In this episode of Space Nuts, Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson explore three discoveries from across the Solar System and beyond. They begin with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s discovery of a distant, potentially large dwarf planet, and discuss what its unusual orbit could tell us about the hunt for the elusive Planet Nine. Next, they examine new James Webb Space Telescope observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, whose unusual chemistry may preserve clues to its origins in a very cold environment billions of years ago. Finally, the hosts turn to Neptune’s long-sought Trojan asteroids, discovered in data from the Rubin Observatory by a team in Belfast. Join Andrew and Fred Watson for distant worlds, ancient cosmic ice and asteroids hiding in the dark.
Key topics
- The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s discovery of dwarf planet candidate 2026 ED138.
- What makes an object a dwarf planet, and how its orbit could inform the Planet Nine debate.
- 3I/ATLAS’s unusual isotope ratios, methane and possible origins in an ancient, cold environment.
- The discovery of Neptune’s Trojan asteroids and why they have been so difficult to observe.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction and episode overview
01:20 - The Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovers a new distant dwarf planet
05:30 - What defines a dwarf planet and how it may eventually be named
09:00 - The object’s size, unusual orbit and possible relevance to Planet Nine
12:00 - 3I/ATLAS and its unusual chemistry revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope
16:00 - Isotope ratios, methane and clues to the comet’s age and origins
20:00 - Neptune’s Trojan asteroids are finally discovered
24:00 - How Trojan asteroids share a planet’s orbit and why Neptune’s were hard to find
27:00 - Closing remarks and where to follow Space Nuts
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Andrew Dunkley: Hi there. Thanks for joining us on Space Nuts
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 where we talk astronomy and space science.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 My name is Andrew Dunkley. It's good to have
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 your company coming up on this edition of
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 the show. Uh, wow.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Uh, we've talked about the Vera C. Rubin
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 Observatory and what it will mean for,
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 uh, the future of discovery. And it's
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 already paying big dividends because it has
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 found a new dwarf planet
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 and it seems to be the biggest one they have
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 yet discovered. Tell you about that.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 3i Atlas is back in the news and
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 it just got a little bit weirder. And
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 Neptune's Trojan asteroids have been found.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:41 We always knew they were around, but we
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 didn't know where they were. Well, it turns
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 out the Irish had them. We'll tell you all
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 about it on this episode of space nuts.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 Professor Fred Watson: 15 seconds. Guidance is internal.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 10, 9. Ignition
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 sequence start.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 Generic: Space nuts.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 Professor Fred Watson: 4, 3, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Space
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 nuts. Astronauts report it feels good.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 Andrew Dunkley: And back to tell us all about it is
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 Professor Fred Watson Watson, astronomer at
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 large. Hello Fred Watson.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Professor Fred Watson: Hello Andrew. Very good to see you again.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 Andrew Dunkley: Good to see you too. Hope you're well. You
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 look well.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 Professor Fred Watson: I'm doing all right. Yeah. I think it's week
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 10 now since the knee replacement. So.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:22 Andrew Dunkley: Huh.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:23 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah. So,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:23 Andrew Dunkley: uh,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:24 Professor Fred Watson: down
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 Andrew Dunkley: past its trade in period.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah. Down in Victoria the weekend and
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 cutting about like somebody with a new knee.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 It was um, very good.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 Andrew Dunkley: Good, nice. Okay,
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 uh, uh, shall we get straight into the
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 business of the day?
