WEBVTT

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your go to source

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for the latest updates from across the

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cosmos. I'm, um, your host, Anna. And today

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we're diving into some truly groundbreaking

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discoveries and significant developments in

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space exploration and astronomical research.

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From the Webb Telescope's first exoplanet

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discovery, to private astronauts docking with

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the International Space Station, and even a

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fast radio burst traced back to a defunct

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NASA satellite. We have a lot to cover,

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so get ready to explore the universe with us.

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The James Webb Space Telescope, or jwst,

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has just hit an incredible new milestone.

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Since beginning its science operations in

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July 2022, Webb has primarily

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been busy probing the atmospheres of known

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alien planets, looking for signs of

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habitability. But now, for the very first

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time, Webb has made its own discovery,

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directly imaging and finding a brand new

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exoplanet. This groundbreaking find

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reveals a young system hidden within a

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swirling cloud of dust and debris. And the

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planet itself is the lightest one imaged so

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far. A truly remarkable accomplishment made

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possible by Webb's advanced capabilities.

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This recent discovery, detailed in the

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journal Nature, opens up an exciting new

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window into hidden Saturn like worlds.

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Now you might wonder, how exactly does Webb

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manage to see a planet that's so close to its

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incredibly bright parent star? It's a

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challenge because planets are many orders of

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magnitude fainter than their stars, and from

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our perspective, they appear incredibly close

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to them. Anne Marie Lagrange, research

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director at the French National Centre for

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Scientific Research and lead author of the

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paper, explained that when you look at a

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planet, you mostly just see the star.

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To overcome this issue, her team used a

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special attachment for Webb's M mid infrared

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instrument called a coronagraph. Think of it

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like recreating a tiny solar eclipse. Within

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the telescope itself, the coronagraph

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blocks out the overwhelming light from the

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star, making its much fainter surroundings

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and any orbiting planets far more visible.

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Using this ingenious technique, scientists

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spotted a young planetary system only a few

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million years old, named TWA7.

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This system has three distinct rings, with

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one being particularly narrow and surrounded

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by two areas that are almost devoid of

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matter. In Webb's image, something lies

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right at the heart of that narrow ring. And

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the scientists concluded that this something

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is indeed an exoplanet. This

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newly discovered exoplanet, now dubbed um,

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TWA 7B, is more massive than

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Neptune, but about 30% less massive than

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Jupiter, making it quite similar in mass to

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Saturn. TWA 7b orbits

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a star that formed approximately 6.4 million

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years ago. And it maintains a significant

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distance from its star, about 52

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astronomical units, which is 52

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times the average distance between Earth and

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the Sun. Lagrange noted that this is

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also the first planet found that perfectly

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explains the gaps observed in a

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protoplanetary disc. Planets are born from

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the leftover material from a star's birth

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which forms a swirling disc of matter.

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Previous observations of these protoplanetary

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discs and have shown ring like structures and

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gaps which scientists believed were telltale

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signs of unseen planets. Until now,

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however, there were no direct observations of

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those planets. The mass and orbital

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characteristics of TWA7B

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precisely match the predicted properties of

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an exoplanet that would have formed in the

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gap between the first and second rings of

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this disc. By using Webb to observe

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these young faint planets, scientists have

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truly unlocked a new doorway into the

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discovery of alien worlds. As Lagrange

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puts it. In terms of imaging, this opens up

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the possibility of imaging Saturn like

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planets in the future. It will allow us

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to characterise the atmospheres of these

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Saturn like planets that aren't heavily

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irradiated by their stars, providing

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invaluable insights into their composition.

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It's a huge step forward and helps us

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understand the complexities of searching for

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very light planets in these early stages of

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planetary system formation.

