required for the joint ESA and JAXA mission before it enters Mercury's orbit in late 2026. The mission aims to study Mercury's magnetic field, surface composition, and interaction with the solar wind, enhancing our understanding of planets close to their host stars.
Astronomy Highlights for 2025
2025 promises exciting astronomical events, with the Sun's solar cycle nearing its peak. Highlights include a rare edge-on view of Saturn's rings, potential brightening of comet G3 Atlas, and two lunar eclipses. The year also features significant planetary alignments, meteor showers, and opportunities to observe the Southern Cross and the centre of the Milky Way. Dr. Nick Glom provides insights into these celestial events and more.
00:00 This is space Time Series 28, Episode 6 for broadcast on 13 January 2025
00:27 A new study suggests the formation of the Pluto Charon dwarf planet binary system
04:35 BepiColombo spacecraft makes its final flyby of Mercury
09:27 This is space time. We take a look at the year ahead in astronomy
10:47 Mid January will be a very interesting time to look at the night sky
13:05 There are two big highlights in March with the eclipse of the moon and Saturn
13:46 The other big event of course is the crossing of the rings of Saturn
17:03 The Southern Cross is well positioned during the month of June
18:38 Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets in the night sky
19:16 Also in August, it's a great time to have a look at Sagittarius
20:35 Total eclipse of the Moon occurs when Moon moves into Earth's shadow
23:06 The Australasian Sky Guide has just released its 30th edition
25:05 World Meteorological Organisation confirms that 2024 was the warmest year on record
29:34 It's claimed that two allegedly Celtic heads could turn you into a werewolf
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn) . Enjoy incredible discounts and bonuses! Plus, it’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌
Check out our newest sponsor - Old Glory - Iconic Music and Sports Merch (https://www.bitesz.com/oldglory) and now with official NASA merchandise. Well worth a look...
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✍️ Episode References
University of Arizona
[https://www.nature.com/ngeo/](https://www.nature.com/ngeo/)
European Space Agency (ESA)
[https://global.jaxa.jp/](https://global.jaxa.jp/)
Ariane 5 rocket
[https://www.arianespace.com/vehicle/ariane-5/](https://www.arianespace.com/vehicle/ariane-5/)
Kourou Spaceport
Australasian Sky Guide
Powerhouse Museum
[https://www.maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/](https://www.maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/)
European Heart Journal
[https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj](https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj)
Journal of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences
[https://www.springer.com/journal/376](https://www.springer.com/journal/376)
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/25060978?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 this is spacetime series 28 episode 6
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 for broadcast on the 13th of January
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 2025 coming up on SpaceTime how the
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 Pluto Sharon dwarf planet binary system
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 was formed Bey Columbus spacecraft
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 swooped slow over the planet Mercury for
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 the last time and taking a look at the
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 year ahead in astronomy all that and
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 more coming up on
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:29 --> 00:00:45 Stuart
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 car A new study suggest that the
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 formation of the Pluto Sharon dwarf
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 planet binary system May well parallel
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 that of the Earth Moon system the
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 findings reported in the journal Nature
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 geoscience points out that both systems
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 include a secondary body that's actually
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 a large fraction of the size of the
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 primary body and that's unlike other
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 moons in our solar system which are
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 alwayss just tiny fractions of the mass
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 of their host planets the study lead
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 author Aden Denton from the University
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 of Arizona says the Earth Moon system
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 was created when a mass-size planet hit
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 the early Proto Earth causing both
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 bodies to melt into a magma ocean and
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 that eventually coales to form the
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 planet Earth with debris ejector flung
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 to orbit around the newly created
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 created Planet by the impact eventually
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 ACC creting to form the moon sometime
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 later Denton says this same scenario
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 could also have happened for the Pluto
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 system and it supports observations of
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 Pluto's active geology and suspected
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 subsurface ocean despite its location at
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 the Frozen edge of the solar system back
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 in 2005 citus performed simulation
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 showing that the Pluto Sharon binary
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 system could have originated through a
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 giant Collision the problem is those
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 were very simplified early models and
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 they treated the colliding material
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 pretty much as strengthless fluids in
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 The Last 5 Years advancements in Impact
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 formation models have included material
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 strength properties and integrating this
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 information into the simulations results
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 in Pluto behaving a lot more like a
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 rocky core covered in ice which changes
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 the overall outcome quite significantly
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Denton says in previous models when
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 Proto Sharon hit Proto Pluto you end up
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 with massive shearing effects of fluids
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 looking a lot like two blobs in a lava
00:02:30 --> 00:02:31 lamp bending and swirling around each
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 other but by adding structural strength
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 properties it allows friction to
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 distribute impact momentum leading to a
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 more kiss and capture regime when Pluto
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 and Sharon Collide under this new model
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 they stick together looking a lot like a
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Snowman and they rotate for a while as a
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 single body until Pluto eventually
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 pushes Sharon out into a stable orbit
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 Denton says that most Cosmic collisions
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 are hit and run impacts where the
00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 impactor hits the planet but keeps on
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 going or Al alternatively the impactor
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 hits a planet and they merge that's
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 called a grazin merge but she says for
