WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source 1 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.440 for the biggest news from across the cosmos. 2 00:00:05.760 --> 00:00:06.720 I'm Anna. 3 00:00:06.800 --> 00:00:08.800 Avery: And I'm Avery. It's great to be with you. 4 00:00:09.360 --> 00:00:11.840 Today we've got five incredible stories that 5 00:00:11.840 --> 00:00:14.520 span from our own cosmic backyard to the very 6 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:15.680 foundations of the universe. 7 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.120 Anna: That's right. We'll be looking at a shocking 8 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.560 discovery that our solar system is moving 9 00:00:20.560 --> 00:00:23.200 much faster than it should be. Then we'll 10 00:00:23.200 --> 00:00:25.920 cover a major rebrand for Amazon's satellite 11 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.520 network and some high stakes drama unfolding 12 00:00:28.520 --> 00:00:30.800 aboard China's Tiangong Space Station. 13 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:33.980 Avery: Pl. Europe is getting a sleek new spacesuit. 14 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:36.260 And we'll dive into a mind boggling new 15 00:00:36.260 --> 00:00:38.620 simulation that has recreated our entire 16 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:40.700 Milky Way galaxy star by star. 17 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:42.940 Anna: It's a packed show. Let's get started. 18 00:00:43.980 --> 00:00:44.580 Avery. 19 00:00:44.580 --> 00:00:46.660 Let's begin with a story that genuinely 20 00:00:46.660 --> 00:00:48.620 challenges our fundamental understanding of 21 00:00:48.620 --> 00:00:51.340 the universe. A new study has found that our 22 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:54.020 solar system is hurtling through space far 23 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:56.540 faster than our best cosmological models 24 00:00:56.540 --> 00:00:57.020 predict. 25 00:00:57.750 --> 00:01:00.470 Avery: Wait, faster than we thought? By how much? We 26 00:01:00.470 --> 00:01:02.230 already know we're moving pretty fast. 27 00:01:02.230 --> 00:01:03.710 Orbiting the galaxy at hundreds of 28 00:01:03.710 --> 00:01:04.190 kilometers. 29 00:01:04.190 --> 00:01:06.990 Anna: Per second is significantly faster. The 30 00:01:06.990 --> 00:01:09.470 evidence is fascinating. It comes from 31 00:01:09.470 --> 00:01:12.430 observing the distribution of radio galaxies 32 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:15.030 across the sky. According to the standard 33 00:01:15.030 --> 00:01:17.790 model of cosmology, the cosmological 34 00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:20.630 principle, the universe should be isotropic, 35 00:01:20.790 --> 00:01:23.310 meaning it looks the same in every direction 36 00:01:23.310 --> 00:01:24.550 on a large enough scale. 37 00:01:25.010 --> 00:01:27.490 Avery: Right. No specific direction or location. 38 00:01:27.970 --> 00:01:29.810 The ultimate cosmic democracy. 39 00:01:30.050 --> 00:01:32.930 Anna: Exactly. But when astronomers mapped 40 00:01:32.930 --> 00:01:35.730 out these distant radio galaxies, they found 41 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:38.610 a lopsided distribution. There are more 42 00:01:38.610 --> 00:01:40.809 of them and they appear brighter in the 43 00:01:40.809 --> 00:01:43.650 direction our solar system is moving. This is 44 00:01:43.650 --> 00:01:46.530 a classic Doppler effect, similar to how a 45 00:01:46.530 --> 00:01:49.130 siren sounds higher pitched as it moves 46 00:01:49.130 --> 00:01:51.530 towards you. The light from these galaxies is 47 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:52.650 being blueshifted. 48 00:01:52.970 --> 00:01:54.570 Avery: So because they look brighter in one 49 00:01:54.570 --> 00:01:57.370 direction, it implies we're rushing towards 50 00:01:57.370 --> 00:01:59.130 them much faster than we accounted for. 51 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.010 Anna: Exactly. And here's the kicker. The 52 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.730 statistical significance of this finding is 53 00:02:04.730 --> 00:02:05.930 five sigma. 