Stellar Scrutiny: Space Debris, Venusian Mysteries & the Quest for Cosmic Life

WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.880 Heidi Campo: Welcome back to another fun and exciting Q 1 00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:05.280 and A episode of space nuts. 2 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:08.240 Voice Over Guy: 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10. 3 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.800 Ah. 9. Uh, ignition 4 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.478 sequence start. Space nuts. 5, 4, 5 00:00:13.555 --> 00:00:16.178 3, 2, 1. 3, 4, 5. 5. 6 00:00:16.255 --> 00:00:18.960 4, 3, 2. 1. Space nuts. 7 00:00:19.040 --> 00:00:20.880 Astronauts report. It feels good. 8 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:24.120 Heidi Campo: I am your temporary host this episode, 9 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:26.600 filling in for your beloved Andrew Dunkley. 10 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.440 And my name is Heidi Campo. 11 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:28.660 Professor Fred Watson: And. 12 00:00:28.810 --> 00:00:31.410 Heidi Campo: And joining us today to answer all of your 13 00:00:31.410 --> 00:00:33.690 burning questions is the lovely 14 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:36.610 Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at 15 00:00:36.610 --> 00:00:38.730 large. Hi, Fred. How are you doing? 16 00:00:38.970 --> 00:00:41.330 Professor Fred Watson: I'm, um, well, Heidi, thanks, and great to 17 00:00:41.330 --> 00:00:43.890 see you again. I'm, um, so happy that, uh, 18 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:46.570 we, uh, have these conversations because it 19 00:00:46.730 --> 00:00:49.490 brings a new excitement to the whole idea of 20 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:52.130 Space Nuts with, uh, your questions as well 21 00:00:52.130 --> 00:00:52.730 as mine. 22 00:00:53.930 --> 00:00:55.610 Heidi Campo: Absolutely. And I know you're going to have 23 00:00:55.610 --> 00:00:57.770 so much fun at your conference this week. 24 00:00:57.770 --> 00:00:59.530 Speaking of questions, you're going to 25 00:00:59.530 --> 00:01:01.750 probably be answering a lot of questions and 26 00:01:01.990 --> 00:01:04.350 giving a lot of questions yourself. Is there 27 00:01:04.350 --> 00:01:06.470 any talks you're really looking forward to? 28 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:09.350 Professor Fred Watson: Oh, uh, yes, there is actually. There's one 29 00:01:09.350 --> 00:01:11.550 day, uh, tomorrow. And um, 30 00:01:12.070 --> 00:01:15.010 this is an afternoon when, uh, 31 00:01:15.010 --> 00:01:17.430 the people who are most directly involved 32 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:19.750 with some of the projects that are going on 33 00:01:19.910 --> 00:01:22.830 in, um, Australian astronomy, they get 34 00:01:22.830 --> 00:01:25.630 a chance to give an update. Uh, and 35 00:01:25.630 --> 00:01:28.350 it's things like, uh, what's happening with 36 00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:30.470 the Square Kilometer Array Observatory, which 37 00:01:30.470 --> 00:01:32.750 is being built, uh, jointly in South Africa 38 00:01:32.750 --> 00:01:35.710 and in Australia. It's things like, well, 39 00:01:35.710 --> 00:01:38.270 the Vera, uh, Rubin Observatory that we've 40 00:01:38.270 --> 00:01:40.670 talked about already. We've got connections 41 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:42.630 with that, all of those things. These are 42 00:01:43.350 --> 00:01:45.270 sort um, of almost like news reports from 43 00:01:45.270 --> 00:01:48.150 these various facilities. Uh, and 44 00:01:48.550 --> 00:01:51.470 there's a lot of big questions that we need 45 00:01:51.470 --> 00:01:54.310 to ask in Australia about where we 46 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:56.350 go with our, uh, for example, our membership 47 00:01:56.350 --> 00:01:58.440 of some of the international, uh, observatory 48 00:01:58.440 --> 00:02:00.920 community. So, uh, that's the one that's 49 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:02.400 going to be the highlight for me. That will 50 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.000 be tomorrow afternoon. And I'll report back, 51 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:07.960 no doubt, in our next issue of Space Notes. 52 00:02:08.600 --> 00:02:10.960 Heidi Campo: Oh, I can't wait to hear it. That sounds 53 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:11.480 wonderful. 54 00:02:12.040 --> 00:02:14.320 Well, Lei, let's uh, go ahead and just jump 55 00:02:14.320 --> 00:02:17.320 right on into our questions then. We have, 56 00:02:17.450 --> 00:02:19.520 uh. It's kind of typical fashion. We have a 57 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:21.680 couple written questions and we have a couple 58 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.570 audio questions. And so I'm 59 00:02:24.570 --> 00:02:27.330 going to go ahead and read. And I did not say 60 00:02:27.330 --> 00:02:29.130 so because our next question's from 61 00:02:29.130 --> 00:02:31.810 Minnesota. It just came out that way. But our 62 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:33.690 next question is going to be a written 63 00:02:33.690 --> 00:02:35.130 question. And this is from Greg from 64 00:02:35.130 --> 00:02:38.050 Minnesota. And Greg says, g', day, Space 65 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:40.890 Nuts. I'm Greg from Minnesota and I have two 66 00:02:40.890 --> 00:02:43.170 questions for you. This week One, 67 00:02:43.650 --> 00:02:46.210 what, if anything, is being done about 68 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:49.210 Kessler Syndrome? Are there any plans to 69 00:02:49.210 --> 00:02:51.490 test something to remove space debris? 