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 the Pluto Sharon system we have a new
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 paradigm where the two bodies hit and
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 stick together but do not merge because
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 they're behaving like rock and Ice Pluto
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 and Sharon likely exchanged some
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 material between each other but didn't
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 lose an awful lot of their material
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 Pluto is bigger and started up and also
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 ended with much more rock than ice on
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 the other hand Sharon's a lot smaller
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 and ended up with about a 50 50 split
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 between Rock and Ice the two celestial
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 bodies maintain their structural
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 integrity and eventually separated
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 likely preserving the ancient structures
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 of both bodies which they initially had
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 when they formed in the Kyer Bel the icy
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 ring of Frozen world's debris and comets
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 which Circle the sun beyond the orbit of
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Neptune this means the internal
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 structures of both Pluto and Sharon
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 should be quite ancient now this new
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 model tells us how the impact may have
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 happened but not when which is
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 significant especially as Pluto is
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 thought to be geologically active and
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 may have a liquid ocean under its icy
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 surface see even if Pluto starts out
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 really cold and that makes more sense
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 from a solar system Evolution
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 perspective the giant impact and
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 subsequent gravitational tidal forces
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 following separation would result in
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 internal Heating and consequently the
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 formation of an ocean later and that has
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 some pretty big implications for the ker
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 build as a whole that's because eight of
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 the 10 largest ker build objects are
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 very similar from what we can tell to
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Pluto and Sharon it's a fascinating
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 Prospect this is spacetime still to come
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 the pepy Columbus spacecraft swoops slow
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 over the planet Mercury for the last
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 time and we take a look at the year
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 ahead in astronomy all that and more
00:04:47 --> 00:05:04 coming up on SpaceTime
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06 the biy Columbus spacecrafts just taken
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 a close flyby of mercury swooping down
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 to within 295 kilm of the sunscorch
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 planet's gray crater covered surface the
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 pass on January the 8th was the sixth
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 and Final Gravity assist maneuver needed
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 to steer The Joint European Space Agency
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 in Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 Mission into its Mercury orbit insertion
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 trajectory the space craft will enter
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 orbit around the planet nearest the sun
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 late next year during this final flyby
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 Bey Columbo flew over Mercury's North
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 Pole providing scientists with stunning
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 close-up images of the vast sunlet
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 Northern Plains and what could be the
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 icy floors of deep craters which are in
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 permanent Shadow the probe made its
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 Final Approach swooping above the
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 planet's Dark Night side around 7
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 minutes later it passed directly over
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 the Mercury and North Pole before
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 getting a clear view of the planet Sun
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 bake North the flyby marked the last
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 time the missions mcams get their
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 closeup view of mercury that's because
00:06:07 --> 00:06:08 they're attached to the spacecraft's
00:06:08 --> 00:06:09 cruise module which will soon be
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 jettisoned allowing the mission's two
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 orbiters asa's Mercury planetary Orbiter
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 and Jax's Mercury magnetospheric Orbiter
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 to separate and move on into their own
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 individual orbits beby Columbo was
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 launched aboard an Aran 5 rocket on
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 October the 20th 2018 from the European
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 space agency's k Spaceport in French
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 Guana the spacecraft consists of four
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 sections that will detach its specific
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 points along the mission's journey Jax's
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 Mercury magnetus feric Orbit's main
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 science goals are provide a detailed
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 study of the magnetic environment of
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 mercury the interaction of the solar
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 wind with the planet and the diverse
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 chemical species present in the
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 exosphere the planet's extremely tenuous
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 atmosphere on the other hand E's Mercury
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 planetary Orbiter will focus more on the
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 planet's surface and composition and
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 together with the Mercury magnetospheric
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 orbit will help piece together a full
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 picture of the interaction of the solar
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 wind on the planet's
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 environment together they'll watch how
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 this interaction at the surface feeds
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 back into what's observed from the
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 exosphere and how that varies both in
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 time and location something that can
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 only be achieved using two spacecraft in
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 such complimentary orbits a third
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 section the Mercury transfer module is
