WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.920 Anna: How cool is this? Right now, as you're 1 00:00:02.920 --> 00:00:05.360 listening to this, a rocket is in space. 2 00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:08.800 A brand new satellite is on its way to a very 3 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.500 unusual orbit, one that will take it a, uh, 4 00:00:11.600 --> 00:00:13.880 third of the way to the moon. And it's going 5 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.680 to do something no spacecraft has ever done 6 00:00:16.680 --> 00:00:19.680 before. Take X ray pictures of Earth's 7 00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:20.800 own magnetic field. 8 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.120 Avery: And that's just story one. 9 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.600 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the 10 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.960 podcast that brings you the universe fresh 11 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:31.360 every single day. I'm Anna. 12 00:00:31.620 --> 00:00:34.500 Avery: And I'm Avery. This is season five, episode 13 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:36.660 106. And today, Tuesday, 14 00:00:36.900 --> 00:00:39.900 May 19, 2026, we have 15 00:00:39.900 --> 00:00:41.700 a genuinely packed show. 16 00:00:42.180 --> 00:00:44.540 Anna: We've got a historic launch that happened 17 00:00:44.540 --> 00:00:47.300 just hours ago. We've got the world's most 18 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:50.100 powerful rocket sitting on a brand new pad 19 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:52.900 ready to fly. Well, almost ready. 20 00:00:52.900 --> 00:00:55.180 There's a slight schedule adjustment. We'll 21 00:00:55.180 --> 00:00:57.580 explain. And we've got a warning from 22 00:00:57.580 --> 00:01:00.100 scientists that the rocket boom itself might 23 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:02.260 be quietly changing our atmosphere. 24 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:05.120 Avery: Plus a, uh, shoebox sized detector that could 25 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.480 let us see the core of the sun. Some 26 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:10.480 extraordinary news from Antarctic ice, and a 27 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.480 clever new telescope that listens to the 28 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:15.120 ancient universe in a completely new way. 29 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:17.920 Anna: Six stories. Let's get into it. 30 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.160 Avery: Our first story is happening right now, or 31 00:01:21.160 --> 00:01:23.200 more precisely, it happened in the early 32 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:25.040 hours of this morning. If you're listening 33 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:26.360 from Australia or New 34 00:01:26.360 --> 00:01:29.280 Anna: Zealand, at 5:52 in the morning, 35 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:31.680 Central European time, a, uh, European 36 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.310 Vega C rocket lifted off from the M. Guillot 37 00:01:34.380 --> 00:01:37.180 Guiana Space center in Kourou, French Guiana. 38 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:39.820 And aboard it was a spacecraft called Smile. 39 00:01:40.460 --> 00:01:43.260 Avery: Smile, which stands for Deep Breath 40 00:01:43.740 --> 00:01:45.820 Solar Wind, Magnetosphere 41 00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:48.380 Ionosphere Link Explorer, 42 00:01:48.700 --> 00:01:49.300 a name 43 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:52.140 Anna: that is almost impressively unwieldy for 44 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:53.500 something this elegant. 45 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.220 Avery: But what it's going to do is genuinely 46 00:01:56.220 --> 00:01:58.980 beautiful. Smile is a joint mission between 47 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:01.740 the European Space Agency and the Chinese 48 00:02:01.740 --> 00:02:04.580 Academy of Sciences. Its entire purpose 49 00:02:04.580 --> 00:02:07.220 is to study how Earth responds to the sun. 50 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:10.100 Not the sun itself, but the interaction, 51 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:13.220 that invisible battle between solar wind and 52 00:02:13.220 --> 00:02:14.820 our planet's magnetic shield. 