54 00:02:06.410 --> 00:02:09.050 Avery: Five sigma for our listeners. That's the gold 55 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:11.450 standard in physics. It means there's only a 56 00:02:11.450 --> 00:02:14.010 1 in 3.5 million chance. 57 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:16.170 The result is just a random fluke. 58 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:19.050 Anna: Mhm. It means this is very likely a 59 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:21.810 real physical effect. This doesn't just 60 00:02:21.810 --> 00:02:24.510 mean our maps are a little off. It could mean 61 00:02:24.510 --> 00:02:27.430 the cosmological principle itself. This 62 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:30.070 idea that the universe is uniform might 63 00:02:30.150 --> 00:02:31.030 have flaws. 64 00:02:31.910 --> 00:02:34.150 Avery: That is a massive implication. 65 00:02:34.790 --> 00:02:36.670 It's like finding out the whole ocean has a 66 00:02:36.670 --> 00:02:39.070 current you never knew existed. Truly a 67 00:02:39.070 --> 00:02:40.030 foundational shakeup. 68 00:02:40.030 --> 00:02:41.270 Anna: That's putting it mildly. 69 00:02:42.070 --> 00:02:44.510 Avery: All right, from the cosmic scale back down to 70 00:02:44.510 --> 00:02:47.030 low Earth orbit, our next story is about a 71 00:02:47.030 --> 00:02:49.110 big shift in the satellite Internet race. 72 00:02:49.690 --> 00:02:51.690 Anna, uh, you've probably heard of Amazon's 73 00:02:51.690 --> 00:02:53.490 ambitious plan, Project Kuiper. 74 00:02:53.490 --> 00:02:56.410 Anna: Of course. Their answer to SpaceX's Starlink. 75 00:02:56.570 --> 00:02:59.450 The goal was to provide affordable broadband 76 00:02:59.450 --> 00:03:01.370 Internet to underserved communities around 77 00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:03.890 the globe. A, uh, very noble and very 78 00:03:03.890 --> 00:03:04.970 challenging goal. 79 00:03:05.210 --> 00:03:07.810 Avery: Well, it seems the branding and perhaps the 80 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:10.450 focus is changing. Amazon has 81 00:03:10.450 --> 00:03:12.530 officially rebranded the network. It's no 82 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:14.970 longer Project Kuiper, it's simply now leo. 83 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:17.530 Anna: Leo, as in low Earth orbit? 84 00:03:17.690 --> 00:03:20.330 That's certainly more direct. Does this name 85 00:03:20.330 --> 00:03:22.290 change come with a, uh, strategy change? 86 00:03:22.690 --> 00:03:25.610 Avery: It appears so. The marketing language is 87 00:03:25.610 --> 00:03:27.970 shifting away from that initial pitch of 88 00:03:27.970 --> 00:03:30.450 connecting individual homes in remote areas. 89 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:33.730 The new emphasis is squarely on larger 90 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:36.490 commercial and enterprise contracts. Think 91 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:39.050 telecommunications companies, governments and 92 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:42.010 large corporations that need reliable, high 93 00:03:42.010 --> 00:03:43.970 speed data connections for their operations. 94 00:03:44.130 --> 00:03:45.970 Anna: That makes sense from a business perspective. 95 00:03:46.210 --> 00:03:48.730 Those enterprise contracts are where the big 96 00:03:48.730 --> 00:03:51.560 reliable money is. It also puts them in more 97 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.720 direct competition with the higher tier 98 00:03:53.720 --> 00:03:56.160 services offered by Starlink, which has also 99 00:03:56.160 --> 00:03:58.440 found a lucrative market with aviation, 100 00:03:58.440 --> 00:04:00.440 shipping and enterprise clients. 101 00:04:00.920 --> 00:04:03.800 Avery: Exactly. So while the name LEO is new, 102 00:04:04.200 --> 00:04:06.760 the real story here is the strategic pivot. 103 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:08.760 It's less about Internet for everyone and 104 00:04:08.760 --> 00:04:11.080 more about becoming a dominant player in the 105 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:13.760 high stakes commercial satellite data 106 00:04:13.760 --> 00:04:14.120 market. 