WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.440 Anna: Hey there, space enthusiasts. Welcome to 1 00:00:02.440 --> 00:00:04.920 Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast for all 2 00:00:04.920 --> 00:00:07.000 the latest happenings in the cosmos and right 3 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:09.440 here on Earth too. I'm your host, Anna, and 4 00:00:09.440 --> 00:00:11.440 I've got a really exciting episode lined up 5 00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:13.560 for you today. We're going to dive into some 6 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.400 truly stunning new images of distant 7 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:18.240 galaxies, talk about some groundbreaking new 8 00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:19.880 space missions that are just around the 9 00:00:19.880 --> 00:00:22.600 corner, and even get this, learn about a 10 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:24.800 surprising animal adaptation right here on 11 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:26.880 our own planet that involves, you know, 12 00:00:26.880 --> 00:00:29.380 stars. So buckle up because we're about to 13 00:00:29.380 --> 00:00:31.700 explore the universe one fascinating story at 14 00:00:31.700 --> 00:00:33.180 a time. Let's get started. 15 00:00:34.300 --> 00:00:36.100 Alright, let's kick things off with some 16 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:38.620 absolutely breathtaking news from the cosmos. 17 00:00:38.860 --> 00:00:41.100 Astronomers have managed to capture what is 18 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:43.899 truly an unprecedented and intricate image of 19 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.340 the Sculptor Galaxy. This isn't just any 20 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:48.540 picture, it's painted in thousands of 21 00:00:48.540 --> 00:00:51.020 colours, revealing all these amazing complex 22 00:00:51.020 --> 00:00:53.910 details of galactic systems. This 23 00:00:53.910 --> 00:00:56.070 incredible shot of the galaxy, which is also 24 00:00:56.070 --> 00:00:58.950 known as NGC 253 and is about 11 25 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:01.270 million light years away. That's a pretty 26 00:01:01.270 --> 00:01:03.710 good distance, right? Was actually collected 27 00:01:03.710 --> 00:01:06.470 with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, 28 00:01:06.550 --> 00:01:09.549 or MUSE instrument, located at 29 00:01:09.549 --> 00:01:12.150 the Very Large Telescope, the VLT in Chile. 30 00:01:12.630 --> 00:01:15.030 What's really cool is that beyond just giving 31 00:01:15.030 --> 00:01:17.950 us this galaxy wide view, the image shows 32 00:01:17.950 --> 00:01:20.230 these super intricate details of NGC 33 00:01:20.230 --> 00:01:23.210 253. It's hoped that this kind of detail 34 00:01:23.210 --> 00:01:25.290 can really help reveal the finer points of 35 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:27.250 the poorly understood and often complex 36 00:01:27.250 --> 00:01:28.970 systems that galaxies actually are. 37 00:01:30.090 --> 00:01:32.290 As team leader Enrico Conju from the 38 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:34.730 Universidad de Chile put it, the Sculptor 39 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:37.650 Galaxy is in a sweet spot. He explained that 40 00:01:37.650 --> 00:01:39.930 it's close enough that we can resolve its 41 00:01:39.930 --> 00:01:41.770 internal structure and study its building 42 00:01:41.770 --> 00:01:44.210 blocks with incredible detail, but at the 43 00:01:44.210 --> 00:01:46.290 same time big enough that we can still see it 44 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:48.960 as a whole system. To get this kind of 45 00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:51.760 detail, covering 65,000 light years of the 46 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.680 90,000 light year wide galaxy required a 47 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:57.160 lot of work. We're talking 100 48 00:01:57.160 --> 00:02:00.160 exposures collected over 50 hours of Muse 49 00:02:00.160 --> 00:02:03.040 observing time. But honestly, that effort 50 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:05.360 was totally justified by the unprecedented 51 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:08.000 detail we're seeing. Team member Katherine 