53 00:02:15.380 --> 00:02:17.980 Anna: And it's going to do two things that have 54 00:02:17.980 --> 00:02:20.980 never been done before. First, it will take 55 00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:23.620 X ray images of Earth's magnetic field, 56 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.100 specifically the boundary where the solar 57 00:02:26.100 --> 00:02:28.820 wind rams into the magnetosphere. That 58 00:02:28.820 --> 00:02:31.780 boundary is called the magnetopause, and no 59 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:34.500 spacecraft has ever imaged it in X rays. 60 00:02:35.210 --> 00:02:37.770 Avery: Second, Smile will watch the aurora, the 61 00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:40.330 northern lights, continuously for up to 62 00:02:40.330 --> 00:02:42.610 45 hours at a time in 63 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:45.610 ultraviolet. Most aurora observations are 64 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:48.410 snapshots. Smile will give us a full 65 00:02:48.410 --> 00:02:48.970 movie. 66 00:02:49.450 --> 00:02:51.850 Anna: To do all this, it needs a very 67 00:02:51.930 --> 00:02:54.890 unusual orbit. After claunch, it'll fire 68 00:02:54.890 --> 00:02:57.650 its engine 11 times over 25 69 00:02:57.650 --> 00:03:00.370 days to maneuver into a highly elliptical 70 00:03:00.370 --> 00:03:03.152 path, swinging out to 121,000 71 00:03:03.408 --> 00:03:06.320 km above the north Pole, then 72 00:03:06.320 --> 00:03:08.808 diving back down to just 5,000 73 00:03:08.952 --> 00:03:10.720 km above the south Pole. 74 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.160 Avery: That's almost a third of the way to the Moon. 75 00:03:13.160 --> 00:03:14.400 At its furthest point. 76 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:17.560 Anna: It's carrying four science instruments, a 77 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:20.080 soft X ray imager, an ultraviolet 78 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.360 aurora imager, a light ion 79 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.280 analyzer and a magnetometer. And it 80 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.480 has a planned mission lifetime of three 81 00:03:27.480 --> 00:03:27.840 years. 82 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:30.990 Avery: Worth mooting too. This is the seventh flight 83 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:33.630 of a Vega C rocket and the first time 84 00:03:33.630 --> 00:03:36.190 Italian manufacturer Avio operated the 85 00:03:36.190 --> 00:03:38.950 vehicle directly, replacing Ariana Space 86 00:03:38.950 --> 00:03:40.950 which ran the previous six flights. 87 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:44.269 So multiple milestones today, space weather 88 00:03:44.269 --> 00:03:44.550 is 89 00:03:44.550 --> 00:03:47.310 Anna: something that affects all of us. It disrupts 90 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:50.190 satellites, threatens power grids and poses 91 00:03:50.190 --> 00:03:53.150 real risks to astronauts. Smile won't just 92 00:03:53.150 --> 00:03:55.710 do pure science. It'll help us predict 93 00:03:55.710 --> 00:03:58.450 dangerous storms earlier and protect the 94 00:03:58.450 --> 00:04:01.050 technology we rely on and the people we're 95 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:01.970 sending into space. 96 00:04:02.530 --> 00:04:04.850 Avery: There's also a geopolitical subplot here. 97 00:04:04.850 --> 00:04:07.810 Worth a moment of your time. ESA and China 98 00:04:07.890 --> 00:04:10.130 built this mission together from scratch. 99 00:04:10.290 --> 00:04:13.250 Jointly designed, jointly built, jointly 100 00:04:13.250 --> 00:04:15.730 operated. Meanwhile, uh, NASA has been 101 00:04:15.730 --> 00:04:18.130 legally barred from bilateral cooperation 102 00:04:18.130 --> 00:04:20.850 with Chinese space entities since 2011 103 00:04:21.090 --> 00:04:23.860 under the so called Wolf amendment. So 104 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.220 Smile is quietly saying something about how 105 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:28.020 different parts of the western space 106 00:04:28.020 --> 00:04:29.460 community see that question. 107 00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:33.020 Anna: And it's now in space. Smile is 108 00:04:33.020 --> 00:04:35.700 go now. If you woke up today 109 00:04:35.780 --> 00:04:37.940 expecting to watch a Starship launch, 110 00:04:38.260 --> 00:04:40.900 SpaceX has a small apology for you. 111 00:04:41.380 --> 00:04:43.940 Avery: The debut flight of Starship V3 was 112 00:04:43.940 --> 00:04:46.780 originally targeting today. Tuesday it 113 00:04:46.780 --> 00:04:49.100 slipped to Wednesday and now it has slipped 114 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:51.940 again to Thursday, May 21 with 115 00:04:51.940 --> 00:04:54.860 a launch window opening at 6:30pm Eastern 116 00:04:54.860 --> 00:04:57.640 Time, which is 8:30am Friday morning 117 00:04:57.640 --> 00:04:58.400 in Sydney. 118 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:01.360 Anna: SpaceX hasn't explained why publicly. 