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Avery: Welcome space enthusiasts to Astronomy Daily,

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the podcast that brings the wonders of the

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cosmos down to Earth every single day.

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I'm your host, Avery.

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Anna: And I'm your other host, Anna. Um, it's great

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to be with you. We have a truly packed show

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today covering a wide spectrum of space news.

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We'll be looking at a recently discovered

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asteroid making a very close pass by Earth.

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Avery: We'll also dive into a major political

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shakeup for the UK Space Agency, see

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just how busy SpaceX plans to be this week,

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and unravel a long standing mystery

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about the sun's fastest particles.

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Anna: It's a lot to cover, so let's jump right in.

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Avery, why don't you start us off with our

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celestial visitor?

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Avery: My pleasure. So get this. Astronomers

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have spotted a new asteroid designated

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2025 QD8, and

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it's set for a close flyby on September

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3rd. That's tomorrow. When they say close,

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they really mean it. In cosmic terms at

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least.

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Anna: And how close are we talking?

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Avery: It's expected to pass within what's known as

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one lunar distance. For our listeners,

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that's roughly

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135,465

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miles, or

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218,009

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kilometres. Essentially the same distance as

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our own moon.

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Anna: That is quite close for an object we've only

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just discovered. It really highlights how

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many of these near Earth objects are still

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out there waiting to be found. But let's be

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clear, this one poses absolutely no risk to

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us.

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Avery: Absolutely zero risk. But it's still pretty

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cool. They say it's about the size of a

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commercial jet with an estimated diameter

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between, uh, 55 and

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124ft. Just big enough

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to make you pay attention.

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Anna: It certainly is. And for those who want to do

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more than just pay attention, there's a great

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opportunity to see it.

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Avery: That's right. The virtual telescope project,

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which does fantastic work, will be hosting a

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free livestream of the Flyby on their YouTube

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channel. It's a wonderful way for the public

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to connect with these events.

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Anna: I agree. It turns an abstract piece of news

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into a real observable event. A

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great reminder of the dynamic solar system we

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live in.

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Alright, let's bring our focus back down to

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Earth for our next story, which involves a

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significant shift in space policy. The

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government in the United Kingdom has

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announced that its space agency, the

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uksa, is set to be merged with a larger

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government department.

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Avery: That sounds like a pretty big deal. Which

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department is absorbing it?

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Anna: It will become part of the Department for

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Science, Innovation and Technology, with the

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change expected to be complete by April. The

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stated reason is part of a wider initiative

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to cut government expenditure and streamline

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operations.

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Avery: Makes sense from a budget perspective. But

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usually these moves have other factors at

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play, don't they?

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Anna: That's what insiders are suggesting. For some

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time, there have apparently been questions in

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government circles about UK SA's

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merit and its strategic direction. The

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perception among some was that the agency had

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become too isolated.

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Avery: Isolated in what way?

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Anna: The concern was that it was too focused on

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the goals and wishes of the European Space

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Agency, or esa, and perhaps

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not aligned enough with the direct needs of

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the UK government itself.

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Avery: So, on one hand, you have people who see this

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as a sensible move to unify stakeholders

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and create a single, powerful voice for

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science and tech in the government.

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Anna: Exactly. But there is a very vocal other

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side to this argument. Many in the UK space

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industry fear this could seriously harm the

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nation's space ambitions.

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Avery: How so?

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Anna: The fear is that by losing its status as a

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standalone agency, the UK's Voice and

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Influence the within the European Space

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Agency, could be significantly weakened.

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It's a delicate balance between domestic

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priorities and international collaboration,

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and many are worried this M merger tips the

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scales in the wrong direction.

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Avery: Well, while governments reorganise, the

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private sector just keeps launching. And no

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one is launching more than SpaceX. This week

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is another prime example, with an incredible

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five Falcon 9 launches on the manifest.

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Anna: That pace is just relentless.

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It's almost becoming routine, which is a

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testament to their operations. What's on the

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docket for these five flights?

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Avery: The main focus is, as usual,

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Starlink four of the five missions are

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dedicated to lofting more satellites for

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their Internet constellation. We have

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Starlink Group 17.8, Group

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1022, 1057

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and 17.9. All told,

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that's over a hundred new satellites

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heading to orbit.

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Anna: And they're launching from both of their

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primary sites, I assume.

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Avery: You bet. They're keeping the pads warm at

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both Vandenberg in California and Cape

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Canaveral in Florida to keep up this tempo.

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The fifth launch is a dedicated mission for a

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customer.

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Anna: Who are they launching for?

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Avery: It's the Nusantara 5 mission, which will

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place a powerful Indonesian

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telecommunications satellite into

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geostationary transfer orbit. It's another

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example of how SpaceX dominates the

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commercial launch market.

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Anna: And amidst all this activity, there's a

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pretty significant global milestone being

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reached this week.

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Avery: That's the really cool part. One of these

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five launches is expected to be the

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200th orbital launch attempt of

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2025 worldwide. We're not even

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through September and We've already hit 200

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launches for the year.

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Anna: It's simply mind boggling. When you think

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about where we were just a decade ago, it

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truly feels like a paradigm shift in our

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access to space.

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For our final story Today, let's journey

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93 million miles away to our local

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star. Scientists using ESA's

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incredible Solar Orbiter spacecraft have

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solved a key mystery about the Sun's fastest,

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most energetic particles.

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Avery: I love a, uh, good solar mystery. I know the

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sun is constantly throwing things out into

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space, but what specific particles were they

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looking at?

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Anna: They were focused on what are called solar

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energetic electrons, or sees.

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These are electrons that have been

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accelerated to near the speed of light.

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Tracing them back to their precise origin on

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the sun has been a major challenge for solar

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physicists.

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Avery: So what did the solar orbiter's unique

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perspective allow them to see?

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Anna: Its suite of instruments allowed it to

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confirm two distinct origins for these SE

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events. The first type is what they

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call impulsive bursts. These are

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short, intense events where electrons are

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fired out directly from the site of a solar

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flare. Like a rifle shot.

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Avery: Okay, a rifle shot from a flare. What's

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the other type?

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Anna: The other is described as gradual. In this

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case, the electrons sort of surf a wave

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created by a much larger eruption called a

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coronal mass ejection, or cme.

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This is more like a giant tsunami of

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particles rolling through the solar system.

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Avery: A rifle versus a tsunami. That's a great

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analogy. Why is that distinction so critical?

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Anna: It all comes down to space weather. The

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research confirmed that while the flare

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events are intense, the CMEs, the

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tsunamis, carry a much larger number of

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high energy particles. Overall, this makes

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them the far greater threat to our technology

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and to astronauts in space.

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Avery: So understanding the source helps us

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quantify the risk.

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Anna: Precisely. By knowing whether an event is

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impulsive or gradual, forecasters can

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make much more accurate predictions about the

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level of danger heading our way. So it's a

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huge step forward for protecting our assets

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and explorers in space.

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Avery: And that, unfortunately, is all the time we

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have for today's Astronomy Daily. We've

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covered a jet sized asteroid, a major policy

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shift for the uksa, a record setting

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launch week, and a solar tsunami.

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Anna: It just goes to show that the universe is

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never standing still. There's always

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something new and fascinating to discover and

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discuss.

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Avery: We want to thank all of you for tuning in. Be

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sure to subscribe to Astronomy Bailey,

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wherever you get your podcast, so you never

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miss an episode from both of us here.

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Anna: Thank you for listening. Until next time,

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keep looking up and keep your eyes on the

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stars.