WEBVTT 0 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.800 Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the 1 00:00:04.800 --> 00:00:07.400 podcast that brings you the universe, one 2 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.600 story at a time. I'm Avery. 3 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:12.880 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us. 4 00:00:13.040 --> 00:00:15.680 We've got a packed show for you today, Avery. 5 00:00:15.680 --> 00:00:18.080 We're talking about a massive expansion for 6 00:00:18.080 --> 00:00:20.960 SpaceX launches, a new theory that could 7 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.320 double the age of the universe, and a 8 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:25.840 potential glimpse of a primordial black hole 9 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.560 and an interstellar visitor heading for 10 00:00:28.560 --> 00:00:29.040 Mars. 11 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:31.910 Avery: An absolutely fascinating lineup. 12 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:34.780 So where do you want to start? Should we kick 13 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:36.140 things off with the launch pad? 14 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:37.580 Anna: Let's do it. 15 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:40.420 Our first story is big news for the pace of 16 00:00:40.420 --> 00:00:43.340 space exploration. SpaceX has just 17 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:46.220 received a green light from US regulators to 18 00:00:46.220 --> 00:00:48.219 more than double their launch rate from 19 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:48.780 Florida. 20 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:52.060 Avery: And when you say more than double, you really 21 00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:54.980 mean it. They're going from 50 Falcon 22 00:00:54.980 --> 00:00:57.500 9 launches per year up to 23 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.340 120 from Cape Canaveral. 24 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:02.550 And that is a staggering increase in 25 00:01:02.550 --> 00:01:03.190 frequency. 26 00:01:03.510 --> 00:01:06.190 Anna: It really is. And to handle all those 27 00:01:06.190 --> 00:01:08.550 returning boosters, the approval also 28 00:01:08.550 --> 00:01:11.030 includes a, uh, new on site landing zone. 29 00:01:11.110 --> 00:01:13.390 They're planning for up to 34 booster 30 00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:16.030 landings right there at the Cape. This is all 31 00:01:16.030 --> 00:01:17.830 about streamlining their operations. 32 00:01:18.630 --> 00:01:21.350 Avery: So how does an approval like this work? 33 00:01:21.670 --> 00:01:24.110 I imagine launching that many rockets has 34 00:01:24.110 --> 00:01:25.990 some environmental considerations. 35 00:01:26.950 --> 00:01:29.510 Anna: Absolutely. The approval is officially called 36 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:31.830 a, uh, mitigated finding of no significant 37 00:01:31.990 --> 00:01:34.430 impact. That means they've put measures in 38 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:36.830 place to protect local wildlife and the 39 00:01:36.830 --> 00:01:39.430 environment. But it's not the final step. 40 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:41.750 SpaceX still needs a final licence 41 00:01:41.750 --> 00:01:44.670 modification from the FAA and approval from 42 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:46.550 the Air Force before they can start ramping 43 00:01:46.550 --> 00:01:46.870 up. 44 00:01:47.270 --> 00:01:48.990 Avery: It sounds like they're clearing the final 45 00:01:48.990 --> 00:01:51.830 hurdles. This has to be a huge relief for a 46 00:01:51.830 --> 00:01:54.070 lot of companies and agencies. We've heard 47 00:01:54.070 --> 00:01:56.070 about the launch bottleneck for a while now. 48 00:01:56.570 --> 00:01:58.330 This should really help ease the traffic jam 49 00:01:58.330 --> 00:02:00.890 for commercial satellites, military missions, 50 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:03.330 and of course, SpaceX's own Starlink 51 00:02:03.330 --> 00:02:03.930 constellation. 52 00:02:04.490 --> 00:02:07.290 Anna: Exactly. And this isn't just happening in 53 00:02:07.290 --> 00:02:09.730 Florida. They're planning a similar expansion 54 00:02:09.730 --> 00:02:12.450 for their west coast operations at Vandenberg 55 00:02:12.450 --> 00:02:15.050 Space Force Base in California. We are 56 00:02:15.050 --> 00:02:17.770 truly entering an era of unprecedented 57 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:18.730 access to space. 