Latest / Space News Today / Interstellar Mysteries, Solar Celebrations, and the AI Propulsion Revolution

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Interstellar Mysteries, Solar Celebrations, and the AI Propulsion Revolution · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
• 0:03
  that brings you the biggest news from
• 0:05
  across the cosmos. I'm Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. We have a fascinating show
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  for you today. We'll be looking at our
• 0:13
  mysterious interstellar object friend
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  that's prompting secret space drills.
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  >> We're also celebrating the 30th
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  anniversary of a legendary solar
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  observatory and diving into how AI is
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  revolutionizing spacecraft propulsion.
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  Plus, a hypersonic space gun, a preview
• 0:32
  of one of the best meteor showers of the
• 0:35
  year, and we'll solve a decad's old
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  mystery from Voyager 2's journey to
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  Uranus.
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  >> Anna, let's start with something that
• 0:43
  has the astronomical community buzzing.
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  The interstellar object known as threey
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  Atlas is back in the spotlight.
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  >> It certainly is, Avery. This object
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  which came from outside our solar system
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  is exhibiting some very strange
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  behavior. Scientists have noted what
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  they call non-gravitational
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  acceleration.
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  >> Meaning it's changing speed in a way
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  that can't be explained by the pole of
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  the sun or planets.
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  >> Exactly. And it's not outgassing like a
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  typical comet. Instead, it seems to have
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  these strange focused jets pointing away
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  from the sun, forming an anti-tail. It's
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  a real puzzle.
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  >> And this puzzle is getting some serious
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  attention. There have been a series of
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  coordinated but very quiet space defense
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  drills involving the ESA, Japan, the US,
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  Australia, and several other nations.
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  >> That's right. The official line is that
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  they are standard preparedness
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  exercises, but the timing is
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  conspicuous, especially with ThreeI
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  Atlas's closest approach to Earth
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  happening on December 19th.
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  >> It adds a layer of intrigue, especially
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  when you consider some of the more out
• 2:00
  there theories.
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  >> You're thinking of Aviab's hypothesis.
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  >> I am. He suggested that threeey atlas
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  might not be a single object but a
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  primary craft accompanied by a swarm of
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  smaller probes. Now that is pure
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  speculation of course.
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  >> Pure speculation but it highlights just
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  how little we understand about this
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  visitor. Whatever its nature, its
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  strange dynamics and the heightened
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  military interest mean that countless
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  telescopes will be tracking it very,
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  very closely in the coming weeks.
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  >> Well, from a mysterious newcomer to a
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  celebrated veteran, our next story is
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  about a truly remarkable achievement.
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  Happy 30th anniversary to the Solar and
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  Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO. An
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  incredible milestone. When SOHO
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  launched, its primary mission was
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  scheduled to last just two years. 30
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  years later, it's still providing
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  invaluable data about our star.
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  >> It really is the definition of
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  resilience. It survived multiple
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  technical crises that nearly ended the
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  mission. Yet, the team on the ground
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  always found a way to bring it back
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  online.
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  >> Right. And its contributions have been
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  monumental. SOHO completely
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  revolutionized solar science and our
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  understanding of space weather. The
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  images and data it provides are the
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  foundation of modern solar forecasting,
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  which is critical for protecting our
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  satellites and power grids.
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  >> Absolutely. But it has another
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  completely unexpected legacy, doesn't
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  it? For a satellite designed to look at
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  the sun, it's found an incredible number
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  of comets. It's the most prolific comet
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  hunter in history, and it's not even
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  close.
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  >> Is it a case of being in the right place
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  at the right time, or is there another
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  reason why it's so prolific?
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  >> It's because of its wide, uninterrupted
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  view of the sun's corona. It spots
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  so-called sungrazing comets that are
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  otherwise invisible to us. As of this
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  year, the official count is over 5,000
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  comets discovered by SOHO.
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  >> That's just amazing. 5,000 comments as a
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  side project. SOHO is a true workhorse
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  of space exploration and a testament to
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  brilliant engineering.
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  >> Speaking of brilliant engineering, our
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  next story looks at the future of
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  getting around the solar system. Avery,
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  artificial intelligence is starting to
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  fundamentally change how we design and
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  operate spacecraft propulsion systems.
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  >> This is fascinating stuff. It's not just
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  about AI pilots like in the movies. This
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  is about AI making the engines
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  themselves smarter and more efficient.
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  >> That's the core of it. Researchers are
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  using a technique called reinforcement
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  learning where an AI runs millions of
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  simulations to discover the most
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  efficient ways to operate an engine,
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  often finding solutions that a human
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  engineer might never think of.
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  >> So, what kind of advanced systems are
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  benefiting from this?
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  We're seeing it applied to next
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  generation concepts like nuclear thermal
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  propulsion, both fision and the more
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  complex fusionbased designs. These
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  engines are incredibly powerful, but
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  also incredibly complex to manage.
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  >> So just what can AI help with? A lot, I
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  would imagine.
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  >> AI can optimize the fuel flow,
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  temperature, and thrust in real time.
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  It's also being used to tackle one of
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  the biggest challenges in fusion
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  research, managing the superheated
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  plasma. In concepts like the poly well,
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  a compact fusion device, AI is learning
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  how to best configure the magnetic
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  fields to confine the plasma, which is a
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  massive step forward.
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  >> So AI is becoming a design partner. It's
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  not just running the machine, it's
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  helping to perfect the machine's very
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  operation. This could be the key to
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  unlocking faster, more efficient travel
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  across the solar system.
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  >> We'll keep an eye on this and report
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  back on any developments, but it sounds
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  exciting.
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  >> From the digital frontier of AI, we go
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  to something that sounds decidedly more
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  analog. Anna, what is a hypersonic space
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  gun?
