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Anna: Welcome space enthusiasts to Astronomy

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Daily. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And, um, I'm Avery. We're your guides through

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the cosmos, bringing you the latest and most

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fascinating news from across the universe.

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Anna: Today we've got a packed episode for you.

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We'll be diving into Italy's ambitious

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plans to build the first lunar home for

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astronauts on the moon, a significant step

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in future space exploration.

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Avery: Then we'll shift gears to explore some

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incredible ancient wisdom, discussing how

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Aboriginal Australians possessed an

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extensive knowledge of their sky country

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intimately linked to their traditional

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songlines and navigation.

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Anna: And get ready for some cosmic mysteries.

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We'll look at a tentative discovery regarding

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Betelgeuse and its potential elusive

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companion. Plus discuss a curious

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and growing anomaly right here in Earth's

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magnetic field that NASA is keeping a close

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eye on.

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Avery: It's going to be an exciting journey through

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breakthroughs, ancient insights and

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perplexing phenomena. So buckle up

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because Astronomy Daily starts now.

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Anna: Alright, let's kick things off with some

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exciting news from the European spacefront.

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Italy is stepping up its game in lunar

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exploration with plans to build the first

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residential module for astronauts on the

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Moon.

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Avery: That's right, Anna, um, Adolfo Jerso, Italy's

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Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy,

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made the announcement. This isn't just just

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any module. It's called the Multi Purpose

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Habitat, or MPH module. And

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it's set to be the first genuine surface

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habitat for a sustained astronaut presence on

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the Moon.

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Anna: It sounds incredibly ambitious. This

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mobile pressurized unit is designed to

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support scientific research and human

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exploration in the Moon's extreme

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environment. Erso emphasized that this is a

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result of a clear political vision to

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establish Italy as a space power.

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Avery: And they're not wasting any time. Back in

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July, Thales Alenia Space, a joint

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venture, signed a contract with the Italian

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Space Agency, or asi, to kick off the

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preliminary design phase for the mph.

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This is all happening under the bilateral

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cooperation between NASA and ASI

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as part of the Artemis program.

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Anna: So it's a key part of, uh, the larger Moon to

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Mars strategy. The agreement covers the early

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development of enabling technologies

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and the concept study of the lunar hardware.

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If all goes to plan, the launch is scheduled

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for 2033. Imagine

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that, a permanent lunar base operating for

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at least 10 years, supporting both

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crewed and uncrewed missions. It's designed

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to provide safe shelter for astronauts,

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enable scientific experiments and even

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offer mobility across the lunar surface.

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It really positions Italy as a significant

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player in future human missions beyond Earth.

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And ASI President Theodora Valente

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noted that the MPH reflects Italy's

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international leadership in space

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habitability. And confirms their long term

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vision in this new space race. It's a

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testament to growing institutional support

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for the sector, especially after Italy

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recently passed its first National Space Law.

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Avery: And adapting to those harsh lunar conditions

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will be a huge engineering feat. I mean,

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we're talking about extreme temperatures,

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radiation, micrometeorites,

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lunar dust and low gravity.

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Thales Alenius Space Italia as the prime

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contractor, along with Altech and other

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Italian partners, has a massive task ahead of

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them. This is truly Italy's first human

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outpost on the Moon.

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Anna: From ambitious lunar habitats, let's turn

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our gaze to a star that's always full of

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surprises. Betelgeuse. As we

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reported earlier this week, it seems

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astronomers might have finally spotted a

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close stellar companion to the bright red

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supergian giant at Orion's shoulder. But

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doubts are now creeping in.

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Avery: If true, this is huge. The idea of

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Betelgeuse having a companion has been

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suspected for over a century, but it's never

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been confirmed. This elusive partner could

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potentially explain some of the supergiant's

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recent brightness dips like the great dimming

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of 2020, and even hint at a turbulent

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future for the star.

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Anna: Absolutely. A team led by Steve Howell at

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NASA Ames Research center used the Gemini

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North Telescope in Hawaii, employing

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technique called speckle imaging, which uses

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ultra short exposure times to cut through

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Earth's atmospheric blurring. Howell noted

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that this detection was at the very extremes

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of what Gemini can accomplish, opening the

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door for similar pursuits.

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Avery: However, and this is a crucial point, the

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discovery is on pretty weak footing right

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now. Orbital motion hasn't been observed, so

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we need follow up studies to confirm if this

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object truly orbits Betelgeuse. There's Even

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a roughly 10% chance that companion isn't

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there at all, which is a lot of doubt for an

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astronomical announcement. As Rene Audmeier

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from the Royal Observatory of Belgium put it,

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the signal to noise ratio is quoted at 1.6

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and such values are generally regarded as non

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detections.

