WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.200 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna and 1 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:05.000 I'm so glad you could join us. For today's 2 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:07.760 episode, we've got a jam packed show for you 3 00:00:07.920 --> 00:00:10.040 covering some really fascinating developments 4 00:00:10.040 --> 00:00:12.400 from across the universe and right here on 5 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.280 Earth too. First up, we'll dive into 6 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:17.800 the latest on space missions, including an 7 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:20.400 update on the Axiom mission 4 and that 8 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:23.160 unexpected anomaly that's caused a bit of a 9 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:25.280 setback for SpaceX's Starship program. 10 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:29.180 Then we'll turn our attention back in time to 11 00:00:29.180 --> 00:00:31.100 uncover how ancient life on Earth might have 12 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:33.660 survived some truly brutal snowball Earth 13 00:00:33.660 --> 00:00:36.620 periods. After that, we're zooming out to the 14 00:00:36.620 --> 00:00:39.460 cosmos to talk about galaxy evolution and 15 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:41.220 how scientists are getting closer to 16 00:00:41.220 --> 00:00:43.380 understanding the very birth of galaxies 17 00:00:43.540 --> 00:00:46.460 similar to our Milky Way. And speaking of 18 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:48.500 searching, we'll explore how the hunt for 19 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:50.980 alien life and advanced civilizations is now 20 00:00:50.980 --> 00:00:53.610 going real time, which is super exciting. 21 00:00:54.650 --> 00:00:57.050 Finally, we'll tackle one of those enduring 22 00:00:57.210 --> 00:00:59.930 planetary mysteries. Why giant planets 23 00:00:59.930 --> 00:01:01.850 often end up in the far reaches of their 24 00:01:01.850 --> 00:01:04.290 solar systems. It's a bit like a cosmic game 25 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:06.970 of pinball, apparently. So stick around, it's 26 00:01:06.970 --> 00:01:08.650 going to be a really interesting ride. 27 00:01:10.090 --> 00:01:11.730 Alright, let's kick things off with some news 28 00:01:11.730 --> 00:01:13.930 from the International Space Station, or ISS. 29 00:01:14.490 --> 00:01:16.450 The launch of Axiom Mission 4, which was 30 00:01:16.450 --> 00:01:19.050 originally set for Sunday, June 22, has 31 00:01:19.050 --> 00:01:21.850 actually been put on hold again. NASA, Axiom 32 00:01:21.850 --> 00:01:23.650 Space and SpaceX are still reviewing new 33 00:01:23.650 --> 00:01:25.890 launch opportunities, so we'll have to wait 34 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.810 and see when it's rescheduled. Now, why the 35 00:01:28.810 --> 00:01:31.570 delay? Well, NASA needs a little more time, 36 00:01:31.570 --> 00:01:34.050 it seems, to evaluate the ISS operations 37 00:01:34.050 --> 00:01:36.650 after some recent repair work on the Zvezda 38 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:39.290 service modules aft segment. You see, the 39 00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:41.090 space station's systems are all really 40 00:01:41.090 --> 00:01:42.650 interconnected, so they want to make 41 00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:44.770 absolutely sure everything is totally ready 42 00:01:44.770 --> 00:01:46.980 for additional crew members. They're taking 43 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:49.180 all the necessary time to review the data and 44 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:51.580 make sure it's safe. The crew is currently in 45 00:01:51.580 --> 00:01:53.220 quarantine in Florida, but they're ready to 46 00:01:53.220 --> 00:01:55.140 go as soon as the station gives the green 47 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:57.940 light. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Falcon 48 00:01:57.940 --> 00:02:00.460 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are reportedly 49 00:02:00.460 --> 00:02:02.700 in great shape, just waiting on the launch 50 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:05.420 pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's 51 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:07.460 Kennedy Space Center. Stay tuned for updates 52 00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:08.500 on that. It's on. 53 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:12.100 Okay, shifting gears a bit to some not so 54 00:02:12.100 --> 00:02:14.470 great news after. As I reported yesterday, 55 00:02:14.470 --> 00:02:16.230 SpaceX experienced a pretty significant 56 00:02:16.310 --> 00:02:18.350 setback at their Massey's test site near 57 00:02:18.350 --> 00:02:21.350 Starbase Texas on the evening of June 18th. 58 00:02:21.350 --> 00:02:23.670 They were doing a routine six engine static 59 00:02:23.670 --> 00:02:26.310 fire test of ship 36 for their starship 60 00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:29.030 program and unfortunately There was a sudden 61 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:31.630 energetic anomaly just after 62 00:02:31.630 --> 