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 located at the base of the stack and IT
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 Supplies the power and support systems
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 for the two orbiters as well as
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 propulsion during the cruise phase of
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 the mission it also protects the
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 orbiters from the extreme temperatures
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 they get being so close to Mercury in
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 the sun there's also a magnetospheric
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 orbit of sun shield and interface
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 structure it's fitted between the two
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 orbiters and provides additional
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 protection for the Mercury
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 magnetospheric Orbiter before it enters
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 orbit beby Columbo undertook a total of
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 nine gravity assist Maneuvers during its
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 7year journey to reach mercury in order
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 not to get overwhelmed by the sun's
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 enormous gravitational field as well as
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 the six Mercury flybys there are also
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 two flybys around Venus and one around
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 the earth these flybys utilize the
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 gravitational pull of the planets to
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 help alter the speed and direction of
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 the spacecraft and together with the
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 spacecraft solar electric propulsion
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 system helped the probe steer into
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Mercury orbit against the strong
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 gravitational pull of the sun when babby
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 Columbo finally achieves Mercury orbit
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 insertion in November 2026 it'll endure
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 temperatures in excess of 350° C
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 Gathering data during what's an initial
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 oneyear nominal Mission with a possible
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 one-year extension scientists want to
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 understand how planets can form and
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 evolve so close to their host Stars
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 beepy columber therefore will study the
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 planet's interior structure its
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 composition and the characteristics and
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 origin of its internal magnetic field
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 all in the hope of finding out why
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 mercury has such a huge core in relation
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 to its mantle they also want to
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 understand surface processes such as
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 cratering tectonics polar deposits and
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 volcanism and they also want to
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 determine whether the planet really is
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 shrinking as it cools another key area
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 of exploration will be a better
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 understanding of the characteristic
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 structure composition Origins and
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 dynamics of Mercury's exosphere and
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 magnetosphere and finally the mission
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 will also allow scientists to test
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Einstein's theory of general relativity
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 by making the most precise measurements
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 yet of the spacecraft's orbit and
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 position this is spacetime
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 still to come we take a look at the year
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 ahead in astronomy and later in the
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 science report a new study shows that
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 people who drink coffee in the mornings
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 have a far lower risk of dying from any
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 cause all that and more still to come on
00:09:44 --> 00:10:00 SpaceTime
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 well 2025 hopes to be another big year
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 in astronomy and space Sciences with the
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 sun's 11year solar cycle destined to
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 reach its peak at solar Max that's
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 assuming it hasn't already happened
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 there's a rare Edge on view of satin
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 spectacular Rings happening in March
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 that's something that only happens once
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 every 15 earth years the comet G3 Atlas
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 could flare up as it swoops around the
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 Sun this month that could make it one of
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 the brightest objects in the sky
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 there'll be two lunar eclipses for the
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 Year One one in March another in
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 September there'll also be lunar
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 occultations of the star Spiker regulus
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 and anaris and the ples open star
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 cluster messia 45 with the details of
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 these and more we're joined by the
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 author of The 2025 austral Asian sky
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 guide astronomer Dr Nick LOM mid January
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 will be a very interesting time to look
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 at the night sky in the northern sky we
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 have a whole range of bright planets all
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 fact all the naked ey planets apart from
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 Mercury can be seen as we move from the
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 West to the North and then towards the
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 east we have in the Western sky we have
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 Venus just above it and towards the
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 north we have Saturn and its rings are
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 very much tilted so seeed them at a very
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 shallow angle and in the north we can
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 see the bright planet Jupiter and it's
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 near the bright star aler BR bright
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 redish star Alder BR which is in the
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 constellation of tourist the B above
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 them you have the constellation of a
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 ride which is a favorite constellation
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 in the Australian Summer Sky again it's
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 a worthwh to be famili with orine
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 because it can be used to sign post and