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Anna: So it's intriguing but very preliminary.

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If this companion does exist, it appears

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about six magnitudes fainter than Betelgeuse

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and could be a pre main sequence star

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weighing about 1.5 suns.

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What's truly wild is its potential

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proximity, orbiting Betelgeuse at a mere

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4 astronomical units, meaning it would

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be inside Betelgeuse's extended outer

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atmosphere.

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Avery: That intimacy would be a death sentence

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though. The drag from Betelgeuse's diffused

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atmosphere and extreme tidal forces would

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cause a companion to spiral into Betelgeuse

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in possibly as little as a thousand years.

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The team speculates this collision could lead

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to an exotic object, perhaps resembling a

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thorn Zhitkov star, where a dense stellar

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core becomes embedded in a bloated outer

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envelope.

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Anna: And the collision could trigger powerful

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eruptions of gas and dust, altering

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Betelgeuse's appearance and potentially

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shifting its evolutionary path. This

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close binary scenario could indeed reframe

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the Great Dimming, suggesting a companion

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stirring up Betelgeuse's outer layers as a

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plausible contributor. But for now, big

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question marks remain. Howell's team plans to

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monitor Betelgeuse for more concrete

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evidence. It seems the ticking time bomb

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that is Betelgeuse might just have a

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shortened fuse if this companion is real.

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Avery: Speaking of things that are always full of

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surprises, let's talk about something a

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little closer to home, but equally

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mysterious. A huge anomaly growing in

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Earth's magnetic field. NASA has been closely

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watching a strange phenomenon called the

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South Atlantic Anomaly, or saa,

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which is a giant region of lower magnetic

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intensity stretching between South America

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and Southwest Africa.

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Anna: This isn't just a curiosity, Avery. While it

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generally doesn't affect life on Earth, it's

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a significant concern for orbital spacecraft,

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including the International Space Station.

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When these craft pass through the SAA and low

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Earth orbit, the weakened magnetic field

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means their technological systems are more

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vulnerable to being struck by high energy

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protons from the Sun.

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Avery: Exactly. These hits can cause low level

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glitches, but they also carry the risk of

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significant data loss or even permanent

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damage. Satellite operators often have to

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routinely shut down spacecraft systems before

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entering the anomaly zone to mitigate these

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hazards. That's One big reason NASA's keeping

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such a close eye on it.

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Anna: And beyond the practical concerns, the

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SAA represents a huge opportunity for

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scientific investigation. Geophysicists

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like Terry Sabaca from NASA's Goddard center

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for Spaceflight Science explain that Earth's

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magnetic field is a superposition of fields

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from many current sources, primarily a

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swirling ocean of molten iron in the outer

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core.

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Avery: However, a, um, massive reservoir of dense

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rock called the African Large Low Shear

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Velocity Province, located thousands of

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kilometers below the African continent is

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thought to disturb the field's generation,

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leading to this dramatic weakening effect.

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It's almost like a localized field with

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reverse polarity growing within the region.

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Anna: What's even more fascinating is that the

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SAA isn't static. Studies

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have shown it slowly drifts around,

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and even more remarkably, it appears to

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be in the process of splitting into two

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distinct cells. This means

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two separate centers of minimum magnetic

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intensity within the larger anomaly.

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Avery: The implications of the splitting are still

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unknown, but there's evidence suggesting the

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SAA isn't the new magnetic phenomenon

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research in 2020 indicated it's a recurrent

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magnetic event that might have affected Earth

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for as far back as 11 million years.

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If so, it suggests the SAA isn't

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necessarily a precursor to a complete

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magnetic field flip, which does happen, but

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over hundreds of thousands of years.

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Anna: We're also learning that the SAA has an

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impact on auroras seen on Earth.

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While many questions remain, it's reassuring

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that NASA is dedicating significant resources

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to understanding this magnetic oddity,

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as Sabaka put it, because that's what

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helps us make models and predictions. It's a

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reminder of how dynamic and complex our, uh,

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planet's protective magnetic shield.

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Avery: Truly is from the dynamic magnetic

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fields of our own planet. Let's journey back

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in time and also across continents to explore

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a fascinating blend of ancient wisdom and

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modern astronomy.

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We're talking about the incredible knowledge

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Aboriginal Australians possessed regarding

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their sky country. A profound understanding

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of the night sky intimately linked to their

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traditional song lines.

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Anna: This really is an eye opening story.

