Latest / Space News Today / Lightning on Mars, New Cosmic Objects, and the Future of European Spaceflight

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Lightning on Mars, New Cosmic Objects, and the Future of European Spaceflight · Space News Today

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  Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
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  the podcast that brings you the
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  universe, one story at a time. I'm
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  Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to have you
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  with us. We've got news stretching from
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  the rusty soil of Mars all the way to
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  the deepest reaches of cosmic time.
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  >> That's right. We'll be talking about
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  possible lightning on Mars, a new crew
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  arriving at the space station, Europe's
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  nextgen reusable spacecraft, a potential
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  new kind of cosmic monster, and we'll
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  finally get an answer to what drives the
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  furious winds of Venus.
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  >> So, let's get started. Our first story
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  takes us to the red planet, where an old
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  question might have a shocking new
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  answer.
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  >> Do tell. Avery, for decades, scientists
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  have wondered if lightning could occur
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  on Mars. Well, it seems NASA's
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  Perseverance rover may have finally
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  captured the first direct evidence.
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  >> Wow, really? After all this time, how
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  did it detect it? Was it a flash of
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  light?
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  >> Not visually, but audibly. The rover's
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  super sensitive microphone, part of the
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  Super Cam instrument, recorded crackling
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  sounds, faint pops and crackles that are
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  distinct from the usual Martian wind. It
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  heard lightning. That's incredible. So,
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  what's causing these electrical
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  discharges?
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  >> Scientists believe the primary suspect
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  is the planet's infamous dust storms.
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  The friction between dust particles as
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  they're whipped around by the wind can
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  build up a significant static charge,
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  just like shuffling your feet on a
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  carpet.
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  >> Right. And eventually, that charge has
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  to go somewhere, resulting in a spark.
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  >> Exactly. A miniature Martian lightning
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  bolt. While the energy is likely much
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  lower than a typical terrestrial
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  thunderstorm, it proves that Mars'
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  atmosphere is more electrically active
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  than we ever knew. So, Mars has more
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  dynamic and complex weather than we
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  previously thought. This just makes me
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  even more excited for future crude
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  missions. There's still so much to
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  discover.
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  >> I think you'll find you're not the only
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  one waiting for that step.
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  >> Speaking of space travel, let's turn our
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  attention a little closer to home. On
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  Thanksgiving Day, a crew of three
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  successfully launched to the
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  International Space Station aboard a
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  Soyuse rocket.
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  >> That's right. The crew consists of one
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  NASA astronaut and two Russian
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  cosminauts. It's a powerful symbol of
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  continued international cooperation in
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  space, even during complicated times
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  here on Earth.
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  >> Absolutely. The space station has always
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  been a beacon for that kind of
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  partnership. What's on the agenda for
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  their mission?
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  >> It's going to be a busy stay. They're
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  scheduled for an eight-month mission
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  during which they'll oversee a whole
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  range of scientific experiments. These
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  experiments cover everything from human
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  biology and microgravity to material
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  science and Earth observation.
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  >> Mhm. And I imagine a lot of maintenance
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  work too, keeping the 20 plus year old
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  station in good shape.
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  >> Of course, there's always something to
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  fix or upgrade. They'll also be
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  preparing the station for the arrival of
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  new commercial modules and supporting
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  spacew walks for hardware installation.
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  It's a critical job to keep our outpost
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  in orbit running smoothly.
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  >> Well, we wish them a safe and productive
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  mission up there.
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  >> From the present of space flight to its
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  future. The European Space Agency or
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  issa has just announced a target date
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  for a very exciting project. The
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  inaugural flight of its space rider
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  vehicle is now set for 2028.
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  >> Space rider, that's reusable space
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  plane, right? What makes it different
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  from other spacecraft out there?
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  >> Think of it as an uncrrewed robotic
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  space laboratory. It's designed to
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  launch on a Vega C rocket, deploy a
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  multi-purpose cargo bay into orbit, and
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  stay there for up to two months
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  conducting experiments automatically.
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  So, it's essentially a freeflying
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  science platform.
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  >> Exactly. And here's the key part. After
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  its mission is complete, it will
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  re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and land
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  on a runway just like an airplane. The
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  vehicle and its payloads can then be
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  recovered, refurbished, and flown again.
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  That's a huge step for Europe.