00:02:34.110 11pm Central Daylight Time. While propellant 63 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:36.510 was being loaded onto the vehicle, a pair of 64 00:02:36.510 --> 00:02:39.190 explosions ripped ship 36 apart, 65 00:02:39.590 --> 00:02:41.550 producing a large fireball and causing 66 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:44.430 significant damage to the test facility. This 67 00:02:44.430 --> 00:02:46.870 ship was actually slated for the 10th Test 68 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:49.510 flight of Starship and super heavy, expected 69 00:02:49.670 --> 00:02:52.310 very soon, which obviously won't be happening 70 00:02:52.310 --> 00:02:54.830 now. So what happened? Well, according to 71 00:02:54.830 --> 00:02:57.710 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, initial 72 00:02:57.710 --> 00:02:59.950 data points to a failure of a composite 73 00:02:59.950 --> 00:03:02.630 overwrapped pressure vessel, or COPV, 74 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:05.460 in Ship 36's nose cone. These are 75 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:07.260 lightweight tanks that hold high pressure 76 00:03:07.260 --> 00:03:09.820 gases. A rupture acted like a shaped charge, 77 00:03:09.820 --> 00:03:11.820 tearing the payload wall and header tank 78 00:03:11.820 --> 00:03:14.020 transfer tubes. This caused the liquid 79 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:16.180 methane and oxygen to mix and instantly 80 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:18.900 ignite, leading to the first explosion. The 81 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:21.420 nose cone collapse. Seconds later, the rest 82 00:03:21.420 --> 00:03:23.060 of the propellant ignited, causing the 83 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:25.860 second. Fires kept burning for several 84 00:03:25.860 --> 00:03:27.700 hours, indicating damage to the liquid 85 00:03:27.700 --> 00:03:30.400 methane farm. The good news is fire. 86 00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:33.150 Thankfully, SpaceX confirmed no personnel 87 00:03:33.150 --> 00:03:35.430 were injured and everyone was accounted for. 88 00:03:35.990 --> 00:03:38.310 All media and public members were safe too, 89 00:03:38.550 --> 00:03:41.070 thanks to preset exclusion zones. This is a 90 00:03:41.070 --> 00:03:43.990 crucial point, obviously for the Starship 91 00:03:43.990 --> 00:03:46.310 program, though this is a notable setback. 92 00:03:46.550 --> 00:03:49.150 It's the first time SpaceX has lost a ship in 93 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:51.950 ground testing since May 2020. And 94 00:03:51.950 --> 00:03:54.190 what's more, they've lost the ability to 95 00:03:54.190 --> 00:03:56.800 perform testing at Massey's for now, due to 96 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.760 all that significant damage to their static 97 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:00.840 fire test stand and the surrounding 98 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.440 infrastructure. It means that even ships like 99 00:04:03.440 --> 00:04:05.720 ship 37, which just started getting engines, 100 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.920 can't be static fired without repairs. It's 101 00:04:08.920 --> 00:04:11.920 worth noting that the COPVs on Starship don't 102 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:14.520 share commonality with those used on SpaceX's 103 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:17.160 Falcon rockets. So this issue is isolated to 104 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.680 the Starship program. The FAA won't be 105 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:21.360 involved in the investigation since it 106 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.280 happened during ground testing. SpaceX will 107 00:04:24.280 --> 00:04:26.600 conduct their own. This means we're likely 108 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:28.520 looking at some significant changes and 109 00:04:28.520 --> 00:04:30.720 delays for the Starship program in the coming 110 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.360 months as they assess repairs and 111 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.320 potentially inspect other ships in their 112 00:04:35.320 --> 00:04:37.840 fleet. It's a tough break for sure, but as 113 00:04:37.840 --> 00:04:40.200 SpaceX has demonstrated in the past, they 114 00:04:40.200 --> 00:04:43.200 will bounce straight back from looking 115 00:04:43.200 --> 00:04:44.280 at challenges in space. 116 00:04:44.280 --> 00:04:46.760 Let's turn our attention back to Earth and a 117 00:04:46.760 --> 00:04:49.660 fascinating mystery from its deep past. New 118 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.100 research out of MIT is shedding light on how 119 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:54.540 early complex life forms, what we call 120 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:57.220 eukaryotes, might have survived those extreme 121 00:04:57.220 --> 00:04:59.620 periods known as Snowball Earth between 122 00:04:59.700 --> 00:05:02.660 720 and 635 million years 123 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.660 ago. Now, imagine our planet completely iced 124 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:07.940 over. We're talking average global 125 00:05:07.940 --> 00:05:10.420 temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius. 126 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:12.980 Geologists call this the cryogenian period. 