52 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.280 Krekel from Heidelberg University in Germany 53 00:02:10.440 --> 00:02:12.920 noted that they can zoom in to study 54 00:02:12.920 --> 00:02:15.640 individual regions where stars form at nearly 55 00:02:15.640 --> 00:02:17.930 the scale of individual stars. But we, we can 56 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:20.130 also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole. 57 00:02:20.930 --> 00:02:23.490 And speaking of discoveries, an initial look 58 00:02:23.490 --> 00:02:25.450 at this image has already yielded some 59 00:02:25.450 --> 00:02:27.850 amazing results. The team has been able to 60 00:02:27.850 --> 00:02:30.490 find 500 new planetary nebulae within the 61 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:32.970 image. These are shells of gas and dust 62 00:02:32.970 --> 00:02:35.490 ejected from stars like our sun after they 63 00:02:35.490 --> 00:02:38.490 die and go into that puffed out red giant 64 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:41.250 phase. This is pretty extraordinary 65 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:43.540 because finding detections like this beyond 66 00:02:43.540 --> 00:02:46.180 the Milky Way and its immediate neighbours is 67 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:49.100 really rare. Fabian Scheuerman, another 68 00:02:49.100 --> 00:02:51.940 Heidelberg University researcher, pointed out 69 00:02:51.940 --> 00:02:54.940 that beyond our galactic neighbourhood, we 70 00:02:54.940 --> 00:02:57.460 usually deal with fewer than 100 detections 71 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:00.460 per galaxy. Now, despite the name, these 72 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:03.060 planetary nebulae have absolutely nothing to 73 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:05.900 do with planets, just to be clear. But they 74 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:07.580 could be really fruitful in the future 75 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:10.490 because astronomers can actually use them to 76 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:13.330 make distance measurements. Adam Leroy, 77 00:03:13.410 --> 00:03:16.410 a researcher from Ohio State University and a 78 00:03:16.410 --> 00:03:19.330 team member, explained, finding the planetary 79 00:03:19.330 --> 00:03:21.810 nebulae allows us to verify the distance to 80 00:03:21.810 --> 00:03:24.210 the galaxy, a critical piece of information 81 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:26.010 on which the rest of the studies of the 82 00:03:26.010 --> 00:03:28.970 galaxy depend. The team isn't done with 83 00:03:28.970 --> 00:03:30.930 this image of the Sculptor Galaxy just yet, 84 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:32.930 by the way. The next step for these 85 00:03:32.930 --> 00:03:35.610 astronomers is to explore how hot gas flows 86 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:38.300 through NGC 253, changing its 87 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:40.860 composition and helping to create new stars. 88 00:03:41.340 --> 00:03:43.660 Enrico Konju wrapped up by saying 89 00:03:44.220 --> 00:03:46.620 how such small processes can have such a big 90 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:49.180 impact on a galaxy whose entire size is 91 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.260 thousands of times bigger is still a mystery. 92 00:03:51.980 --> 00:03:54.100 Their fascinating research was published just 93 00:03:54.100 --> 00:03:56.060 recently in the journal Astronomy and 94 00:03:56.060 --> 00:03:57.020 Astrophysics. 95 00:03:58.540 --> 00:04:00.900 Moving on to our own galactic backyard, we 96 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:02.900 have some absolutely wild news about the 97 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:04.900 supermassive black hole at the heart of our 98 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:07.810 Milky Way. Sagittarius A, or CESKAR 99 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:10.690 A for short. New analysis of 100 00:04:10.690 --> 00:04:12.570 data collected by the Event Horizon 101 00:04:12.570 --> 00:04:15.370 Telescope, or eht, reveals that 102 00:04:15.370 --> 00:04:17.690 this monster black hole is actually spinning 103 00:04:17.690 --> 00:04:20.410 almost as fast as physics allows. And get 104 