WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.000 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm 1 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.280 your host, Anna, bringing you the latest and 2 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:07.800 most fascinating developments from across the 3 00:00:07.800 --> 00:00:10.680 cosmos. Today we've got a great lineup of 4 00:00:10.680 --> 00:00:13.600 stories that showcase both human ingenuity 5 00:00:13.600 --> 00:00:16.480 and the wonders of our universe. We'll 6 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:19.080 dive into SpaceX's ninth Starship test 7 00:00:19.080 --> 00:00:21.760 flight, a mission with impressive successes, 8 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:24.440 but also some dramatic setbacks along the 9 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:27.120 way. Then we'll explore a significant new 10 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:29.950 discovery in our own solar system. A a dwarf 11 00:00:29.950 --> 00:00:31.790 planet that's been hiding in plain sight for 12 00:00:31.790 --> 00:00:34.710 years and represents the largest such find in 13 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.310 over a decade. We'll also journey to 14 00:00:37.310 --> 00:00:39.390 Europa and examine its potential future 15 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:42.350 habitability, peek at a bizarre star within a 16 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:44.710 star system and investigate new research 17 00:00:44.790 --> 00:00:47.030 suggesting habitable moons might be more 18 00:00:47.030 --> 00:00:49.390 common than we thought. So get comfortable 19 00:00:49.390 --> 00:00:51.190 and join me for a journey through the latest 20 00:00:51.270 --> 00:00:53.470 astronomical discoveries that continue to 21 00:00:53.470 --> 00:00:55.870 expand our understanding of the universe we 22 00:00:55.870 --> 00:00:56.390 call home. 23 00:00:57.470 --> 00:01:00.310 First up today, SpaceX's Starship 24 00:01:00.310 --> 00:01:02.590 Super Rocket completed its ninth flight test 25 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.110 recently and it was quite the rollercoaster 26 00:01:05.110 --> 00:01:07.670 of achievements and challenges. The launch 27 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:10.150 began impressively at SpaceX's starbase in 28 00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:13.030 Texas, with the massive 400 foot tall 29 00:01:13.030 --> 00:01:15.550 rocket lifting off as planned. The first 30 00:01:15.550 --> 00:01:17.950 stage booster, known as Super Heavy, 31 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.750 performed Beautifully with all 33 methane 32 00:01:20.750 --> 00:01:23.690 fueled engines firing perfectly, generating 33 00:01:23.690 --> 00:01:26.610 an astonishing 16.7 million pounds 34 00:01:26.610 --> 00:01:29.010 of thrust, more than twice the power of the 35 00:01:29.010 --> 00:01:31.370 Saturn 5 rockets from the Apollo era. 36 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:34.410 What made this launch particularly notable 37 00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:37.050 was that this marked the first time SpaceX 38 00:01:37.130 --> 00:01:40.050 reused a Super heavy booster, as this 39 00:01:40.050 --> 00:01:42.330 same first stage had previously flown during 40 00:01:42.330 --> 00:01:45.210 January's seventh test flight. The successful 41 00:01:45.210 --> 00:01:47.730 reuse represents a significant milestone in 42 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:50.370 SpaceX's quest for rapid reusability of its 43 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:52.760 rocket components. However, the mission 44 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:54.640 encountered several significant challenges. 45 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:57.200 Once the second stage, known as ship, 46 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.840 separated from the booster, the planned 47 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.000 deployment of eight Starlink satellite 48 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.560 simulators had to be scrubbed when SHIP 49 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.080 couldn't open its payload doors. This would 50 00:02:07.080 --> 00:02:08.920 have been Starship's first ever payload 51 00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:11.520 deployment, making the failure particularly 52 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.480 disappointing. Things went from bad to worse 53 00:02:14.480 --> 00:02:17.040 as SHIP continued its journey. As it headed 54 00:02:17.040 --> 00:02:19.000 toward a scheduled splashdown in the Indian 55 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.680 Ocean, it began spinning uncontrollably. 