70 00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:54.950 Question two. Why is Venus's 71 00:02:54.950 --> 00:02:57.910 atmosphere so thick? CO2 is 72 00:02:57.910 --> 00:03:00.830 more dense than N2, uh, and O2 in 73 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:03.630 our atmosphere. But I've heard that even if 74 00:03:03.630 --> 00:03:06.070 you removed the CO2 from Venus's 75 00:03:06.070 --> 00:03:08.710 atmosphere, it would still be three times 76 00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:11.790 more dense. How can it hold such a thick 77 00:03:11.790 --> 00:03:14.670 atmosphere? Or is 78 00:03:14.670 --> 00:03:16.990 it the Earth that is the odd duck that has an 79 00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:19.350 unusually thin atmosphere for a planet our 80 00:03:19.350 --> 00:03:19.750 size? 81 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:23.050 Professor Fred Watson: They're great questions, uh, from Greg. 82 00:03:23.050 --> 00:03:24.850 I'm going to do the easy one first, 83 00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:28.170 which is what's, uh, being done about the 84 00:03:28.170 --> 00:03:30.290 Kessler Syndrome? Well, the Kessler Syndrome, 85 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:33.330 uh, uh, I'm sure most of our listeners 86 00:03:33.330 --> 00:03:35.890 know is that, uh, it's the 87 00:03:35.890 --> 00:03:38.850 potential for there being a kind of runaway 88 00:03:39.010 --> 00:03:41.530 collision process among orbital 89 00:03:41.530 --> 00:03:44.370 debris, uh, things that orbit the Earth, 90 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:47.210 uh, particularly in low Earth orbit, which is 91 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:50.090 getting very, very crowded. Uh, at the Moment 92 00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:52.470 There are 30,000 pieces, debris that are 93 00:03:52.470 --> 00:03:54.030 being tracked, and they're bigger than about 94 00:03:54.030 --> 00:03:56.750 100 millimeters across, um, but there are 95 00:03:56.750 --> 00:03:59.150 millions of smaller bits. And remember that 96 00:03:59.150 --> 00:04:01.430 everything's going around at 8km per second 97 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:04.250 or thereabouts. Um, so, uh, 98 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:07.470 it is, uh, potentially a very 99 00:04:07.470 --> 00:04:09.510 dangerous thing. If you got a big enough 100 00:04:09.510 --> 00:04:12.350 collision between two, say, two defunct, 101 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:15.230 uh, rocket bodies, then the debris from that 102 00:04:15.230 --> 00:04:18.030 could, uh, have this sort of 103 00:04:18.239 --> 00:04:20.239 domino effect, uh, in 104 00:04:20.719 --> 00:04:22.879 basically filling space with 105 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.800 debris. That's the Kessler Syndrome. Uh, 106 00:04:25.999 --> 00:04:28.199 and what's being done about it is, yes, the 107 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.039 recognition that we, uh, do 108 00:04:31.039 --> 00:04:33.639 need to fix this because, uh, Earth orbit is 109 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:35.850 becoming more and more crowded, uh, 110 00:04:37.039 --> 00:04:39.279 as time goes on and the more spacecraft that 111 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.519 we launch. And, uh, there are something like 112 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.199 12,000 active spacecraft in orbit at the 113 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:47.050 moment. Uh, those, uh, 114 00:04:47.490 --> 00:04:49.570 as the numbers increase, the risks increase 115 00:04:49.970 --> 00:04:52.210 that you will eventually have a Kessler 116 00:04:52.210 --> 00:04:55.090 Syndrome phenomenon, uh, and then it's too 117 00:04:55.090 --> 00:04:57.050 late. You've got space that's actually 118 00:04:57.050 --> 00:04:59.770 unusable, which is a horrible thought when we 119 00:04:59.770 --> 00:05:01.850 think of how much we need space and how much 120 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:04.610 we use, uh, the facilities that come to us 121 00:05:04.610 --> 00:05:07.330 because of orbiting spacecraft. So, uh, 122 00:05:08.130 --> 00:05:10.930 there is, you know, in a regulatory sense, 123 00:05:11.430 --> 00:05:13.930 uh, there is now the need you have to show 124 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:16.190 whenever you launch a spacecraft that, uh, 125 00:05:16.190 --> 00:05:18.670 it's going to be deorbitable. In other words, 126 00:05:18.670 --> 00:05:20.470 there's got to be a way of clearing it from, 127 00:05:20.890 --> 00:05:23.590 uh, low Earth orbit. Uh, plus there are 128 00:05:23.910 --> 00:05:26.470 missions being planned to actually remove 129 00:05:26.790 --> 00:05:29.510 some of the larger pieces of space junk 130 00:05:29.510 --> 00:05:31.870 by decelerating them so that they burn up in 131 00:05:31.870 --> 00:05:34.030 the Earth's Atmosphere. So a lot is 132 00:05:34.030 --> 00:05:36.430 happening, but, uh, it's a slow process and 133 00:05:36.430 --> 00:05:39.430 it's actually quite a difficult, ah, job. 134 00:05:40.070 --> 00:05:42.550 Moving on to Greg's second question, which 135 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:45.190 has got my brain, uh, in a panic, 136 00:05:45.590 --> 00:05:48.490 um, because I'm going to front 137 00:05:48.490 --> 00:05:50.290 up here and say I don't actually understand 138 00:05:50.450 --> 00:05:52.930 this, but I'm not a chemist. 139 00:05:52.990 --> 00:05:55.410 Uh, so let me just tell you 140 00:05:56.050 --> 00:05:58.450 what the story is, as Greg says, 141 00:05:59.130 --> 00:06:01.130 uh, well, why is it Venus's atmosphere so 142 00:06:01.130 --> 00:06:03.090 thick? That's the easy part. Uh, because, 143 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:06.210 uh, we have an atmosphere that is something 144 00:06:06.210 --> 00:06:08.530 like 96% carbon dioxide. 