127 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:15.420 And whether Earth was a hardened snowball or 128 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:17.370 more of a softer slushball. And is still 129 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.330 debated. But one thing's for most of 130 00:05:20.330 --> 00:05:23.290 it was plunged into a deep freeze. So the big 131 00:05:23.290 --> 00:05:25.090 question has always been, how and where did 132 00:05:25.090 --> 00:05:27.930 life actually survive? Previously, ideas 133 00:05:27.930 --> 00:05:30.490 included patches of open ocean, deep sea, 134 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:33.290 hydrothermal vents, or perhaps even under ice 135 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:35.930 sheets. But this new study suggests another 136 00:05:36.010 --> 00:05:38.930 intriguing meltwater ponds on 137 00:05:38.930 --> 00:05:41.610 the surface of the ice. Fatima Hussain, 138 00:05:41.770 --> 00:05:44.610 a graduate student at mit, explained their 139 00:05:44.610 --> 00:05:46.730 interest, saying, we see evidence for 140 00:05:46.730 --> 00:05:49.610 eukaryotes before and after the cryogenian in 141 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:52.210 the fossil record, but we largely lack direct 142 00:05:52.210 --> 00:05:54.010 evidence of where they may have lived during. 143 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:57.490 She added, the great part of this mystery is 144 00:05:57.490 --> 00:06:00.130 we know life survived. We're just trying to 145 00:06:00.130 --> 00:06:02.890 understand how and where. To test this 146 00:06:02.890 --> 00:06:05.370 meltwater pond hypothesis, the researchers 147 00:06:05.370 --> 00:06:07.530 analyzed samples from modern meltwater ponds 148 00:06:07.530 --> 00:06:10.290 in Antarctica, specifically on the McMurdo 149 00:06:10.290 --> 00:06:13.160 Ice Shelf. These ponds, just a few feet deep 150 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:15.800 and meters wide, form when trapped sediments 151 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:18.360 rise to the surface, absorb sunlight, and 152 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.280 melt the ice. The bottom of these ponds 153 00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:23.880 are lined with microbial mats, kind of like 154 00:06:23.880 --> 00:06:26.440 sticky, layered communities of cells. 155 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.400 While we know simpler life like cyanobacteria 156 00:06:29.400 --> 00:06:31.720 can survive in these harsh environments, the 157 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.040 researchers wanted to know if eukaryotes, 158 00:06:34.200 --> 00:06:36.360 those more complex organisms with a cell 159 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.950 nucleus, could also weather such challenging 160 00:06:38.950 --> 00:06:41.830 circumstances. Using a combination of lipid 161 00:06:41.830 --> 00:06:44.430 analysis, specifically looking for sterols 162 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:47.310 and genetic components called ribosomal rna, 163 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:50.270 they found something pretty remarkable. They 164 00:06:50.270 --> 00:06:51.910 discovered a surprising diversity of 165 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:54.390 eukaryotic life, including various types of 166 00:06:54.390 --> 00:06:57.390 algae, protists, and even microscopic animals 167 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.550 thriving within these microbial mats. 168 00:06:59.950 --> 00:07:02.430 Houssain noted that no two ponds were alike, 169 00:07:02.820 --> 00:07:04.740 but they all hosted diverse eukaryotic 170 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:07.300 assemblages from all the major groups. This 171 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:09.420 really suggests that meltwater ponds during 172 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:12.060 the snowball Earth episodes could have served 173 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:14.260 as crucial above ice oases, 174 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:17.380 nurturing the eukaryotic life that eventually 175 00:07:17.380 --> 00:07:19.980 led to the incredible diversification of 176 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:22.820 complex life we see today, including us. 177 00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:25.660 The study was published in the journal Nature 178 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:26.340 Communications. 