56 00:02:22.330 --> 00:02:24.690 SpaceX commentators reported that the second 57 00:02:24.690 --> 00:02:27.530 stage had lost attitude control, apparently 58 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:29.970 due to propellant leaks. The spacecraft 59 00:02:29.970 --> 00:02:31.890 ultimately broke up during its uncontrolled 60 00:02:31.890 --> 00:02:34.690 descent over a cleared area of ocean. Despite 61 00:02:34.690 --> 00:02:37.010 these setbacks, the test flight wasn't 62 00:02:37.010 --> 00:02:39.490 without its successes. The super heavy 63 00:02:39.490 --> 00:02:41.370 booster executed several challenging 64 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:43.530 manoeuvres after stage separation, including 65 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:45.730 a directional flip over and maintaining a 66 00:02:45.730 --> 00:02:48.460 heightened angle of attack. Both techniques 67 00:02:48.460 --> 00:02:50.980 aimed at improving fuel efficiency for future 68 00:02:50.980 --> 00:02:53.740 missions. The booster also demonstrated its 69 00:02:53.740 --> 00:02:56.380 ability to maintain controlled descent even 70 00:02:56.380 --> 00:02:58.660 when simulating a single engine failure. 71 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:02.100 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remained 72 00:03:02.100 --> 00:03:04.420 characteristically optimistic, noting on 73 00:03:04.420 --> 00:03:06.220 social media that Starship made it to the 74 00:03:06.220 --> 00:03:08.300 scheduled engine cutoff point, which 75 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:10.380 represented a significant improvement over 76 00:03:10.380 --> 00:03:12.940 previous flights. He also highlighted that 77 00:03:12.940 --> 00:03:15.060 there was no significant loss of heat shield 78 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:17.190 tiles during ascent, another important 79 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:20.230 achievement. Looking ahead, Musk 80 00:03:20.230 --> 00:03:22.830 indicated that SpaceX plans to accelerate its 81 00:03:22.830 --> 00:03:24.870 launch cadence for the next three Starship 82 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:27.190 flights, aiming for approximately one launch 83 00:03:27.190 --> 00:03:29.870 every three to four weeks. This aggressive 84 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:32.189 schedule reflects SpaceX's determination to 85 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:34.230 rapidly iterate and improve the Starship 86 00:03:34.230 --> 00:03:37.030 system. This persistence is crucial 87 00:03:37.030 --> 00:03:39.230 given Starship's central role in NASA's 88 00:03:39.230 --> 00:03:41.470 Artemis programme, where a version of the 89 00:03:41.470 --> 00:03:43.910 spacecraft is slated to serve as the landing 90 00:03:43.910 --> 00:03:46.530 system for the Artemis 3 mission, which would 91 00:03:46.530 --> 00:03:48.970 mark humanity's return to the lunar surface. 92 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:52.450 Beyond moon missions, SpaceX has even 93 00:03:52.450 --> 00:03:55.130 more ambitious plans, with Musk suggesting 94 00:03:55.130 --> 00:03:57.250 that starship flights to Mars could begin as 95 00:03:57.250 --> 00:03:59.970 early as 2024. While that timeline 96 00:03:59.970 --> 00:04:02.129 seems extraordinarily ambitious, the 97 00:04:02.129 --> 00:04:04.570 company's approach of testing, failing, 98 00:04:04.730 --> 00:04:07.090 learning, and rapidly improving continues to 99 00:04:07.090 --> 00:04:08.970 push the boundaries of what's possible in 100 00:04:08.970 --> 00:04:09.930 space exploration. 101 00:04:11.540 --> 00:04:14.260 Now let's turn our attention to discovery. In 102 00:04:14.260 --> 00:04:17.100 exciting news for planetary scientists, a 103 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:19.420 newly discovered object in the outer solar 104 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:21.860 system has been confirmed as a dwarf planet, 105 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:24.700 the largest such discovery in more than a 106 00:04:24.700 --> 00:04:27.100 decade. Currently bearing the 107 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:29.940 preliminary designation 2017 of 108 00:04:30.020 --> 00:04:32.900 201, this celestial body measures 109 00:04:32.900 --> 00:04:35.820 approximately 700 kilometres, about 400 110 00:04:35.820 --> 00:04:38.420 miles across, and follows an extremely 111 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:40.260 elliptical orbit around our sun. 112 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:43.580 What makes this orbit particularly remarkable 113 00:04:43.580 --> 00:04:46.180 is its lengthy duration, taking an 114 00:04:46.180 --> 00:04:48.980 estimated 25,000 years to complete a single 115 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:51.420 circuit around the sun. This places 116 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:54.380 2017 of 201 in the 117 00:04:54.380 --> 00:04:56.500 exclusive category of dwarf planets, 118 00:04:56.740 --> 00:04:59.220 alongside more familiar objects like Pluto, 119 00:04:59.380 --> 00:05:02.060 the asteroid Ceres, and a handful of other 120 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:04.180 similar bodies in the outer solar system. 