00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:23.170 this, its rotational axis is pointed right in 105 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:25.410 Earth's direction. These findings are pretty 106 00:04:25.410 --> 00:04:27.050 groundbreaking and honestly, they kind of 107 00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:29.330 challenge some existing theories about how 108 00:04:29.330 --> 00:04:31.530 black holes behave. It gives us these 109 00:04:31.530 --> 00:04:33.650 incredible new insights and into the centres 110 00:04:33.650 --> 00:04:36.370 of galaxies. So how did they figure this out? 111 00:04:36.770 --> 00:04:39.170 Well, astrophysicists 112 00:04:39.890 --> 00:04:42.450 developed and applied a brand new method to 113 00:04:42.450 --> 00:04:44.410 really tease out the secrets hidden in those 114 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:46.810 supermassive black hole observations from the 115 00:04:46.810 --> 00:04:49.690 eht. You might remember the EHT 116 00:04:49.690 --> 00:04:51.690 collaboration from when they gave us the very 117 00:04:51.690 --> 00:04:54.130 first direct images of black hole shadows. 118 00:04:54.610 --> 00:04:57.170 First M, um, 87 star in a galaxy 119 00:04:57.170 --> 00:05:00.160 55 million light years away. And then of 120 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.400 course, our own Sagittarius A. 121 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.120 These images are truly incredible, but they 122 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:09.120 are also super difficult to interpret. So 123 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:10.720 to understand what they're looking at, 124 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.520 scientists use simulations. They basically 125 00:05:13.520 --> 00:05:15.760 build a bunch of virtual characteristics and 126 00:05:15.760 --> 00:05:17.720 then figure out which ones look most like the 127 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:20.280 actual observational data. This technique has 128 00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:22.720 been used a lot with EHT images, but now it's 129 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.410 been taken up a notch. A team led by 130 00:05:25.410 --> 00:05:27.770 astronomer Michael Janssen used high 131 00:05:27.770 --> 00:05:30.130 throughput computing to develop millions of 132 00:05:30.130 --> 00:05:32.970 simulated black holes. Then they 133 00:05:32.970 --> 00:05:35.210 used all that data to train a neural network, 134 00:05:35.450 --> 00:05:37.530 which helped them extract as much information 135 00:05:37.690 --> 00:05:40.650 as possible from the EHT data and really 136 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:42.970 identify the properties of these black holes. 137 00:05:43.370 --> 00:05:45.370 Their results show, among other things, that 138 00:05:45.370 --> 00:05:48.330 Sagittarius A isn't just spinning at close to 139 00:05:48.330 --> 00:05:50.970 its maximum speed, but also that the glow 140 00:05:50.970 --> 00:05:53.290 around it is generated by hot electrons. 141 00:05:54.090 --> 00:05:56.050 Perhaps the most intriguing part is that the 142 00:05:56.050 --> 00:05:58.130 magnetic field in the material swirling 143 00:05:58.130 --> 00:06:01.010 around Sagittarius A doesn't seem to be 144 00:06:01.010 --> 00:06:02.930 behaving in a way that's predicted by current 145 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:05.340 theory. They also looked at M 146 00:06:05.340 --> 00:06:07.970 M87 and found that it's also 147 00:06:07.970 --> 00:06:10.610 rotating rapidly, though not quite as fast as 148 00:06:10.610 --> 00:06:13.540 Sagittarius A. But here's the Twist. With M 149 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:16.370 M87, it's rotating in the 150 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:18.530 opposite direction to the material swirling 151 00:06:18.530 --> 00:06:21.250 in a disc around it. Scientists think this 152 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:23.050 could be because of a past merger with 153 00:06:23.050 --> 00:06:25.530 another supermassive black hole. As 154 00:06:25.530 --> 00:06:28.050 Janssen put it. That we are defying the 155 00:06:28.050 --> 00:06:31.050 prevailing theory is of course, exciting. He 156 00:06:31.050 --> 00:06:33.370 also added that he sees their AI and machine 157 00:06:33.370 --> 00:06:36.049 learning approach as just a first step, with 158 00:06:36.049 --> 00:06:37.690 more improvements and data expected, 159 00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:40.330 especially once the Africa millimetre 160 00:06:40.330 --> 00:06:43.290 telescope joins in. This incredible 161 00:06:43.290 --> 00:06:45.410 research was detailed in three papers 162 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:47.690 published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 163 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:50.780 Speaking of groundbreaking research and 164 00:06:50.780 --> 00:06:52.340 pushing the boundaries of what we understand, 165 00:06:52.820 --> 00:06:54.940 let's look forward to a truly monumental 166 00:06:54.940 --> 00:06:57.660 event in astronomy. The astronomical 167 00:06:57.660 --> 00:06:59.620 community is eagerly awaiting another 168 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:02.180 historic moment with the Vera C. Rubin 169 00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:05.180 Observatory. This incredible new generation 170 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:07.660 telescope, named after the trailblazing 171 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:10.380 astronomer Vera Rubin, who, if you 172 00:07:10.380 --> 00:07:12.820 remember from earlier, was instrumental in 173 00:07:12.820 --> 00:07:14.660 uncovering the existence of dark matter 174 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:17.060 through her observations of galactic rotation 175 00:07:17.190 --> 00:07:19.740 and is poised to continue her revolutionary 176 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:22.460 work. It's been under construction in Chile's 177 00:07:22.460 --> 00:07:24.780 Atacama Desert, and honestly, it's a 178 00:07:24.780 --> 00:07:27.660 technological marvel. The Rubin Observatory 179 00:07:27.660 --> 00:07:30.020 is set to conduct the most comprehensive 180 00:07:30.020 --> 00:07:32.380 survey of the night sky ever attempted. 181 00:07:32.700 --> 00:07:35.020 Imagine this. It's going to photograph the 182 00:07:35.020 --> 00:07:37.540 entire visible southern sky every few nights 183 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:40.100 for a full 10 years. At its heart is the 184 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:42.500 world's largest digital camera, packing an 185 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:44.940 astounding 3.2 billion pixels. 186 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:47.380 To give you a sense of scale, it features an 187 00:07:47.380 --> 00:07:50.180 8.4 metre primary mirror with a three 188 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:52.460 mirror design, providing an exceptionally 189 00:07:52.460 --> 00:07:55.340 wide 3.5 degree field of view. That's like 190 00:07:55.340 --> 00:07:58.060 seven times the area of the full moon. Its 191 00:07:58.060 --> 00:08:00.940 LSST camera, the Legacy Survey of Space and 192 00:08:00.940 --> 00:08:03.740 Time camera, is made up of 189 193 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:06.660 individual CCD sensors, weighs in at 194 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:09.620 3200 kilogrammes and operates at 195 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:11.980 a chilling minus 100 degrees Celsius to 196 00:08:12.130 --> 00:08:14.970 minimise electronic noise. Located 197 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:17.570 high up at over 2,600 metres 198 00:08:17.570 --> 00:08:19.810 elevation on Chile's Caro Pachon. 199 00:08:20.290 --> 00:08:22.410 This observatory isn't just going to search 200 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:25.090 for the subtle effects of dark matter. It's 201 00:08:25.090 --> 00:08:27.010 going to catalogue billions of stars and 202 00:08:27.010 --> 00:08:29.570 galaxies, track dangerous asteroids, 203 00:08:29.650 --> 00:08:32.250 and monitor the universe's constant changes 204 00:08:32.250 --> 00:08:34.730 in real time. When it finally begins 205 00:08:34.730 --> 00:08:37.570 operations, the Rubin Observatory is expected 206 00:08:37.570 --> 00:08:40.470 to generate more astronomical data in its 207 00:08:40.470 --> 00:08:42.830 first month than all previous telescopes 208 00:08:42.830 --> 00:08:44.630 combined have collected throughout history. 