179 00:07:28.190 --> 00:07:30.590 Okay, from understanding ancient life here on 180 00:07:30.590 --> 00:07:33.070 Earth, let's turn our gaze even further back 181 00:07:33.070 --> 00:07:35.830 in time, to the very early universe and the 182 00:07:35.830 --> 00:07:38.470 birth of galaxies. There's some really 183 00:07:38.470 --> 00:07:40.710 groundbreaking new research that's helping us 184 00:07:40.710 --> 00:07:43.590 understand how galaxies, including our own 185 00:07:43.590 --> 00:07:45.630 Milky Way, first came to be. 186 00:07:46.590 --> 00:07:48.350 We're talking about a period known as the 187 00:07:48.350 --> 00:07:51.310 cosmic noon, which spanned from 10 to 12 188 00:07:51.310 --> 00:07:54.190 billion years ago. During this incredibly 189 00:07:54.190 --> 00:07:56.940 active time, star formation was happening at 190 00:07:56.940 --> 00:07:59.620 a rate 10 to 100 times greater than it is 191 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:02.020 today. And New research has been looking 192 00:08:02.020 --> 00:08:04.100 deeply into a particular type of ancient 193 00:08:04.100 --> 00:08:06.980 galaxy called Lyman Alpha emitters or 194 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.980 laes. Now, without getting too technical, 195 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.500 Lyman Alpha or Leia, is a hydrogen line 196 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.140 emission in the UV spectrum. Basically, when 197 00:08:15.140 --> 00:08:18.140 young energetic stars form, they emit intense 198 00:08:18.140 --> 00:08:20.580 UV light that ionizes hydrogen gas around 199 00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:23.100 them. And when that hydrogen recombines, it 200 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:25.780 emits this specific Lya line. So 201 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:28.140 detecting it is like a really strong 202 00:08:28.140 --> 00:08:31.100 indicator of active star formation. LAEs are 203 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:32.900 thought to be the direct progenitors of 204 00:08:32.900 --> 00:08:35.020 galaxies like our Milky Way. They're 205 00:08:35.020 --> 00:08:37.300 typically low mass and very young, only about 206 00:08:37.300 --> 00:08:40.220 200 to 600 million years old, and they have 207 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:42.540 the highest star formation rates among all 208 00:08:42.540 --> 00:08:45.250 galaxies. But there's been a bit of, a 209 00:08:45.250 --> 00:08:47.740 puzzle surrounding them. Were they undergoing 210 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:49.860 their very first intense burst of star 211 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:52.380 formation or were they older galaxies just 212 00:08:52.380 --> 00:08:54.260 restarting their star forming engines after a 213 00:08:54.260 --> 00:08:56.980 quiet period? A new study titled 214 00:08:57.460 --> 00:08:59.540 Star Formation Histories Reveal Formative 215 00:08:59.540 --> 00:09:01.820 Starbursts Experienced by lea emitting 216 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:04.180 Galaxies at Cosmic Noon. Led by Nicole 217 00:09:04.180 --> 00:09:06.500 Firestone from Rutgers University, set out to 218 00:09:06.500 --> 00:09:09.500 answer this. Firestone calls laes the most 219 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:11.300 profound beacons of the high redshift 220 00:09:11.300 --> 00:09:13.950 universe, adding that they're fantastic 221 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:16.430 probes of distant galaxy populations because 222 00:09:16.430 --> 00:09:19.310 they shine so brightly. M the team used 223 00:09:19.310 --> 00:09:21.828 machine learning to examine the light from 74 224 00:09:21.952 --> 00:09:24.910 LAEs detected by the 100 DCAM Imaging in 225 00:09:24.910 --> 00:09:27.310 Narrowband Survey, or ODIN. 226 00:09:27.949 --> 00:09:30.030 This allowed them to trace the star formation 227 00:09:30.030 --> 00:09:32.990 history of each galaxy. They identified three 228 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:35.870 main those undergoing their first burst, 229 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:38.150 those with a dominant burst happening now, 230 00:09:38.150 --> 00:09:40.860 but some past activity, and those where the 231 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:42.740 dominant burst occurred in the past. 232 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:46.060 The exciting finding a strong majority, 233 00:09:46.060 --> 00:09:48.820 67% of the LAEs they studied were indeed 234 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:50.820 experiencing their very first major star 235 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:53.500 formation burst, with at most only modest 236 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:55.540 activity in their past. In fact, 237 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.140 95% were experiencing what the researchers 238 00:09:58.140 --> 00:10:00.580 called dominant bursts of star 239 00:10:00.580 --> 00:10:02.740 formation at the time of observation. 240 00:10:03.380 --> 00:10:06.140 Firestone emphasized, for the very first 241 00:10:06.140 --> 00:10:08.580 time, we have been able to definitively show 242 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:11.300 that most LAEs are experiencing their first 243 00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:13.780 major starburst at the time of observation 244 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.780 and only have very young stars. This 245 00:10:16.780 --> 00:10:19.500 is a big deal, because if LAEs are truly the 246 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:22.220 precursors to galaxies like ours, then this 247 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:24.540 research has essentially unlocked a part of 248 00:10:24.540 --> 00:10:27.460 our own galaxy's origin story. As Eric 249 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:30.220 Gowiser, also from Rutgers, put it, now we 250 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:32.900 know the answer to that question is yes. When 251 00:10:32.900 --> 00:10:34.940 asked if we'd looked far enough back to find 252 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:36.580 the starting points for galaxies like the 253 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:38.900 Milky Way. It really builds on those 254 00:10:38.900 --> 00:10:41.660 fascinating JWST findings that showed 255 00:10:41.660 --> 00:10:44.220 surprisingly massive, well, structured 256 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:46.620 spiral galaxies in the early universe. I 257 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:48.580 mean, it's all part of this incredible story 258 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:49.860 of galaxy evolution. 