107 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.920 Anna: Now for some developing news that sounds like 108 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.500 it's straight out of a movie script. There's 109 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:22.700 some serious drama unfolding aboard China's 110 00:04:22.700 --> 00:04:24.180 Tiangong Space Station. 111 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:27.780 Avery: Oh, this sounds intense. What's 112 00:04:27.780 --> 00:04:28.180 happening? 113 00:04:28.900 --> 00:04:31.500 Anna: Well, the most recent crew to return to 114 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.020 Earth, the Shenzhou 20 crew, 115 00:04:34.260 --> 00:04:36.660 had to come home in a replacement 116 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:39.300 spacecraft. Their original ship, which was 117 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:42.100 docked at the station, was damaged by a 118 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:44.020 small piece of orbital debris. 119 00:04:44.660 --> 00:04:47.580 Avery: Whoa, okay, so a replacement ship, the 120 00:04:47.580 --> 00:04:50.500 Shenzhou 21, had to be sent up to 121 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.220 bring them home. That's a good contingency 122 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:52.500 plan. 123 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:55.780 Anna: It is, but it's created a very 124 00:04:55.860 --> 00:04:58.620 serious secondary problem. The 125 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:00.980 replacement ship, Shenzhou 21, 126 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:04.300 was also carrying the new crew for 127 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:07.220 the station. So it went up with the new crew 128 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.340 docked. The old crew got in and it 129 00:05:10.340 --> 00:05:11.460 returned to Earth. 130 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:14.820 Avery: Okay, I think I see where this is going. 131 00:05:15.380 --> 00:05:17.580 The new crew is now on the 132 00:05:17.580 --> 00:05:20.500 Tiangong Station. But their ride home 133 00:05:21.150 --> 00:05:21.710 just left. 134 00:05:22.190 --> 00:05:25.190 Anna: Exactly. For the first time, the crew 135 00:05:25.190 --> 00:05:27.790 on Tiangong is without a lifeboat 136 00:05:27.790 --> 00:05:30.790 vehicle. Every docked spacecraft, like 137 00:05:30.790 --> 00:05:33.550 a Soyuz at the ISS or a, uh, Shenzhou at 138 00:05:33.550 --> 00:05:36.190 Tiangong, serves as an emergency 139 00:05:36.190 --> 00:05:38.830 escape pod. If there were a major fire, 140 00:05:39.070 --> 00:05:41.950 depressurization, or a medical emergency, 141 00:05:42.270 --> 00:05:44.430 they have no way to evacuate. 142 00:05:45.390 --> 00:05:48.190 Avery: That is a terrifying situation. What is 143 00:05:48.190 --> 00:05:49.310 China doing about it? 144 00:05:49.960 --> 00:05:52.960 Anna: They are moving fast. The next spacecraft 145 00:05:52.960 --> 00:05:55.560 Shenzhou 22 is being prepared 146 00:05:55.640 --> 00:05:58.520 ahead of schedule to be launched as soon as 147 00:05:58.520 --> 00:06:01.240 possible. But there's another complication. 148 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.200 The damaged Shenzhou UH20 spacecraft 149 00:06:04.280 --> 00:06:07.280 is still docked to the station, taking 150 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:10.200 up a valuable port. They have to figure out 151 00:06:10.200 --> 00:06:13.160 how to safely undock and deorbit 152 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.000 that damaged ship to make room for the new 153 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.590 one. It's a tense and complex 154 00:06:18.590 --> 00:06:21.310 orbital chess game with human lives at 155 00:06:21.310 --> 00:06:21.710 stake. 156 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:24.910 Avery: Well, on a lighter note, let's talk about 157 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:27.550 space fashion, or more accurately, 158 00:06:27.710 --> 00:06:30.470 spacewear. The European Space Agency is 159 00:06:30.470 --> 00:06:33.110 getting a brand new European designed 160 00:06:33.110 --> 00:06:34.030 spacesuit. 