58 00:02:19.290 --> 00:02:22.250 Avery: Beyond just easing the traffic jam, what does 59 00:02:22.250 --> 00:02:25.010 this increased capacity mean for the kinds of 60 00:02:25.010 --> 00:02:27.930 missions? We'll see. Are we talking more 61 00:02:27.930 --> 00:02:30.710 sc, more commercial activity, or 62 00:02:30.790 --> 00:02:33.230 both? Well, I guess we'll have to wait and 63 00:02:33.230 --> 00:02:35.390 see what happens in practise, but I think 64 00:02:35.390 --> 00:02:37.590 you'll find it'll be a balance of both 65 00:02:37.750 --> 00:02:40.470 science and commercial. Alright, 66 00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:43.270 from the very practical to the deeply 67 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:44.770 theoretical. Anna. 68 00:02:44.770 --> 00:02:47.670 Uh, our next story is a real mind bender. 69 00:02:48.070 --> 00:02:50.790 A new study is suggesting that dark matter 70 00:02:51.190 --> 00:02:53.830 doesn't exist, and that the universe is 71 00:02:53.910 --> 00:02:55.750 twice as old as we thought. 72 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.880 Anna: That's the headline, and it's as provocative 73 00:02:58.880 --> 00:03:01.360 as it sounds. A physicist named 74 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.000 Rajendra Gupta has proposed a new 75 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.840 cosmological model that attempts to explain 76 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:09.200 the universe without the need for dark matter 77 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:11.920 or dark energy, which are foundational 78 00:03:12.079 --> 00:03:13.840 pillars of our current understanding. 79 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.800 Avery: Okay, I'm intrigued. How does he 80 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.640 propose to do that? Our current model relies 81 00:03:19.640 --> 00:03:22.440 on dark matter to explain why galaxies don't 82 00:03:22.440 --> 00:03:23.040 fly apart. 83 00:03:23.710 --> 00:03:26.030 Anna: Well, Gupta's model combines two different 84 00:03:26.270 --> 00:03:29.230 and somewhat controversial ideas. The 85 00:03:29.230 --> 00:03:32.190 first is called covarying coupling constants, 86 00:03:32.190 --> 00:03:35.110 or ccc. This theory suggests that 87 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:37.550 the fundamental physical constants of nature, 88 00:03:37.870 --> 00:03:40.230 things like the strength of gravity, might 89 00:03:40.230 --> 00:03:42.670 actually change over cosmic time. 90 00:03:43.230 --> 00:03:45.870 Avery: Whoa. That alone would rewrite the 91 00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:48.750 textbooks. Um, and what's the second idea? 92 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.800 Anna: The second is an old hypothesis called 93 00:03:51.880 --> 00:03:54.680 tired light. This idea proposes that 94 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.360 light particles, photons, lose 95 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.160 energy as they travel over billions of light 96 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:02.680 years. This energy loss would cause their 97 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:04.879 light to shift toward the red end of the 98 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:07.000 spectrum, which is something we currently 99 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.920 attribute almost entirely to the expansion of 100 00:04:09.920 --> 00:04:10.600 the universe. 101 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.080 Avery: So by combining these two theories, he can 102 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.440 explain cosmic observations without 103 00:04:16.760 --> 00:04:19.520 dark matter. And how does that lead to the 104 00:04:19.520 --> 00:04:21.620 universe being twice. Twice as old? 105 00:04:22.020 --> 00:04:24.540 Anna: By reinterpreting the redshift of distant 106 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:27.420 galaxies, his calculations suggest that 107 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:30.220 the universe isn't 13.8 billion years 108 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:33.060 old, but actually 26.7 109 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:35.900 billion years old. It completely changes the 110 00:04:35.900 --> 00:04:37.540 timeline of cosmic evolution. 111 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:41.100 Avery: This is a monumental claim. Dark matter is 112 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:44.100 thought to make up about 27% of the universe. 113 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:47.020 To just remove it from the equation is a 114 00:04:47.020 --> 00:04:50.020 radical step. So what's the next step 115 00:04:50.020 --> 00:04:52.300 for this theory? How do we know if it holds 116 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:52.780 any water? 