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  Reusability is the name of the game for
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  making access to space more affordable
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  and sustainable. Having their own
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  reusable vehicle opens up a lot of
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  possibilities for science and technology
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  development.
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  >> It really does. It will give European
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  scientists and companies a routine way
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  to run experiments in microgravity and
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  bring them back to Earth for analysis
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  without relying on other launch
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  providers. 2028 will be a year to watch.
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  >> All right. Now, let's journey from low
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  Earth orbit out to the edge of the
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  observable universe. The James Webb
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  Space Telescope has found something
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  peculiar, and it might be a new class of
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  object we've never seen before.
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  >> This is one of those stories that really
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  stretches the imagination. In some of
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  its deepest images of the early
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  universe, Web spotted a series of tiny,
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  extremely red dots.
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  >> Okay, tiny red dots in deep space. That
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  could be a lot of things. What's the
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  theory? Well, after ruling out more
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  conventional explanations like distant
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  red galaxies, a team of astrophysicists
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  has proposed a wild new idea. They think
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  these could be a new kind of cosmic
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  monster. Wo! They're calling them black
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  hole stars. The idea is that at the core
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  of each of these objects is a super
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  massive black hole, but it's surrounded
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  by an incredibly dense massive shell of
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  gas that it's feeding on.
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  >> So, it would look like a giant puffy
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  star from the outside, but it's really a
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  black hole in disguise.
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  >> That's the essence of it. This shell of
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  gas is so thick that it traps the light
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  from the accreting material, making the
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  object appear as a single reddish point
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  of light rather than a blazing quazar,
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  which is what we'd normally expect to
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  see.
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  >> That would be a gamecher for
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  understanding how the very first super
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  massive black holes grew so big so fast
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  in the early universe.
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  >> It certainly would. If this hypothesis
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  holds up, it means there could be a
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  hidden population of these growing black
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  holes that we've been completely missing
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  until now. It's a testament to how JWST
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  isn't just seeing farther. It's seeing
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  things in a whole new way.
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  >> It really does make you wonder what else
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  is out there that we know nothing about.
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  But let's hope it's not a case of
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  ignorance is bliss.
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  >> You betcha. Okay, for our final story,
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  we come back to our own solar system, to
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  Earth's evil twin sister planet, Venus.
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  We're talking about its hellish
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  atmosphere and the extreme winds that
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  whip around the planet.
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  >> Ah, Venusian super rotation. This has
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  been a huge puzzle for decades. The
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  entire atmosphere rotates around the
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  planet 60 times faster than the planet
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  itself spins. How is that even possible?
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  Exactly. The mechanics have been a
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  mystery, but new research is pointing to
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  a key driver. A massive atmospheric tide
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  fueled by the heat of the sun.
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  >> An atmospheric tide like the ocean tides
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  on Earth.
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  >> Similar in principle, but driven by
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  heat, not gravity. The sun intensely
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  heats the dense atmosphere on the day
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  side of Venus. This creates a huge
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  planetwide thermal wave. As Venus slowly
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  rotates, this wave of hot expanding gas
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  travels around the planet, pushing the
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  atmosphere and maintaining those
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  incredible wind speeds.
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  >> So, the daily cycle of heating and
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  cooling from the sun is constantly
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  pumping energy into the atmosphere,
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  keeping it spinning like a top.
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  >> That's a perfect analogy. Previous
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  theories focused on other factors, but
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  this research suggests this daily
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  thermal tide is a major contributor, if
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  not the primary one. It's a huge step
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  forward in understanding the climate of
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  not just Venus, but potentially of
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  tidily locked exoplanets around other
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  stars.
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  >> And that's all the time we have for
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  today. From the crackle of Martian
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  lightning to the roar of Venusian winds
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  and the silent mysteries of the early
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  universe, it's been another incredible
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  time in astronomy.
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  >> It certainly has. Thank you for joining
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  us on Astronomy Daily. We hope you'll
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  subscribe and join us again next time as
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  we continue to explore the cosmos.
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  You'll find us on all podcast platforms
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  or simply visit our website at
• 8:44
  astronomydaily.io
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  io for details. Plus, you can catch up
• 8:48
  on all the latest space news by checking
• 8:51
  out our constantly updating news feed.
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  >> Until tomorrow then, this has been Avery
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  >> and Anna wishing you clear skies.
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  Stories told.
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  [Music]