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, yes, adequacy, of course.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, yes, we'll do it, we'll do it all
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 adequately. I, I spotted this story on the
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 weekend and I thought, wow, this new uh,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 observatory, Vera C. Rubin is
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 um, this is just doing some great
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 stuff already. It's hardly, it's hardly
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 started doing what it's supposed to be doing,
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 which I think is basically observing the
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 entire known universe from the southern
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 hemisphere. Uh, but it has found
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 a new dwarf planet and it looks like it's a
00:02:10 --> 00:02:10 big one.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 Professor Fred Watson: It's relatively big. That's right. Uh,
00:02:14 --> 00:02:15 it's not the biggest, um,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 Andrew Dunkley: and it's not planet nine.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 Professor Fred Watson: It's not planet nine. No. The biggest, uh,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 still in terms of diameter is still Pluto,
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 although Eris is about the same
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 diameter but a bit more massive.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 Uh, which means it's made of something denser
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 than Pluto is. And just recapping,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 what's a dwarf planet? A dwarf planet is
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 an object that orbits the sun. That it is
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 at, um, least within the solar system, it has
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 sufficient size that its own gravity has
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 pulled it into a spherical shape. But it has
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 not become the dominant body in its part of
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 the solar system. That's what distinguishes
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 it from a planet.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:55 Andrew Dunkley: Right.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 Professor Fred Watson: So um, the uh, story
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 is exactly as you've said. It's the
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 Vera C. Rubin Observatory's legacy survey
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 of space and time, um, which is this
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 decade long survey of the southern sky.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 And what they do is they survey the
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 entire sky every, I think it's
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 every three nights roughly, certainly every
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 few nights. And of course what that lets them
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 do is um, observe things that change.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 So in a sense it's um, you know its main
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 stock in trade is transportation. Transient
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 events, whatever they are, whether they're
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 stars that come and go.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 And so that includes exploding stars and
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 things of that sort. Huh. Or objects
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 which are moving, uh, which are ah, in the
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 solar system. Uh, and indeed it
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 has been uh, credited now
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 with the discovery of a new dwarf planet.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 So it was one of the scientists actually,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 um, uh, who's part of the staff of
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 the Vera C. Rubin Observatory,
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 uh, uh, person by the name of Matthew Holman.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 Uh, he's um, on the staff
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 but he uh, is based at the
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics,
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 one of the great institutions in astronomy.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 And basically looking through the data that
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Rubin collects and you know that you
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 get well over a million
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 alerts of something changing every night and
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 it might be even well over 10 million. The
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 numbers are huge. Um, and this is where
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 basically machine learning and AI and
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 techniques like that come into play. Because
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 um, of these alerts of things moving or
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 coming and going or whatever, you
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 can't just pick them out by hand. There's so
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 many of them that you need machines to do the
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 job. But still at the end of the day somebody
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 looks at the data and it was
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 um, on the 13th of October, not
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 very long ago that uh, Matthew Holman
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 uh, was looking through the data and
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 discovered an object now classified as
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 2026 ED138.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 And it's um, going to be, it will
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 eventually have a name, uh, but at the moment
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 perhaps its identification number. Uh.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 Andrew Dunkley: Rodney.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Professor Fred Watson: Rodney. Could be, could be.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 Uh, did he say Rodney?
00:05:17 --> 00:05:17 Andrew Dunkley: Rodney?
