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This episode of SpaceTime delves into groundbreaking discoveries and theories that reshape our understanding of the universe, including the origins of dark matter, the first visible light auroras on Mars, and new insights into massive X-ray explosions near supermassive black holes.
The Birth of Dark Matter Explained
A new hypothesis suggests that dark matter, which constitutes about 85% of the universe's mass, may have originated from massless particles that condensed as they slowed down. This theory, outlined in the journal Physical Review Letters, proposes that these particles formed during the early universe's chaotic conditions, akin to steam turning into water. We discuss how this model could be tested using existing cosmic microwave background radiation data, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of dark matter's properties and formation.
Visible Light Auroras on Mars
In a historic achievement, NASA's Perseverance rover has captured the first visible light auroras on Mars, confirming long-held theories about Martian atmospheric phenomena. This event, triggered by a massive solar flare, opens up new avenues for auroral research and suggests that future astronauts could witness these stunning displays on the Martian surface. We explore the implications of this discovery and how it enhances our understanding of solar interactions with planetary atmospheres.
Quasiperiodic Eruptions: A New Type of X-ray Explosion
Astronomers have identified a new type of X-ray outburst known as quasiperiodic eruptions, occurring near supermassive black holes. Observed in a galaxy 300 million light-years away, these eruptions exhibit a unique pattern, with events occurring every 4.5 days. We discuss the mechanisms behind these eruptions and their significance in understanding the dynamics of black holes and their surrounding environments.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com (https://www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com/)
✍️ Episode References
Physical Review Letters
https://journals.aps.org/prl/ (https://journals.aps.org/prl/)
Science Advances
https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv (https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv)
Astrophysical Journal
https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X (https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X)
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00:00 This is Space Time Series 28, Episode 62 for broadcast on 23 May 2025
01:00 New theory explaining the birth of dark matter
12:15 First visible light auroras detected on Mars
20:30 Discovery of quasiperiodic eruptions near supermassive black holes
30:00 Science report: AI chatbots exaggerate research summaries
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/27275484?utm_source=youtube
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 This is Spacetime series 28 episode 62
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 for broadcast on the 23rd of May
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 2025. Coming up on Spacetime, a new
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 theory to explain the birth of dark
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 matter, the first visible light auroral
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 activity seen on Mars, and a new type of
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 massive X-ray explosion discovered near
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 monster black holes. All that and more
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 coming up on Spaceime.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:45 Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Garry.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:53 [Music]
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 A new study claims that the invisible
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 mysterious substance known as dark
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 matter may have formed when fast
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 particles slowed down and got heavy. A
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 new hypothesis reported in the journal
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 Physical Review Letters suggests that
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 dark matter, which makes up some 85% of
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 all material in the universe, sprang up
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 from particles that rapidly condensed,
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 sort of like steam turning into water.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 Of course, scientists still have no idea
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 exactly what dark matter is. They only
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 know it exists because they can see its
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 gravitational influence on normal
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 so-called barriionic matter, stopping
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 galaxies from spinning apart as they
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 rotate and magnifying distant objects.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 The study's authors say dark matter
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 could have formed in the early life of
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 the universe from the collision of high
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 energy massless particles that lost
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 their zip and took on an incredible
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 amount of mass immediately upon pairing.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 Importantly, they claim their hypothesis
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 can be tested using existing
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 observational data. The extremely low
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 energy particles they suggest make up
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 dark matter would have a unique
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 signature in the cosmic microwave
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 background radiation. The leftover
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 energy from the Big Bang, which fills
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 the universe today as a faint glow. The
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 study's lead author, Robert Cordwell
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 from Dartmouth College, says dark matter
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 started its life as near massless
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 relativistic particles similar to
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 photons. Now, that's totally different
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 to what dark matter is thought to be.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 Cold lumps that give galaxies their
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 mass. Cordwall says this new idea tries
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 to explain how dark matter went from
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 being light to being lumpy. These
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 particles were similar to photons,
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 massless particles that are the basic
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 energy or quant of light. And it was in
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 this early chaos that extremely large
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 numbers of these particles bonded to
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 each other. Cordwall and colleagues
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 theorized that these massless particles
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 were pulled together by the opposing
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 directions of their spin. Sort of like
00:02:39 --> 00:02:40 the attraction between the north and
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 south poles of a magnet. As the
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 particles cooled, an imbalance in the
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 particles spins caused their energy to
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 plummet like steer rapidly condensing
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 into water. And the outcome was the cold
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 heavy particles that scientists now
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 think constitute dark matter. Now, the
00:02:56 --> 00:02:57 most unexpected part of this
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 mathematical model was the energy
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 plummet that bridges the high density
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 energy and the lumpy low energy.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 Cordwell says at this stage, it's like
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 these pairs were getting ready to become
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 dark matter. And this phase transition
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 helps explain the abundance of dark
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 matter being detected today. It all
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 sprang from high density clusters of
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 extremely energetic particles in the
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 early universe. The study introduces a