209 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:47.190 That's a lot of data. It can even slew 210 00:08:47.190 --> 00:08:49.390 between targets in just five seconds and will 211 00:08:49.390 --> 00:08:52.310 operate using six optical filters, completing 212 00:08:52.310 --> 00:08:54.270 a full sky survey every three nights. With 213 00:08:54.270 --> 00:08:57.230 just 15 second exposures. Over its 10 year 214 00:08:57.230 --> 00:08:59.350 mission, it's estimated it will catalogue 20 215 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:01.830 billion galaxies and 17 billion stars. 216 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:04.110 It really is incredible to think about how 217 00:09:04.110 --> 00:09:06.390 far we've come in just over 400 years since 218 00:09:06.390 --> 00:09:08.430 Galileo first peered at the universe through 219 00:09:08.430 --> 00:09:11.400 his telescope. And now we're on the cusp of 220 00:09:11.400 --> 00:09:14.200 another incredible milestone. So mark your 221 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:17.120 calendars for June 23, 2025 222 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:20.120 at 15:00-clock UTC. That's when the 223 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:22.280 Rubin Observatory will unveil its first 224 00:09:22.280 --> 00:09:24.640 spectacular images in what they're calling 225 00:09:24.640 --> 00:09:27.440 the first look event. This event will be 226 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:29.840 live streamed via YouTube, allowing people 227 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.240 worldwide to witness this exciting moment 228 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:34.360 together. It represents more than just 229 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.520 another technological achievement. It 230 00:09:36.520 --> 00:09:38.440 symbolises our relentless pursuit to 231 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:40.800 understand the universe, carrying forward 232 00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:43.560 Vera Rubin's legacy of discovery into an age 233 00:09:43.560 --> 00:09:45.880 where the observatory that carries her name 234 00:09:46.040 --> 00:09:48.440 will give us a whole new view of the cosmos. 235 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:50.760 Definitely check that out. When it drops. 236 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:54.360 Okay. From massive new observatories, we're 237 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:56.800 going to pivot a bit to something else that's 238 00:09:56.800 --> 00:09:59.560 really exciting in space exploration. Firefly 239 00:09:59.560 --> 00:10:01.360 Aerospace is getting ready for its next 240 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:03.680 mission to the moon. And they're hoping to 241 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:06.880 once again make history. But this time, 242 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.960 even before they reach the lunar surface, the 243 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:11.880 company recently unveiled something super 244 00:10:11.880 --> 00:10:14.600 cool called Ocula, which is a new lunar 245 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.240 imaging service. They're aiming to become the 246 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:19.440 very first company to offer this type of high 247 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:22.120 resolution imaging capability in lunar orbit 248 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:24.520 from a commercial provider. How awesome is 249 00:10:24.520 --> 00:10:26.920 that? Jason Kim, the CEO of Firefly 250 00:10:26.920 --> 00:10:29.120 Aerospace, said that this idea, you know, 251 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.000 getting more imagery of the lunar surface, 252 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:33.490 looking for minerals, understanding activity, 253 00:10:33.570 --> 00:10:36.290 or even doing space domain awareness has 254 00:10:36.290 --> 00:10:39.210 always been something they were exploring. He 255 00:10:39.210 --> 00:10:41.290 thinks Ocula will be super beneficial for 256 00:10:41.290 --> 00:10:43.730 NASA as well as for science, commercial and 257 00:10:43.730 --> 00:10:46.250 national security missions out there. And 258 00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:48.329 here's a fun fact for you. Like a lot of 259 00:10:48.329 --> 00:10:50.290 Firefly Aerospace's hardware and software, 260 00:10:50.530 --> 00:10:53.370 this new imaging service also pays homage to 261 