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, Rodney. Well there was a battleship
00:05:19 --> 00:05:20 called Rodney.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, I'm aware of that,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 Professor Fred Watson: yes. Yeah,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 Andrew Dunkley: so you don't. I think we should give
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 um, planetary bodies more,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 you know, common names. Rodney, Trevor,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 Louise,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:34 Professor Fred Watson: Andrew.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 Andrew Dunkley: Yep, that's getting, that's getting, you
00:05:38 --> 00:05:39 know, that's getting higher up the ladder.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:41 Professor Fred Watson: Um,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 Andrew Dunkley: there's an object. Fred Watson.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 Professor Fred Watson: There's certainly an asteroid called
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 Fred Watson Watson.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, yep, there you
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 Professor Fred Watson: are. But, but that leads me to um, an
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 interesting point. That you raised there,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 what is it going to be called? And it will
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 almost certainly be called after one
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 the creation gods, uh, in
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 the m. Mythology of the
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 Mapuche people, who are the first nations
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 people down there in Chile, where this
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 telescope is based. Uh, and that's
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 basically the protocol for naming
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 dwarf planets in the far distant solar
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 system, which is where this is. We didn't
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 mention that It's a Trans Neptunian object.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 So it's well beyond the orbit of Neptune. In
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 fact, it's well beyond the orbit of Pluto.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 Um, Pluto's on average about 6 billion
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 kilometres away from the sun. This is more
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 like 7 billion, not quite, but nearly 7
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 billion kilometres away.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, it's a heck of a long way out.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 It's, um, um, at least two more
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 AU out. I think if I'm remembering that
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 rightly, it might have been more,
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 Professor Fred Watson: uh, it's probably more, yes. Uh,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:47 um,
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 Andrew Dunkley: 46 astronomical units from the sun.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah. Um, but it will, as
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 I said, end up with probably a Mapuche name
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 which will be very nice. Um, and we are
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 all familiar with Mapuche names because the
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 four component telescopes of the Very Large
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 Telescope are named after them. Um,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 can't remember the other two. It'll come to
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 me in a minute.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 Uh, yeah, anyway, you'll find them, don't
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 worry. And my apologies to the Mapuche people
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 for forgetting those wonderful names which,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 uh, by the way, are, uh, Sun, Moon,
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 Southern Cross and I think it's Evening
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 Star is the other one. Might be serious. Um,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 I wish I hadn't drifted off in that direction
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 because I've revealed what, uh, happens.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 Yeppon. Uh, and is it Melipal?
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 Yeah, yeah,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 Andrew Dunkley: I'll take your word for it.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 Professor Fred Watson: Thanks.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 Um, anyway, um, there will be lovely
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 names, a lovely name for this object. Why are
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 we excited about it? Because it's big, um,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 up to possibly. And remember that you can't
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 actually see a disc here. This is a point of
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 light that tells us where it is by its
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 movement because we can do the solutions of
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 the orbital, um, equations and work out
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 whereabouts it is from watching how fast it
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 moves. Basically the slower something moves,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 the further away it is. Uh, and, um,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 its brightness is the only other clue that
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 we've got. But combining those two things
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 suggests that, um, its diameter is up
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 to about 1500
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 kilometres. Um, might be smaller than
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 that, but the upper limit seems to be about
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 1500. Uh, compare that with,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 um, the size of Pluto, uh, about
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 2 kilometres. And I think Eris
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 is just about the same size as well. Two
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 similar sizes.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah. I said at the start, the biggest, I
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 think the furthest out is. What is
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 Professor Fred Watson: it? Probably is. Um, um,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 Andrew Dunkley: so far,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 Professor Fred Watson: certainly the furthest out of its size. Uh,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 um, we. It's
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 interesting because it's going to play
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 into the whole debate about Planet nine. Here
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 you've got a new object. Uh, the more
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 observations we can make, the more accurate
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 we can determine its orbit. Uh, and um,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 if we find that it is a highly
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 eccentric orbit, a highly elongated one