121 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:07.300 The discovery story is almost as fascinating 122 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:10.300 as the object itself is. The dwarf planet was 123 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:12.460 hiding in plain sight, buried within 124 00:05:12.460 --> 00:05:14.900 terabytes of publicly available astronomical 125 00:05:14.900 --> 00:05:17.300 data, some of which was collected more than a 126 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:20.180 decade ago. Finding this celestial needle in 127 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:22.540 a haystack required months of computational 128 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:24.380 work to distinguish it from the countless 129 00:05:24.380 --> 00:05:27.060 background stars and noise. The 130 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:29.260 detection came through painstaking analysis 131 00:05:29.260 --> 00:05:31.380 of data originally collected for the Dark 132 00:05:31.380 --> 00:05:34.380 Energy Survey, or ds. While 133 00:05:34.380 --> 00:05:36.780 that project primarily focuses on studying 134 00:05:36.780 --> 00:05:39.060 gravitational lensing in distant galaxies, 135 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:41.660 the survey's ability to detect extremely 136 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:44.140 faint objects made it inadvertently perfect 137 00:05:44.140 --> 00:05:46.380 for hunting distant solar system objects. 138 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:49.300 Sihao Cheng from the Institute for Advanced 139 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:52.220 Study led the discovery team, noting that 140 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:54.100 while in principle anyone could have made 141 00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:56.540 this discovery using the public data, the 142 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:58.460 process was extraordinarily demanding. 143 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:01.580 Developing the algorithm alone took several 144 00:06:01.580 --> 00:06:03.780 months, followed by additional months of 145 00:06:03.780 --> 00:06:05.630 computation. And as they scanned through 146 00:06:05.630 --> 00:06:08.310 roughly 200 terabytes of data using hundreds 147 00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:11.230 of processors, what made the search 148 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:13.390 particularly challenging was the widely 149 00:06:13.390 --> 00:06:16.030 separated observation dates. Unlike 150 00:06:16.030 --> 00:06:17.990 targeted asteroid searches that typically 151 00:06:17.990 --> 00:06:20.310 take successive exposures separated by hours 152 00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:23.110 or days, these images were often separated 153 00:06:23.110 --> 00:06:25.830 by months or even years, containing numerous 154 00:06:25.830 --> 00:06:27.870 points of light from unrelated objects that 155 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:30.750 needed to be filtered out. After identifying 156 00:06:30.750 --> 00:06:33.350 the object in DES data, the team confirmed 157 00:06:33.350 --> 00:06:35.430 its existence by locating it in another 158 00:06:35.510 --> 00:06:38.000 public data set from the Canada France 159 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.840 Hawaii Telescope. In total, they 160 00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:43.360 found 19 observations of the object spanning 161 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.320 from 2011 to 2017, all 162 00:06:46.320 --> 00:06:48.280 showing it exactly where their orbital 163 00:06:48.280 --> 00:06:50.920 calculations predicted. The extreme 164 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.480 elongation of 2017 of 165 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.120 201's orbit means it's only visible over a 166 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:58.760 tiny fraction of its journey around the sun, 167 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:01.760 too faint to detect for more than 99% of its 168 00:07:01.760 --> 00:07:04.590 orbit. This suggests there could be many 169 00:07:04.590 --> 00:07:07.030 more similar objects