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 theoretical particle that would have
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 initiated the transition to dark matter.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 thing is scientists already know that
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 electrons can undergo a similar
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 transition. See at low temperatures two
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 electrons can form what are known as
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 Koopa pairs that can conduct electricity
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 without resistance and are the active
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 mechanism in certain
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 superconductors. In fact the authors
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 site the existence of Kooper pairs as
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 evidence that the massless particles in
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 their theory would have been capable of
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 condensing into dark matter. They look
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 towards superconductivity for clues as
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 to whether a certain interaction could
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 cause energy to drop so suddenly. And
00:03:55 --> 00:03:56 Koopa pairs are the proof that this
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 mechanism exists. The metamorphosis of
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 these particles from the cosmic
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 equivalent of a double espresso into day
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 old oatmeal explains the vast deficit in
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 the energy density of the current
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 universe compared to its early days.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 Scientists know that density has
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 declined since the big bang as the
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 universe's energies expanded outwards.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 But the author's new idea also accounts
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 for the increase in the density of mass.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 They say structures get their mass due
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 to the density of cold dark matter. But
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 there also has to be a mechanism wherein
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 energy density drops close to what we
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 see around us today. And their theory
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 suggests that the particle pairs entered
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 a cold nearly pressureless state as they
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 got slower and heavier. And this
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 characteristic would make them stand out
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 in the cosmic microwave background
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 radiation. The cosmic microwave
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 background radiation has been studied by
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 several large scale projects and the
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 authors say both existing and future
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 data from these projects could be used
00:04:54 --> 00:04:58 to test their ideas. This is spaceime.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 Still to come, the first visible light
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 aurora seen on Mars and a new type of
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 massive X-ray explosion discovered near
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 monster black holes. All that and more
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 still to come on
00:05:10 --> 00:05:25 [Music]
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 Spaceime. NASA's Mars Perseverance
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 rovers made history by detecting visible
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 light auroral activity on another planet
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 for the first time. The detections were
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 made during March last year near the
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 peak of the current solar cycle and they
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 were confirmed by NASA's Mars orbiting
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 Maven spacecraft. The event reported in
00:05:44 --> 00:05:45 the journal Science Advances was
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 triggered by a massive solar flare on
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 the sun which generated a chronal mass
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 ejection, a huge explosion of gas and
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 magnetic energy that carries vast
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 amounts of solar energetic particles out
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 into space. And this solar activity led
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 to stunning auroral displays across the
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 solar system, including on Mars, where
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 the six world cars size Perseverance
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 rover saw them in the skies above Jezro
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 Crater. The study's lead author, Elise
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 Nudson from the University of Oslo, says
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 the discovery opens up new possibilities
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 for auroral research and confirms that
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 aurora could be visible to future
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 astronauts on the Martian surface. On
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 Earth, auroray form when solar particles
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 interact with the planet's global
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 magnetic field, funneling these
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 particles towards the poles along
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 magnetic field lines, during which time
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 they collide with atoms and molecules in
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 the Earth's atmosphere, emitting light.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 The most common colors seen in Earthly
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 aurora is green, caused by collisions
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 with oxygen atoms. For years, scientists
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 have theorized that green light auroras
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 would also exist on Mars, but suggested
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 they would be much fainter and harder to
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 capture than the green auroral activity
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 seen on Earth. Now, due to the red
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 planet's lack of a global magnetic
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 field, Mars has a different type of
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 auroral activity to what we see on
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 Earth. These include solar energetic
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 particle aurora, which may have been
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 discovered in 2014. These occur when
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 superenergetic particles from the sun
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 hit the Martian atmosphere, causing a
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 reaction that makes the atmosphere glow
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 across the entire night sky. Now, while
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Maven's already observed solar energetic
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 particle aurora and ultraviolet light
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 from Mars, the phenomenon's never been
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 observed in visible light from the
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 ground. Since solar energetic particle
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 aurori typically occur during solar
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 storms, which increase during solar
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 maximum, like what we're in now, Mudson
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 and colleagues set their sights on
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 capturing visible images and spectra of
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 solar energetic particle aurora from the
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 Martian surface at the very peak of the
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 sun's current solar cycle. Through