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 that's aligned with all the other,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 um, transectunion object orbits
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 that are aligned, then uh,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 it will almost certainly come into the Planet
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 nine debate.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 Um,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 Andrew Dunkley: well, I mean one of the theories is that
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 there may not be a Planet nine, but there may
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 be just enough stuff out there, big stuff,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 to create the same effect.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 Professor Fred Watson: That's right. Uh,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 that's true. Um, although it's hard
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 to align all these orbits
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 without it being a single large, uh, object
00:09:53 --> 00:09:53 or
00:09:53 --> 00:09:53 Andrew Dunkley: a
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 Professor Fred Watson: single massive object. Because, um, if it's a
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 group of object, they're all in their own
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 orbits. Anyway, um,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 there are some interesting things about this
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 object, uh, ED138. Uh,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 one is it's tilted, uh,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 quite highly to the plane of the solar
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 system. And that
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 means it belongs to a category of
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 trans neptunian objects called, and I
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 love this, the hot classical Trans
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 neptunian objects. Most people think of
00:10:25 --> 00:10:25 Beethoven as being the
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 Andrew Dunkley: hot
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 Professor Fred Watson: classical, but uh, it's actually
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 uh, one of these. And why is it hot? Um, that
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 relates to the energy of its orbits and the
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 fact that it is highly, ah, inclined. M.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 Maybe it has been disturbed into that highly
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 inclined orbit by interactions with the
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 planet Neptune itself. But Neptune's actually
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 quite a lot further in, uh, into um,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 the solar system. Um,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 Andrew Dunkley: uh, they've got a great diagram on this story
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 on the BBC which
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 shows the orbit. It really is a long way out.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, yeah, it is. Um, it's
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 um, well out of the solar system.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, but
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 Professor Fred Watson: it's part of it.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 Andrew Dunkley: It's part of it. But it's sort of like the
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 second, uh, cousin twice removed.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's right. But we do know that
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 there's this, um, relatively
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 large population of
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 uh, the solar system
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 that exists way beyond the orbit of
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 Neptune. I um, do love the diagram that
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 you've just mentioned as well because, um, I
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 think they've drawn it with the stars in the
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 right position. And there's Orion in the
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 background, which is quite nicely done.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 Andrew Dunkley: It looks good,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 Professor Fred Watson: but uh,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 it is a very distant object and it's tilt.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 It's well outside the plane of the orbit. So
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 something has disturbed it in that
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 regard. Um, but an exciting, you
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 know, an exciting uh, discovery. It's
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 Andrew Dunkley: absolutely. And a, um,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 another feather in the cap of the Vera C.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 Rubin Observatory which
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 has just sort of,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 the minute they switched it on, it, it
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 started finding stuff. And you said it
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 would, it would change the game, it would
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 start finding things lickety split.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 And that's exactly what's happening.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, it's exciting stuff.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 And look, because it's looking
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 at the transient universe and this is really
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 an aspect of the universe that we haven't had
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 the capability of doing before. Looking at
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 things that come and go over short
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 timescales. Um, that
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 means we're almost certainly opening up a
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 completely new discovery space here. And it's
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 not just asteroids and dwarf planets. It's
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 going to be all kinds of things that come um,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 and go in the night, whether they're moving
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 or changing in their brightness. Um,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 just wait for a, an influx of um,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 extra, basically extra solar
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 comets and things of that sort. Which might
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 be a segue into one of our stories later on
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 this month. This afternoon.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, maybe so. Okay. If you'd like
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 to read all about it, it's on the website
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 BBC sky and Night magazine.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 Is there a published paper, Fred Watson?
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 There's probably one.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 Professor Fred Watson: Oh, um, yes, there is.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 Uh, maybe the sky at Night hasn't given
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 us a link to it though.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 Andrew Dunkley: Maybe not. But uh, yes, it