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In other exciting space news, a quartet of

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private astronauts has successfully reached

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the International Space Station. Houston

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based Axiom Space launched its fourth crewed

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mission to the ISS known as AXE 4,

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lifting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from

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NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The

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mission began early Wednesday morning, taking

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off at 2:31am M. Eastern Daylight Time

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after what was described as a particularly

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long orbital chase. More than 24 hours

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between launch and rendezvous. The crew

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aboard the new SpaceX Crew Dragon, aptly

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named Grace, successfully docked with the

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space station on Thursday morning. Commanding

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the AXE 4 mission is none other than former

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NASA astronaut and Axiom's director of human

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space flight, Peggy Whitson. Peggy

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holds the impressive record for cumulative

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days spent in space by an American, a number

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that continues to climb with this mission.

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Joining her is a trio of international crew

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members. Shubanshu Shukla from India

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serving as mission pilot. Polish mission

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specialist Slawos Usnanski of the European

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Space Agency and Tibor Kapu of Hungary,

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also a mission specialist. Upon their

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arrival, these three became the very first

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from their respective countries to journey on

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a mission to the ISS. Marking a truly

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historic moment, the AXE4

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astronauts are set to spend about 14 days

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aboard the orbiting lab where they will

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complete a record number of science

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investigations and stem, that's science,

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technology, engineering and math outreach

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events. In total, they have over 60

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experiments planned more than any previous

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Axiom mission to date. Their return date will

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largely depend on the weather conditions at

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Dragon's splashdown zone in the Pacific

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Ocean. This will be SpaceX's second West

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coast crew recovery, a shift from previous

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Atlantic Ocean or Gulf recoveries.

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Now for a fascinating and rather surprising

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development in the world of astronomy. Fast

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radio bursts, or FRBs, have been

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a persistent mystery to astronomers ever

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since the first one, known as the Lorimer

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Burst, was detected in 2007.

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These quick, intense bursts typically last

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for mere nanoseconds, although some have been

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observed for up to three seconds. While their

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precise cause remains unknown, scientists

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have recently traced some FRBs back to their

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source, often finding them originating from

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neutron stars, leading to the theory that

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these bursts are caused by compact cosmic

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objects. However, a recent discovery has

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added a completely unexpected twist to this

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cosmic puzzle. On June 13,

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2024, scientists at the Australian Square

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Kilometre Array Pathfinder detected a

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potential fast radio burst that lasted for a

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minuscule 30 nanoseconds. This pulse,

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with a bandwidth strong enough to temporarily

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eclipse all other radio signals in the sky,

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led scientists to initially speculate that it

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must have come from a distant cosmic source,

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as is typically the case with these powerful

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signals. But in a recent study, a team of

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astronomers and astrophysicists made a

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startling determination. This particular

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FRB did not come from a distant astronomical

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source at all. Instead, it was traced back to

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something much closer to home, NASA's

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Pathfinder 2 mission, a uh, now defunct

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satellite orbiting Earth. The study was led

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by Clancy James, an associate professor

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with the International Centre for Radio

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Astronomy Research, or icrar, joined by a

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collaborative team from various institutions.

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The satellite in question, Relay 2, was

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launched way back in 1964

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as part of a series of early American

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satellites designed to test communications

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technologies. While its predecessor,

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Relay1, famously provided the first American

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television transmissions across the Pacific,

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Relay 2 conducted radio transmissions for

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about a year before ceasing operations in

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1967 when its transponders

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failed. When the FRB was detected

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last year, the assumption was naturally a

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distant cosmic origin. However,

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subsequent analysis pointed to a source much

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closer to Earth. The team then used the

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Skyfield Python module, an astronomy

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programme that computes the positions of

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stars, planets and satellites in orbit.

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This programme revealed that the Relay 2

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satellite was precisely within the observed

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FRB's time frame and position. The

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distance calculated between the ASCAP

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Telescope and Relay 2 at the time of

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observation was was

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4,322 kilometres,

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which was remarkably consistent with the

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estimated distance of the burst. The signal

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was so Strong because the satellite was

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passing directly over the ASCAP when the

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burst occurred, explaining its surprising

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clarity. As for what caused this burst

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from a long dead satellite, the team quickly

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ruled out the possibility that Relay 2 had

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somehow temporarily come back online.

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Instead, they attributed it to electrostatic

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discharge, also known as esd, a UH

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phenomenon observed with satellites in the

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past. This happens when electrostatic charges

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build up on a spacecraft until they discharge

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in a large sudden burst.

