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From UAP Mysteries to Cosmic Dipoles: Your Daily Space Update · Space News Today

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  Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
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  the podcast that brings you the latest
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  news from across the cosmos. I'm your
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  host, Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
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  >> Today, we'll be looking at the slow but
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  steady progress in UAP research and a
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  new discovery that suggests our universe
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  might be surprisingly lopsided.
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  >> We'll also journey to Mars to see the
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  largest fresh impact crater ever
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  confirmed. Witness a rare cosmic dance
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  of three super massive black holes and
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  explore the innovative ways scientists
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  are trying to protect future astronauts
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  from cosmic rays. So, let's get started.
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  Our first story brings us back to
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  Earth's atmosphere. After years of
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  headlines, whistleblower testimonies,
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  and even congressional hearings,
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  unidentified anomalous phenomena, or
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  UAPs are still being reported in America
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  skies. But getting to the bottom of it
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  all has been slowgoing in 2025.
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  >> Right. And experts agree that the only
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  way forward is with disciplined
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  scientific study. The holdup, according
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  to Michael Sophony of the Society for
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  UAP Studies, isn't a lack of interest,
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  but a reluctance to invest serious time
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  and money into what many still see as a
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  wild goose chase.
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  >> Exactly. The good news is that the focus
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  is finally shifting away from old flying
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  saucer cold cases and towards
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  observational and experimental science.
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  But that requires real funding and
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  institutional support.
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  >> And we're starting to see that happen.
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  Institutions like the University of
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  Wartsburg in Germany and the Galileo
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  project at Harvard are developing
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  sophisticated sensor arrays to collect
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  highquality realtime data on UAPs.
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  >> But it's a massive undertaking. Robert
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  Powell of the Scientific Coalition for
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  UAP Studies says that if you want to
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  seriously test the hypothesis that some
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  UAP are extraterrestrial, you need high
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  precision scientific gear that could
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  cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
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  >> Mhm. And this isn't just an academic
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  question. Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves,
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  who now chairs an aerospace committee on
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  UAPs, emphasizes the national security
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  implications. He states that these
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  objects are operating in sovereign
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  airspace and could be collecting
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  intelligence.
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  >> That's the angle that seems to be
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  getting the most traction. There's even
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  a bipartisan bill, the Safe Airspace for
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  Americans Act, designed to support
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  civilian UAP reporting.
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  >> Between that and the Department of
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  Defense's own all domain anomaly
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  resolution office, it feels like
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  momentum is building. Graves says he's
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  optimistic that we may finally get some
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  closure on this topic.
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  >> It will be fascinating to see what they
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  find.
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  >> From the skies above Earth to the very
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  fabric of the cosmos, our next story
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  challenges one of the most fundamental
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  assumptions in cosmology. A new study in
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  the reviews of modern physics suggests
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  the universe may not be as symmetrical
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  as we've always thought.
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  >> Not symmetrical? What does that mean
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  exactly? I thought the cosmological
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  principle was that the universe looks
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  the same in all directions from any
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  vantage point.
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  >> That principle is called isotropy and
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  this new evidence directly challenges
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  it. The phenomenon is known as the
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  cosmic dipole anomaly and it was
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  discovered through precise measurements
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  of the cosmic microwave background or
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  CMB.
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  >> Right. The CMBB is the afterglow of the
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  Big Bang, the oldest light in the
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  universe.
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  >> Exactly. And while it's incredibly
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  uniform, it does have tiny temperature
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  variations. What's strange is that these
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  variations seem to be biased. The CMBB
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  is slightly hotter in one direction and
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  slightly cooler in the opposite
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  direction. It suggests our entire galaxy
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  might be moving through space in a
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  preferred direction at a very high
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  speed,
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  >> which shouldn't be happening if the
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  universe expanded uniformly. So this
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  throws a wrench in the standard model of
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  cosmology.
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  >> It certainly could. If this anomaly is
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  confirmed to be a real largecale feature
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  of the universe, it would have profound
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  implications. It could change our
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  understanding of cosmic inflation, dark
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  energy, and dark matter. It might point
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  to entirely new physics, an undiscovered
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  cosmic force, or even require us to
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  revise our theory of the Big Bang
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  itself.
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  Wow, that is a truly cosmic mystery.
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  >> And as you know, we love a good mystery
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  here on Astronomy Daily.
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  >> From that grand scale, let's zoom in on
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  our planetary neighbor, Mars. NASA's
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  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has
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  discovered the largest fresh impact
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  crater ever confirmed on the red planet.