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 extend various imaginary LS either
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 towards east or west and we can find
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 different interesting objects in the
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 night sky in the north we have Jupiter
00:11:49 --> 00:11:53 and all the BR and then in the Northeast
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 we have the planet Mars and that's the
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 reddish planet opposition it's an
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 opposition this year unfortunately it's
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 not a favorable opposition it's it's a
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 time really worthwhile to look at the
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 sky and it's all happening in the
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 evenings after the dark so you don't
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 have to get up early to see them
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 unfortunately it's not the most
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 favorable opposition of masss because
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 marass is a fairly oval shaped pass
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 around the Sun and this time at the
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 opposition when it's on the opposite
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 side of the sun to to the Earth it's at
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 its most distant spot or one of its most
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 distant bots in its orbit oppos I take
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 place every 2 years or so but there's
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 not going to be a favorable opposition
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 until
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 2033 so it's quite a long time to wait
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 before we get a favorable opposition of
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 mass when it is starting to be at a
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 close Point probably a good time to do a
00:12:44 --> 00:12:48 man mission of M all missions to m m or
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 otherwise I mean so far there hasn't
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 been a man mission that place of
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 opposition sort of being launched a few
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 months before opposition and so to diing
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 it to reach MS opposition when it at a
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 close point to Earth and so it saves a
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 lot of fuel and time to get there there
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 are two big highlights in March one is
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 the eclipse of the moon the other is
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 crossing the rings of Saturn eclipse of
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 the moon now is a total eclipse however
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 from Australia we only get a glimpse of
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 the ending of the eclipse and that's
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 only for people on the Eastern Coastline
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 so for people in say in Sydney they had
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 half an hour after moon rise that they
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 can see the eclipse before it ends
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 people in Brisbane 43 minutes before the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 eclipse ends so they might get a little
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 bit of thread on the moon and that will
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 be interesting to see as it rises but it
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 is near the end of the eclipse people
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 from New Zealand can see almost all the
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 eclipse the other big event of course is
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 the crossing of the Rings of Saturn it
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 seems like that just happened the other
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 day it was 15 years ago wow that's right
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 because Saturn takes 29 years to go
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 around the Sun and twice in its all bit
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 and its path around the Sun the Earth
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 crosses the ring plane of Saturn
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 Saturn's rinks of course look extremely
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 spectacular in a small telescope that's
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 a favorite thing to look at and it's
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 exciting for anybody whether they've
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 seen it before or not but in March of
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 this year the Rings will disappear place
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 as we go through the ring plane
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 unfortunately on the day that it
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 actually happens which is the 24th of
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 March we cannot see Saturn it's too
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 close to the Sun but we'll be able to
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 see it just a few days later in the
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 early morning by the end of the month
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 we'll be able to see Saturn as it rises
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 and if you look at it through a small
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 telescope you will see that the Rings
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 are at a very shallow angle and for
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 those people who obviously don't want to
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 get up early in the morning they can see
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 see Saturn from now until mid February
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 you can see Saturn and we can see the
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 Rings at this very shallow angle I
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 should say that you do we need a small
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 telescope to be able to to see Saturn
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 but those who do not have a small
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 telescope then they should contact their
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 local estron me group they often have
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 viewing sessions or go to a place like
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 public Observatory like Sydney
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 Observatory and groups could be T
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 Society Victoria they have hwings the
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 norn observatory Brest Society has hings
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 so there is all everybody has a chance
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 to look through a telescope and it is a
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 first while to look at that now the
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 planets align nicely in April there's a
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 very nice alignment of the planets or
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 grouping of the planets in early April
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 first half of April you need to get up
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 early to be able to see but Mercury
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 Venus and Saturn form a nice bunch and
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 they change as the the days go on in
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 early April they form different patterns
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 triangles and different configurations
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 which are very will be easy to pick up
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 if you to watch them continuously in May