00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:56.050 the movie Serenity, which is a sequel to the 262 00:10:56.050 --> 00:10:58.970 sci fi series Firefly Ocula 263 00:10:58.970 --> 00:11:00.970 is actually the name of one of the spaceships 264 00:11:00.970 --> 00:11:03.490 in the film, Kim said. It's just a great name 265 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:06.090 for a game changing mission like this, and 266 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:08.530 it's fitting for what they're doing. It's the 267 00:11:08.530 --> 00:11:10.890 first of its kind, the first commercial 268 00:11:10.890 --> 00:11:13.450 mission to do this imaging and mapping around 269 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:16.250 the moon. Now, unlike their 270 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.850 previous Blue Ghost Mission 1, which landed 271 00:11:18.850 --> 00:11:21.410 on the earth facing side of the moon, Blue 272 00:11:21.410 --> 00:11:23.890 Ghost Mission 2 is going to try a landing on 273 00:11:23.890 --> 00:11:26.310 the far side. But before it even attempts 274 00:11:26.310 --> 00:11:28.590 that landing, it will deploy the Elytra 275 00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:30.590 spacecraft with Ocula on board. 276 00:11:31.230 --> 00:11:33.590 Ocula's telescope is designed to capture 277 00:11:33.590 --> 00:11:36.510 incredible 0.2 metre 278 00:11:36.510 --> 00:11:38.950 resolution images of the moon's surface from 279 00:11:38.950 --> 00:11:41.910 an altitude of 50 kilometres. The goal 280 00:11:41.910 --> 00:11:43.630 is to eventually develop a whole 281 00:11:43.630 --> 00:11:46.310 constellation of these in lunar orbit, which 282 00:11:46.310 --> 00:11:49.270 would offer a high revisit rate to a bunch of 283 00:11:49.270 --> 00:11:52.240 different parties. Firefly is already seeing 284 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.280 a lot of demand and interest in the data 285 00:11:54.280 --> 00:11:57.120 Ocula will gather. They're developing 286 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.800 this Ocula technology in partnership with 287 00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:01.760 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 288 00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:04.720 California, which is pretty cool. Beyond Blue 289 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.800 Ghost Mission 2, which is targeting a launch 290 00:12:06.800 --> 00:12:09.520 in 2026, Firefly also 291 00:12:09.520 --> 00:12:12.520 plans to fly Ocula on the Elytra 3 vehicle, 292 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.160 supporting a Department of Defence project no 293 00:12:15.160 --> 00:12:17.940 earlier than 2027. And get this, 294 00:12:18.260 --> 00:12:20.140 Kim even mentioned the possibility of 295 00:12:20.140 --> 00:12:22.340 deploying the Ocula technology for future 296 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:25.220 Mars exploration missions too. That's 297 00:12:25.220 --> 00:12:28.180 like a huge leap, right? It just shows 298 00:12:28.180 --> 00:12:29.780 you how versatile and exciting this new 299 00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:30.820 capability could be. 300 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:34.700 Okay, so speaking of exciting missions, we 301 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:36.180 have another update with some good news 302 00:12:36.180 --> 00:12:38.700 regarding Axiom Space's AXE 4 private 303 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:40.580 astronaut mission to the International Space 304 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:43.420 Station. After a couple of unexpected delays, 305 00:12:43.420 --> 00:12:45.300 it looks like it's back on schedule for a 306 00:12:45.300 --> 00:12:48.080 launch this coming Sunday, June 22nd. This 307 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.760 mission, AXE 4, is Axiom's fourth 308 00:12:50.760 --> 00:12:53.600 crewed flight to the ISS. It was actually 309 00:12:53.680 --> 00:12:56.040 supposed to launch back on June 11th, but 310 00:12:56.040 --> 00:12:58.200 then they found a liquid oxygen leak in the 311 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:00.920 Falcon 9 booster, which pushed things back a 312 00:13:00.920 --> 00:13:03.560 day. And then, believe it or not, they found 313 00:13:03.560 --> 00:13:06.160 another leak, but this time it was at the ISS 314 00:13:06.400 --> 00:13:09.280 itself in the Zvezda Russian service module. 