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 Professor Fred Watson: won't be hard to find.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 Professor Fred Watson: uh, Holman is the author.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 Andrew Dunkley: Indeed. All right, great, um,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 story and more to come. And when they give it
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 a name, uh, Frederica or something like that,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 we will let you know. This is Space
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 Nuts with Andrew Dunkley and Professor
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 Fred Watson Watson.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 Professor Fred Watson: I'm going to step off the land now.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 That's one floral scale for man.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 1tr
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Generic: space nuts.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 Andrew Dunkley: Our next story takes us to an
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 interstellar object that has been making the
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 news continuously since it was discovered.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 Comet 3I Atlas. And it's
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 in the news again, Fred Watson. And things
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 uh, just got a little bit stranger from what
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 I understand.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 Professor Fred Watson: Very unusual chemistry. Uh,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 so, um, I think this is the result
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 of observations with our
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 favourite space telescope, the James Webb
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 Space Telescope. Um, and
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 basically, um, uh, these observations
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 date from December last year. Uh, it
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 was about two and a half times as far
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 from the sun as we are and
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 heading basically through the asteroid belt.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 Uh, and um, this object, um,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 three I atlas clearly when it was
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 uh, in the, you know, in that, that close
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 up region of the solar system, we could see
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 that it was a comet. It was releasing,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 um, basically dust and uh,
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 and plasma, uh, because of the
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 heating effect of the sun, the radiation
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 effect of the sun, um and basically
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 to use the technical term solar, uh,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 radiation sublimates its icy volatile
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 chemicals. And what that does is
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 we have the chance to analyse those chemicals
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 spectroscopically. Uh, and
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 basically uh, the
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 scientists who've done this work have
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 um, kind of gone to town almost on the amount
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 of detail that they're able to put into
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 now. The chemical um,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 constituents of
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 the um, the, the object which we haven't
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 mentioned.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 We're talking about Three Eye Atlas, in case
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 we didn't mention its name earlier on or uh.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 Maybe you didn't. Can't
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 Andrew Dunkley: remember anyway. I did. You didn't, but
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 that's okay.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah. Okay. This
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 Andrew Dunkley: uh, is, this is the third
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 extra solar comet uh, we've found,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 isn't it? The third one?
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 Professor Fred Watson: Yes. So 3i is the third interstellar.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, of course it is.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 Professor Fred Watson: Um, of uh, you know, it doesn't have to be a
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 comet. It's a, any
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 object with that um,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 our uh, designation is interstellar and it
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 could be an asteroid, it could be a comet.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 But this is definitely a comet,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 Andrew Dunkley: right?
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 Professor Fred Watson: Not a spacecraft as some people have said.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 So what it's telling us though is
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 the, you know, the details that are coming
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 out are all about, about isotopes which
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 we've talked about before. The number of
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 different differing number of neutrons that
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 there are present in a, in the nucleus of an
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 atom. Um, and they've got
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 isotope ratios uh, that um. In
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 this Science Alert report, uh, which
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 I'm looking at at the moment, um, written
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 by Ivan uh, Farkas, uh, that
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 uh, is basically the
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 uh, you know, the crux that they, the isotope
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 ratios are uh,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 unusual and um,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 basically uh, hint
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 that at some time in the past of this
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 object it was exposed to very
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 high levels of radiation.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 Uh, and what they're speculating is that it
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 was actually born in
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 a gas cloud that is the sort of
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 precursor of the core of a star.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 Um, um, it's a region
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 that despite the fact that it sounds
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 as though it should be very hot, it's
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 actually pretty cold gas.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 Uh, and that is
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 um. You know what that