259 00:10:51.300 --> 00:10:53.500 Alright, let's shift gears a little bit from 260 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:56.380 the cosmic past to the future of searching 261 00:10:56.380 --> 00:10:59.290 for alien civilizations. Imagine 262 00:10:59.290 --> 00:11:01.810 scanning the night sky for signs of alien 263 00:11:01.810 --> 00:11:04.770 technology using the very same systems that 264 00:11:04.770 --> 00:11:07.650 hunt for exploding stars. That's exactly 265 00:11:07.650 --> 00:11:09.370 what researchers are starting to do now. 266 00:11:09.770 --> 00:11:12.570 Transforming astronomical alert systems 267 00:11:12.650 --> 00:11:14.730 originally designed to catch things like 268 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:17.490 supernovae into powerful tools for 269 00:11:17.490 --> 00:11:19.770 detecting potential technosignatures. 270 00:11:20.410 --> 00:11:22.970 That's the evidence of advanced civilizations 271 00:11:23.050 --> 00:11:25.940 beyond Earth. Every single night, the 272 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:28.460 Zwicky Transient Facility, or ztf, 273 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:31.260 generates up to a million alerts as it 274 00:11:31.260 --> 00:11:33.420 monitors the sky for changing objects. 275 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:35.700 These alerts flow through what are called 276 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:37.860 alert brokers, which are basically 277 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:39.980 sophisticated software systems that process 278 00:11:40.060 --> 00:11:42.180 and distribute information about anything 279 00:11:42.180 --> 00:11:45.140 that brightens, dims or suddenly appears 280 00:11:45.140 --> 00:11:48.140 in the sky. And the upcoming Legacy Survey 281 00:11:48.140 --> 00:11:50.540 of Space and Time, or lsst, 282 00:11:51.090 --> 00:11:53.010 is going to increase this volume by an order 283 00:11:53.010 --> 00:11:55.770 of magnitude, creating just an unprecedented 284 00:11:55.770 --> 00:11:58.610 flood of astronomical data. While these 285 00:11:58.610 --> 00:12:00.330 systems were initially built to catch 286 00:12:00.330 --> 00:12:02.610 explosive events like supernovae and to track 287 00:12:02.610 --> 00:12:05.490 asteroids, new research by Eleanor Gallet, 288 00:12:05.730 --> 00:12:07.850 James Davenport and Steve Croft is 289 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:09.770 demonstrating their untapped potential for 290 00:12:09.770 --> 00:12:12.250 seti, the search for Extraterrestrial 291 00:12:12.250 --> 00:12:14.530 intelligence. Their work shows how we can 292 00:12:14.530 --> 00:12:17.370 totally repurpose these existing astronomical 293 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:20.090 systems to search for those subtle signatures 294 00:12:20.090 --> 00:12:22.290 that might indicate artificial structures or 295 00:12:22.290 --> 00:12:24.990 technology around distant stars. The 296 00:12:24.990 --> 00:12:26.870 inspiration for this approach actually comes 297 00:12:26.870 --> 00:12:29.470 partly from Boyajian's Star, also known as 298 00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:32.430 Tabby's Star. This star, officially KIC 299 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:35.590 846-2852, really puzzled 300 00:12:35.590 --> 00:12:37.470 astronomers with its mysterious dimming 301 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:40.030 patterns a few years back. And while natural 302 00:12:40.030 --> 00:12:42.550 explanations like dust clouds ultimately 303 00:12:42.550 --> 00:12:44.990 proved most likely in that case, the study of 304 00:12:44.990 --> 00:12:47.670 Boyajian's star highlighted how unusual 305 00:12:47.670 --> 00:12:49.870 stellar behavior could potentially indicate 306 00:12:50.260 --> 00:12:52.620 artificial megastructures like a Dyson 307 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:55.180 sphere, which is a hypothetical construct an 308 00:12:55.180 --> 00:12:57.140 advanced civilization might build around its 309 00:12:57.140 --> 00:12:59.980 star. So this new research takes that 310 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:02.380 concept even further, creating automated 311 00:13:02.380 --> 00:13:05.260 systems to identify what they call stellar 312 00:13:05.260 --> 00:13:08.140 dippers. These are stars that suddenly and 313 00:13:08.140 --> 00:13:10.900 dramatically dim without any obvious natural 314 00:13:10.900 --> 00:13:13.140 causes like a classical stellar variability 315 00:13:13.380 --> 00:13:15.790 or other astrophysical phenomena. The 316 00:13:15.790 --> 00:13:18.070 challenge of course, is immense. How do you 317 00:13:18.070 --> 00:13:20.230 filter millions of nightly alerts? To find 318 00:13:20.230 --> 00:13:22.230 the handful that might represent something 319 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:24.910 truly anomalous, the researchers 320 00:13:24.910 --> 00:13:27.710 developed a two stage approach. First, 321 00:13:27.950 --> 00:13:29.870 they use the alert broker's built in 322 00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:31.790 filtering capabilities to narrow down 323 00:13:31.790 --> 00:13:34.550 candidates. Then they apply additional 324 00:13:34.550 --> 00:13:37.430 analysis using historical data to identify 325 00:13:37.430 --> 00:13:39.950 stars showing unprecedented dimming behavior. 