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 there's the ETA aquates meteor shower
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 that's tried this year it's quite
00:16:01 --> 00:16:05 favorable now e Mee your shower is
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 connected with a Le Comet as st's Comet
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 moves around the Sun taking 76 years it
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 throws of dust and that dust spreads
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 around it orbit or it's pass around the
00:16:16 --> 00:16:20 Sun and every year in early may it bump
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 into that stream of dust and as the dust
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 particles H the Earth's atmosphere they
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 burn off they leaving streaks of light
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 that are meteors um in the past people
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 used to refer to them as Falling Stars
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 this year it's a fairly favorable meteor
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 share or favorable opportunity to see
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 the sh because there's no bright moon in
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 the sky so the Moon that will not hide
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 the faint as meteors by brightening the
00:16:45 --> 00:16:49 sky but that said it is important to try
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 and find it as darker spot as possible
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 see them basically they can be all over
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 the sky but the point from which they
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 seem to originate is near the
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 constellation of Gemini which is also
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 near constellation of heran now speaking
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 of constellations the southern crosses
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 will positioned during the month of June
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 that's right sou crosses for some people
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 in Australia for most people in the sou
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 parts of the country it's always above
00:17:16 --> 00:17:20 the Horizon of what's referred to a suum
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 PO constellation however it is very hard
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 to see early in the year January
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 February because it's very low down in
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 the sky so if any trees or houses would
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 block it from our view I remember once
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 being at the opera house and hearing
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 foreign tourists wanting to see the sou
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 cross in January but there was no chance
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 of seeing it then certainly not from the
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 middle of Sydney in June it's a much
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 higher Place High up in the sky in the
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 early evenings and then of course it's a
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 lovely object to look at and people
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 should be familiar with it because then
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 you can use it to find other objects in
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 the night sky you can extend various
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 lines from the stars of the Southern
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 Cross and find other stars for example
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 canopus can be reached by here
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 projecting an imaginary line from two of
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 the stars of the sun CRS also of course
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 tells you if you're lost in the bush
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 tells you there South Fire extending a
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 line from the Southern Cross down 4 and
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 a half times at the vids of the Southern
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 Cross they reach a point about between
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 the stars and the sky revolve and below
00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 that is South so it's always useful to
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 be a to notice it and of course it's
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 easy to find because the do pointer
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 Stars Alpha and be centor Point towards
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 the cross now moving to August and uh we
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 were talking about the planets earlier
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 we go back to the planets Venus and
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 Jupiter the two brightest planets in the
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 night sky and they're very close
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 together that's right that's a great
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 sight when you have two planets close
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 together especially the two brightest
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 ones Venus is the brightest object in
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 the night sky are from the Moon and
00:18:57 --> 00:19:00 Jupiter is the second brightest after
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 Venus or the third brightest after the
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 moon and Venus in the night sky and
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 that's really the T them close together
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 and separate they only separated by two
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 moon VDS or twice the vits of the full
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 moon so they're very close together
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 that's one degree in the sky also in
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 August it's a great time to have a look
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 at Sagittarius and when you look at the
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 constellation Sagittarius you are of
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 course looking towards the very center
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 of our galaxy Sagittarius is a very
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 important constellation to you
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 Australian astronomers because they do
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 spend a lot of time studying the region
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 of the center parts of our galaxy of
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 course you can't see the center of that
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 Galaxy very well because there is just
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 too much gas and dust in the way so not
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 in not real lighted but with radio
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 telescopes you can look right towards
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 the center and what is the center of the
00:19:51 --> 00:19:55 mer what's referred to a Sagittarius AAR
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 which is where the central black hole
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 with mass of 4 million times mess of sun
00:20:01 --> 00:20:04 LS there in the center of the Galaxy as
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 I set called Sagittarius A star and it
00:20:07 --> 00:20:10 can be observed using radio telescope
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 Sagittarius is a constellation also
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 known as the teapot and this is because
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 if you sort of join up the stars of
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 Sagittarius or the bright stars of
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 Sagittarius and it looks like a teapot
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 with a handle and once you see that and