119 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.360 Likely some final closeout and pre fight 120 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.280 check work. Road closures around the Starbase 121 00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:09.720 site in Texas remain in place through the end 122 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:12.240 of Thursday, which at least tells us Thursday 123 00:05:12.400 --> 00:05:13.840 is still a live target. 124 00:05:14.400 --> 00:05:16.360 Avery: But let's talk about what is sitting on that 125 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.880 pad. Because Starship V3 is 126 00:05:18.880 --> 00:05:20.960 genuinely a step change from what came 127 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:23.530 before. When stacked Starship 128 00:05:23.530 --> 00:05:26.050 V3 stands over 400ft tall, 129 00:05:26.290 --> 00:05:29.130 about 123 meters, making it the 130 00:05:29.130 --> 00:05:31.890 largest and most powerful rocket ever built. 131 00:05:32.130 --> 00:05:35.010 It pairs booster 19 with ship 39 132 00:05:35.010 --> 00:05:37.250 and both are running the new Raptor 3 133 00:05:37.250 --> 00:05:37.730 engines. 134 00:05:38.210 --> 00:05:40.930 Anna: The Raptor 3 is a meaningful upgrade. 135 00:05:41.090 --> 00:05:43.090 Sea level variants now produce 136 00:05:43.090 --> 00:05:45.490 250 tons of thrust each, 137 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:47.970 up from 230 previously. 138 00:05:48.490 --> 00:05:51.170 Vacuum engines push to 275 139 00:05:51.170 --> 00:05:54.010 tons. The engines are lighter down to 140 00:05:54.010 --> 00:05:56.890 about 1525 kilograms each 141 00:05:57.050 --> 00:05:59.810 and have an integrated design that eliminates 142 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:02.490 individual engine shrouds. There are also 143 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:05.410 savings across the whole vehicle, running to 144 00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:07.130 roughly a ton per engine. 145 00:06:07.450 --> 00:06:09.850 Avery: The payload capacity is eye watering. 146 00:06:10.090 --> 00:06:12.690 Starship V3 can carry more than 100 147 00:06:12.690 --> 00:06:15.250 metric tons to low Earth orbit in full 148 00:06:15.250 --> 00:06:18.100 reuse configuration, roughly triple what 149 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:19.500 the previous version could manage. 150 00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:22.540 Anna: And this is also the first launch from 151 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:25.540 orbital launch pad 2 at Starbase, meaning 152 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.060 SpaceX can now have two rockets being 153 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:30.860 prepared simultaneously rather than one. 154 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:33.660 That's a huge step toward the launch cadence 155 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:36.140 Elon Musk needs for his Mars ambitions. 156 00:06:36.700 --> 00:06:39.340 Avery: For Flight 12 itself. Both the booster and 157 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:41.940 the ship will target controlled splashdowns 158 00:06:41.940 --> 00:06:44.590 rather than a tower catch a deliberate step 159 00:06:44.590 --> 00:06:46.630 back in ambition to validate the new 160 00:06:46.630 --> 00:06:48.830 architecture first before chasing the 161 00:06:48.830 --> 00:06:51.430 spectacular. The booster will come down in 162 00:06:51.430 --> 00:06:53.910 the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America. 163 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:56.550 About seven minutes after launch, ship 164 00:06:56.550 --> 00:06:59.349 39 will splash down in the Indian Ocean off 165 00:06:59.349 --> 00:07:01.630 Western Australia, about an hour into the 166 00:07:01.630 --> 00:07:01.990 mission. 167 00:07:02.470 --> 00:07:05.350 Anna: During that flight, the ship will also deploy 168 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:08.390 20 dummy Starlink satellites, relight 169 00:07:08.390 --> 00:07:10.790 a single Raptor engine in space, and 170 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:13.630 deliberately fly with one heat shield tile 171 00:07:13.630 --> 00:07:15.690 removed to measure what happen happens 172 00:07:15.690 --> 00:07:17.970 aerodynamically when a tile is missing. 173 00:07:18.450 --> 00:07:21.290 Avery: The stakes here are enormous. NASA 174 00:07:21.290 --> 00:07:23.810 needs Starship to serve as the human landing 175 00:07:23.810 --> 00:07:26.530 system for Artemis 4, a crewed lunar 176 00:07:26.530 --> 00:07:28.930 landing now targeted for 2028. 