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  >> That's fantastic. How big is it, and how
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  did they spot it? The crater is about 50
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  m wide, roughly half the length of a
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  football field. And the way they found
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  it is quite clever. Bruce Caner of Malin
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  Space Science Systems was using the Mars
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  Color imager, a camera primarily used
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  for weather monitoring when he noticed
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  an unusual dark spot that appeared
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  between March 27th and 28th, 2012.
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  >> So he found it by noticing something had
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  changed in the daily weather maps.
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  >> Precisely. The crater itself is
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  relatively shallow, and scientists
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  believe it was caused by an asteroid
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  only about 10 to 18 feet long. When they
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  pointed the highresolution high-rise
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  camera at the spot, they not only
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  confirmed the crater, but also saw
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  smaller nearby craters and even
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  landslides caused by the impact
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  shockwave.
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  >> And studying a fresh crater like this
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  must be incredibly valuable.
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  >> Absolutely. It provides crucial data on
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  current impact rates on Mars and gives
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  us a pristine look at the subsurface
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  materials that were blasted out. A
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  powerful reminder that the solar system
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  is still a very active place.
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  >> Speaking of active places, our next
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  story involves a truly rare and dynamic
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  system. Astronomers have confirmed the
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  first known triple system where all
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  three merging galaxies host actively
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  feeding radi super massive black holes.
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  >> A triple black hole system. That sounds
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  like something out of science fiction.
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  How far away is it?
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  >> This system known as J1218
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  + 1035
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  is about 1.2 billion lightyears from
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  Earth. Using highresolution observations
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  from radio telescopes like the Very
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  Large Array, scientists confirmed that
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  all three galaxies have active galactic
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  nuclei or AGN which are powered by these
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  growing black holes.
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  >> And you said this is a first. What makes
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  this so unique? While a few other triple
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  AGN systems have been found, this is the
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  first confirmed triple radio AGN,
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  meaning all three black holes are
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  blasting out powerful jets of radiation
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  detectable in radio wavelengths.
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  >> That makes sense. And I imagine this
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  tells us a lot about how galaxies
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  evolve.
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  >> Exactly. Finding these systems is a key
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  prediction of the hierarchical model of
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  galaxy evolution where large galaxies
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  grow by merging with smaller ones. This
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  discovery provides a perfect natural
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  laboratory for testing how these
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  galactic encounters drive gas into the
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  galactic centers and ignite the black
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  holes causing them to grow.
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  >> Finally, today let's turn our attention
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  to the human element of space
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  exploration. One of the single biggest
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  obstacles for future longduration
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  missions to the moon and Mars is the
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  constant threat of cosmic rays.
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  >> Right? These aren't like the rays from
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  our sun. Cosmic rays are high energy
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  particles from distant exploding stars
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  and they are incredibly damaging to
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  biological tissue. They can shred DNA,
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  damage proteins, and significantly
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  increase the risk for things like
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  cancer. Here on Earth, our magnetic
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  field and thick atmosphere protect us.
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  But in deep space, astronauts are
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  completely exposed. And physical
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  shielding, like lining a spacecraft with
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  polyethylene, can only do so much. The
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  most energetic rays can punch right
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  through.
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  >> Mhm. And they can even create a shower
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  of secondary radiation inside the ship
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  when they hit the shielding material,
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  which can sometimes be worse. So with
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  shielding limitations, scientists are
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  turning to biology for creative new
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  solutions. What are they looking into?
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  >> Several strategies are being explored.
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  One is the use of powerful antioxidant
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  drugs which have been shown to reduce
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  cognitive damage in mice exposed to
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  simulated cosmic radiation. Another
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  fascinating area is learning from
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  radioresistant organisms
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  >> like tardigrades, the little water bears
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  that can survive almost anything.
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  >> Exactly. By studying how tardigrades and
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  even hibernating animals protect their
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  cellular components from damage, we
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  might be able to develop treatments that
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  do the same for astronauts. A third
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  approach is to activate the body's own
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  cellular stress responses through
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  specific diets or drugs, essentially
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  preparing the cells for the harsh
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  environment of space.
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  >> So, the answer probably isn't just one
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  thing.
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  >> That's the consensus. It will likely
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  require a combination of improved
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  physical shielding and a cocktail of
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  these biological strategies to make
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  longduration space travel truly safe for
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  humans.
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  >> And that's all the time we have for
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  today on Astronomy Daily. From the
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  ongoing search for answers about UAPs to
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  the fundamental nature of our universe
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  and from new craters on Mars to
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  protecting the next generation of
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  explorers,
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  >> it's been an episode that shows us once
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  again how much there is still to
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  discover out there.
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  >> Absolutely. A huge thanks to all of you
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  for tuning in. Be sure to join us next
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  time for more news from across the
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  cosmos.
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  >> Until then, keep looking up.
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  Stories we told.