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 modeling, Nutson determined the optimal
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 angle for the Perseverance rover's super
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 cam spectrometer mass cam Z camera to
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 successfully observe the solar energetic
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 particle aurora in visible light. And
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 with this observational strategy now in
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 place, it all came down to the timing
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 and understanding the physics of coronal
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 mass ejections. Scientists with the
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 Maven mission determined there was a
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 noticeable solar storm heading towards
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 the red planet in March 2024, which
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 should arrive a few days after the
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 initial eruption on the sun. And so they
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 issued a Mars space weather alert
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 notification to all currently operating
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 Mars missions. Few days later that
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 coronal mass ejection impacted Mars
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 providing a light show for the rover to
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 capture and showing the aurora to be
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 nearly uniform right across the sky. To
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 confirm the presence of solar energetic
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 particles during the auroral
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 observations, the authors looked to
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 Maven's solar energetic particle
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 instrument which was additionally
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 corroborated by data from the European
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 Space Ay's Mars Express Orbiter. That
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 data from both orbital missions
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 confirmed that the rover team on the
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 ground had managed to successfully catch
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 a glimpse of the phenomenon in the very
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 narrow time window
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 available. This is
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 spaceime. Still to come, a new type of
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 massive X-ray explosion discovered near
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 monster black holes and later in the
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 science report, confirmation that
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 artificial intelligence chatbots
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 exaggerate the extent and scope of
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 research in scientific papers. All that
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 and more still to come on
00:09:12 --> 00:09:16 [Music]
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 Spaceime. This episode of Spacetime is
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 brought to you by NordVPN, our official
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00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 Astronomers have for the first time
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 probed the physical environment of a
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 recently discovered new type of
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 repeating X-ray outburst found to exist
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 near monster super massive black holes.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 These massive X-ray flares have been
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 named quasi periodic eruptions.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 Astronomers recently observed these
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 events in a system named Ansky which is
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 located in a galaxy about 300 million
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 lighty years away in the constellation
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 Virgo. This event was the first
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 indication that something unusual might
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 be happening. It was the eighth and so
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 far most powerful quasi periodic
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 eruption source discovered setting the
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 record in terms of both timing and
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 duration with eruptions every 4 and 1/2
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 Earth days and with each eruption
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 lasting around a day and a half. The
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 observations were achieved by NASA's
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 Neutron Star Interior Composition
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 Explorer or NISER telescope which is
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 mounted aboard the International Space
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 Station. Additional information was
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 provided by NASA's Swift Space Telescope
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory as
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 well as the European Space Ay's XMM
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 Newton Space Telescope. The study's lead
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 author Joan Cheraborti from the
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 MIT says these quasyp periodic eruptions
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 are both mysterious and intensely
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 interesting. One of the most intriguing
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 aspects is their quasyp periodic nature.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 See, astronomers are still trying to
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 develop the mythologies and frameworks
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 needed to understand exactly what's
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 causing them. The findings reported in
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 the Astrophysical Journal suggest that
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 these eruptions occur in systems where a
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 relatively low mass object passes
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 through the disc of gas surrounding a
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 super massive black hole that holds
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 hundreds of thousands to billions of
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 times the mass of the sun. When the
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 lower mass object punches through the
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 disc, its passage drives out expanding
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 clouds of hot gas, which astronomers
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 then observe as quasy periodic eruptions
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 in X-rays. Astronomers think the
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 eruption's quasi periodicity occurs
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 because the smaller object's orbit isn't
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 perfectly circular and spirals towards
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 the black hole over time. Also, the
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 extreme gravity close to the black hole
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 warps the very fabric of spaceime,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 altering the object's orbit so they
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 don't close on themselves with each
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 cycle. Scientists current understanding
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 suggest that these eruptions repeat
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 until the disc disappears or until the
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 orbiting object disintegrates, either of
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 which could take several years. Ansky's
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 extreme properties may be due to the
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 nature of the disc around its super
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 massive black hole. In most quasyp
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 periodic eruption systems, super massive
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 black hole likely shreds the passing
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 star, creating a small disc very close