177 00:07:29.330 --> 00:07:31.770 SpaceX still needs to demonstrate in orbit 178 00:07:31.770 --> 00:07:34.730 refueling at scale, a process requiring more 179 00:07:34.730 --> 00:07:37.530 than 10 tanker flights to fuel a single 180 00:07:37.530 --> 00:07:40.250 moon mission. Starship V3 is the 181 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:42.450 vehicle designed to make that economically 182 00:07:42.450 --> 00:07:42.770 possible. 183 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:45.340 Anna: Watch this space. 184 00:07:45.580 --> 00:07:48.500 Quite literally, here's a story that connects 185 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.020 directly to everything we just talked about. 186 00:07:51.260 --> 00:07:53.980 All those rocket launches, all those Starlink 187 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:56.460 satellites might be doing something to our 188 00:07:56.460 --> 00:07:59.460 atmosphere that nobody planned and nobody 189 00:07:59.460 --> 00:08:00.220 is regulating. 190 00:08:00.700 --> 00:08:03.020 Avery: A major new study published in the journal 191 00:08:03.020 --> 00:08:05.240 Earth's Future, led by researchers at AH 192 00:08:05.260 --> 00:08:07.780 University College London, has done the most 193 00:08:07.780 --> 00:08:10.340 comprehensive analysis yet of air pollution 194 00:08:10.340 --> 00:08:12.900 from satellite mega constellations. The 195 00:08:12.900 --> 00:08:15.620 Starlinks, Amazon's Kuiper satellites, the 196 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:17.980 Chinese Guang and Tian Fan systems. 197 00:08:18.460 --> 00:08:21.420 Anna: And what they found is genuinely alarming. 198 00:08:21.580 --> 00:08:24.300 When a rocket launches, it burns kerosene 199 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.540 fuel and produces black carbon 200 00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:29.580 soot that gets injected directly into the 201 00:08:29.580 --> 00:08:32.300 upper layers of the atmosphere. And unlike 202 00:08:32.300 --> 00:08:34.780 soot from cars or power plants at ground 203 00:08:34.780 --> 00:08:37.700 level, this high altitude soot, uh, lingers 204 00:08:37.700 --> 00:08:39.820 for two and a half to three years 205 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:41.340 because of how 206 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:43.940 Avery: long it stays up there. The climate effect of 207 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:46.140 rocket launched black carbon is about 208 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:49.140 540 times greater per unit 209 00:08:49.140 --> 00:08:51.980 than such from ground level sources. Not a 210 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:54.620 typo. 540 times 211 00:08:55.180 --> 00:08:56.420 by 2029. 212 00:08:56.420 --> 00:08:59.100 Anna: The UCL team projects that mega 213 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.060 constellations will account for 42% 214 00:09:02.140 --> 00:09:05.100 of the total climate impact of the entire 215 00:09:05.180 --> 00:09:08.180 space sector, up from 35% in 216 00:09:08.180 --> 00:09:11.180 2020. And they note that their estimate is 217 00:09:11.180 --> 00:09:13.900 probably conservative because the actual 218 00:09:13.900 --> 00:09:16.100 number of launches since they gathered their 219 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:18.980 data has already exceeded their projections. 220 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:22.220 Avery: What makes this particularly thorny is what 221 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.260 the accumulation starts to resemble. 222 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:26.500 Scientists have for years discussed a 223 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:28.940 controversial climate intervention called 224 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:31.860 stratospheric aerosol injection. The 225 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:34.260 idea of deliberately spraying reflective 226 00:09:34.260 --> 00:09:36.780 particles into the upper atmosphere to block 227 00:09:36.780 --> 00:09:39.200 a fraction of sunl and cool the planet. 228 00:09:39.520 --> 00:09:42.520 The space industry is essentially beginning 229 00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:45.120 to do accidentally a version of this. 230 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.400 Anna: Professor Eloise Meriz, who led the study, 231 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.560 used a striking phrase. She called it a 232 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:53.440 small scale, unregulated 233 00:09:53.520 --> 00:09:56.440 geoengineering experiment that could have 234 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.280 many unintended and serious environmental 235 00:09:59.280 --> 00:10:00.000 consequences. 