315 00:13:09.680 --> 00:13:11.760 Zvezda has been a bit leaky for a while, 316 00:13:11.760 --> 00:13:14.120 apparently, but this new pressure signature 317 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.740 prompted an indefinite delay for Axe 4, just 318 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.420 out of an abundance of caution, you know. But 319 00:13:19.420 --> 00:13:21.500 good news, it seems like the appropriate 320 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:23.900 repairs have been made. NASA said that after 321 00:13:23.900 --> 00:13:26.300 the most recent fix, pressure in the transfer 322 00:13:26.300 --> 00:13:28.380 tunnel has been stable, which could mean 323 00:13:28.380 --> 00:13:30.740 those small leaks have been sealed. They're 324 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:33.220 still evaluating it to be super sure, but 325 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:35.540 it's looking positive and the fixes to the 326 00:13:35.540 --> 00:13:37.900 Falcon 9 booster are definitely complete. 327 00:13:38.380 --> 00:13:41.140 SpaceX even did a new fueling test, a wet 328 00:13:41.140 --> 00:13:43.140 dress rehearsal and the rocket is ready to 329 00:13:43.140 --> 00:13:43.420 go. 330 00:13:45.060 --> 00:13:46.900 Alright, from super cool space missions to 331 00:13:46.900 --> 00:13:49.220 something a little closer to home, but no 332 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:51.300 less amazing. Let's talk about the incredible 333 00:13:51.300 --> 00:13:54.220 journey of the Bogong moth. Scientists 334 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:56.100 have actually discovered that this Australian 335 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.820 moth might be the first insect ever known 336 00:13:58.900 --> 00:14:01.140 to use stars for long distance navigation. 337 00:14:01.380 --> 00:14:03.740 Yeah, you heard that right, stars. Every 338 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.420 spring, billions of these brown Bogong 339 00:14:06.420 --> 00:14:08.740 moths migrate around a thousand kilometres 340 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:11.830 or, or about 620 miles north to 341 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.390 the Australian Alps. They hide in cool caves 342 00:14:14.390 --> 00:14:16.790 there to avoid the heat. And then in the fall 343 00:14:16.790 --> 00:14:19.030 or autumn, as they say in Australia, they 344 00:14:19.030 --> 00:14:21.870 head back to their breeding grounds. The 345 00:14:21.870 --> 00:14:24.790 big question for a long time was how do they 346 00:14:24.790 --> 00:14:26.910 travel to a place they've never visited 347 00:14:26.910 --> 00:14:29.750 before? Well, researchers now believe the 348 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:32.550 answer is stellar navigation. We already knew 349 00:14:32.550 --> 00:14:34.550 they could use Earth's magnetic field to 350 00:14:34.550 --> 00:14:36.310 navigate, but it seemed like they needed 351 00:14:36.310 --> 00:14:38.730 visual landmarks too. And what's a more 352 00:14:38.730 --> 00:14:40.530 obvious visual landmark at night than the 353 00:14:40.530 --> 00:14:43.090 Milky Way? To test this, the scientists 354 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:45.210 captured some moths, put them in a 355 00:14:45.210 --> 00:14:47.530 planetarium like flight simulator, which 356 00:14:47.530 --> 00:14:49.290 sounds like something out of a sci fi movie, 357 00:14:49.290 --> 00:14:51.490 doesn't it? And blocked Earth's magnetic 358 00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:53.530 field, forcing the moths to rely on their 359 00:14:53.530 --> 00:14:56.490 eyesight. And guess what? The moths flew 360 00:14:56.490 --> 00:14:58.330 in the correct migratory direction based on 361 00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:01.050 the stars. Their brains were even most active 362 00:15:01.050 --> 00:15:02.650 when they were flying the right way in the 363 00:15:02.650 --> 00:15:04.930 simulation. It's truly wild. 364 00:15:05.810 --> 00:15:08.330 This is a pretty big deal because while some 365 00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:10.130 insects use stars for short distance 366 00:15:10.130 --> 00:15:12.970 movements, the Bogong moth is the first known 367 00:15:12.970 --> 00:15:15.730 to use them for these epic long distance 368 00:15:15.730 --> 