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 to itself. But in Ansky's case, the
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 authors think the disc is much larger
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 and can involve objects further away,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 creating the longer time scales
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 observed. Nice position on the
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 International Space Station allows it to
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 observe Ansky about 16 times every day.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 And this frequency of observations was
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 critical in detecting the X-ray
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 fluctuations that revealed Ansky was
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 producing quasy periodic eruptions. The
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 authors used data from Nicer and X-Men
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 to map the rapid evolution of the
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 ejected material driving the observed
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 eruptions in unprecedented detail by
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 studying variations in X-ray intensity
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 during the rise and fall of each
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 eruption. They found that each impact
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 resulted in roughly about a quarter
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 Jupiter's worth of mass reaching
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 expansion velocities around 15% the
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 speed of light. And NISA was then able
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 to measure the size and temperature of
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 the roughly spherical bubble of debris
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 as it expanded.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:10 This report from NASA TV.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 From its perch on the International
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 Space Station, NASA's NICER X-ray
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 telescope has helped map a mysterious
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 cosmic event for the first time. It
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 happened in a galaxy 300 million lighty
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 years away. Astronomers call this system
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 Ansky. Ansky produces a type of
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 recurring X-ray outburst called a QPE or
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 quasi periodic eruption. These events
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 were just recently discovered. Ansky is
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 only the eighth known QPE emitter and is
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 the most energetic to date. Some
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 scientists think QPEs occur when a lower
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 mass object orbits a super massive black
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 hole in the center of a galaxy. When the
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 smaller object passes through the disc
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 of gas around the monster black hole, it
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 produces a cloud of debris that causes
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 an X-ray outburst. The low mass object
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 isn't on a circular orbit and its motion
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 is affected by the distortion of
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 spaceime near the black hole. So the
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 eruptions don't repeat over the same
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 exact time frame which is what makes
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 them quasi periodic. Ansky's outbursts
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 are the longest of all the QPEs
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 astronomers have studied with eruptions
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 every 4.5 days or so that last
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 approximately 1 and 1/2 days. That may
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 be caused by a larger disc engulfing an
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 object farther away. Nicer's
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 observations of Ansky allowed scientists
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 to probe the gas ejected from the disc
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 after each collision. The gas expands,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 reaching velocities about 15% the speed
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 of light and produces the X-rays we see
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 as
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 QPEs. Nicer and other missions will
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 continue to study Ansky and other QPEs,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 helping astronomers reveal their
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 secrets.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 This spaceime
00:15:55 --> 00:16:02 [Music]
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 [Applause]
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 And time now to take another brief look
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 at some of the other stories making news
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 in science this week with a science
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 report. A new study has shown that
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 artificial intelligence chatbots driven
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 by large language models tend to
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 exaggerate the scope of research when
00:16:22 --> 00:16:26 summarizing scientific papers. A report
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 in the journal of the Royal Society Open
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 Science analyzed 4 chatbot generated
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 summaries of scientific abstracts. These
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 abstracts themselves are short summaries
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 found at the start of a scientific
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 paper. They found the artificial
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 intelligence was five times more likely
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 to overgeneralize findings than a human
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 expert. Now, the authors didn't ask the
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 chatbots to write the summaries for an
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 expert audience, but they did request
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 systematic details and faithful abstract
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 summaries in their prompts. Ironically,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 prompting for accuracy tended to
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 increase overgeneralizations, and newer,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 larger language models were far less
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 accurate than the older ones. In other
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 words, AI is getting better at
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 exaggerating and
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 lying. Engineers have invented a small
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 neuromorphic device that detects hand
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 movement, stores memories, and processes
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 information very much like a human
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 brain, but without the need for an
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 external computer. A report in the
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 journal Advanced Materials Technologies
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 claims the innovation marks a strong
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 step towards enabling instant visual
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 processing in autonomous vehicles as
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 well as advanced robotics and other next
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 generation applications for improved
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 human interactions. Neuromorphic vision
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 systems are designed to use similar
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 analog processing to our brains which
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 can greatly reduce the amount of energy
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 needed to perform complex visual tasks
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 compared with the digital technologies