145 00:06:09.030 --> 00:06:11.770 Uh, whereas the carbon dioxide in 146 00:06:11.770 --> 00:06:13.610 Earth's atmosphere is measured in parts per 147 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:16.430 million. It's much, much lower than that. Um, 148 00:06:17.070 --> 00:06:19.670 uh, so, uh, as he says, co, uh, 149 00:06:19.890 --> 00:06:22.410 two is more dense than uh, nitrogen and 150 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:24.850 oxygen in our atmosphere. But I've heard that 151 00:06:24.850 --> 00:06:27.170 even if you removed the CO2 from Venus's 152 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:28.690 atmosphere, it would still be three times 153 00:06:28.690 --> 00:06:31.090 more dense. How can it hold onto such a thick 154 00:06:31.090 --> 00:06:33.370 atmosphere? And I think you're right, 155 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:36.490 Greg. Uh, all the stuff I've read 156 00:06:36.570 --> 00:06:39.290 about the atmosphere of Venus, and I've 157 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:41.290 churned through this quite a bit recently, 158 00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:44.930 uh, implies, uh, exactly what 159 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:47.450 you've said, that if you took away the carbon 160 00:06:47.450 --> 00:06:50.230 dioxide, what you'd be left with will be 161 00:06:50.310 --> 00:06:52.550 essentially, um, a nitrogen 162 00:06:52.950 --> 00:06:55.730 atmosphere, um, 163 00:06:55.730 --> 00:06:58.710 which is uh, not that different from 164 00:06:58.710 --> 00:07:01.670 Earth's because we have a nitrogen atmosphere 165 00:07:02.070 --> 00:07:04.230 which has uh, 166 00:07:04.870 --> 00:07:07.190 some oxygen there. Uh, 167 00:07:07.750 --> 00:07:09.430 I think. I can't remember. It's the exact 168 00:07:09.430 --> 00:07:11.910 percentage, something like 15%, I think, 169 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:14.750 oxygen. Um, and so you've got an 170 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:16.630 atmosphere that does look more like Earth's, 171 00:07:16.630 --> 00:07:19.430 but, uh, is still going to have three 172 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:21.990 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth. And 173 00:07:21.990 --> 00:07:24.790 I have struggled to work out why that is. 174 00:07:25.020 --> 00:07:27.990 Um, I think it's probably due 175 00:07:28.070 --> 00:07:30.830 to differences between the planets 176 00:07:30.830 --> 00:07:33.670 themselves. They are very similar in size. 177 00:07:33.670 --> 00:07:36.390 In fact, Earth is slightly more massive than 178 00:07:36.390 --> 00:07:39.190 Venus. Um, but, uh, there 179 00:07:39.190 --> 00:07:42.190 may be issues to do with, for example, 180 00:07:42.190 --> 00:07:45.090 internal structure of these two planets 181 00:07:45.330 --> 00:07:48.130 that makes them different in terms of what 182 00:07:48.130 --> 00:07:50.930 their atmosphere would do. Uh, so 183 00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:52.890 it's a piece of work that I'm going to 184 00:07:52.890 --> 00:07:55.570 continue researching. Greg, thank you for 185 00:07:55.570 --> 00:07:57.930 pointing me in this direction because it's 186 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:00.410 one that is intriguing me and annoying me 187 00:08:00.410 --> 00:08:02.700 that I can't immediately see, uh, 188 00:08:03.170 --> 00:08:05.130 the answer, the simple answer to your 189 00:08:05.130 --> 00:08:07.290 question. There may not be one. It might be 190 00:08:07.290 --> 00:08:10.040 far more complex than uh, uh, than uh, 191 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.700 we're currently expecting. But we will keep 192 00:08:12.700 --> 00:08:14.780 on um, with this and no doubt talk about it 193 00:08:14.780 --> 00:08:15.700 again down the track. 194 00:08:17.380 --> 00:08:18.740 Heidi Campo: Thank you so much, Greg. 195 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.700 Um, our next question is from our 196 00:08:21.780 --> 00:08:24.740 favorite father, son Duo 197 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:27.620 from Portugal. And this is an audio 198 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.020 question, so I'm going to give Fred a second 199 00:08:30.020 --> 00:08:32.860 to cue that up and we are going to play that 200 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:34.740 question for you right now. You guys are 201 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:36.100 going to be able to listen to their question 202 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:39.190 and then Fred is going to answer it. So here 203 00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:39.750 we go. 204 00:08:40.390 --> 00:08:43.150 Andrew Dunkley: Hello again. Uh, this is Philippe, Henrique's 205 00:08:43.150 --> 00:08:46.110 father from Portugal. Um, I just 206 00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:49.070 got home from work. It's 9:30 in the 207 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:51.990 evening here in Portugal and Henrique 208 00:08:51.990 --> 00:08:54.910 was awake, eagerly waiting for 209 00:08:54.910 --> 00:08:57.190 me to get back home because he wants to ask 210 00:08:57.190 --> 00:08:59.350 you another question instead of being asleep. 211 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.190 Um, thank you so much for asking me these 212 00:09:03.190 --> 00:09:05.870 questions. He really loves it when you answer 213 00:09:05.870 --> 00:09:08.710 his questions. And um, he 214 00:09:08.710 --> 00:09:11.150 asked me to listen to your podcast every time 215 00:09:11.150 --> 00:09:14.110 it's available another episode. Uh, I 216 00:09:14.110 --> 00:09:15.990 just wanted to say thank you for 217 00:09:17.190 --> 00:09:19.380 entertaining his questions and um, 218 00:09:20.150 --> 00:09:21.190 I'll leave him to it. 219 00:09:23.350 --> 00:09:25.670 Hi again. Um, I have another question 220 00:09:26.390 --> 00:09:28.950 for you about stars and black holes. 221 00:09:29.520 --> 00:09:32.400 How can black hole star support the mass 222 00:09:32.880 --> 00:09:35.600 of the black hole in there or without 223 00:09:35.760 --> 00:09:38.400 collapsing? And um, can you 224 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:41.280 please tell more about them, like 225 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.080 do they can support planets, 226 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:50.000 um, how are 227 00:09:50.160 --> 00:09:52.960 they created, etc. 228 00:09:53.680 --> 00:09:55.760 Thank you for answering my question. 229 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:00.850 Heidi Campo: Bye bye. Uh, this kid's going to be the next 230 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:01.490 Einstein. 231 00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:04.170 Professor Fred Watson: I think so too. Yeah. So thanks to 232 00:10:04.170 --> 00:10:07.060 Philippe for, um, uh, 233 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:09.570 uh, letting Enrique stay up 234 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:12.850 late enough to record a question for, 235 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.650 um, uh, Space Notes. And they're great 236 00:10:15.650 --> 00:10:17.810 questions too. Um, I think, 237 00:10:18.040 --> 00:10:20.730 uh, as I understand it, Enrique, your 238 00:10:20.730 --> 00:10:23.610 question was how can a 239 00:10:23.610 --> 00:10:26.530 star, basically, what stops a 240 00:10:26.530 --> 00:10:29.290 star from turning into a black hole? 241 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.090 Uh, how can a star be supported? 