326 00:13:40.350 --> 00:13:43.240 They're even deploying clever optical SETI 327 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:45.240 techniques like looking for planetary transit 328 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.000 zone geometries. And using something called 329 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:50.000 the Ceti ellipsoid The SETI ellipsoid 330 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:51.960 is this particularly neat concept that 331 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:54.080 identifies the zone in space where 332 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.240 hypothetical alien observers would have seen 333 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.880 Earth transit across our sun, potentially 334 00:13:58.880 --> 00:14:01.040 prompting them to send signals in our 335 00:14:01.040 --> 00:14:03.960 direction. Now the researchers are 336 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.400 honest about the current limitations. The 337 00:14:06.400 --> 00:14:08.600 SETI methods that these alert brokers can 338 00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:11.040 execute are still somewhat limited, but 339 00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:12.920 they're providing suggestions to enhance 340 00:14:12.920 --> 00:14:15.480 future technosignature and anomaly searches. 341 00:14:15.880 --> 00:14:18.200 Especially in the era of the Vera C Rubin 342 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:20.800 Observatory. The existing systems weren't 343 00:14:20.800 --> 00:14:23.040 designed with SETI in mind, so some 344 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:24.840 modifications and new approaches will 345 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.000 definitely be needed to fully realize their 346 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.800 potential. However, the foundation is 347 00:14:29.800 --> 00:14:32.120 really solid. Alert brokers already have 348 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.360 sophisticated tools for identifying unusual 349 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.050 astronomical events. The LaserRE alert 350 00:14:37.050 --> 00:14:38.930 broker, for instance, offers a watchmap 351 00:14:38.930 --> 00:14:40.970 feature that can monitor specific regions of 352 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:43.610 the sky for anomalous signals. And as the 353 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:45.890 Vera C Rubin Observatory comes online with 354 00:14:45.890 --> 00:14:48.650 lsst, the volume of astronomical 355 00:14:48.650 --> 00:14:50.130 alerts is just going to increase 356 00:14:50.130 --> 00:14:52.409 dramatically, which creates both huge 357 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:54.050 opportunities and challenges for 358 00:14:54.050 --> 00:14:56.850 technosignature research. More data means 359 00:14:56.850 --> 00:14:59.370 better chances of catching rare anomalous 360 00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:01.570 events. But it also means developing even 361 00:15:01.570 --> 00:15:03.690 more sophisticated filtering techniques so we 362 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:06.550 don't get completely overwhelmed. This work 363 00:15:06.550 --> 00:15:08.670 represents a really sensible approach to SETI 364 00:15:08.670 --> 00:15:10.550 because it uses existing infrastructure 365 00:15:10.790 --> 00:15:13.390 rather than requiring dedicated alien hunting 366 00:15:13.390 --> 00:15:16.310 telescopes. By utilizing systems 367 00:15:16.310 --> 00:15:18.270 that are already scanning the entire visible 368 00:15:18.270 --> 00:15:20.590 sky every few nights, we're essentially 369 00:15:20.590 --> 00:15:22.670 getting a free ride on one of the most 370 00:15:22.670 --> 00:15:24.790 comprehensive surveillance networks ever 371 00:15:24.790 --> 00:15:27.110 pointed at the sky. And 372 00:15:27.750 --> 00:15:29.590 while we shouldn't expect to find alien 373 00:15:29.590 --> 00:15:32.280 megastructures next week, this research is 374 00:15:32.280 --> 00:15:34.440 definitely establishing the groundwork for a 375 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.200 new generation of SETI that could operate 376 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:40.160 continuously, scanning millions of stars 377 00:15:40.160 --> 00:15:42.560 for those signs that we are not alone in the 378 00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:43.080 universe. 