236 00:10:00.400 --> 00:10:02.680 Avery: The effect right now is small. We're talking 237 00:10:02.680 --> 00:10:05.680 about 100th of the concentration needed for a 238 00:10:05.680 --> 00:10:08.260 meaningful geoengineering intervention. And 239 00:10:08.260 --> 00:10:10.660 there's even a slight net cooling effect from 240 00:10:10.660 --> 00:10:13.300 the soot, which sounds positive, but comes 241 00:10:13.300 --> 00:10:15.100 with the same caveats as all 242 00:10:16.380 --> 00:10:19.060 unpredictable impacts on rainfall, weather 243 00:10:19.060 --> 00:10:20.700 patterns and the ozone layer. 244 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.500 Anna: The ozone layer, by the way, is also 245 00:10:23.660 --> 00:10:26.580 affected. Launches and re entries produce 246 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:29.580 chemicals and particles that speed up ozone 247 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:32.380 depleting reactions. The team found that by 248 00:10:32.380 --> 00:10:35.020 2029 the global ozone impact 249 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:36.940 is still small, about 250 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.920 0.02% deplet. But 251 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:42.040 the trajectory is heading in the wrong 252 00:10:42.040 --> 00:10:42.520 direction. 253 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:45.440 Avery: SpaceX has recently applied for permission to 254 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.200 launch 1 million Starlink satellites 255 00:10:48.280 --> 00:10:51.120 on top of the roughly 12,000 already in 256 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:53.960 orbit. 1 million. If even a 257 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.040 fraction of those are launched, the picture 258 00:10:56.040 --> 00:10:57.400 changes significantly. 259 00:10:57.640 --> 00:10:59.880 Anna: The researchers are calling for proper 260 00:10:59.880 --> 00:11:02.200 regulation of launch related pollution, 261 00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:05.320 something that currently barely exists, and 262 00:11:05.560 --> 00:11:08.160 significantly more research funding to even 263 00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:10.120 keep pace with the industry's growth. 264 00:11:10.540 --> 00:11:12.060 Avery: It's one of those stories where the 265 00:11:12.060 --> 00:11:14.740 technology and the environmental impact are 266 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:16.700 running at completely different speeds. 267 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:19.420 Anna: Before we move on to our next piece of news, 268 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:22.500 a quick reminder to check out the great deal 269 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:25.380 our uh, sponsor NORDVPN has in place for 270 00:11:25.380 --> 00:11:28.100 you at the moment. So the best protection you 271 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:30.780 can get online for less money. Sounds like a 272 00:11:30.780 --> 00:11:33.580 win win to me. For full details, just 273 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:35.340 click on the link in the show. Notes. 274 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.220 Avery: You forgot to mention, NORDVPN is the one we 275 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:40.620 trust to look after us online. We love them. 276 00:11:41.160 --> 00:11:43.960 Anna: Alright, back to today's space and astronomy 277 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.680 news and let's go small for a moment. 278 00:11:46.920 --> 00:11:49.560 Very small, like shoebox small. 279 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:52.840 Avery: On May 3, a SpaceX rideshare 280 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.480 mission carried a tiny satellite into low 281 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:58.280 Earth orbit. A uh, 3U cubesat, 282 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.880 meaning it's about 30cm long and 283 00:12:00.880 --> 00:12:03.640 10cm wide. It goes by the name 284 00:12:03.640 --> 00:12:05.840 Snappy, which stands for Solar 285 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.360 Neutrino Astroparticle physics. 286 00:12:08.850 --> 00:12:11.650 Anna: And Snappy is quietly a, uh, historic 287 00:12:11.650 --> 00:12:14.530 first. It is the world's first neutrino 288 00:12:14.530 --> 00:12:16.930 detector to ever operate in space. 289 00:12:17.410 --> 00:12:19.650 Avery: Neutrinos are extraordinary particles. 290 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:22.090 They're produced in enormous quantities by 291 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:24.530 nuclear reactions, including the fusion 292 00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:26.850 happening in the core of the sun right now. 293 00:12:27.330 --> 00:12:30.050 Every second, hundreds of billions of 294 00:12:30.050 --> 00:12:32.610 solar neutrinos pass through your thumbnail. 