242 00:10:32.570 --> 00:10:35.530 And the answer is it's all about 243 00:10:35.530 --> 00:10:37.690 the, you know, the physics of, of the way 244 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:40.410 stars work. Even stars like the sun, which is 245 00:10:40.410 --> 00:10:42.930 relatively modest in size, certainly isn't 246 00:10:42.930 --> 00:10:45.810 going to cause a black hole, um, to 247 00:10:45.810 --> 00:10:48.700 be formed when it dies finally and perhaps 3, 248 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:51.600 4 billion years time. Um, but a 249 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.120 star like the sun is a balance between 250 00:10:54.760 --> 00:10:57.600 the gravity that wants to pull everything to 251 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.200 the middle. It's a blob of gas and 252 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:02.640 gravity basically wants everything to sink to 253 00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:05.360 the middle. And if that, if that was the 254 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.520 case, then it would turn into something not 255 00:11:07.520 --> 00:11:09.200 quite like a black hole. It would turn into a 256 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.200 white dwarf star, which is similar to a black 257 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.960 hole but not quite as compact. But what stops 258 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.260 that, as the star is in its normal 259 00:11:17.260 --> 00:11:19.980 lifetime is the radiation 260 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:23.020 that is being generated by the 261 00:11:23.020 --> 00:11:25.620 nuclear processes, basically the 262 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:28.620 atoms being smashed together in the star 263 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:31.100 center. So there's all this activity 264 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:33.980 generating energy in the center of the star 265 00:11:34.300 --> 00:11:36.780 as radiation, that radiation pressure which 266 00:11:36.780 --> 00:11:39.580 is acting outwards, balances the gravity. 267 00:11:39.660 --> 00:11:42.650 Exactly. So it's a delicate balancing 268 00:11:42.650 --> 00:11:44.930 act, uh, where the gravity is, 269 00:11:45.890 --> 00:11:48.010 you know, the tendency of the star to 270 00:11:48.010 --> 00:11:50.810 collapse is actually inhibited 271 00:11:50.810 --> 00:11:53.090 or stopped by the, 272 00:11:53.510 --> 00:11:55.610 uh, radiation pressure coming from the 273 00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:58.490 nuclear reaction. So that's what happens 274 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:01.170 in a giant star, perhaps 10 times 275 00:12:01.170 --> 00:12:03.930 bigger than the sun, um, during 276 00:12:03.930 --> 00:12:06.250 its lifetime, most of its lifetime, that 277 00:12:06.250 --> 00:12:08.130 balancing act is keeping going. 278 00:12:09.410 --> 00:12:11.210 The outward pressure is stopping the 279 00:12:11.210 --> 00:12:13.810 gravitational collapse. But, uh, these 280 00:12:13.810 --> 00:12:16.410 massive stars burn up their hydrogen, which 281 00:12:16.410 --> 00:12:19.410 is the fuel that generates, uh, these 282 00:12:19.650 --> 00:12:22.210 reactions in the center. Uh, they burn the 283 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:24.770 hydrogen up very quickly. And once that 284 00:12:24.770 --> 00:12:27.440 hydrogen is gone, then, um, 285 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:30.290 basically, it's not quite as simple as this, 286 00:12:30.290 --> 00:12:33.010 but basically the energy switches off. 287 00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:36.170 So there's nothing to stop the star from 288 00:12:36.170 --> 00:12:38.650 collapsing. It simply collapses under its own 289 00:12:38.650 --> 00:12:41.250 gravity. And a star that's big enough will 290 00:12:41.250 --> 00:12:43.860 indeed collapse into a black hole. Um, 291 00:12:44.890 --> 00:12:46.810 slightly smaller stars collapse into 292 00:12:46.810 --> 00:12:48.970 something we call a neutron star, which is 293 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:51.210 where the subatomic particles are all 294 00:12:51.690 --> 00:12:54.330 crowded together. Um, then 295 00:12:55.210 --> 00:12:57.010 a slightly smaller star than that will 296 00:12:57.010 --> 00:12:58.730 collapse, like our sun will, into a white 297 00:12:58.730 --> 00:13:00.410 dwarf star, which is where all the electrons 298 00:13:00.410 --> 00:13:03.030 are bunched together. Uh, 299 00:13:03.030 --> 00:13:05.980 neutron stars. And I'm just moving now 300 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:08.300 to the second part of your question. At least 301 00:13:08.300 --> 00:13:10.820 one neutron star we know does have planets. 302 00:13:11.050 --> 00:13:13.940 Uh, and that is, uh, it's one of the 303 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:15.860 first planets beyond the solar system that 304 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:18.100 was discovered because we could see its 305 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:20.790 effect on the neutron star. Uh, 306 00:13:20.790 --> 00:13:23.620 and so, uh, it is possible for a planet 307 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:26.160 to survive that explosive, uh, 308 00:13:26.260 --> 00:13:28.700 ending of the star. Uh, that results in the 309 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:31.420 core collapsing. Um, and, you know, 310 00:13:31.420 --> 00:13:33.540 quite often the outer layers are blown away 311 00:13:33.540 --> 00:13:35.740 as well because that collapse is very 312 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:37.900 explosive. It sounds weird that something 313 00:13:37.900 --> 00:13:39.860 collapsing should cause an explosion, but 314 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:42.660 that's what happens. So. Yeah. So, um, I hope 315 00:13:42.660 --> 