lurking undetected at 170 00:07:07.030 --> 00:07:09.540 the edges of our solar system. M 171 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:11.150 Interestingly, this discovery has 172 00:07:11.150 --> 00:07:13.910 implications for the hypothesised Planet X 173 00:07:14.150 --> 00:07:16.670 or Planet nine. Some astronomers have 174 00:07:16.670 --> 00:07:19.030 suggested this unknown planet's gravitational 175 00:07:19.030 --> 00:07:21.790 influence explains the clustered orbits of 176 00:07:21.790 --> 00:07:24.550 certain trans neptunian objects. However, 177 00:07:24.550 --> 00:07:27.390 2017 of 201's 178 00:07:27.390 --> 00:07:29.740 orbit doesn't fit this pattern, potentially 179 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:32.340 challenging the Planet X hypothesis, though 180 00:07:32.340 --> 00:07:34.380 debate continues among experts about what 181 00:07:34.380 --> 00:07:36.460 this new discovery actually tells us about 182 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:37.700 our outer solar system. 183 00:07:39.220 --> 00:07:42.100 Next on the story list today. While Europa is 184 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.140 currently an icy world with a subsurface 185 00:07:44.140 --> 00:07:46.540 ocean, its distant future might hold 186 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:49.220 something remarkable. In about 12 billion 187 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:51.820 years, when our sun exhausts its hydrogen 188 00:07:51.820 --> 00:07:54.100 fuel and enters the red giant phase of its 189 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.650 evolution, the habitable zone of our solar 190 00:07:56.650 --> 00:07:58.730 system will dramatically shift outward from 191 00:07:58.730 --> 00:08:01.570 its current position. This cosmic 192 00:08:01.570 --> 00:08:03.890 relocation of real estate suitable for liquid 193 00:08:03.890 --> 00:08:06.450 water will eventually encompass Jupiter and 194 00:08:06.450 --> 00:08:09.250 its moons, potentially transforming Europa in 195 00:08:09.250 --> 00:08:12.250 fascinating ways. Researchers estimate that 196 00:08:12.250 --> 00:08:14.530 as the expanding sun grows more luminous, 197 00:08:14.770 --> 00:08:17.170 Europa could develop and maintain a tenuous 198 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:19.210 water vapour atmosphere for several hundred 199 00:08:19.210 --> 00:08:21.860 thousand years. The process begins with the 200 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:24.580 Sun's inevitable evolution. After spending 201 00:08:24.580 --> 00:08:26.780 billions of years as a stable main sequence 202 00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:29.180 star, our sun will eventually deplete its 203 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:32.020 core hydrogen fuel. This triggers the fusion 204 00:08:32.020 --> 00:08:34.660 of heavier elements like helium, causing the 205 00:08:34.660 --> 00:08:37.100 Sun's outer envelope to expand dramatically. 206 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:40.180 During this red giant phase, the sun will 207 00:08:40.180 --> 00:08:42.060 grow hundreds of times larger than its 208 00:08:42.060 --> 00:08:44.780 current size, engulfing Mercury and Venus 209 00:08:44.780 --> 00:08:46.990 entirely while rendering Earth unless 210 00:08:47.060 --> 00:08:49.740 uninhabitable. However, for the 211 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:52.700 outer planets, this stellar evolution creates 212 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:55.620 new possibilities. Computer models suggest 213 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:58.220 that Jupiter's system will enter the red 214 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:00.940 giant branch habitable zone in about 12 215 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:03.580 billion years when it's approximately 2 216 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:06.420 astronomical units from the expanding sun, 217 00:09:06.820 --> 00:09:09.820 less than half its current distance, Jupiter 218 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:11.700 itself will likely develop bright water 219 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:13.990 clouds in its upper atmosphere as it 220 00:09:13.990 --> 00:09:16.270 experiences the increased solar radiation. 221 00:09:16.670 --> 00:09:19.510 More intriguingly, Europa's surface ices will 222 00:09:19.510 --> 00:09:21.670 begin to sublimate under the influence of 223 00:09:21.670 --> 00:09:24.390 both the brighter Jupiter and the expanded 224 00:09:24.390 --> 00:09:27.310 Sun. Much like dry ice sizzling away 225 00:09:27.310 --> 00:09:30.030 in sunlight, Europa's frozen surface will 226 00:09:30.030 --> 00:09:32.830 transform directly from solid to vapour. 