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Professor Ray Norris, an astrophysicist

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who previously studied Bronze Age stone

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circles like Stonehenge, moved to Australia

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in 1983 and naturally

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wondered if there were similar astronomical

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insights there. He found that while people

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had documented Aboriginal sky stories,

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little was written about their actual

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scientific understanding of the sky sky.

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Avery: And what a discovery he made. He found

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that, yeah, they really did study and

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understand the sky. This finding genuinely

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shook him. Aboriginal Australians, famed

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for their intimate knowledge of the landscape

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or country, also possessed deep knowledge of

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a sky country. It went from being a passing

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interest to absolutely fascinating, for

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Norris realizing how well they knew the sky

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and were exploring it.

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Anna: His research in the emerging field of

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cultural astronomy, with invaluable

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input from Aboriginal knowledge holders, is

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now unraveling how Indigenous understandings

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of the night sky are intimately linked to

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understanding and navigating the songlines

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for those unfamiliar. Songlines are

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ancient routes of trade and travel that

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crisscrossed pre colonial Australia,

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connecting important cultural sites.

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Avery: These songlines are not just physical paths.

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They're woven into stories and songs passed

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down over millennia, based on pathways taken

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by ancestral beings during the dreaming.

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These narratives provide a way of navigating

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the vast landscape. As ANU

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anthropologist Alan Rumsey puts it, ancestors

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moved across the Earth, forming places linked

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in tracks or through underground connections.

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Anna: Dr. Bob Fuller of Macquarie University

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explains that songlines help people navigate

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outside their own country with routes taught

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using the mnemonic qualities of songs.

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Professor Marcia Langton, a prominent

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Indigenous scholar, even suggests they are in

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fact a song series.

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Avery: A powerful example comes from Wardaman elder

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Yida Mama Bill Harney, from whom Norris

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learned how Aboriginal people were

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exceptional navigators. Bill can name

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pretty well every one of the 6,000 visible

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stars in the sky and knows a story about

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them. What's more, he carries a mental map,

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intuitively knowing directions based on the

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sky, correcting for time of year and night.

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It's as if there's a constant map above him.

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Anna: Another pivotal figure is Gahali Michael

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Anderson, an elder from the Uwali community.

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Anderson, also an astronomer and senior

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lawman, explains that astronomical knowledge

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was passed down orally and through art,

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with traveling the song lines acting as a

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teaching tool. As they traveled, they

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understood whose country they were in and

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which laws belonged to that place.

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Avery: He says that along these pathways, you'd find

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scarred trees, rocky areas for tools, and

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cuts in trees, all serving as symbols of use

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and occupation, ensuring you were on the

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right track. Norris writes that Anderson's

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community used star patterns to create

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mnemonics of waypoints across the landscape

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beyond their country, often waterholes or

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significant points. These waypoints were

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sung, forming instructions made up of a

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series of linked songs that incorporated

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cultural knowledge.

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Anna: It wasn't always as, uh, simple as lining up

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a star with a feature for direct navigation,

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especially since much travel happened during

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the day. During summer, many guiding

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stars weren't visible at night, but they

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still formed a mental pattern similar to the

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root, with each star representing a

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waypoint in the mnemonic. This ingenious

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system also served as a highly effective

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way to preserve stories and knowledge in an

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oral culture. It's truly amazing to see

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such sophisticated astronomical knowledge

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integrated so deeply into a culture's very

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way of life.

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What an incredible journey through space and

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time we've had today on Astronomy Daily. From

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the cutting edge future of lunar living to

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the profound ancient wisdom woven into the

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very fabric of the stars, it's been a truly

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captivating episode.

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Avery: Absolutely, Anna. Uh, we've explored Italy's

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pioneering work on the multipurpose habitat

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for the Moon, delved into the tantalizing,

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though still tentative, discovery of

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Betelgeuse's companion, and unpack the

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intriguing mystery of Earth's growing South

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Atlantic anomaly.

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Anna: And of course, learning about the rich sky

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country knowledge and songlines of Aboriginal

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Australians was a powerful reminder of how

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deeply humanity has always connected with

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the cosmos.

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Avery: It truly was. Thank you all for joining us on

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this cosmic exploration. We hope you enjoyed

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delving into these stories as much as we did.

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And please visit our website at

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astronomydaily IO for more space and

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astronomy news. And of course, you can

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subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts,

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YouTube Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio or

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wherever you get your podcasts from.

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Anna: We encourage you to keep looking up and

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wondering about the universe around us. Join

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us next time on Astronomy Daily for more

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fascinating news and discoveries from across

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the cosmos. Until then, keep exploring