00:13:44.780 that covers the etc in your question, 316 00:13:45.180 --> 00:13:48.180 Enrique, but that's basically what, uh, we 317 00:13:48.180 --> 00:13:50.980 know about the way black, um, holes form and 318 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.900 about the way planets might survive being 319 00:13:54.140 --> 00:13:56.060 around a black hole. We don't know of any 320 00:13:56.060 --> 00:13:58.420 planets yet that are around black holes, but 321 00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:00.540 we do know that they're around neutron stars, 322 00:14:00.540 --> 00:14:02.260 which are not too different from a black 323 00:14:02.260 --> 00:14:02.660 hole. 324 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:06.180 Heidi Campo: That's fantastic. Yeah. Please keep the 325 00:14:06.180 --> 00:14:08.700 curiosity going. Feed that kid whatever 326 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.540 science he needs to keep fueling these 327 00:14:11.540 --> 00:14:14.020 questions, because this is really, really 328 00:14:14.020 --> 00:14:14.340 fun. 329 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:19.300 Professor Fred Watson: Okay, we checked all four systems and game 330 00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:20.820 with a go. Space nets. 331 00:14:21.790 --> 00:14:24.660 Heidi Campo: Um, next question. There is no way 332 00:14:24.660 --> 00:14:27.340 I am going to read this. There are a couple 333 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:30.180 pages of math equations on it, and I would 334 00:14:30.180 --> 00:14:32.340 put you guys to some sleep if I read all of 335 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:34.460 these numbers in a row, But I am going to 336 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:36.980 paraphrase. So our next Question is from. 337 00:14:37.300 --> 00:14:39.620 I hope I'm saying your name correctly. East 338 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:42.140 Hawk. And um, I looked it up. It looks like 339 00:14:42.140 --> 00:14:44.380 that's a Slovenian name. So I'm wondering if 340 00:14:44.380 --> 00:14:47.140 you are from Slovenia or not. I love 341 00:14:47.219 --> 00:14:49.860 Slovenia. Beautiful, beautiful country. But 342 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:52.820 um, East Hawk says the other day. Do you 343 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:55.860 see if I can even read the question if I 344 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:58.860 paraphrase it? The other day you discussed 345 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.670 the density of black holes. And then he 346 00:15:01.670 --> 00:15:04.470 goes on to um, say that he looked up an 347 00:15:04.470 --> 00:15:07.470 AI formula, um, to compare the density of 348 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:10.150 a proton with the density of a black hole. 349 00:15:10.470 --> 00:15:13.030 And he's trying to calculate the density 350 00:15:13.190 --> 00:15:15.910 using um, for each, using a 351 00:15:15.910 --> 00:15:18.870 formula. And then he goes on and on and 352 00:15:18.870 --> 00:15:21.430 on, um, with. With these 353 00:15:21.510 --> 00:15:23.950 formulas. And then for a black hole, we'll 354 00:15:23.950 --> 00:15:26.870 consider a Schwarzschild black hole, which 355 00:15:26.870 --> 00:15:28.990 is the simplest type of black hole. The 356 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:31.110 density of a black hole depends on its mass. 357 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:34.300 Let's take this example more equations. 358 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:37.260 And key is basically just asking 359 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:40.660 if, um, the density of a black 360 00:15:40.660 --> 00:15:42.980 hole is significantly higher than that of a 361 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:45.500 proton. This comparison illustrates the 362 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:48.180 extreme compactness of black 363 00:15:48.180 --> 00:15:50.740 holes where a large mass is 364 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:53.540 compressed into a very small volume, leading 365 00:15:53.540 --> 00:15:56.300 to incredibly high densities. 366 00:15:57.110 --> 00:16:00.110 Fred, you've got this math um, thesis in 367 00:16:00.110 --> 00:16:03.030 front of you, so you, you 368 00:16:03.030 --> 00:16:04.470 can break it down for us. 369 00:16:05.190 --> 00:16:07.150 Professor Fred Watson: No, you've, you've summarized it perfectly, 370 00:16:07.150 --> 00:16:10.030 Heidi. And so. Yes, so what, what we do is 371 00:16:10.030 --> 00:16:12.870 look at, so density is mass 372 00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:15.870 over volume. Uh, and uh, that's a 373 00:16:15.870 --> 00:16:18.550 simple calculation. And we can do it, I mean, 374 00:16:18.550 --> 00:16:20.790 you know, in school physics you do it for, 375 00:16:21.350 --> 00:16:24.250 for lumps of wood or things like that to work 376 00:16:24.250 --> 00:16:26.250 out what the volume is and what the mass is. 377 00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:29.010 And then you get the density. Uh, it's a 378 00:16:29.010 --> 00:16:30.290 little bit different when you're looking at 379 00:16:30.290 --> 00:16:33.130 subatomic particles like a proton. Uh, but 380 00:16:33.130 --> 00:16:35.610 you can do the same sort of 381 00:16:35.610 --> 00:16:38.489 calculations. And um. Yes. 382 00:16:38.489 --> 00:16:41.210 So the AI, uh, that 383 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:44.210 is toc, uh, relied on. I 384 00:16:44.210 --> 00:16:46.250 uh, think got the density of a proton 385 00:16:46.490 --> 00:16:48.730 approximately correct. Uh, at 386 00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:51.290 6.73 times 10 to the power 17 387 00:16:51.610 --> 00:16:54.550 kilograms per cubic meter. Um, 388 00:16:54.630 --> 00:16:57.150 it's very dense, a proton. But then the 389 00:16:57.150 --> 00:16:59.910 calculation goes on to uh, estimate the 390 00:16:59.910 --> 00:17:02.390 density of a black hole. Um, and 391 00:17:02.550 --> 00:17:04.550 actually comes out with the not surprising 392 00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:08.430 uh, result, um, that the black hole is more 393 00:17:08.430 --> 00:17:11.110 dense than the proton. Uh, about, 394 