Latest / Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries / Dark Energy, Cosmic Selfies & Baby Moons

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Dark Energy, Cosmic Selfies & Baby Moons · Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for
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the latest and most exciting news in space
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exploration and astronomy. I'm your host
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Anna, and today we're diving into several
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fascinating developments from across the
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cosmos. We've got a packed episode ahead
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covering everything from the Space Force's
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certification of a new rocket for national
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security launches to an upcoming partial
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solar eclipse that will grace our skies this
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week. We'll also explore a mysterious
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galaxy that's challenging what we thought we
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knew about the early universe. We check in on
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China's expanding satellite network and learn
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how NASA's Europa Clipper will scout
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potential landing sites on one of the most
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promising worlds for finding extraterrestrial
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life. So settle in as we journey through
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these captivating stories that remind us just
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how dynamic and ever changing our
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understanding of space truly is.
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The US Space Force has officially certified
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United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur
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rocket for national security missions
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after analyzing data from the vehicle's two
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certification launches that took place in
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January and October of 2024.
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This milestone announcement came on March 26
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from the Space Force's Space Systems Command,
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marking the completion of a long awaited
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certification process. Space Force
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Brigadier General Kristen Panzenhagen, who
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serves as the Program Executive Officer for
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Assured Access to Space, emphasized the
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significance of this development, noting that
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assured access to space is a core function of
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the Space Force and a critical element of
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national security. She added that the Vulcan
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certification adds launch capacity,
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resiliency and flexibility needed for the
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nation's most critical space based systems.
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This certification is particularly notable as
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UH ula now joins SpaceX as only
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the second provider certified to carry out
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launches under the National Security Space
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Launch Program, enhancing America's launch
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capabilities for sensitive military and
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intelligence payloads. The path to
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certification wasn't without challenges. The
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second Vulcan certification flight
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experienced an incident when the nozzle of
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one of its two solid rocket boosters fell off
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approximately half a minute after liftoff.
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Remarkably, the vehicle compensated for the
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diminished thrust and still completed its
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mission successfully. ULA's President
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and CEO Tory Bruno later explained that
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a manufacturing defect in an internal
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insulator part caused the nozzle separation
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and appropriate corrective actions were
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implemented and verified through static fire
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testing. Looking ahead,
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ULA has ambitious plans for their launch
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cadence. Bruno has indicated that the
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company is projecting a dozen launches this
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year split roughly evenly between their Atlas
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and Vulcan rockets, serving both national
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security and commercial missions.
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The first National Security space launch
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mission on Vulcan is planned for this summer
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in North America. ULA aims to establish a
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baseline tempo of two launches per month by
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the end of this year and perform 20 launches
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in 2025. Bruno noted that the company
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has been strategically stockpiling critical
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components such as B4 engines and
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solid rocket boosters to support this
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accelerated launch schedule. This
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certification represents a, uh, significant
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advancement for America's space launch
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capabilities, ensuring redundancy and
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resilience in the nation's ability to deploy
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critical national security assets to orbit.
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As Bruno remarked, we're all staged up
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and ready, and as spacecraft show up, we'll
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be able to fly them. What a
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difference a year makes. Just a year after
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millions across North America witnessed the
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spectacular total solar eclipse on April
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8, 2024, we're already
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preparing for another celestial event. Mark
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your calendars for this Saturday, March
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29, 2025, when a partial
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solar eclipse will grace our skies, though
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with a notably different viewing audience.
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This upcoming eclipse results from the Moon's
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shadow falling primarily on the north polar
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regions of Earth. It's actually the second
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eclipse in less than a month, coming just two
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weeks after the total lunar eclipse that
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occurred on 3-13-14.
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This pattern is what astronomers call an
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eclipse season, a roughly 37 day
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period when the alignment of the sun and Moon
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can allow for eclipses to occur at both full
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and new Moon phases. For this March
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29 event, the Moon will pass through the
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opposite node of its orbit. Compared to the
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lunar eclipse, however, the Moon passes this
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node almost too early. By the time it reaches
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new phase, about 19 hours after crossing the
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ecliptic, the axis of its shadow will pass
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well to the north of Earth. The dark shadow
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cone, or umbra, will completely miss our
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planet, passing about 180 miles above the
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North Pole. This means no location on Earth
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will experience totality, but instead the
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Moon's outer shadow, the penumbra, will
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create a partial eclipse visible in varying
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degrees. The eclipse will be visible across
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northwest Africa, much of Europe, excluding
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some eastern sections northwest Russia,
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Iceland, and Greenland. Parts of South
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America, including Suriname, French Guiana,
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and Amada in Brazil will see a small dent in
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the sun at sunrise. For North Americans,
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visibility depends entirely on location.
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If you draw a line from Oakville, Ontario,
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down to Virginia Beach, Virginia, areas west
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of this line won't see any part of the
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eclipse. Those to the east, however, will
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catch at least a glimpse near sunrise, though
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maximum eclipse will have already occurred
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before the sun appears above the horizon.