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  >> It sounds like something out of Jules
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  Vern novel, doesn't it? But it's a very
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  real concept being developed by a
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  company called Longshot Space
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  Technologies. They are building a
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  kinetic space launch system. In simple
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  terms, it's a massive gun designed to
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  fire payloads directly into orbit.
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  >> You're kidding. How does that even work?
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  >> The system uses a huge piston driven by
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  compressed gas to launch a projectile at
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  incredible speeds. We're talking Mach 23
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  or about 28,400
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  km hour. The projectile would carry a
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  small hardened satellite or other cargo.
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  >> I can't even imagine the forces
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  involved. The heat and the acceleration
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  must be astronomical.
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  >> They are. That's the biggest challenge.
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  The payload would experience about
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  10,000 gs of acceleration and intense
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  atmospheric heating. So this isn't for
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  launching astronauts or delicate
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  telescopes.
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  >> Definitely not. So it's for hardened
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  cargo only.
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  >> Exactly. Things like fuel, water,
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  building materials, or ruggedized
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  military satellites. But here's the
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  payoff. Longot believes they can get the
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  cost of launching a kilogram of cargo to
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  just $10.
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  >> $10. That's compared to thousands of
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  dollars per kilogram on a traditional
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  rocket. That's a complete gamecher for
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  space logistics.
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  >> It is. And that's why it's attracting
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  serious interest from both venture
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  capital and military agencies. If they
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  can solve the engineering challenges,
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  this space gun could revolutionize how
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  we supply future operations in orbit and
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  beyond.
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  >> All right, let's bring our focus back to
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  our own night sky. For all our
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  stargazing listeners out there, one of
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  the best celestial shows of the year is
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  just around the corner.
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  >> That's right. The Gemini meteor shower
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  is set to peak on the night of December
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  13th into the morning of the 14th. And
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  this year, the conditions are just about
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  perfect.
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  >> What makes this year so good?
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  >> The moon. It will be a waning crescent,
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  which means it won't rise until the
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  early hours of the morning, and its
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  light won't wash out the fainter
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  meteors. We'll have beautifully dark
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  skies for most of the night.
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  >> Fantastic. So, what can people expect to
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  see?
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  >> Under ideal conditions, you could see
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  between 120 and 150 meteors per hour at
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  the peak. The radiant, the point they
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  appear to come from, is near the star
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  castor in the constellation Gemini.
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  >> And Geminites are known for being a bit
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  slower, right? It makes them easier to
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  spot.
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  >> Yes, they enter the atmosphere at about
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  22 m per second. That sounds fast, but
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  it's slower than many other showers,
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  which can lead to longer, more graceful
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  streaks across the sky. They are also
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  often brightly colored
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  >> and they have a really interesting
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  origin.
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  >> They do. Unlike most meteor showers
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  which come from the debris trail of a
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  comet, the Geminids originate from an
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  asteroid called 3200 Faithon. It's a bit
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  of a mystery how this rocky body
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  produces so much debris.
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  >> So what are your tips for viewers?
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  >> Find a location away from city lights.
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  Dress warmly, lie back on a blanket or a
• 10:00
  chair, and just look up. You don't need
• 10:03
  a telescope or binoculars. Just give
• 10:06
  your eyes about 20 minutes to fully
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  adapt to the dark and enjoy the show.
• 10:11
  And for our final story today, we are
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  revisiting a cold case from the outer
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  solar system and solving a mystery
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  that's nearly four decades old.
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  >> This has to be about Voyager 2's flyby
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  of Uranus in 1986. I remember reading
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  that it found something unexpected in
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  the planet's radiation belts.
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  >> That's the one. Voyager 2 detected an
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  incredibly intense belt of high energy
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  electron radiation, far more powerful
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  than models had predicted. For decades,
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  scientists couldn't quite explain why it
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  was so strong.
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  >> And after all this time, there's a new
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  explanation.
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  >> There is. A team at the Southwest
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  Research Institute revisited the old
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  Voyager data. They proposed the intense
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  radiation wasn't caused by Uranus alone.
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  Instead, it was a case of being in the
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  right place at the right time.
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  >> So, what was happening?
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  >> The team believes a huge structure in
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  the solar wind called a co-rotating
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  interaction region was passing through
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  the Uranian system just as Voyager 2
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  flew by.
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  >> A co-rotating what? Now,
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  >> think of it as a massive shock wave in
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  the solar wind where fast moving solar
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  particles overtake slower ones. This
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  interaction creates powerful
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  highfrequency plasma waves like Whistler
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  waves. These waves were the perfect
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  frequency to grab electrons already
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  trapped in Uranus's magnetic field and
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  accelerate them to incredible speeds,
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  creating that intense radiation belt
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  Voyager saw. We see similar events
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  happen near Earth, but this is the first
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  time we've confirmed it happening so far
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  out in the solar system.
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  >> So, it was a temporary storm caused by
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  the sun that Voyager just happened to
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  fly through. That is a brilliant piece
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  of cosmic detective work.
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  >> You betcha.
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  >> And that's a wrap. From mysterious
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  interstellar visitors and hypersonic
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  cannons to celebrating a 30-year-old
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  hero of astronomy and finally solving a
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  cold case from Uranus. What an episode.
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  >> It really was. That's all the time we
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  have for today on Astronomy Daily. We'd
• 12:19
  like to thank you all for tuning in.
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  >> Join us next time as we continue to
• 12:23
  explore the wonders of the universe.
• 12:25
  Until then, clear skies everyone and
• 12:28
  remember to get out there and look up.
• 12:31
  Every day
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  stories we told
• 12:42
  stories told
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  stories