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 does is makes it very dense. It's cold, it's
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 dense. And so it's uh, almost
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 like ah, a refrigerator that's
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 preserving uh, these signatures of these
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 various isotopic ratios that we've been
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 talking about. And the suggestion is that it
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 was formed at a temperature of something like
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 -260 degrees Celsius,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 263 degrees Celsius which is about 10 degrees
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 above absolute zero. Uh, it's
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 got a very low carbon content as well. One
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 particular isotope of carbon, carbon 13, uh,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 which also suggests that it is
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 very, very old. Um, in other words, it
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 originated at
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 a time when the universe was low in
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 what we call heavier elements. Um, because
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 heavier elements basically increase
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 in their numbers, um,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 as the universe gets older. And that's
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 because they're formed in the interiors of
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 stars and subsequent
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 generations of stars, uh, mean that the
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 universe is gradually enriched with these
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 heavier elements.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 Andrew Dunkley: Extraordinary. Extraordinary. And, uh,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 it seems to also have,
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 um, a much more significant,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 uh, methane, heavy methane content than
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 anything else we've looked at.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 Professor Fred Watson: That's right. Um, that's
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 one of the features of this unusual chemistry
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 that we mentioned at the beginning.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 Um, very, very interesting that it has got
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 this very high, what's called
00:19:21 --> 00:19:24 a D to H ratio. That's deuterium to
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 hydrogen. And deuterium is heavy hydrogen.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 It's hydrogen with an extra neutron.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 That ratio for methane, um,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 as they say in this article, that elevated D
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 to H ratio for methane in 3i Atlas is
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 consistent with the hypothesis that its ice
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 is formed in a cold, low
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 metallicity interstellar or
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 protostellar environment under a high
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 cosmic ray irradiation rate.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 Uh, that's a quote from the researchers
00:19:54 --> 00:19:57 who've, uh, done this study.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 So the bottom line is that
00:20:00 --> 00:20:03 the age that is being Put now on
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 Three Eye Atlas is something like 10
00:20:06 --> 00:20:09 billion years. And that is,
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 you know, what is it? 4/5 of the
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 age of the universe. Yeah.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Um, that's
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 Andrew Dunkley: amazing.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 Professor Fred Watson: It may have lurked in its own solar system
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 for 3 billion years. They think it's been
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 travelling perhaps for 7 billion years. Uh,
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 and that's of course, 3 billion years before
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 our solar system even existed. So
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 really quite extraordinary.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 Andrew Dunkley: So I probably got kicked out by, you
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 know, for not paying the rent or something.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, it could, it's more likely to be
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 gravitational interactions, but it could just
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 be not paying the rent. You're right. Yeah.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah. Well, it's another,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:47 um, amazing discovery and I just
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 find it extraordinary that something so
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 far away, so small and so fast
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 you can get a few snapshots of it as it's
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 passing by through the likes of the James
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 Webb telescope. And then you can study it
00:21:02 --> 00:21:05 and just unravel everything about it that,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 um, it consists of. And,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 yeah, I'm stunned by this new,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 um, era of telescopic
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 capability.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 Professor Fred Watson: It is, yeah, it is
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 remarkable, um, where we are at the moment,
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 even compared with two years ago, maybe.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 When was it? 20, 21 when, uh, uh,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 the web was deployed. So, yeah,
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 certainly compared with a decade ago. We're
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 in an extraordinary situation.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 Andrew Dunkley: We certainly are, notwithstanding what
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 Hubble's achieved. But, yeah. And it's still
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 going strong. Still going strong, yeah.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 If you'd like to read about it, uh,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 sciencealert.com or you can read the study
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 in the journal Nature Astronomy. This
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 is Space Nuts, Andrew Dunkley here with
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 Professor Fred Watson Watson.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 Generic: Space Nuts.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 Andrew Dunkley: Now, Fred Watson, our final story takes us,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 uh, back to the outer reaches of the solar
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 system. Not as far as, uh, dwarf planet
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 2026. Ed. Ah, 138. But getting out there,