295 00:12:32.930 --> 00:12:35.520 They barely interact with anything. They go 296 00:12:35.520 --> 00:12:37.440 straight through the Earth as though it isn't 297 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:37.760 there. 298 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.840 Anna: Which makes detecting them extraordinarily 299 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.480 difficult. All our existing neutrino 300 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.080 detectors are massive underground facilities, 301 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.120 hanks containing thousands of tons of water 302 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.880 or ice, buried deep in mountains or 303 00:12:51.880 --> 00:12:54.600 frozen in Antarctic glaciers. You need 304 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.320 enormous amounts of material to have any 305 00:12:57.320 --> 00:12:58.880 chance of catching a neutrino. 306 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:02.070 Avery: Snappy is the opposite of that. It's a tiny 307 00:13:02.070 --> 00:13:04.470 detector made of crystals of gallium and 308 00:13:04.470 --> 00:13:07.110 tungsten sitting in a satellite orbiting at 309 00:13:07.110 --> 00:13:09.990 500 km altitude. The whole thing 310 00:13:09.990 --> 00:13:12.680 was designed by physicist Nicholas Salome at 311 00:13:12.680 --> 00:13:15.310 uh, Wichita State University with electronics 312 00:13:15.310 --> 00:13:16.510 from NASA Marshall. 313 00:13:16.590 --> 00:13:19.590 Anna: It won't detect many neutrinos. The detector 314 00:13:19.590 --> 00:13:22.390 mass is far too small for that. This is 315 00:13:22.390 --> 00:13:25.390 explicitly a proof of concept. The goal 316 00:13:25.390 --> 00:13:28.240 is to answer one question. Can space 317 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.800 based neutrino detection work at all? 318 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.640 Because if it can, the next step is 319 00:13:33.640 --> 00:13:34.480 extraordinary. 320 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.040 Avery: Salome has described the end goal as, and I 321 00:13:38.040 --> 00:13:40.720 love this phrase, putting a microscope into 322 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.680 the core of the Sun. A larger detector on 323 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:45.800 a future mission could fly close enough to 324 00:13:45.800 --> 00:13:48.400 the sun to directly image the fusion shells 325 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:50.920 around the solar core. We would be able to 326 00:13:50.920 --> 00:13:53.640 see in real time what is happening inside the 327 00:13:53.640 --> 00:13:56.000 most powerful nuclear furnace in our solar 328 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:56.240 system. 329 00:13:56.950 --> 00:13:59.590 Anna: Snappy is currently undergoing on orbit 330 00:13:59.590 --> 00:14:02.110 testing. Its two year mission is just 331 00:14:02.110 --> 00:14:04.710 beginning. And if it works, it opens a 332 00:14:04.710 --> 00:14:07.350 completely new chapter in both solar 333 00:14:07.350 --> 00:14:09.670 science and neutrino astronomy. 334 00:14:10.070 --> 00:14:12.550 Avery: Big things, shoebox sized 335 00:14:12.630 --> 00:14:14.310 packages next. 336 00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:17.310 Anna: This is the story that if you stop and think 337 00:14:17.310 --> 00:14:19.830 about it properly, will make you feel things 338 00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:21.110 M Our solar 339 00:14:21.110 --> 00:14:23.590 Avery: system is not sitting still in empty space. 340 00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:26.720 It's moving constantly through the Milky Way. 341 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:29.360 And right now we are passing through a region 342 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:31.840 known as the local interstellar cloud. 343 00:14:32.160 --> 00:14:35.160 A vast thin region of gas and dust between 344 00:14:35.160 --> 00:14:35.840 the stars. 345 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.240 Anna: As we move through it. Earth is sweeping up 346 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.000 material from this cloud, including something 347 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.800 called iron 60. Iron 60 348 00:14:44.800 --> 00:14:47.560 is a radioactive isotope of iron that 349 00:14:47.560 --> 00:14:50.320 isn't produced naturally on Earth. It can 350 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.150 only be made in one place inside 351 00:14:53.150 --> 00:14:55.550 a dying star in the moments of a 352 00:14:55.550 --> 00:14:56.990 supernova explosion. 