117 00:04:53.260 --> 00:04:56.220 Anna: That's the key question. The model now has to 118 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:58.580 be rigorously tested against real world 119 00:04:58.580 --> 00:05:01.540 observational data. Can it accurately predict 120 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:04.100 the rotation speeds of galaxies? Can it 121 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:06.380 explain the patterns we see in the cosmic 122 00:05:06.380 --> 00:05:08.660 microwave background, the afterglow of the 123 00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:11.540 big Bang? The Standard Model does this very 124 00:05:11.540 --> 00:05:14.380 well. So Gupta Siri has a very high 125 00:05:14.380 --> 00:05:16.860 bar to clear. It's a fascinating 126 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:19.460 alternative. But for now, the Standard Model 127 00:05:19.460 --> 00:05:20.980 remains the reigning champion. 128 00:05:21.780 --> 00:05:24.300 Avery: Speaking of cosmic mysteries, our next story 129 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:26.500 comes from the James Webb Space Telescope, 130 00:05:26.500 --> 00:05:28.780 which may have just found the first direct 131 00:05:28.780 --> 00:05:31.060 evidence of a primordial black hole. 132 00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:34.420 Anna: This is an amazing story. Astronomers were 133 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:37.020 looking at an object nicknamed the little red 134 00:05:37.020 --> 00:05:39.540 dot, officially called QSO 135 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.540 uh1. And this little dot might just be 136 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:45.100 a massive black hole seed born in the 137 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:47.760 fiery chaos of the very early universe. 138 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:49.680 Avery: How early are we talking? 139 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.640 Anna: The light from this object comes from the 140 00:05:52.640 --> 00:05:55.120 epoch of reionization just 141 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:57.760 600 million years after the Big Bang. 142 00:05:57.840 --> 00:06:00.160 That's incredibly early in cosmic history. 143 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.840 And the black hole itself is estimated to 144 00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:05.360 have a mass of 50 million suns. 145 00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:09.000 Avery: 50 million solar masses, less 146 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:10.920 than a billion years into the universe's 147 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:13.200 existence. That's a monster. 148 00:06:14.230 --> 00:06:16.270 How were they even able to see something so 149 00:06:16.270 --> 00:06:17.270 distant and ancient? 150 00:06:17.990 --> 00:06:20.510 Anna: They had a little help from Einstein. The 151 00:06:20.510 --> 00:06:22.470 observation was made possible by 152 00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:25.230 gravitational lensing, where the gravity of a 153 00:06:25.230 --> 00:06:27.670 massive galaxy cluster in the foreground 154 00:06:27.910 --> 00:06:30.310 acted like a cosmic magnifying glass, 155 00:06:30.630 --> 00:06:33.190 amplifying the light from the little red dot 156 00:06:33.190 --> 00:06:33.830 behind it. 157 00:06:34.310 --> 00:06:36.310 Avery: So what makes this discovery so significant? 158 00:06:36.870 --> 00:06:39.030 What does it tell us about how black holes 159 00:06:39.030 --> 00:06:39.430 form? 160 00:06:40.260 --> 00:06:42.540 Anna: Here's the most fascinating part. This 161 00:06:42.540 --> 00:06:45.060 enormous black hole is located in a 162 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:48.020 surprisingly small host galaxy. According 163 00:06:48.020 --> 00:06:50.540 to our current models, galaxies and their 164 00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:52.820 central black holes are supposed to grow up 165 00:06:52.820 --> 00:06:55.659 together. But this black hole is way too big 166 00:06:55.659 --> 00:06:58.300 for its galaxy. It's like finding a giant 167 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:00.740 skeleton inside a child's playroom. 168 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:03.740 Avery: Which suggests the black hole came 169 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:04.100 first. 170 00:07:04.580 --> 00:07:07.220 Anna: Exactly. This could be evidence for what are, 171 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:10.050 uh, called heavy seeds. Instead of forming 172 00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:12.610 from a collapsed star and slowly growing, 173 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:15.650 these black holes might have formed directly 174 00:07:15.650 --> 00:07:18.290 from the collapse of massive gas clouds, or 175 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:20.850 even from density fluctuations right after 176 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.530 the Big Bang itself. These would be true 177 00:07:23.530 --> 00:07:24.850 primordial black holes. 