161 00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.110 Anna: This is exciting. For a long time, astronauts 162 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:39.710 on the ISS have mostly used either American 163 00:06:39.950 --> 00:06:42.830 or Russian suits. Is this a suit 164 00:06:42.830 --> 00:06:43.870 for spacewalks? 165 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:47.200 Avery: Not this one. This is an IVA suit, which 166 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:49.640 stands for intra Vehicular Activity. 167 00:06:49.880 --> 00:06:52.360 It's the suit you wear inside the spacecraft 168 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.200 during launch, docking and re entry, the 169 00:06:55.200 --> 00:06:57.600 high risk phases of a mission. It's your last 170 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:59.640 line of defense if the cabin loses pressure. 171 00:07:00.200 --> 00:07:03.000 Anna: Ah, ah, the so called pumpkin suits. They're 172 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.600 crucial pieces of safety equipment. What's 173 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:07.240 special about this new European one? 174 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:10.200 Avery: The big design feature they're promoting is 175 00:07:10.280 --> 00:07:13.280 speed and ease of use. It's designed to be 176 00:07:13.280 --> 00:07:15.790 put on or taken off by a single person 177 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:18.660 in under two minutes without any 178 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:21.620 assistance. In an emergency, every second 179 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:24.020 counts. So that's a huge deal. French 180 00:07:24.020 --> 00:07:26.140 astronaut Sophie Adenot is scheduled to be 181 00:07:26.140 --> 00:07:29.060 the first to test it on the ISS in 2026. 182 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:32.540 Anna: That's fantastic. And uh, this is more than 183 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:35.100 just a new piece of hardware, isn't it? It's 184 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:37.300 part of a larger strategic goal for Europe. 185 00:07:38.340 --> 00:07:41.100 Avery: It is. The ESA has explicitly 186 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:43.140 stated that this is a step towards achieving 187 00:07:43.350 --> 00:07:46.060 the sovereignty in human space exploration. 188 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:48.820 By developing their own critical technologies 189 00:07:48.820 --> 00:07:51.740 like spacesuits and eventually their own crew 190 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:54.180 vehicles, they reduce their reliance on 191 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:57.180 partners like NASA and Roscosmos. It's about 192 00:07:57.180 --> 00:07:59.380 securing Europe's independent access to 193 00:07:59.380 --> 00:07:59.660 space. 194 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:02.940 Anna: And finally, Avery, we have a story that is 195 00:08:02.940 --> 00:08:05.100 simply staggering in its scale. 196 00:08:05.580 --> 00:08:08.220 Scientists have successfully created 197 00:08:08.380 --> 00:08:11.340 the first ever simulation of our entire 198 00:08:11.340 --> 00:08:14.140 Milky Way galaxy that tracks the evolution 199 00:08:14.140 --> 00:08:16.440 of over 100100 billion 200 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:17.880 individual stars. 201 00:08:18.760 --> 00:08:20.840 Avery: 100 billion with a B. 202 00:08:21.320 --> 00:08:24.200 That's. I can't even comprehend that 203 00:08:24.200 --> 00:08:26.920 number. How is that computationally possible? 204 00:08:27.400 --> 00:08:29.560 Previous simulations could only handle a tiny 205 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:30.360 fraction of that. 206 00:08:30.840 --> 00:08:33.800 Anna: That's been the exact problem. The 207 00:08:33.800 --> 00:08:36.600 huge hurdle was modeling supernovae. 208 00:08:36.920 --> 00:08:39.520 These are incredibly important for galactic 209 00:08:39.520 --> 00:08:42.520 evolution. They spread heavy elements and 210 00:08:42.520 --> 00:08:45.240 energy, but they are also extremely 211 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:48.020 fast and chaotic event. Simulating 212 00:08:48.020 --> 00:08:50.700 their blast waves and chemical reactions in 213 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:52.900 detail requires immense 214 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:55.540 computational power. A single 215 00:08:55.540 --> 00:08:58.460 supernova could grind an entire galactic 216 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:00.020 simulation to a crawl. 