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Another intriguing possibility is that the

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burst was caused by a charged plasma cloud

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resulting from a micrometeorite collision.

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These groundbreaking results could lead to

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new tools for studying FRBs and other

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signals, potentially even new techniques for

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monitoring the vast array of defunct

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satellites orbiting our planet. They also

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suggest that radio observatories searching

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for cosmic rays could now be capable of

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identifying nanosecond scale FRBs, helping

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future surveys distinguish between genuine

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cosmic events and interference from local

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objects. It's truly a testament to how even

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the oldest space junk can still hold

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scientific surprises.

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Now let's turn our attention to some

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significant developments from SpaceX, where

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they're facing extensive rebuilding efforts

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following a recent anomaly, while also making

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impressive progress on new infrastructure at

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their Massey's test stand. SpaceX is

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undertaking considerable repair work after a

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major incident involving Starship 36.

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During an attempted six engine static fire

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test, an anomaly occurred causing substantial

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damage to the facility. The immediate focus

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was on making Massey safe, and M crews have

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since been busy assessing the damage and

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cleaning up debris while larger pieces of

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Starship 36 have been removed. Cleaning the

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trench itself might take longer due to the

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static fire stand still being in the way. The

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damage at Massey's is quite extensive. The

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gantry that held the ship Quick Disconnect is

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a tangled mess along with the liquid oxygen

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and liquid methane piping. All the vaporizers

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used to pressurise the methane tanks are

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destroyed, and at least one methane pump

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appears damaged. The static fire stand

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structure itself seems okay, but all its

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clamps and piping will need replacing. Inside

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the trench, the aft section and raptors are

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likely to have caused damage to the flame

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deflector. One of the items that will take

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the longest to replace is the control bunker,

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which was completely burned out. This

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structure is essential for operating the

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methane tank farm and the static fire stand.

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Additionally, a storage tent and shipping

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containers nearby were also destroyed by the

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fireball. Pieces of ship 36

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are scattered across Massey's for analysis.

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According to SpaceX's updates, the initial

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failure mode seems to be a composite

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overwrapped pressure vessel that was holding

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nitrogen in the payload Bay. The root

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cause is still under investigation and it

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could take some time to determine precisely

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what happened. It's fortunate this occurred

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on the ground, making the investigation much

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more feasible than if it had happened in

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space. As a result, no static fire

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testing of ships or flights are likely to

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occur until the root cause is identified and

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Massey's is repaired. Despite this

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setback, SpaceX is known for its resilience

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and they anticipate this will only cause a

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short term stand down. They hope to fly the

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last two block two ships by the end of the

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year. In parallel with these repairs,

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SpaceX is also making steady progress on new

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hardware and infrastructure elsewhere at

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their Sanchez site, work continues on

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components for launch Pad B, including

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booster quick disconnect hardware that might

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be sent to the launch site within the next

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month or two. Progress on Pad B is moving at

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a consistent pace. A new assembled flame

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diverter ridge is also visible, likely

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destined for LC39A, which will need it

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in the coming months. While there was talk of

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a new gigabay foundation for a new building,

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that process hasn't started yet.

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Over at the launch site, incredible progress

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has been made on Pad B. The launch mount is

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installed along with the final two water

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plate manifolds and some booster quick

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disconnect hardware. There's also significant

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progress on the ground support equipment

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structure known as the gantry, which houses

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the high pressure electrical and main

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cryogenic propellant lines. The flame

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trench for Pad B is also seeing rapid

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development, with crews installing steel

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plates that will form its floor and ramps up.