00:15:18.690 journeys. Understanding how these little guys 369 00:15:18.690 --> 00:15:21.090 navigate is also super important for their 370 00:15:21.090 --> 00:15:23.610 conservation. Especially with light pollution 371 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:26.250 becoming a bigger issue. Urban lights can 372 00:15:26.250 --> 00:15:28.770 really disorient them. There was even a time 373 00:15:28.770 --> 00:15:30.890 when a whole cloud of moths grew briefly took 374 00:15:30.890 --> 00:15:33.490 over the Australian Parliament. It just shows 375 00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:35.530 you how intricately life on Earth connects 376 00:15:35.530 --> 00:15:36.930 with the celestial sphere. 377 00:15:38.210 --> 00:15:40.210 And before I wrap up this episode, some late 378 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:42.810 breaking news. SpaceX's newest Starship 379 00:15:42.810 --> 00:15:45.450 vehicle just went up in smoke. The company 380 00:15:45.450 --> 00:15:47.530 was testing a starship upper stage at its 381 00:15:47.530 --> 00:15:49.490 Starbase site in South Texas on Wednesday 382 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:51.210 night to prepare for the mega rocket's 383 00:15:51.210 --> 00:15:54.130 upcoming 10th flight test. But something went 384 00:15:54.130 --> 00:15:56.870 very wrong. Dreadfully wrong. The 385 00:15:56.870 --> 00:15:59.550 vehicle exploded, sending a massive fireball 386 00:15:59.550 --> 00:16:02.470 high into the dark Texas skies. Video 387 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:03.790 from sources such as 388 00:16:03.870 --> 00:16:06.510 NASASpaceflight.com showed the vehicle, 389 00:16:06.510 --> 00:16:09.470 designated Ship 36, exploded just after 390 00:16:09.470 --> 00:16:11.670 midnight Eastern while on a test stand at a 391 00:16:11.670 --> 00:16:14.270 site known as Massey's, several kilometres 392 00:16:14.270 --> 00:16:16.070 west from the company's launch pads at 393 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:19.070 Starbase Texas, SpaceX said in a statement 394 00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:22.070 about 90 minutes after the incident. A safety 395 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:24.230 clear area around the site was maintained 396 00:16:24.230 --> 00:16:26.600 throughout the operation and all personnel 397 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:29.560 are safe and accounted for. The company added 398 00:16:29.560 --> 00:16:31.600 it was working to secure the test site in 399 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.080 cooperation with local officials and that 400 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:36.120 there were no hazards for people in the area. 401 00:16:38.040 --> 00:16:40.080 And with that news, we come to the end of 402 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.720 another episode of Astronomy Daily. I mean, 403 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:44.520 it's just amazing how much is happening out 404 00:16:44.520 --> 00:16:47.040 there, isn't it? From galaxies painted in a 405 00:16:47.040 --> 00:16:49.280 thousand colours to moths navigating by the 406 00:16:49.280 --> 00:16:51.360 stars, there's always something new and 407 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.870 incredible to discover. Thank you so much for 408 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:56.790 tuning in. I've been your host. Anna before 409 00:16:56.790 --> 00:16:58.830 you go, remember to visit our website at 410 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:01.190 astronomydaily IO. That's 411 00:17:01.190 --> 00:17:04.110 astronomydaily IO. There you can sign up for 412 00:17:04.110 --> 00:17:05.990 our free daily newsletter to stay up to date 413 00:17:05.990 --> 00:17:08.070 on all the latest space news, and you can 414 00:17:08.070 --> 00:17:10.750 also listen to all our back episodes. Don't 415 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:13.150 forget to subscribe to Astronomy Daily on 416 00:17:13.150 --> 00:17:16.070 Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, 417 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:18.760 or, you know, wherever you get your podcasts. 418 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:20.750 You never miss an episode. We'll be back 419 00:17:20.750 --> 00:17:23.150 tomorrow with more cosmic wonders. Until 420 00:17:23.150 --> 00:17:24.350 then, keep looking up.