379 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.360 Okay, so we've talked about searching for 380 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:48.230 life, but, what about the formation of 381 00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:51.030 planets themselves? Let's turn our attention 382 00:15:51.030 --> 00:15:52.670 to one of the really big mysteries in 383 00:15:52.670 --> 00:15:55.590 planetary why are enormous and 384 00:15:55.590 --> 00:15:58.590 mysterious worlds sometimes found silently 385 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:01.310 looping around their stars far beyond the 386 00:16:01.310 --> 00:16:04.310 orbit of known planets? Like some drift 387 00:16:04.310 --> 00:16:07.030 as far as 10,000 times the distance 388 00:16:07.030 --> 00:16:09.670 between Earth and the Sun? For decades, 389 00:16:09.670 --> 00:16:11.750 astronomers really struggled to explain how 390 00:16:11.750 --> 00:16:14.110 these lonely giants ended up so far from the 391 00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:16.910 warm center of their systems. But thanks to 392 00:16:16.910 --> 00:16:19.310 new research out of Rice University, the 393 00:16:19.310 --> 00:16:21.190 mystery might finally have a solution. 394 00:16:22.150 --> 00:16:24.630 A new study published in Nature Astronomy 395 00:16:25.260 --> 00:16:27.420 reveals that these distant worlds aren't just 396 00:16:27.420 --> 00:16:30.020 cosmic flukes. They're actually the natural 397 00:16:30.020 --> 00:16:32.340 results of wild early life behavior in 398 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:35.100 planetary systems. During this chaotic 399 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.020 stage, young planets collide. They bounce, 400 00:16:38.020 --> 00:16:40.779 and they scatter, almost like balls on a 401 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:43.380 pinball machine. And sometimes, if the 402 00:16:43.380 --> 00:16:45.580 conditions are just right, one of these 403 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:47.700 planets Gets pushed to the outer limits of 404 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:50.220 the system. And believe it or not, it just 405 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:53.110 stays there. As Andre Isidoro, 406 00:16:53.110 --> 00:16:54.990 A lead author and assistant professor at 407 00:16:54.990 --> 00:16:57.430 Rice, put it, essentially, we're watching 408 00:16:57.430 --> 00:17:00.270 pinballs In a cosmic arcade. He explained 409 00:17:00.270 --> 00:17:02.350 that when giant planets Scatter each other 410 00:17:02.350 --> 00:17:04.910 through gravitational interactions, Some are 411 00:17:04.910 --> 00:17:07.390 flung really far away. But if the timing and 412 00:17:07.390 --> 00:17:09.030 the surrounding environment Are just right, 413 00:17:09.350 --> 00:17:11.510 those planets don't get ejected completely. 414 00:17:11.750 --> 00:17:14.110 Instead, they get trapped in these extremely 415 00:17:14.110 --> 00:17:16.910 wide orbits. This happens while 416 00:17:16.910 --> 00:17:18.510 stars are still part of crowded birth 417 00:17:18.510 --> 00:17:20.630 clusters, which contain hundreds or even 418 00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:23.370 thousands of stars. The Rice team, 419 00:17:23.370 --> 00:17:26.090 along with collaborators, Ran thousands of 420 00:17:26.090 --> 00:17:28.330 computer simulations of early planetary 421 00:17:28.330 --> 00:17:30.690 systems Living in these dense clusters. 422 00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:33.050 Many of these virtual universes Showed 423 00:17:33.050 --> 00:17:35.130 planets being kicked into orbits between one 424 00:17:35.130 --> 00:17:37.450 hundred and ten thousand astronomical units 425 00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:40.330 from their stars. That's up to 250 426 00:17:40.330 --> 00:17:43.090 times farther than Neptune. Now. Usually 427 00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:45.130 when planets are pushed that far, they don't 428 00:17:45.130 --> 00:17:47.690 survive. They just get ejected into deep 429 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:50.320 space and become rogue planets Wandering the 430 00:17:50.320 --> 00:17:52.920 galaxy alone. But in these simulations, 431 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:54.520 Some actually survived. 432 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:57.800 Gravitational nudges from neighboring stars 433 00:17:57.800 --> 00:18:00.200 in the cluster Helped stabilize these extreme 434 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:03.040 orbits. As Nathan Kaib, A co author 435 00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:05.000 of the study, explained, when these 436 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.240 gravitational kicks happen at just the right 437 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:10.040 moment, A planet's orbit becomes decoupled 438 00:18:10.040 --> 00:18:12.760 from the inner planetary system. This creates 439 00:18:12.760 --> 00:18:15.040 a wide orbit planet that's essentially frozen 440 00:18:15.040 --> 00:18:17.000 in place after the cluster disperses. 