217 00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:03.140 Avery: Right. It's a spaling issue. The physics at 218 00:09:03.140 --> 00:09:06.100 the micro level of the explosion tanks, the 219 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.020 macro level simulation of the galaxy. So 220 00:09:09.020 --> 00:09:10.020 what was the breakthrough? 221 00:09:10.420 --> 00:09:13.340 Anna: Artificial intelligence. A team of scientists 222 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.180 developed an AI Deep learning model. They 223 00:09:16.180 --> 00:09:18.500 trained it on countless high resolution 224 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:21.280 simulations of individual supernovae. 225 00:09:21.520 --> 00:09:24.520 The AI learned the patterns and outcomes so 226 00:09:24.520 --> 00:09:27.520 well that it can now instantly predict the 227 00:09:27.520 --> 00:09:30.160 effects of a supernova without having to run 228 00:09:30.160 --> 00:09:32.880 the full slow simulation each time. 229 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.560 Avery: Wow. So they essentially outsourced the 230 00:09:35.560 --> 00:09:37.640 hardest part of the calculation to a 231 00:09:37.640 --> 00:09:40.480 predictive AI. That's brilliant. What 232 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:41.920 kind of machine did they run this on? 233 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.600 Anna: They used one of the most powerful machines 234 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:47.880 on the planet, the Fugaku 235 00:09:47.880 --> 00:09:50.720 supercomputer in Japan. By combining this 236 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.380 clever AI shortcut with Fugaku's 237 00:09:53.380 --> 00:09:56.220 raw power, they were able to simulate 238 00:09:56.220 --> 00:09:59.060 the whole galaxy. This is going 239 00:09:59.060 --> 00:10:01.940 to revolutionize how we study everything from 240 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:04.820 star formation to the distribution of dark 241 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:07.700 matter. We can now watch a digital version 242 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:10.700 of our galaxy evolve over billions of years 243 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.620 and compare it directly to what we see in the 244 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:14.220 sky today. 245 00:10:14.780 --> 00:10:17.340 Avery: It's like having a galactic time machine. An 246 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:20.270 absolutely monumental achievement. And 247 00:10:20.270 --> 00:10:22.430 that's all the time we have for today. What a 248 00:10:22.430 --> 00:10:24.830 journey. We learned that our solar system is 249 00:10:24.830 --> 00:10:27.310 a cosmic speedster, challenging the very 250 00:10:27.310 --> 00:10:29.510 principle of a uniform universe. 251 00:10:30.150 --> 00:10:32.710 Anna: We saw Amazon's Project Cooper rebrand 252 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:35.510 Talea with a new Enterprise Focus. And 253 00:10:35.510 --> 00:10:37.510 we're watching a tense situation at the 254 00:10:37.510 --> 00:10:40.470 Tiangong Station as China rushes to 255 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:42.390 send up a lifeboat for its crew. 256 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:45.790 Avery: Plus, Europe is gaining independence with a 257 00:10:45.790 --> 00:10:48.670 new quick change spacesuit. And scientists 258 00:10:48.670 --> 00:10:51.590 have used AI and a supercomputer to 259 00:10:51.810 --> 00:10:54.450 build a stunningly complete simulation of our 260 00:10:54.450 --> 00:10:55.170 Milky Way. 261 00:10:55.810 --> 00:10:57.930 Anna: Thank you for joining us from all of us here 262 00:10:57.930 --> 00:10:59.970 at Astronomy Daily, Keep looking up. 263 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:09.340 Mhm. 264 00:11:10.930 --> 00:11:12.290 Avery: The stories the to 265 00:11:19.090 --> 00:11:20.290 stories we told.