227 00:09:33.710 --> 00:09:36.030 While most of this sublimated ice will escape 228 00:09:36.030 --> 00:09:38.830 to space, simulations suggest some 229 00:09:38.830 --> 00:09:41.430 water vapour will remain bound to Europa for 230 00:09:41.430 --> 00:09:44.390 approximately 200,000 years before being 231 00:09:44.390 --> 00:09:47.250 completely lost. During this brief 232 00:09:47.250 --> 00:09:49.970 cosmic window, Europa might actually be 233 00:09:49.970 --> 00:09:52.010 considered habitable. Though whether this 234 00:09:52.010 --> 00:09:54.610 timespan is sufficient for life to emerge and 235 00:09:54.610 --> 00:09:56.970 thrive remains an open question. 236 00:09:57.450 --> 00:09:59.850 This scenario offers valuable insights for 237 00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.410 astronomers studying exoplanetary systems 238 00:10:02.410 --> 00:10:05.370 around sun like stars. As we identify more 239 00:10:05.370 --> 00:10:07.850 exoplanets and potentially exomoons, 240 00:10:08.170 --> 00:10:10.050 understanding how these worlds evolve 241 00:10:10.050 --> 00:10:12.640 alongside their ageing stars becomes 242 00:10:12.640 --> 00:10:15.480 increasingly important. The fate of Europa 243 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.280 serves as a model for what might happen to 244 00:10:17.280 --> 00:10:19.760 similar icy worlds in distant star systems. 245 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.920 Now for something pretty rare. In a 246 00:10:23.920 --> 00:10:26.600 remarkable discovery, Chinese astronomers 247 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:28.760 have identified an extremely rare type of 248 00:10:28.760 --> 00:10:31.520 binary star system that gives us a glimpse 249 00:10:31.520 --> 00:10:34.000 into a fleeting phase of stellar evolution. 250 00:10:35.040 --> 00:10:37.880 Using the 500 metre aperture spherical radio 251 00:10:37.880 --> 00:10:40.700 Telescope, also known as the China Sky Eye, 252 00:10:40.940 --> 00:10:43.060 researchers led by Han Jin Lin from the 253 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:45.340 National Astronomical Observatories of China 254 00:10:45.660 --> 00:10:48.220 detected a unique pulsar designated 255 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:51.180 PSRJ 1928 1815. 256 00:10:52.540 --> 00:10:55.019 Located about 455 light years away, 257 00:10:55.500 --> 00:10:57.620 this system features something astronomers 258 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:00.580 have long theorised but rarely observed a 259 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:02.540 pulsar whose radiation pulses are 260 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:04.620 occasionally blocked by its companion star 261 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:07.070 every few hours. What makes this 262 00:11:07.070 --> 00:11:09.390 discovery particularly special is that the 263 00:11:09.390 --> 00:11:11.830 two stars are actually orbiting inside a 264 00:11:11.830 --> 00:11:14.750 common envelope of hydrogen gas. Pulsars 265 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:17.270 themselves aren't uncommon. Scientists have 266 00:11:17.270 --> 00:11:20.190 identified nearly 3,500 in our galaxy 267 00:11:20.190 --> 00:11:22.670 alone. These dense stellar remnants form 268 00:11:22.670 --> 00:11:25.310 after massive stars explode as supernovae. 269 00:11:25.550 --> 00:11:27.270 As they rotate, they emit beams of 270 00:11:27.270 --> 00:11:29.670 electromagnetic radiation from their magnetic 271 00:11:29.670 --> 00:11:31.870 poles that sweep across space like lighthouse 272 00:11:31.870 --> 00:11:34.400 beams. When one of these beams crosses Earth, 273 00:11:34.400 --> 00:11:36.400 we detect it as a regular pulse of radio 274 00:11:36.400 --> 00:11:38.680 waves. But the PSR 275 00:11:38.680 --> 00:11:41.280 J1928 1815 system 276 00:11:41.680 --> 00:11:44.000 captures a critical moment in binary star 277 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.720 evolution. In these systems, the heavier star 278 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.080 ages faster and eventually collapses into a 279 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.920 neutron star, or pulsar. Meanwhile, the 280 00:11:51.920 --> 00:11:54.440 smaller companion star loses material to its 281 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:56.960 dense partner, causing them to share a common 282 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.690 envelope of hydrogen gas for a relatively 283 00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:02.290 short period. Astronomically speaking, the 284 00:12:02.290 --> 00:12:04.770 two stars orbit within this shared envelope. 