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 uh, we're looking at, uh, asteroids
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 in the, uh, Neptunian part, ah.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16 Of the, um, uh, solar
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 system. What's interesting about this is
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 that, um, other planets have got these
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 asteroids. But, uh, they've never been able
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 to find Neptune's, uh, Trojan
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 asteroids until now. Because,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:32 uh, a team in Belfast has made the
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 discovery.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 Professor Fred Watson: Exactly. And guess what they've been using to
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 make the discovery.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 Andrew Dunkley: Vera C. Rubin Telescope.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's right.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah. Again,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 Professor Fred Watson: um, technically, it's the observatory that's
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 called Vera C. Rubin. The telescope has a
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 different name, uh, from its benefactor.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 That'll come to me in a minute as well. But
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 we usually refer it to it as the Vera C.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 Rubin Observatory. That's right. Um,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 so, uh, it is a
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 discovery that exactly as you've said,
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 sort of dots the I's and crosses the T's of
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 our understanding of these, uh,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 objects. Which we call Trojan asteroids. And
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 just to remind our listeners, uh, and
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 viewers, um, Trojan asteroids are,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:22 uh, objects that are not in
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 the main asteroid belt between the orbits of
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 Mars and Jupiter. They lurk,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 uh, 60 degrees in front of and
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 60 degrees behind, um,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:37 planets. And the best known ones, and
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 in fact, the only known ones.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 When I was a young astronomer, my supervisor
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 used to work on them. Actually, my, um,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:45 master's degree supervisor at St. Andrews,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 he worked on these objects. They were the
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 ones before and after the planet Jupiter.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 Ah. Uh, but sitting in Jupiter's orbit, the
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 Jupiter Trojans, um, at an angle,
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 I should say, of 60 degrees. So 60
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 degrees ahead of Jupiter, there's one bunch
00:24:00 --> 00:24:03 of them. 60 degrees behind Jupiter, there is
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 another. And they are called, uh. The two
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 groups are named Trojan and Greek
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 populations. And I can never remember which
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 way around they are. I think the Trojan ones
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 are the ones at the front. They're the ones
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 that go first. Uh, anyway, um,
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 so here's the conundrum. Um, we
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 know about the Trojans of the planet
00:24:22 --> 00:24:25 Saturn. We know about the Trojans of the
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 planet Jupiter, uh, and Uranus,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 but they have never been found for
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 Neptune. So um,
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 that is why this is such a
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 breakthrough because these uh, scientists,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 yes as you've said, led uh, from Queen's
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 University in Belfast and I think
00:24:44 --> 00:24:47 there's a fairly high degree
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 of student uh, members to uh, this
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 team. They're at the Astrophysics Research
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 Centre at Queen's University. Ah, Meg
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 Schwamb, uh. Is uh, an
00:24:58 --> 00:25:01 astronomer and lecturer there and basically
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 led the team of uh, scientists
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 working on this including um.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:10 Uh, some uh, other international
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 colleagues, um, and of course using
00:25:13 --> 00:25:16 the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 telescope.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:20 So, um, how's the discovery been made
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 just by what we were talking about a bit
00:25:22 --> 00:25:25 earlier this session, Andrew, that
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 um. The telescope basically
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 photographs the entire sky um,
00:25:30 --> 00:25:33 every three nights. And so if you're looking
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 for things that move, that's the way to do
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 it. The planet Neptune will have been in
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 their field of view at one point and they
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 probably subtracted that from the images. Uh,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 but that would have allowed them to see
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 uh, this excess of numbers of asteroids
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 which fit into the place that we're talking
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 about 60 degrees before and
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 after, uh, Neptune, but sitting in its
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 orbit. So a big triumph actually
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 for the uh. Um. Ulster team,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 the Northern Ireland team.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 Andrew Dunkley: I wonder why it's been so hard to nail this
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 down. I mean they found nuggets floating
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 around Uranus. But, uh. Why
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 haven't. I, couldn't help it.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 Why haven't
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 Professor Fred Watson: that
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 Andrew Dunkley: one.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 Why haven't they been able to until now find
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 these objects around Neptune? What makes
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 Neptune so difficult?