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 you you sort of point it out to you I
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 think it's impossible not to see as a te
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 pot so it's a very nice constellation to
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 observe either with the naked eye or
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 through giant radio telescopes now we
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 were talking earlier about the total
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 eclipse of the moon in March there's
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 another one in September that's right
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 and this is much better for us in
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 Australia because it's visible through
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 the whole country the whole country is a
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 total eclipse and that's happening on
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 the early morning of Monday 8th of
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 September a total eclipse of the Moon
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 occurs then the moon moves into the
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 Earth shadow and you'd imagine that if
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 it's in your Shadow it would be
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 completely dark but in fact it takes on
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 a red of coppery color often in the
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 media it's referred to as a blood moon
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 but I really hate that expression
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 because that sort of sounds terribly
00:21:13 --> 00:21:16 Sinister and it's not um it's just a
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 very spectacular event for this well to
00:21:18 --> 00:21:22 watch the reason it turns red is because
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 sunlight is Bent by the US atmosphere
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 onto the moon and as the sunlight is and
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 it goes through the regions of the earth
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 whether it's either sunrise or Sunset
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 and for the same reason that Sunrise is
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 and sunsets are red the blue light
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 scattered away the same reason Red Light
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 reaches to moon and we see it as a red
00:21:45 --> 00:21:48 moon exactly how red it becomes we don't
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 really know in advance it depends on the
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 state of Earth atmosphere if there's
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 been a volcanic explosion in the weeks
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 or months beforehand then there was a
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 lot of dust in the earth atmosphere and
00:22:00 --> 00:22:03 that makes the Moon much darker and less
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 likely to appear red we were talking
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 about the at aquarids meteor shower
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 earlier towards the end of the year we
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 have the Geminids meteor shower which
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 are especially good this year the gemin
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16 can be a very spectacular meteor show
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 and this year we're fortunate because
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 there's no moon or bright moon in the
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 sky and we can see the fainted meteors
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 that again as with ether quit the darker
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 the sky you can find to observe them to
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 better they occur in the early morning
00:22:31 --> 00:22:34 they're um unusual medeia sh because the
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37 gines are associated with a rocky
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 asteroid called faton and that is not a
00:22:40 --> 00:22:43 comet most media show say Associated
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 comets but for some reason this one the
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 gines are associated with this Rocky
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 asteroid it's often referred to as a
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 rock Comet isn't it that's correct
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 that's right so to see the show looking
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 towards the north seas in the early
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 morning they appear to come from the
00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 constellation of Gemini they can appear
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 all over the sky but you can trace them
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 backward to Constellation of Gemini now
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 of course everything you've been talking
00:23:07 --> 00:23:10 about here is located in the 2025
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 edition of the austral Asian sky guide
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 which we use as a source of information
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 here at SpaceTime on our monthly
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 Skywatch programs and the new edition's
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 just been released tell me about it it's
00:23:20 --> 00:23:23 a 30th edition of the sky guide it's
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 been going for quite a number of years
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 this here is a very spectacular cover
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 it's a photograph of an aurora seen from
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 the grand Pian National Park and of
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 course lately we've been having lots of
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 auroras because the sun is very active
00:23:39 --> 00:23:42 near is near very lucky you see Aurora
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 more frequently than we do here in
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 Sydney but we actually got to see one in
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 Sydney last week so that was pretty
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 exciting it is very spectacular it's a
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 magnificent shot a magnificent photogra
00:23:52 --> 00:23:56 from NOA and the Sun is near its maximum
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 it might have already reached it
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 sometime in
00:23:59 --> 00:24:01 2024 solar maximum is something that we
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 can't really know that it's happening
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 until after it has happened but it did
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 seem to have a bit of a peak in the
00:24:08 --> 00:24:12 middle of 2024 the sky guard always aims
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 to give people all the basic information
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 they need to be familiar with the night
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 sky there are maps these are recently
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 redrawn I what's the easiest way to get
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 the sky guide sky guide is available in
00:24:25 --> 00:24:28 award bookshops it's available online
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 and of course you can buy directly from
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 pous Museum online from P House Museum
00:24:34 --> 00:24:37 or from us house publishing which
00:24:37 --> 00:24:40 jointly publishes the astran sky guide
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 with bhouse publishing that's Dr Nick
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 LOM curator of astronomy with the
00:24:44 --> 00:24:47 PowerHouse Museum Sydney Observatory and
00:24:47 --> 00:25:04 this SpaceTime
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 and time now to take a brief look at
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 some of the other stories making news in