285 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:07.690 Over approximately 1,000 years, the neutron 286 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:09.890 star gradually clears away this envelope, 287 00:12:10.050 --> 00:12:12.210 eventually leaving behind a hot helium 288 00:12:12.210 --> 00:12:15.050 burning star orbiting the neutron star. This 289 00:12:15.050 --> 00:12:17.050 observation provides compelling evidence 290 00:12:17.050 --> 00:12:19.330 supporting long standing theories about how 291 00:12:19.330 --> 00:12:21.490 stars in binary systems exchange mass, 292 00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:24.530 shrink their orbits and eject shared gas 293 00:12:24.530 --> 00:12:27.340 envelopes. Understanding these processes 294 00:12:27.420 --> 00:12:29.620 helps astronomers piece together the complex 295 00:12:29.620 --> 00:12:32.140 puzzle of stellar evolution, neutron star 296 00:12:32.140 --> 00:12:33.820 behaviour, and how such pairs eventually 297 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.740 merge to produce gravitational waves. The 298 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.020 discovery is particularly significant because 299 00:12:39.020 --> 00:12:41.580 binary systems are extremely common in our 300 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:44.220 galaxy. More than half of all stars 301 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:46.660 exist as part of binary or multiple star 302 00:12:46.660 --> 00:12:49.220 systems, their gravitational dance shaping 303 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:51.970 their evolution in dramatic ways. In some 304 00:12:51.970 --> 00:12:54.930 cases, one star's gravity can drag material 305 00:12:54.930 --> 00:12:57.370 from its companion, leading to explosive 306 00:12:57.370 --> 00:12:59.810 events like novae or even supernovae. 307 00:13:00.210 --> 00:13:02.370 With increasingly powerful telescopes like 308 00:13:02.370 --> 00:13:05.130 fast, astronomers hope to find more of these 309 00:13:05.130 --> 00:13:07.850 rare cosmic pairs, further illuminating the 310 00:13:07.850 --> 00:13:09.770 processes that shape stars throughout their 311 00:13:09.770 --> 00:13:11.810 lifetimes and after their deaths. 312 00:13:13.170 --> 00:13:16.090 Finally today, while we've focused much 313 00:13:16.090 --> 00:13:18.010 of our search for extraterrestrial life on 314 00:13:18.010 --> 00:13:20.400 Earth like exoplanets, a fascinating new 315 00:13:20.400 --> 00:13:22.600 study suggests we should broaden our horizons 316 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.120 to include moons orbiting giant planets. 317 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.640 Researchers from Hungary and the Netherlands 318 00:13:27.640 --> 00:13:29.560 have published compelling findings about the 319 00:13:29.560 --> 00:13:31.960 potential habitability of exomoons in the 320 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.240 journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. 321 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:36.960 Their study, titled Grand Theft 322 00:13:37.760 --> 00:13:40.320 Formation of Habitable Moons Around Giant 323 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.160 Planets, used complex simulations to 324 00:13:43.160 --> 00:13:45.520 investigate how moons form around giant 325 00:13:45.520 --> 00:13:47.950 exoplanets and whether these moons could 326 00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:50.670 support life. The team, led by 327 00:13:50.670 --> 00:13:53.310 Zoltan Denks from the Hun Ren Research Centre 328 00:13:53.310 --> 00:13:56.070 for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, focused 329 00:13:56.070 --> 00:13:58.310 specifically on the formation of large moons 330 00:13:58.310 --> 00:14:01.110 in circumplanetary discs, the rotating 331 00:14:01.110 --> 00:14:03.430 collections of material that remain after a 332 00:14:03.380 --> 00:14:05.980 planet forms. The researchers 333 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:08.420 examined 461 known giant 334 00:14:08.420 --> 00:14:11.380 exoplanets, modelling how lunar embryos might 335 00:14:11.380 --> 00:14:13.360 grow through collisions within these discs. 336 00:14:14.070 --> 00:14:16.030 Their simulations revealed that moons with 337 00:14:16.030 --> 00:14:18.310 masses between Mars and Earth could form 338 00:14:18.310 --> 00:14:20.750 around planets roughly 10 times the size of 339 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:23.350 Jupiter, with many potentially habitable. 340 00:14:23.990 --> 00:14:26.710 Perhaps most interestingly, the study found 341 00:14:26.710 --> 00:14:28.670 that the optimal distance for habitable 342 00:14:28.670 --> 00:14:30.990 exomoons is between 1 and 2 343 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:33.110 astronomical units from their stars. 