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The farther north and east you go in North
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America, the more impressive the view
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becomes. In Baltimore, the Sun will rise with
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7.8% of its diameter already
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eclipsed, with the event ending just four
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minutes later. But residents of northern New
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England and Atlantic Canada are in for a
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spectacular treatment. The town of Madawaska
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in far northern Maine will experience maximum
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eclipse almost precisely at sunrise, with
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88.2% of the Sun's diameter
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covered. This will create the stunning visual
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effect of the sun appearing as a delicate
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crescent with its points aimed nearly
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straight up, resembling two lobster claws
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emerging from beyond the eastern horizon.
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Similar impressive views await Atlantic
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Canada, with Halifax seeing
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85.6% coverage and at
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7:17am Fredericton experiencing
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87% at 7:19am and St.
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John's reaching 85.4% at
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7:52am as always with solar
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eclipses, proper eye protection is essential.
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Unlike, um, a total eclipse with its brief
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moments of totality, a partial eclipse can be
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observed more leisurely, but only through
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specially designed solar filters or eclipse
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glasses. Remember that looking at the sun
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without proper protection is extremely
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dangerous.
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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has made
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another groundbreaking discovery that's
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challenging our understanding of the early
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universe. An international team of
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astronomers has identified bright hydrogen
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emission from an incredibly distant galaxy
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observed just 330 million years after the
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Big Bang, a mere fraction of our universe's
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current 13.8 billion year age.
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The galaxy, designated Jades
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GSZ13.1, was first spotted in
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images taken by Webb's Near Infrared Camera
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as part of the James Webb Space Telescope
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Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey.
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Researchers initially estimated its redshift,
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a measure of how far the galaxy's light has
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traveled and been stretched by the expansion
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of space, at around 12.9 to
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confirm this extreme distance. They then
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observed it using Webb's Near Infrared
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Spectrograph instrument. The resulting
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spectrum not only confirmed the redshift at
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13.0, placing it firmly in the very
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early universe, but also revealed something
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completely unexpected a distinctly bright
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wavelength of light known as Lyman alpha
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emission radiating from hydrogen
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atoms. This emission was far stronger
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than scientists thought possible during this
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ancient epoch. What makes this
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finding so perplexing is that the early
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universe was filled with a thick fog of
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neutral hydrogen gas. This fog should
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have completely blocked such emissions until
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a process called reionization cleared it away
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a process that wasn't completed until about 1
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billion years after the Big Bang. Yet here
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was JDGS Z13.1
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shining through this cosmic fog more than 600
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million years earlier than should be
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possible. Roberto Maialino from the
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University of Cambridge and University
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College London explains why this is so
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significant. GSZ13.1
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is seen when the universe was only 330
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million years old, yet it shows a
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surprisingly clear telltale signature of
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Lyman alpha emission that can only be seen
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once the surrounding fog has fully lifted.
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This result was totally unexpected by
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theories of early galaxy formation and has
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caught astronomers by surprise. Before
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and during the reionization era, the neutral
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hydrogen surrounding galaxies should have
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blocked any energetic ultraviolet light they
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emitted, much like colored glass filters
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light. Until enough stars had formed to
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ionize this hydrogen gas, no such light,
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including Lyman Alpha emission, should have
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been able to escape and reach Earth. We
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really shouldn't have found a galaxy like
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this, given our understanding of the way the
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universe has evolved, says Kevin Hainlein
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from the University of Arizona. We could
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think of the early universe as, uh, shrouded
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with a thick fog that would make it
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exceedingly difficult to find even powerful
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lighthouses peeking through. Yet here we see
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the beam of light from this galaxy piercing
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the veil. Scientists aren't yet certain what
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caused this unexpected emission, but they
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have theories. One possibility is that
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the galaxy contains some of the universe's
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first generation of stars, much more
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massive, hotter, and more luminous than
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stars formed later. Another
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explanation could be a powerful active
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galactic nucleus driven by one of the first
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supermassive black holes. Whatever the
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explanation, this discovery opens exciting
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new questions about the earliest chapters of
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our cosmic history and how the first stars
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and galaxies formed. The
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research was published in the journal Nature,
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marking another remarkable achievement for
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the Webb Telescope as it continues to
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transform our understanding of the universe's
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origins.
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China has taken another significant step
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forward in its space infrastructure with the
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successful launch of a new data tracking and
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relay communications satellite. The Tianlian
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two zero four lifted off on March
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26th at 11:55am M. Eastern Time
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from the Xichang Satellite Launch center in
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southwest China aboard a long March 3rd B
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rocket. The China Aerospace Science and
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Technology Corporation, or KSC, announced the
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mission's success about an hour after
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liftoff. While the launch was anticipated due
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to airspace closure notices, the exact
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payload wasn't revealed until after the
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successful deployment.
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Tianlian2:04 is now in
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geosynchronous transfer orbit and will
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eventually maneuver to take up its final
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position along the geostationary belt.