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This design means there will be no exposed

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concrete to damage, allowing SpaceX to fix

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cracks and damage by simply replacing plates

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or welding cracks on the walls. This pad is

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designed to use a massive amount of water,

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around 450,000 gallons per launch,

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flowing through the mount and flame

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deflectors to protect hardware from the heat

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of 33 Raptor engines during liftoff. This

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will ensure quick turnaround times between

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launches. To achieve this, SpaceX is

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using a different pressurisation system than

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at Pad A or Massey's, utilising 9

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00:13:45.910 --> 00:13:48.310
methane and oxygen turbopumps to vaporise

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liquid nitrogen before pumping it into the

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tanks, which then force water through the

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pipes. They've also begun digging the trench

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for the propellant lines that will connect to

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the tower. Recently, testing of the eight

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00:14:00.230 --> 00:14:02.590
liquid oxygen pumps already installed for Pad

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00:14:02.590 --> 00:14:05.280
B's tank farm began it including flowing

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00:14:05.280 --> 00:14:07.240
liquid nitrogen through them for operational

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checks and leak detection on the subcoolers.

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This marks a significant step towards getting

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Pad B fully operational. As for

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00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:17.960
Pad A, it's currently sitting unused,

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awaiting either Booster 152 for a static

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00:14:21.160 --> 00:14:23.960
fire or Flight 10 following the loss of

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00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:24.320
ship.

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36 Moving on

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NASA engineers are currently working to fix

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an issue with the Neutron Star Interior

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00:14:31.160 --> 00:14:33.780
Composition Explorer, or Nicer X Ray

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00:14:33.780 --> 00:14:36.780
Telescope. This vital instrument, mounted

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00:14:36.780 --> 00:14:38.780
on the International Space Station, has

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temporarily halted its ability to track

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celestial objects due to a bad motor.

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NASA paused its operations on June 17 when

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the degradation in its tracking ability

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became apparent, though they haven't

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specified when it might resume. This isn't

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the first challenge for Nicer, which has been

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in use since 2017. Back in

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May 2023, it developed a light

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leak when several thin thermal shields were

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00:15:02.350 --> 00:15:04.910
damaged, rendering it useless during daylight

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hours. Astronaut Nick Haig installed nine

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00:15:07.790 --> 00:15:10.030
patches in January to fix the worst areas,

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but some light interference continued.

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00:15:13.070 --> 00:15:15.270
Closer inspection revealed smaller cracks and

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holes, prompting engineers to reconfigure the

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telescope's measurement power unit, allowing

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it to resume normal operations on March 12.

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However, additional damage to at least one

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thermal shield forced NASA to minimise

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daytime observations again in late May.

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Despite these setbacks, Nicer remains a

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crucial tool. It measures neutron stars,

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00:15:35.970 --> 00:15:38.330
identifies black holes, active galaxies, and

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other phenomena, and even helps map routes

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for future Mars missions. X ray telescopes

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00:15:43.690 --> 00:15:46.250
like Nicer enable scientists to study and

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00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:48.410
better understand extreme radio events in

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space. For instance, observations from

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Nicer, along with the Nuclear Spectroscopic

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Telescope Array, were instrumental in

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assessing a rapid burst of radio waves from a

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Magnetar in 2020, an event that

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00:16:00.780 --> 00:16:03.060
released as much energy in a fraction of a

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second as our sun does in an entire year,

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00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.300
producing a laser like beam instead of an

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00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:11.020
explosion. Scientists used these same

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00:16:11.020 --> 00:16:13.020
telescopes to observe another burst from that

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magnetar in October 2022.

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00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:18.940
That's all the exciting news from the cosmos

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for today's episode of Astronomy Daily. Thank

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00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:23.940
you for tuning in and exploring the universe

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with us. This episode was hosted by me,

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00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.940
Anna, and we hope you enjoyed our look at the

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00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:31.500
latest in space exploration and astronomical

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00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:34.180
discoveries. For more out of this World

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00:16:34.180 --> 00:16:35.220
content, visit our

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00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.140
website@astronomydaily.IO where

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00:16:38.140 --> 00:16:40.220
you can sign up for our free daily newsletter

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00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:42.020
and listen to all our back episodes.

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Subscribe to Astronomy Daily on Apple

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00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.840
next time, keep looking up and I'll be back

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00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:01.520
tomorrow with another roundup of the latest

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00:17:01.520 --> 00:17:03.720
in space and astronomy news. Bye.