344 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:36.390 Beyond this range, tidal heating rather than 345 00:14:36.390 --> 00:14:38.750 stellar radiation becomes the primary heat 346 00:14:38.750 --> 00:14:41.370 source for these moons. This is similar to 347 00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:43.610 what we see in our own solar system, where 348 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:45.850 moons like Europa and Enceladus likely 349 00:14:45.850 --> 00:14:48.290 harbour subsurface oceans warmed by tidal 350 00:14:48.290 --> 00:14:51.130 flexing rather than direct sunlight. The 351 00:14:51.130 --> 00:14:53.730 simulations also showed that as distance from 352 00:14:53.730 --> 00:14:56.490 the star increases, more moons tend to form, 353 00:14:56.570 --> 00:14:59.210 but their masses become too small to maintain 354 00:14:59.210 --> 00:15:02.170 habitability. Meanwhile, closer to the star, 355 00:15:02.410 --> 00:15:05.210 fewer but more massive moons form, with more 356 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:08.150 being lost to stellar theft, where the star's 357 00:15:08.150 --> 00:15:09.790 gravity pulls them away from their host 358 00:15:09.790 --> 00:15:11.790 planet. While astronomers haven't 359 00:15:11.790 --> 00:15:13.990 definitively confirmed the existence of any 360 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:16.430 exomoons yet several candidates have been 361 00:15:16.430 --> 00:15:19.270 identified. The James Webb Space Telescope is 362 00:15:19.270 --> 00:15:21.630 currently examining potential exomoon 363 00:15:21.630 --> 00:15:24.430 candidates. And the European Space Agency's 364 00:15:24.430 --> 00:15:27.230 upcoming PLATO mission may also be capable 365 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:29.190 of detecting these distant moons. 366 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:32.110 This research effectively expands our 367 00:15:32.110 --> 00:15:34.550 definition of the habitable zone to include 368 00:15:34.550 --> 00:15:37.350 moons orbiting giant planets. As one 369 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:39.630 researcher put it, the circumstellar 370 00:15:39.630 --> 00:15:41.710 habitable zone can be extended to moons 371 00:15:41.710 --> 00:15:44.710 around giant planets, potentially multiplying 372 00:15:44.710 --> 00:15:46.390 the number of worlds where we might someday 373 00:15:46.390 --> 00:15:47.430 find evidence of life. 374 00:15:49.350 --> 00:15:51.070 Well, that's all for today's episode of 375 00:15:51.070 --> 00:15:53.710 Astronomy Daily. What an incredible journey 376 00:15:53.710 --> 00:15:55.990 through space we've taken from watching 377 00:15:55.990 --> 00:15:58.150 SpaceX push the boundaries of rocket 378 00:15:58.150 --> 00:16:00.910 technology despite setbacks to discovering 379 00:16:00.910 --> 00:16:03.760 a massive new dwarf planet that was 380 00:16:03.760 --> 00:16:06.040 hiding in plain sight within existing data. 381 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.920 We've peered into the distant future where 382 00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:11.200 Europa might briefly become habitable as our 383 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.560 sun expands, and witnessed the bizarre 384 00:16:13.560 --> 00:16:16.440 spectacle of a pulsar orbiting inside another 385 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.439 star. Perhaps most tantalising is the 386 00:16:19.439 --> 00:16:22.000 possibility that habitable moons may be far 387 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.560 more common than we once thought, potentially 388 00:16:24.560 --> 00:16:26.320 expanding our search for life beyond 389 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.250 traditional Earth like planets. Each 390 00:16:29.250 --> 00:16:31.330 of these stories reminds us that the universe 391 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:33.450 remains full of surprises, constantly 392 00:16:33.450 --> 00:16:35.130 challenging our assumptions about what's 393 00:16:35.130 --> 00:16:38.090 possible as our tools and techniques for 394 00:16:38.090 --> 00:16:40.370 observation continue to improve. From 395 00:16:40.370 --> 00:16:42.970 powerful radio telescopes like FAST to the 396 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.610 upcoming PLATO mission, we stand on the 397 00:16:45.610 --> 00:16:47.250 threshold of even more remarkable 398 00:16:47.250 --> 00:16:49.770 discoveries. The cosmos is vast and 399 00:16:49.770 --> 00:16:51.850 ancient, yet we're learning new things about 400 00:16:51.850 --> 00:16:54.490 it every day. Thank you for joining me on 401 00:16:54.490 --> 00:16:57.400 Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna, and I'll see 402 00:16:57.400 --> 00:16:59.440 you again tomorrow as we continue to explore 403 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.880 the wonders of our universe together. In the 404 00:17:01.880 --> 00:17:04.080 meantime, keep looking up in wonder.