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:13.900 uh. With a, with a ratio of, um. 395 00:17:14.710 --> 00:17:16.550 I think it's more than 100. Actually more 396 00:17:16.550 --> 00:17:19.390 than 100 times. Um. The only thing 397 00:17:19.390 --> 00:17:22.140 is, I think that the AI might have 398 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:25.020 misled you. There is tak. Because what the AI 399 00:17:25.020 --> 00:17:27.300 has done is taken, as 400 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:30.100 Heidi mentioned, it's the uh, Schwarzschild 401 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:32.860 radius, uh, which is the radius of the 402 00:17:32.860 --> 00:17:35.780 event horizon. Um, and that's not 403 00:17:35.780 --> 00:17:38.740 the radius of the black hole. AI might 404 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:41.540 think it is. Uh, but it's not, because 405 00:17:41.540 --> 00:17:44.180 the radius of a black hole is zero 406 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:46.940 by definition, and that means its 407 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:49.480 density, because mass over volume, 408 00:17:49.810 --> 00:17:52.440 uh, it's the mass which does have a parameter 409 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:54.840 over the volume, which is effectively zero, 410 00:17:55.080 --> 00:17:58.040 that gives you basically an infinite density. 411 00:17:58.040 --> 00:18:00.280 And that's one definition of a black hole is 412 00:18:00.280 --> 00:18:03.000 a point in space where the 413 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:05.920 density is infinite. Um, now we 414 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.560 don't know whether real black holes have 415 00:18:08.560 --> 00:18:11.000 infinite density, but they are probably, 416 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.360 um, you know, enough of, 417 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:17.530 uh, uh, significantly, 418 00:18:18.080 --> 00:18:20.690 um, significantly more 419 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:23.490 dense than any of the densities that we 420 00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.210 might calculate for, for example, subatomic 421 00:18:26.210 --> 00:18:29.170 particles like protons. Um, so, um, I 422 00:18:29.170 --> 00:18:31.690 think the AI might have made a slight error 423 00:18:31.690 --> 00:18:34.210 there, but the answer is the same. The 424 00:18:34.210 --> 00:18:36.410 density of a black hole is very, very high 425 00:18:36.410 --> 00:18:39.370 indeed and may be infinite. Um, so 426 00:18:39.370 --> 00:18:41.870 a really interesting piece of, um, research 427 00:18:42.030 --> 00:18:44.830 by you. He's talk. Well done on doing that. 428 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:47.790 Uh, and, um, thank you for sending it to us 429 00:18:47.790 --> 00:18:49.910 to see your calculations. It's nice to see 430 00:18:49.910 --> 00:18:52.750 some mathematics appearing in our 431 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:53.320 questions there. 432 00:18:53.320 --> 00:18:56.190 Heidi Campo: Uh, yeah, uh, quite a few 433 00:18:56.190 --> 00:18:57.470 mathematics. It was very fun. 434 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:02.670 Andrew Dunkley: Three, two, one. 435 00:19:03.310 --> 00:19:03.710 Space. 436 00:19:03.870 --> 00:19:04.510 Heidi Campo: Nuts. 437 00:19:05.020 --> 00:19:07.670 Um, our last question of the day is an audio 438 00:19:07.670 --> 00:19:09.830 question. And I don't think you mentioned 439 00:19:09.830 --> 00:19:12.630 your name in this question, but this is 440 00:19:12.630 --> 00:19:15.310 another great question that we are going to 441 00:19:15.550 --> 00:19:17.990 let Fred cue up and listen to and we're going 442 00:19:17.990 --> 00:19:20.070 to play this question for all y'. 443 00:19:20.070 --> 00:19:22.830 Professor Fred Watson: All. Now, space is huge and getting 444 00:19:23.310 --> 00:19:26.190 much, much bigger. Is 445 00:19:26.190 --> 00:19:29.030 it possible that at the beginning of the Big 446 00:19:29.030 --> 00:19:31.390 Bang or soon after the 447 00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:33.310 microbes were made up, uh, life 448 00:19:34.990 --> 00:19:37.920 was generated and therefore this 449 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:40.560 was spread across the universe 450 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:43.840 over time. Thank you. 451 00:19:44.560 --> 00:19:45.600 Heidi Campo: I do love the birds. 452 00:19:45.760 --> 00:19:47.520 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, the birds are wonderful. I, I think 453 00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:49.960 that's, um, that's an Australian accent, I 454 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:51.760 think, and I think they're Australian birds 455 00:19:51.760 --> 00:19:54.520 in the background. Um, so, 456 00:19:54.520 --> 00:19:56.520 um, I'm sorry that we don't know who that was 457 00:19:56.520 --> 00:19:58.120 from, but thank you very much for the 458 00:19:58.120 --> 00:20:00.800 question. Uh, and it's, it, it's 459 00:20:00.800 --> 00:20:03.680 interesting. I mean, we, you know, one of the 460 00:20:04.850 --> 00:20:07.810 ideas that were certainly kind 461 00:20:07.810 --> 00:20:10.650 of popular in the, towards the end of the 462 00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:13.198 last century, um, in the 1970s, 463 00:20:13.355 --> 00:20:16.210 80s, 90s, uh, was 464 00:20:16.530 --> 00:20:19.330 that, uh, it was what we call the panspermia 465 00:20:19.330 --> 00:20:22.050 hypothesis, uh, that life 466 00:20:23.170 --> 00:20:25.250 is common in space and 467 00:20:26.610 --> 00:20:29.450 gets to planets like our own by coming 468 00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:32.360 from space, uh, either, you know, 469 00:20:32.360 --> 00:20:34.080 hitching a ride, some microbes either 470 00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:36.760 hitching a ride on, uh, a 471 00:20:36.760 --> 00:20:38.880 meteorite or something. Of that sort that 472 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.640 lands on the Earth, uh, and, um, that 473 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:44.160 micro or even actually just filtering down 474 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.560 through the