178 00:07:25.170 --> 00:07:27.890 Avery: It's an incredible find. I 179 00:07:27.890 --> 00:07:29.330 assume there's a caveat here. 180 00:07:29.810 --> 00:07:32.450 Anna: Of course, the findings are currently in a 181 00:07:32.450 --> 00:07:34.690 preprint, which means they're awaiting the 182 00:07:34.690 --> 00:07:37.640 rigorous process of peer review. But if they 183 00:07:37.640 --> 00:07:39.960 hold up, this little red dot could 184 00:07:39.960 --> 00:07:42.880 fundamentally change our understanding of how 185 00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:45.560 the first galaxies and the giants within them 186 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:46.360 came to be. 187 00:07:46.840 --> 00:07:48.680 Avery: Alright, for our, uh, final story today. 188 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:50.840 We're coming back into our own solar system, 189 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.680 but we're tracking a visitor from very, very 190 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.520 far away. An interstellar comet is 191 00:07:56.520 --> 00:07:58.760 set to make a close flyby of Mars. 192 00:07:59.080 --> 00:08:01.800 Anna: That's right, Avery. The Comet is designated 193 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:04.800 3i Atlas, with the I standing for 194 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.640 interstellar. And on 10-3-20, 195 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:11.620 it's going to pass within 18.6 million 196 00:08:11.780 --> 00:08:14.140 miles of the red planet. That's a 197 00:08:14.140 --> 00:08:16.420 fantastic observation opportunity for our, 198 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:17.940 uh, robotic explorers there. 199 00:08:17.940 --> 00:08:19.980 Avery: And it sounds like the European Space Agency 200 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:22.580 is already getting its probes ready. What's 201 00:08:22.580 --> 00:08:22.980 the plan? 202 00:08:23.380 --> 00:08:25.900 Anna: ESA's Mars Express and Trace Gas 203 00:08:25.900 --> 00:08:28.460 Orbiter are going to attempt to observe it as 204 00:08:28.460 --> 00:08:31.220 it passes. They'll try to image the comet, 205 00:08:31.380 --> 00:08:33.540 though it will still be quite distant for 206 00:08:33.540 --> 00:08:36.429 detailed close ups. More importantly, they'll 207 00:08:36.429 --> 00:08:38.669 use their spectrometers to measure the light 208 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:40.949 coming from it, which can tell us about its 209 00:08:40.949 --> 00:08:42.069 chemical composition. 210 00:08:42.469 --> 00:08:45.069 Avery: So we get a chance to analyse the building 211 00:08:45.069 --> 00:08:47.629 blocks of another solar system. That's 212 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.389 incredible. Are any other spacecraft going to 213 00:08:50.389 --> 00:08:50.789 be looking? 214 00:08:51.109 --> 00:08:53.829 Anna: It's very likely. NASA's orbiters like 215 00:08:53.829 --> 00:08:56.149 Maven and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 216 00:08:56.389 --> 00:08:59.029 and perhaps even China's Tianwen one 217 00:08:59.189 --> 00:09:01.349 could all potentially point their instruments 218 00:09:01.349 --> 00:09:04.050 at the Comet. Even the JWST 219 00:09:04.290 --> 00:09:06.890 has already taken a look at 3i 220 00:09:06.890 --> 00:09:09.450 Atlas from its vantage point further out in 221 00:09:09.450 --> 00:09:12.410 space. It's an all hands on deck effort to 222 00:09:12.410 --> 00:09:13.890 study this rare traveller. 223 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.770 Avery: It's amazing to think that we have a fleet of 224 00:09:16.770 --> 00:09:19.450 advanced scientific instruments orbiting 225 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:22.330 another planet ready to welcome a visitor 226 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:25.170 from the stars. October 2025 is a 227 00:09:25.170 --> 00:09:26.770 date to mark on the calendar. 228 00:09:27.490 --> 00:09:29.770 Anna: And that's a wrap on today's astronomical 229 00:09:29.770 --> 00:09:32.170 news. We've gone from the bustling launch 230 00:09:32.170 --> 00:09:34.710 pads of Florida to the edge of 231 00:09:34.710 --> 00:09:37.510 cosmological theory, deep into the cosmic 232 00:09:37.510 --> 00:09:40.190 dawn and back to a close encounter at 233 00:09:40.190 --> 00:09:40.670 Mars. 234 00:09:41.470 --> 00:09:43.990 Avery: What a journey. A, uh, big thank you to all 235 00:09:43.990 --> 00:09:46.190 of you for tuning in and sharing it with us. 236 00:09:46.430 --> 00:09:48.790 And for even more news, please visit our 237 00:09:48.790 --> 00:09:51.470 website at astronomydaily IO 238 00:09:51.630 --> 00:09:53.990 where you'll find our continually updated 239 00:09:53.990 --> 00:09:56.630 news feed, plus all our back episodes if you 240 00:09:56.630 --> 00:09:59.230 need to do some catching up. Until next time, 241 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:01.820 this has been Astronomy Daily. Um, I'm 242 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:02.380 Avery. 243 00:10:02.780 --> 00:10:04.860 Anna: And I'm Anna. Keep looking up.