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Approximately 35,000 sets 786
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kilometers above Earth's equator. From this
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vantage point, it will join China's second
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generation geostationary orbit data relay
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satellite, Constellation. These satellites
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serve a critical function for China's space
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program, providing data relay and telemetry,
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tracking and command services for the
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nation's crewed spacecraft. This includes
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supporting the Tiangong Space Station and
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Shenzhou spacecraft, as well as assisting
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medium and low Earth orbit satellites and
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launch operations. The Tianlian Network
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performs a role similar to NASA's Tracking
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and Data relay satellite system, with
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satellites strategically positioned around
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geostationary orbit to provide nearly
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continuous coverage. According to casc,
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this newest addition to the fleet features
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several technical upgrades compared to its
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predecessor Tianlian2:03,
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which was launched in July 2022. These
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improvements include enhanced transmission
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capacity and faster response speed speeds
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aimed at meeting China's growing needs for
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data relay and tracking services, while
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also strengthening the autonomy and security
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of their second generation relay system.
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The Tianlian program has a long history,
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beginning with China's first Tianlian
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satellite launched in 2008. The earlier
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Tianlian 1 series satellites have now been
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moved to graveyard orbits above the
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geostationary belt, while the newer
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generation continues active service like
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earlier satellites in the series,
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Tianlian2:04 was developed by the
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China Academy of Space Technology, a UM major
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spacecraft making Institute under CASC.
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This launch marks China's 15th orbital
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mission of 2025, demonstrating the country's
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increasingly ambitious space program. With
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expanded spaceport capabilities, ongoing mega
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Constellation projects, and new launch
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vehicles set to debut, China could
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potentially target around 100 or more
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launches this year, far exceeding their
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previous national record of 68 launches set
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last year. The country's space agenda remains
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packed with other major upcoming missions,
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including the Shenzhou 20 and 21
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crewed flights to the Tiangong Space Station
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and the Tianwen 2 near Earth asteroid Sample
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Return mission, expected to launch around
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May.
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Let's move a bit further out into space now,
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looking ahead to one of NASA's most
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anticipated deep space missions. New research
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presented at the 2025 Lunar and Planetary
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Science Conference has revealed how the
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Europa Clipper will help identify potential
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landing sites for a future mission to
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Jupiter's icy moon. This strategic
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reconnaissance capability could prove crucial
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for the next phase of exploring this ocean
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world. The Europa Clipper, scheduled to
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reach the Jovian system in April 2030,
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will follow a complex orbital pattern around
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Jupiter, performing 49 close flybys of
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Europa. Unlike Mars orbiters that
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follow relatively simple circular paths, the
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Clipper can't orbit Europa directly due to
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Jupiter's intense radiation environment,
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which would damage the spacecraft. Instead,
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it will follow carefully designed looping
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orbits that minimize radiation exposure while
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still allowing close study of the moon.
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Planetary geologist Jennifer Scully and her
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team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have
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carefully assessed which of these flybys
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would be most suitable for identifying future
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landing sites. They determined that any
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reconnable flyby must meet three key
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proper lighting conditions with the surface
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and sunlight, specific incidence angles
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between 30 and 60 degrees, and an altitude of
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approximately 50 to 100 kilometers to ensure
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appropriate image resolution without
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blurring. Based on these criteria,
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the researchers identified 12 flybys as
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fully reconnable and another 13 as
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supporting. Most notably, a flyby
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designated E19 stands out as particularly
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valuable for landing site selection. Its
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ground Track extends over 700km and
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covers a fascinating transition between
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Europa's ridged plains and a region called
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Pao Regio, one of the Moon's mysterious
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chaos terrains where the surface appears
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jumbled and disrupted, potentially offering
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clues about the ocean beneath. The Europa
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Clipper's sophisticated Europa Imaging
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System, with its narrow and wide angle
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cameras, will collect crucial data for what's
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known as terrain relative navigation.
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This is the same guidance system that allowed
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NASA's Perseverance rover to safely navigate
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to its landing site on Mars. A future
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Europa lander would use these detailed
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surface images combined with real time camera
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data to guide itself safely to the surface.
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The researchers note that their current
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assessments are based on older data from the
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Galileo mission, and rankings will likely
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change once the Europa Clipper begins
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returning high resolution images.
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Some potential landing areas haven't even
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been photographed at high resolution yet,
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highlighting just how much we still have to
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discover about this intriguing world. This
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research provides a critical roadmap for
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mission planners as they prepare for the
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Europa Clipper's operations in the
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2000-30s and lay groundwork for
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what could eventually become humanity's first
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landing on an ocean world beyond Earth.
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And that wraps up today's episode of
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Astronomy Daily. From the space force
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certifying ULA's Vulcan rocket to the
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upcoming partial solar solar eclipse, Webb's
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surprising discovery of ancient light,
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China's new data relay satellite, and the
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Europa Clipper's mission to scout landing
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sites on Jupiter's Ocean Moon.
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We've journeyed across the solar system and
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beyond. I'm Anna, and it's been my
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pleasure to bring you these fascinating
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stories from across the cosmos. Whether
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you're a seasoned astronomer or just curious
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about what lies beyond our atmosphere, I hope
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you've enjoyed today's cosmic update.
17:08
Visit our website at astronomydaily IO where
17:11
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17:13
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17:23
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