353 00:14:57.470 --> 00:15:00.270 Avery: A new study led by researchers at Germany's 354 00:15:00.270 --> 00:15:02.830 Helmholtz Centrum Dresden. Rostorf has 355 00:15:02.830 --> 00:15:05.710 confirmed something remarkable. They analyzed 356 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:08.070 Antarctic ice cores, ice that has been 357 00:15:08.070 --> 00:15:10.510 accumulating for tens of thousands of years, 358 00:15:10.910 --> 00:15:13.510 layer by layer, trapping whatever drifted 359 00:15:13.510 --> 00:15:16.070 down from the atmosphere at the time. And in 360 00:15:16.070 --> 00:15:18.910 that ancient ice, they found Iron 60 361 00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:22.050 steadily arriving, varying over time, 362 00:15:22.370 --> 00:15:23.730 but persistently there. 363 00:15:24.210 --> 00:15:27.130 Anna: The pattern of how the iron 60 arrives and 364 00:15:27.130 --> 00:15:29.730 the way it varies tells the researchers that 365 00:15:29.730 --> 00:15:32.490 this material has been stored inside the 366 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:35.250 local interstellar cloud since a stellar 367 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:37.890 explosion that happened long, long ago. 368 00:15:38.210 --> 00:15:40.530 And as Earth moves through the cloud, it 369 00:15:40.530 --> 00:15:41.490 picks some up. 370 00:15:41.970 --> 00:15:44.370 Avery: Think about what that means. The ice in 371 00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:46.770 Antarctica is preserving a record of our 372 00:15:46.770 --> 00:15:48.930 solar system's journey through the galaxy. 373 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:52.200 The atoms that blew off a dying star are now 374 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:54.480 sitting in the ice at the South Pole, and 375 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.160 scientists can read that record. 376 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.200 Anna: The study also helps scientists understand 377 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.640 the structure and boundaries of the local 378 00:16:01.640 --> 00:16:04.400 interstellar cloud, a region whose edges and 379 00:16:04.400 --> 00:16:07.280 properties are still being mapped. Our 380 00:16:07.280 --> 00:16:09.800 solar system has been inside it for tens of 381 00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:12.440 thousands of years and will eventually exit 382 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:14.800 it, moving into whatever lies beyond. 383 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:17.760 Avery: We are quite literally moving through space, 384 00:16:17.760 --> 00:16:20.560 and the universe is leaving fingerprints on 385 00:16:20.560 --> 00:16:23.240 our planet as we go. I find that 386 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:24.080 extraordinary. 387 00:16:24.640 --> 00:16:27.240 Anna: Our final story today is about a problem that 388 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.200 has frustrated astronomers for decades, and a 389 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.400 clever new instrument that might solve it. 390 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.240 Avery: The early universe is full of ancient 391 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.880 galaxies, galaxies that formed when the 392 00:16:37.880 --> 00:16:40.280 universe was young, when star formation was 393 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:42.890 happening at an extraordinary rate. But 394 00:16:42.890 --> 00:16:45.570 they're so far away and so faint that even 395 00:16:45.570 --> 00:16:48.010 our most powerful telescopes struggle to 396 00:16:48.010 --> 00:16:48.530 study them. 397 00:16:48.530 --> 00:16:51.250 Anna: Individually, though, astronomers have done 398 00:16:51.250 --> 00:16:53.810 something ingenious. Instead of trying to 399 00:16:53.810 --> 00:16:56.770 resolve individual galaxies, they've built an 400 00:16:56.770 --> 00:16:59.010 instrument that looks at a whole crowd of 401 00:16:59.010 --> 00:17:01.770 them at once and tracks one spectral 402 00:17:01.770 --> 00:17:03.890 line across the entire population. 403 00:17:04.530 --> 00:17:07.290 Watching how that line changes over time and 404 00:17:07.290 --> 00:17:09.850 across cosmic distances gives you a 405 00:17:09.850 --> 00:17:12.090 statistical picture of what all those 406 00:17:12.090 --> 00:17:14.050 galaxies are doing collectively. 407 00:17:14.790 --> 00:17:16.990 Avery: The instrument is called time, the 408 00:17:16.990 --> 00:17:19.430 Tomographic Ionized Carbon Mapping 409 00:17:19.430 --> 00:17:21.510 Instrument. And, um, the spectral line it 410 00:17:21.510 --> 00:17:24.350 focuses on comes from ionized carbon, a 411 00:17:24.350 --> 00:17:27.350 tracer for star formation. Carbon emission 412 00:17:27.350 --> 00:17:29.590 tells you where gas is being turned into 413 00:17:29.590 --> 00:17:30.070 stars. 