atmosphere. Um, there was one of 475 00:20:46.560 --> 00:20:49.520 the great names in British astronomy, in 476 00:20:49.520 --> 00:20:51.640 fact, global astronomy Professor Sir Fred 477 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.140 Hoyle. Uh, he was, um, 478 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.320 a very, um, very gifted scientist who made 479 00:20:57.320 --> 00:20:59.000 his mark in the years following the Second 480 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.370 World War. But towards the end of his life, 481 00:21:01.610 --> 00:21:04.500 he espoused this idea of panspermia that, um, 482 00:21:05.130 --> 00:21:07.610 you know, basically living organisms drift 483 00:21:07.610 --> 00:21:10.330 through space and wind up on, um, planets 484 00:21:10.490 --> 00:21:13.410 because of that. Uh, but it's very, it's a 485 00:21:13.410 --> 00:21:16.290 very unpopular idea because 486 00:21:16.290 --> 00:21:18.970 of the physics that are involved. 487 00:21:21.610 --> 00:21:23.770 So what you need is, uh, the raw 488 00:21:24.010 --> 00:21:26.810 materials for life to come together 489 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:30.800 in the vacuum of space. Well, space is 490 00:21:30.800 --> 00:21:32.640 not a vacuum. We know in interstellar clouds 491 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:34.520 there are significant numbers of chemicals. 492 00:21:35.060 --> 00:21:36.840 Uh, and in fact, we do know that the building 493 00:21:36.840 --> 00:21:39.120 blocks of life, such as amino acids and 494 00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:41.360 things of that sort, are actually present in 495 00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:44.200 some of these clouds of gas and dust. 496 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:47.480 But, um, for the process of 497 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:50.680 chemistry to give rise to the processes of 498 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:53.610 biology, uh, you need conditions which 499 00:21:53.610 --> 00:21:56.050 we think only occur on planets where 500 00:21:56.210 --> 00:21:57.970 there's gravitational binding. 501 00:21:58.780 --> 00:22:01.730 Um, you need to form membranes 502 00:22:01.730 --> 00:22:04.610 to basically be the walls of cells. So that 503 00:22:04.610 --> 00:22:06.570 when you produce a single celled living 504 00:22:06.570 --> 00:22:09.370 organism, it's not just a bunch of 505 00:22:09.370 --> 00:22:11.250 atoms that leak out into its surroundings. 506 00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:13.210 It's actually held there. So you need lipids 507 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:15.250 and things of that sort. Quite complex 508 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:18.010 procedures. Now, um, in a 509 00:22:18.010 --> 00:22:20.520 sense, though, our, uh, anonymous questioner 510 00:22:20.520 --> 00:22:22.880 is right. Because in the aftermath of the Big 511 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.720 Bang, microbes were certainly 512 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.480 not around then because the conditions, 513 00:22:28.560 --> 00:22:31.120 you know, temperature and pressures, 514 00:22:31.580 --> 00:22:34.160 uh, were far too high for any 515 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.920 molecules at all to exist. Molecules would 516 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:39.440 have been shredded apart, uh, let alone 517 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:42.000 living organisms. So microbes did not, 518 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.110 uh, come out about as, as part of the Big 519 00:22:45.110 --> 00:22:47.910 Bang, but the raw materials 520 00:22:47.910 --> 00:22:50.550 did, uh, the hydrogen and helium, which 521 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:53.310 were created in the Big Bang, uh, that was 522 00:22:53.310 --> 00:22:55.950 spread throughout the universe. And what 523 00:22:55.950 --> 00:22:58.910 happened next was, um, the formation of 524 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:01.870 stars, uh, by hydrogen clouds 525 00:23:01.870 --> 00:23:03.430 collapsing under their own weight and 526 00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:06.350 switching on, um, the processes 527 00:23:06.350 --> 00:23:09.150 that generate the 528 00:23:09.150 --> 00:23:11.230 nuclear fusion that actually causes star to 529 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:13.670 shine. Not only do they generate energy, 530 00:23:14.070 --> 00:23:16.070 which we're feeling right now from the, 531 00:23:16.870 --> 00:23:19.410 uh, they also create new elements. 532 00:23:19.650 --> 00:23:21.930 And it's those new elements, the oxygen, the 533 00:23:21.930 --> 00:23:24.650 carbon, the hydrogen, the nitrogen, all of 534 00:23:24.650 --> 00:23:26.690 those things are the raw materials of life. 535 00:23:27.290 --> 00:23:30.090 Uh, and so the raw materials of microbes 536 00:23:30.090 --> 00:23:32.570 were produced, uh, not initially in the Big 537 00:23:32.570 --> 00:23:35.170 Bang, but everything was there that we needed 538 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:37.490 later on. And so it is possible 539 00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:40.490 that if you have microbial life, and it may 540 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:42.650 only occur on planets, but planets Are 541 00:23:42.650 --> 00:23:45.580 everywhere in the universe. Uh, the raw 542 00:23:45.580 --> 00:23:47.260 ingredients are there everywhere in the 543 00:23:47.260 --> 00:23:49.180 universe. And so, yes, maybe there are 544 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:51.380 microbes everywhere in the universe. Whether 545 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:52.900 they come to us from space, that's a 546 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:54.510 different matter. But, uh, 547 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:58.080 certainly in the sense that our questioner, 548 00:23:58.080 --> 00:24:01.060 ah, ah, has asked, um, it's 549 00:24:01.060 --> 00:24:03.980 everywhere. Um, because the 550 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:05.500 raw materials were spread throughout the 551 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.780 universe, life could probably 552 00:24:08.020 --> 00:24:10.100 exist anywhere in the universe. The only 553 00:24:10.100 --> 00:24:12.300 issue is we haven't found it yet. And that's 554 00:24:12.300 --> 00:24:14.220 the rather annoying part of this whole issue. 