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, it's much further away. It's quite
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 simple. Um. Um. We think
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 of. Yes. Oh yes. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 Neptune. We think of them as being in a row
00:26:34 --> 00:26:37 and nicely spaced out, but they're not. The
00:26:37 --> 00:26:40 distance kind of doubles from each
00:26:40 --> 00:26:43 one. So, uh, from,
00:26:43 --> 00:26:46 um. Jupiter. Sorry, from uh.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 Let's get this right. From Uranus to Neptune
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 is twice as much as it is from. Basically
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 twice as much as it is from Saturn to
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 Neptune.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 Andrew Dunkley: And
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 Professor Fred Watson: of course, because the brightness of an
00:26:56 --> 00:26:59 object varies with one over the square
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 of its distance, that means, um, that
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 it gets fainter very much quicker. So it's
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 all about the brightness of these objects.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 Uh, they're below the threshold for
00:27:09 --> 00:27:12 visibility for most of the telescopes
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 that have looked for them before. But yeah,
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 Andrew Dunkley: you've got to remember it's really dark out
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 there. I mean the sunlight gets there.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 But I think, uh. I can't remember where I
00:27:21 --> 00:27:24 read it, but Pluto, um, for
00:27:24 --> 00:27:27 example, daytime is like, like Twilight
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 on Earth. I think
00:27:27 --> 00:27:30 Professor Fred Watson: I would say that's correct. Yes. Yeah.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 Andrew Dunkley: Uh, it is a really dark place. And cold.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:37 Professor Fred Watson: Yep. All of that. No point in putting your
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 solar panels up there because you're not
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 going to get much juice from them
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 Andrew Dunkley: unless you get one the size of a planet.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 Professor Fred Watson: Yes. Which
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 Andrew Dunkley: sort of defeats the purpose. I suppose
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 Professor Fred Watson: it does.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:51 Andrew Dunkley: Although the way things are going on Earth,
00:27:51 --> 00:27:53 we've just about got a solar panel the size
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 of a planet.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, it might work that way. That's right.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 Andrew Dunkley: Saw a lot of them in Eastern Europe which
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 surprised me. But, um, yeah, they are
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 everywhere. But, um, they're almost
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 outnumbered by wind turbines.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 Professor Fred Watson: Yes. Yes.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:10 Andrew Dunkley: That's a whole other story. Uh, yeah, if you
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 would like to read about the um,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:16 uh, discovery of the Neptunian
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 Trojan asteroids, you can do so
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21 on universetoday.com or you can check
00:28:21 --> 00:28:24 out the paper at the Astrophysical Journal
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 Letters. That brings us to the end.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 Fred Watson. Thank you.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 Professor Fred Watson: That went quick. Um,
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 Andrew Dunkley: nice
00:28:30 --> 00:28:33 Professor Fred Watson: to talk to you again, Andrew. Good to
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 Andrew Dunkley: talk to you. We stayed
00:28:33 --> 00:28:36 Professor Fred Watson: in the solar system this time, but um, no
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 doubt we'll venture further afield in future
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 episodes
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 Andrew Dunkley: for sure. Possibly the next one. We'll see
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 what people are asking us in our Q and A
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 episode. See you soon, Fred Watson. Thank
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 you.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 Professor Fred Watson: Sounds great. Cheers, Andrew.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 Andrew Dunkley: Professor Fred Watson Watson, astronomer at
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 large. And don't forget to visit us between
00:28:51 --> 00:28:54 episodes on our website or on social
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 media. We've got uh, a very strong presence
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59 on Facebook, the official Space Nuts
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 page. Or you can go to the podcast group
00:29:02 --> 00:29:05 which uh, is like minded. People chatting to
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 each other, sharing their um, their
00:29:07 --> 00:29:10 images and discussions and all that. Um,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:13 just space, uh, Nuts podcast group on
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 Facebook. Uh, and yeah, I think
00:29:15 --> 00:29:18 we're on uh, YouTube. I know we are because
00:29:19 --> 00:29:22 we're on it right now. Ah, going out live
00:29:22 --> 00:29:25 and uh, um. What's the other one? Instagram.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 So yeah, check it all out there. And thanks
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 to Huw in the studio. Couldn't be with us.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 Every time Three Eye Atlas makes the news, he
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 thinks he has to go out and buy the latest
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 edition of his atlas. It's.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 I'm not telling him. Not going to tell him.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 And from me, Andrew Dunkley, thanks for your
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 company. We'll catch you on the next episode
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 of Space Nuts. Bye. Uh, bye.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 Voice Over Guy: You've been listening to the Space Nuts
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 podcast.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 Professor Fred Watson: Mythic Play Decent,
00:29:50 --> 00:29:53 Voice Over Guy: available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 iHeartRadio or your favourite podcast
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 player. You can also stream on
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 demand@bytes.com.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02 Voice Over Guy: this has been another quality podcast
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 production from bytes.com. um,