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 being used today.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 Scientists have discovered the oldest
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 ancestor for all living Australian tree
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 frogs. A report in the journal
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 vertebrate paleontology has shown that
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 the newly identified species has
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 distinct links with tree frogs found in
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 South America. Now, previously
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 scientists believed Australian and South
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 American tree frogs separated from each
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 other about 33 million years ago. But
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 the new discovery shows the split
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 actually happened much earlier about 55
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 million years ago.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 And now for the silliest story of the
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 week. A former CIA agent claims he was
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 taught to use his psychic abilities to
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 undertake a remote viewing of the red
00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 planet Mars in its ancient past. And he
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 claims he saw human civilizations there
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 that were aware they were destined to
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 face extinction. The trouble is Tim
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 Mendum from Australian Skeptics points
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 out that while astronomers have mapped
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 every inch of the Martian surface by
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 satellite, they yet to find any evidence
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 of ancient ruins. Even the famous face
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 on Mars sphinx and nearby pyramid-shaped
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 structures all turned out to be nothing
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 more than the simple play of light and
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 shade on natural rock formations. The
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 CIA did real tests of psychics during
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 the 70s 80s. This is the remote viewing
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 stuff. Yeah, remote viewing, the power
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 to influence something else like
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 telekinesis, move things, various things
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 as they would and if you're really a
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 follower of the CI as they probably
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 should be trying out any avenue they
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 could find to see if there's something
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 to an advantage to their site, right?
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 And they looked at psychic powers for a
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 number of years and then after a while
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 said nothing worth looking at here, not
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 even anything that's sort of half
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 inkling that could be developed and said
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 there's nothing there to look at. And
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 they spent a lot of money for it and
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 ever since then people said, "Well, the
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 CIA looked at it. It must be true." No,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 they looked at it. They try everything.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 They tried looking at people who can
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 knock goats over with that thought. They
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 look at all sorts of strange things just
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 in case one of them proved true. And in
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 a way, this is proof that it doesn't not
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 true because they stopped. And they
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 handed over all the information about
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 it. It's available. Paper of the CIA
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 investigations of UFOs. They readily
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 handed over the information. They made a
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 movie about it. Several. So this was
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 someone who was supposedly was one of
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 the subjects being tested by the CIA.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 It's called Project Stargate was the
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 actual program that was looking at
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 remote viewing, which is seeing things
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 from a distance. And this fellow claimed
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 he could also see into the past and the
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 future. He was described himself as
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 remote viewer number one. Say, "Wow, he
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 must have been the best or the first. We
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 had high opinions of
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 himself." And he reckon he was given
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 coordinates of a spot on Mars and the
00:20:12 --> 00:20:15 and the notation 1 million years BC. and
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 a location and he spotted buildings, a
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 pyramid and he spotted humans, actual
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 humans but very tall humans who are
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 looking very sad and very miserable
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 because they were just about to be wiped
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 out by some planet that brush past Mars
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 and stole the atmosphere from Mars which
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 would have happened very quickly. I
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 think they must have had some warning.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 So the the visions he saw were inside
00:20:33 --> 00:20:36 this pyramid looked very sparse and lot
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 looking sad and then they gone. They
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 said there was definitely life on Mars.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 It's human. Not even humanoid. It's
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 human. Big, tall, twice the size of us
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 living in giant pyramids. The CIA
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 seriously looking at this trying to find
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 examples evidence and they couldn't find
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 any. Okay. Whether you believe the CIA
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 or not, this guy claims he did find
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 something. He told them, and of course,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 instantly the evidence was covered up.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 So, he's come back here 50 years later,
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 talk about what he what he discovered
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 then as remote viewer number one.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 There's no way to prove it. Obviously, 1
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 million years BC is a very very strange
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 figure to choose. seeing tall humanoids
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 to science. You just saw the movie
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 Avatar. Yeah, quite possibly. It's just
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 all too 1950s science fiction sort of
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 thing. As much as we all love 1950s
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 science fiction, it's not necessarily an
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 accurate depiction of the way things
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 are. That's Tim Mindum from Australian
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 Skeptics.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:40 [Music]
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 And that's the show for now. Spacetime
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