555 00:24:14.370 --> 00:24:17.210 Whole matter. So, um, let's keep working on 556 00:24:17.210 --> 00:24:20.090 that. Uh, looking for first signs of life 557 00:24:20.090 --> 00:24:20.930 beyond Earth. 558 00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:24.810 Heidi Campo: Yeah, if you guys, if you guys are hooked on 559 00:24:24.810 --> 00:24:26.370 math still, you can look up the Drake 560 00:24:26.370 --> 00:24:28.730 equation. That's a fun little, uh, deep dive 561 00:24:28.730 --> 00:24:30.970 you can go on to. But I just love that this 562 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:33.650 question was about life in the background of 563 00:24:33.650 --> 00:24:35.290 it. I'm still fixated on the birds for 564 00:24:35.290 --> 00:24:37.570 whatever reason. It sounded like, um, he was 565 00:24:37.570 --> 00:24:40.370 coming from some kind of like conservatory 566 00:24:40.610 --> 00:24:42.890 or a jungle. And it was just so, so rich in 567 00:24:42.890 --> 00:24:44.450 life. Like, I feel like I was in some kind of 568 00:24:44.450 --> 00:24:46.900 like a greenhouse with like, you know, bugs 569 00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:48.700 and butterflies and insects and birds all 570 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:50.900 around me. It's very cool. And you know what, 571 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:53.340 at the end of the day, this planet rocks. I 572 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:55.260 really, really like our planet. 573 00:24:56.620 --> 00:24:59.540 Space is fantastic, but when 574 00:24:59.540 --> 00:25:02.500 you, when you really kind of, you, you take 575 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:04.140 your eyes away from the stars and you look at 576 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:05.780 what we've got going on here, it's like, wow, 577 00:25:05.780 --> 00:25:08.380 this is, this is pretty nice. We've got a 578 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:11.260 really good looking planet here. And it 579 00:25:11.260 --> 00:25:13.340 really is incredible to think it's like 580 00:25:13.340 --> 00:25:15.380 everything that's out there. There's no 581 00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:18.240 planet like Earth. We really are on 582 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.120 such a beautiful, special planet. 583 00:25:21.320 --> 00:25:23.840 Professor Fred Watson: We are. And that's a very important point 584 00:25:23.840 --> 00:25:26.200 because most of us simply take it for granted 585 00:25:26.360 --> 00:25:28.680 and don't really think about life beyond 586 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:31.600 Earth or, uh, space. I mean, you 587 00:25:31.600 --> 00:25:34.040 know, when you ask people in the street, 588 00:25:34.820 --> 00:25:37.320 uh, they don't realize that the Earth 589 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:40.600 could be unique, is so, so precious 590 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:42.880 because it's actually got exactly the right 591 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:44.720 ingredients for the kind of life forms that 592 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.580 we are. And we've evolved from that. We're 593 00:25:47.730 --> 00:25:48.690 product of our environment. 594 00:25:50.210 --> 00:25:52.690 Heidi Campo: Yeah, yeah. And then we produce, you know, 595 00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:55.130 all sorts of things with this gift of life, 596 00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:56.690 including podcasts. 597 00:25:58.610 --> 00:26:00.970 It's just the human ingenuity never, never 598 00:26:00.970 --> 00:26:01.570 stops. 599 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:04.850 Um, but yeah, that is, that is it for the 600 00:26:04.850 --> 00:26:07.090 questions for today's episode. Guys, you're 601 00:26:07.090 --> 00:26:09.530 fantastic. Please keep sending in your 602 00:26:09.530 --> 00:26:12.450 amazing questions. I love to hear them. Fred 603 00:26:12.450 --> 00:26:14.130 loves to answer them. And. 604 00:26:14.370 --> 00:26:14.930 Professor Fred Watson: Oh, m. No. 605 00:26:16.830 --> 00:26:18.830 Heidi Campo: And it's always. It's always such a pleasure. 606 00:26:20.110 --> 00:26:21.990 Professor Fred Watson: And as it is for me. You're quite right, 607 00:26:21.990 --> 00:26:24.030 Heidi. I love getting these questions. They. 608 00:26:24.030 --> 00:26:26.790 They challenge my brain, which is, um, a good 609 00:26:26.790 --> 00:26:27.630 thing to have. 610 00:26:29.550 --> 00:26:31.070 Heidi Campo: Yeah, well, I'm sure you're going to have a 611 00:26:31.070 --> 00:26:33.510 lot of questions. Fred is. It's a. It's a 612 00:26:33.510 --> 00:26:35.830 Sunday night for me, so I'm winding down. I 613 00:26:35.830 --> 00:26:38.310 think my husband's making, um, tuna steaks 614 00:26:38.310 --> 00:26:40.590 tonight, and then Fred is ramping up on a 615 00:26:40.590 --> 00:26:42.570 Monday morning. Heading off to your 616 00:26:42.570 --> 00:26:45.050 conferences. I can't wait to hear how these 617 00:26:45.050 --> 00:26:46.810 go. They sound like it's going to be a very 618 00:26:46.810 --> 00:26:48.170 fun, fun time for you. 619 00:26:49.050 --> 00:26:51.170 Professor Fred Watson: I'll, uh, I'll be sure to fill you in on 620 00:26:51.170 --> 00:26:53.530 everything that goes on. Thanks. Good to talk 621 00:26:53.530 --> 00:26:54.810 and speak again soon. 622 00:26:55.050 --> 00:26:56.360 Heidi Campo: All right. Take care, Fred. Bye bye. 623 00:26:56.360 --> 00:26:58.560 Voice Over Guy: You've been listening to the SpaceNuts 624 00:26:58.560 --> 00:27:01.520 podcast, available at 625 00:27:01.520 --> 00:27:03.480 Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 626 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:05.930 iHeartRadio, or your favorite, favorite 627 00:27:05.930 --> 00:27:08.410 podcast player. You can also stream on demand 628 00:27:08.410 --> 00:27:10.900 at bitesz.com. Um, this has been another 629 00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:13.620 quality podcast production from bitesz.com