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 science this week with the science
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 report the World Meteorological
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 organization has confirmed that 2024 was
00:25:14 --> 00:25:17 the warmest Jon record the findings
00:25:17 --> 00:25:20 based on six international data sets
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 also showed that the past 10 years were
00:25:22 --> 00:25:25 the 10 warmest years on record and that
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 2024 was likely the first calendar year
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 with a global average or mean
00:25:29 --> 00:25:34 temperature of 1.55 de C above the 1850
00:25:34 --> 00:25:38 to 1900 average the wo's temperature
00:25:38 --> 00:25:40 assessment is based on multiple sources
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 of data including the European Center
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 for medium-range weather forecasting the
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 Japan meteorological agency NASA the
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 United States national oceanographic and
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 Atmospheric Administration Noah the UK
00:25:52 --> 00:25:55 Met Office the University of East Anglia
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 and Berkeley Earth meanwhile a separate
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 state published in the Journal of
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 advances in atmospheric sciences has
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 found that ocean warming in 2024 also
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 played a key role in the record high
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 temperatures the report found the ocean
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 is the warmest that's ever been as
00:26:11 --> 00:26:14 recorded by humans not only on the
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 surface but also down to a depth of
00:26:16 --> 00:26:19 2 M the World Meteorological
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 organization says China Remains the
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 world's biggest carbon dioxide polluter
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 producing a third of the total Global
00:26:26 --> 00:26:29 output amounting to more than 72 million
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 tons
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 annually a new study has found that
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 people who drink coffee in the mornings
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 have a lower risk of dying from heart
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 disease and a lower overall risk of
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 dying from any cause compared to both
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 people who drink coffee all day and
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 those who don't drink coffee at all a
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 report in the European heart Journal
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 used survey data from over 40 us
00:26:49 --> 00:26:53 adults between 1999 and 2018 were asked
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 about all the food and drink they
00:26:54 --> 00:26:57 consumed on at least one day including
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 whether they drank coffee how much of it
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 they drank and when they drank it the
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 information was then linked with records
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 of deaths and causes of deaths over 90
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 years the authors found that about 36%
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 of people in the study were morning
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 coffee drinkers primarily drinking their
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 cup of joe before midday another 16% of
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 people drank coffee throughout the day
00:27:18 --> 00:27:22 and 48% were non- coffee drinkers now
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 compared to people who didn't drink
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 coffee morning coffee drinkers were 16%
00:27:26 --> 00:27:29 less likely to die of any cause and 31%
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 less likely to die of heart disease now
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 interestingly there was no reduction in
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 the risk for all day coffee drinkers
00:27:35 --> 00:27:38 compared to non-coffee drinkers now an
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 accompanying editorial suggest that it's
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 possible that coffee drinking in the
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 afternoon and evenings disrupts the
00:27:43 --> 00:27:46 Cadian Rhythm that helps with sleep
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 that's due to its suppressing effect on
00:27:47 --> 00:27:50 melatonin and important sleep inducing
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 mediator in the
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 brain new computer modeling suggest
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 indoor vertical farming could help
00:27:56 --> 00:27:59 future proofing food demands the
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 findings reported in the journal
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 frontiers of science based on studies
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 using both sensors and experimentation
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 to make this type of farming more
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 efficient scientists created a model for
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 testing smart lighting that aims to keep
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 plant's ability to photosynthesize
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 steadying constant over a full day while
00:28:15 --> 00:28:18 still lowering electricity costs the
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 authors found that an optimization
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 algorithm could cut electricity costs by
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 12% without compromising plant's carbon
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 fixation by just fairing light intensity
00:28:27 --> 00:28:30 this study comes about because food
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 production May well need to be increased
00:28:31 --> 00:28:35 by as much as 70% by 2050 the authors
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 say vertical farming systems therefore
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 could help provide intensive food
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 production while sensor systems could
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 help reduce energy
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 demands scientists have been
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 investigating the genetics of a rare
00:28:46 --> 00:28:49 mupu mole to find out more about one of
00:28:49 --> 00:28:53 Australia's most enigmatic species mupi
00:28:53 --> 00:28:56 moles are small just 14 to 18 cm long
00:28:56 --> 00:28:59 and they're hard to find with just two
00:28:59 --> 00:29:01 types known to exist one living in the
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 Northwestern desert the other in the
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 central Australian desert the
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 researchers sequenced the Genome of a
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 female specimen from the south
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 Australian Museum and found that these
00:29:10 --> 00:29:12 mupi are most closely related to
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 bandicut and bil bees the findings
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16 reported in the journal science advances
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 show evidence that the mupi M's
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 population was once far greater than
00:29:20 --> 00:29:23 what it is now the population decline
00:29:23 --> 00:29:26 most likely driven by changes in climate
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 rather than human intervention although
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 the animals may now often be falling
00:29:30 --> 00:29:33 prey to introduce species such as
00:29:33 --> 00:29:36 foxes it's claimed that the Hexum heads
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 two allegedly Celtic stone heads found
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 in a garden the Hadrian's Wall are