441 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.880 And get this. These findings Might shed new 442 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:23.000 light on one of our own solar system's Most 443 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.520 intriguing mysteries, Planet Nine. 444 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:28.920 This theorized world, if it exists, could 445 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.520 be between five and ten times Earth's mass 446 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.560 and orbits somewhere between 250 and 447 00:18:34.560 --> 00:18:37.040 a thousand astronomical units from the sun. 448 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:40.040 It hasn't been observed directly, but several 449 00:18:40.040 --> 00:18:42.560 icy bodies Beyond Neptune have these strange 450 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.040 clustered orbits. That suggests they're being 451 00:18:45.040 --> 00:18:47.960 pulled by something big and unseen. Planet 452 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.280 nine could be that something. According to 453 00:18:50.280 --> 00:18:52.440 the study, if the early solar system 454 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:54.920 Experienced two specific instability phases, 455 00:18:55.320 --> 00:18:57.640 One during the growth of Uranus and Neptune, 456 00:18:57.800 --> 00:18:59.919 and another during the later scattering among 457 00:18:59.919 --> 00:19:02.880 gas giants, there's up to a 40% chance 458 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:05.080 that Planet Nine was actually trapped in its 459 00:19:05.080 --> 00:19:08.000 current location. Isidoro said. Our 460 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.120 simulations show that these kinds of orbits 461 00:19:10.120 --> 00:19:12.930 Are entirely possible. The solar system 462 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:15.370 might not be unique, but it could be One of 463 00:19:15.370 --> 00:19:17.250 the more efficient ones when it comes to 464 00:19:17.250 --> 00:19:20.130 trapping these wide orbit planets. The 465 00:19:20.130 --> 00:19:22.050 study also provides A bit of a roadmap for 466 00:19:22.050 --> 00:19:24.930 future exoplanet hunters. Wide orbit planets 467 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:27.010 Are super hard to detect because they're so 468 00:19:27.010 --> 00:19:29.730 far away and dim, but the research suggests 469 00:19:29.730 --> 00:19:31.970 they're more likely to appear around metal 470 00:19:31.970 --> 00:19:34.250 rich stars that already have gas giants. 471 00:19:34.490 --> 00:19:36.690 These stars could become prime targets for 472 00:19:36.690 --> 00:19:39.150 deep imaging surveys, and instruments like 473 00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:41.510 the upcoming Vera C Rubin Observatory will be 474 00:19:41.510 --> 00:19:44.270 absolutely essential. This telescope is 475 00:19:44.270 --> 00:19:46.670 expected to help either find Planet nine or 476 00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:49.190 disprove its existence by scanning the sky in 477 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:51.750 unprecedented detail. It's really 478 00:19:51.750 --> 00:19:53.990 fascinating to think that the chaos of early 479 00:19:54.149 --> 00:19:56.470 planetary systems, combined with the 480 00:19:56.470 --> 00:19:58.950 gravitational influence of a crowded stellar 481 00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:01.230 neighborhood, could be responsible for these 482 00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:03.950 distant, stable worlds. It really 483 00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:06.510 adds another piece to the complex puzzle of 484 00:20:06.510 --> 00:20:08.710 how planetary systems, including our own, 485 00:20:08.710 --> 00:20:09.110 came. 486 00:20:11.490 --> 00:20:13.570 And that wraps up another exciting episode of 487 00:20:13.570 --> 00:20:16.330 Astronomy Daily. It's always amazing to 488 00:20:16.330 --> 00:20:18.050 delve into the latest breakthroughs and 489 00:20:18.050 --> 00:20:20.370 mysteries of the cosmos, isn't it? From 490 00:20:20.370 --> 00:20:22.250 delayed space missions and unexpected 491 00:20:22.250 --> 00:20:24.610 incidents to the ancient secrets of life on 492 00:20:24.610 --> 00:20:26.690 Earth and even the search for alien 493 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:28.890 civilizations, there's just so much to 494 00:20:28.890 --> 00:20:31.770 explore. Thank you so much for joining me 495 00:20:31.770 --> 00:20:33.730 on this journey through the universe's latest 496 00:20:33.730 --> 00:20:36.010 happenings. If you want to catch up on all 497 00:20:36.010 --> 00:20:38.200 the latest space and astronomy news with our 498 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:40.640 constantly updating news feed, or if you want 499 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.400 to listen to all our back episodes, be sure 500 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:45.080 to visit our website@astronomydaily.IO 501 00:20:45.320 --> 00:20:48.040 that's a S T R O N o M M y 502 00:20:48.040 --> 00:20:50.880 D A I L y IO and 503 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:52.600 hey, don't forget to subscribe to Astronomy 504 00:20:52.600 --> 00:20:55.360 Daily on Apple podcasts, Spotify and 505 00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:57.160 YouTubeMusic, or wherever you get your 506 00:20:57.160 --> 00:20:59.480 podcasts. We'll be back tomorrow with more 507 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:01.920 news from beyond our world. Until then, this 508 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.140 is Anna signing off and reminding you to keep 509 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:04.700 looking up.