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 apparently cursed and could turn you
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 into a werewolf or is it just that they
00:29:44 --> 00:29:47 simply look like werewolves or does it
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 all really depend on what you want to
00:29:49 --> 00:29:52 believe Tim menum from a strand skeptic
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 says people have been haunted for years
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56 by this paranormal Holy Grail it's just
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59 goes to show the power AR of suggestion
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 story recently uh which cuts to the
00:30:01 --> 00:30:05 extreme um Hexum heads now these were
00:30:05 --> 00:30:08 two small size Celtic stone head heads
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 presumably Celtic about the size each
00:30:09 --> 00:30:11 one about the size of a plum so it's not
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 big heads not head size heads it's a
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 sort of like little size heads the size
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 of a plum perap a large Plum two of them
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 found in a garden near Hadrian's Wall in
00:30:18 --> 00:30:21 1971 course a lot of f all very exciting
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 BBC did a documentary about them some
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 academics got involved and looked at
00:30:25 --> 00:30:28 them and said oh yeah this someone did
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 analysis and said it's Sandstone Etc
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 ancient Celtic Remnant Etc but then
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 people started sort of thinking well
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 perhaps they cursed why would you come
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 up with that conclusion just because you
00:30:37 --> 00:30:40 found some an archeological artifacts
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 evidence one of the neighbors next door
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 said they saw some strange shapes so
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 perhaps that's because of the heads
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 nearby an academic took them home very
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 sober academic normally suddenly started
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 seeing strange shapes so you know a
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 werewolf type shape wandering around the
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 house where she had them and her her
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 daughter had the same vision of uh
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 werewolf type shapes wandering around
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 the house and then disappearing don't
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 tell me they had mushroom soup the night
00:31:02 --> 00:31:05 before yeah I know and and they got rid
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 of them and supposedly the werewolves
00:31:06 --> 00:31:09 went away okay now I thought you had to
00:31:09 --> 00:31:12 be bitten by a werewolf to become a
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 werewolf that's a good question actually
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 um never having been bitten by werewolf
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 I'm not quite sure yes I would have
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 thought that um like zombies you become
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 a zombie if you're bitten by a zombie if
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 you're bitten by a vampire you become a
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 vampire and if you get bitten by
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 werewolves that's it for you you know
00:31:26 --> 00:31:29 you soon start spr in hair and your face
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 goes all weird what's the difference
00:31:30 --> 00:31:33 between a werewolf and a wolf
00:31:33 --> 00:31:36 man here's another one there were two
00:31:36 --> 00:31:38 different analyses done of these um
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 heads trying to scrape a little bit off
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 to see what sort of they're made of one
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 person said it's Sandstone the other one
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 said it's cement it doesn't look
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 anything like Sandstone seemly sort of
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 molded cement with a bit of you scraping
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 away to give it a face they're pretty
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 rough faces they're not exactly um great
00:31:52 --> 00:31:55 sculpture Michelangelo worthy as ancient
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 Celtic so one person came forward
00:31:57 --> 00:32:00 whether or not named Desmond craigy who
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02 said that he made him in 1956 for his
00:32:02 --> 00:32:04 kids or his daughter anyway to play with
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 him he said he actually made three but
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 one of them wasn't very good so they
00:32:06 --> 00:32:08 threw it out so they got buried in the
00:32:08 --> 00:32:10 backyard and 15 years later some other
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 kids who you moved into the house dug
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 them up whether that's true or not but
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 what happened was that various people
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 had a look at these heads it went from
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 hand to hand to researcher to researcher
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 until finally someone actually lent them
00:32:20 --> 00:32:23 to a a divver what a divver and they'll
00:32:23 --> 00:32:26 never see it again so BBC documentary
00:32:26 --> 00:32:28 came out of the mid '70s looking at the
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 over the years they lost half the audio
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 they recently replayed them which is why
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 these Hexum heads would pop up again as
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 an interest they tried to fabricate or
00:32:35 --> 00:32:37 someone just gave a voice over of what
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 the audio would have been for the first
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40 half of the documentary second half was
00:32:40 --> 00:32:43 okay all the suggestions are it's
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 unlikely to be curs they're not even
00:32:44 --> 00:32:46 certain that they're act Celtic they
00:32:46 --> 00:32:48 might be modern someone just carved them
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 that looked like an ancient head
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 certainly some other heads that appeared
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 not long before they supposedly 1950s
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 creation of these things so someone
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 might have seen pictures in the in the
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 in the paper of these other heads that I
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 found and said I can do some of those
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 the fell used to work at a cement
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 factory this is Luke yeah aam's Razer
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 the simplest explanation is usually
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 correct yes and that these were made
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 they might be Celtic very well might be
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 Celtic who knows this guy might have
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 been you having a joke himself but
00:33:11 --> 00:33:13 they're not very good and as being
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 cursed there's absolutely no evidence of
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 that at all apart from one or two people
00:33:17 --> 00:33:19 having anecdotal stories which of course
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 if they believe in their curse they'll
00:33:20 --> 00:33:23 see curs type of thing that's Tim mum
00:33:23 --> 00:33:40 from Australian Skeptics
00:33:40 --> 00:33:43 and that's the show for now SpaceTime is
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