414 00:17:30.630 --> 00:17:33.350 Anna: Time essentially makes a three dimensional 415 00:17:33.350 --> 00:17:35.910 map of carbon emission across huge 416 00:17:35.910 --> 00:17:38.710 stretches of cosmic history. You're not 417 00:17:38.710 --> 00:17:41.230 seeing individual galaxies, you're. You're 418 00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:43.830 seeing the aggregate glow of star formation 419 00:17:43.830 --> 00:17:46.630 across the ancient universe, shifted and 420 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:48.550 stretched by cosmic expansion. 421 00:17:49.110 --> 00:17:51.430 Avery: The tomographic part of the name is key. 422 00:17:51.590 --> 00:17:54.590 Tomography means imaging by slices, like a 423 00:17:54.590 --> 00:17:57.510 CT scan. But for the cosmos, time 424 00:17:57.510 --> 00:18:00.110 slices through cosmic time by measuring how 425 00:18:00.110 --> 00:18:01.830 the carbon line appears at different 426 00:18:01.830 --> 00:18:04.150 frequencies, each corresponding to a 427 00:18:04.150 --> 00:18:05.590 different distance and era. 428 00:18:05.990 --> 00:18:07.950 Anna: It's a bit like trying to study a 429 00:18:07.950 --> 00:18:10.720 conversation in a crowded room. You can't 430 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.480 hear every individual voice, but you 431 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.400 can measure the overall hum, how it changes 432 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.800 over time, when it gets louder, when it 433 00:18:18.800 --> 00:18:21.400 fades. And from that you learn an 434 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:23.240 enormous amount about the crowd. 435 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.520 Avery: Time represents a new class of cosmological 436 00:18:26.520 --> 00:18:29.160 instruments, one designed not for precision 437 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:31.520 individual observation, but for the 438 00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:34.320 statistics of the universe at scale. And the 439 00:18:34.320 --> 00:18:36.600 first results are already showing promise. 440 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.440 Anna: It's a reminder that sometimes the most 441 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.360 powerful approach isn't to look harder at 442 00:18:42.360 --> 00:18:44.920 one thing, it's to look differently at 443 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:45.240 everything. 444 00:18:46.040 --> 00:18:48.360 Avery: Before we wrap up, a quick look at the sky 445 00:18:48.360 --> 00:18:50.360 for our Southern Hemisphere and Australian 446 00:18:50.360 --> 00:18:50.840 listeners. 447 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:53.680 Anna: And there's something genuinely lovely 448 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.200 happening right now in the western sky after 449 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:56.840 sunset. 450 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:00.240 Avery: Venus is blazing in the evening sky. It's one 451 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.240 of the brightest things you can see after the 452 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.690 sun goes down. And over the next few nights, 453 00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:06.890 the crescent moon will be moving past it, 454 00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:09.250 creating a beautiful close pairing in the 455 00:19:09.250 --> 00:19:12.130 west. Look low on the western horizon about 456 00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:15.090 45 minutes to an hour after sunset. You won't 457 00:19:15.090 --> 00:19:16.010 need binoculars. 458 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:18.730 Anna: And looking ahead to the end of the month, 459 00:19:19.050 --> 00:19:21.970 mark May 31st in your calendar, we 460 00:19:21.970 --> 00:19:24.690 get a full moon and it's a blue moon, the 461 00:19:24.690 --> 00:19:27.210 second full moon in a single calendar month. 462 00:19:27.450 --> 00:19:30.170 It won't actually look blue, but it is a 463 00:19:30.170 --> 00:19:32.960 rarer event and it'll be a beautiful full 464 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.360 moon to observe clear skies, everyone. 465 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.920 That is Astronomy daily for Tuesday, May 466 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:41.920 19th. Six stories, one launch day, 467 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.810 one rocket sitting on a brand new pad and a, 468 00:19:44.810 --> 00:19:47.280 uh, shoebox changing the future of physics. 469 00:19:47.760 --> 00:19:49.760 Avery: If you enjoyed today's episode, please 470 00:19:49.760 --> 00:19:51.960 subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and 471 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.000 leave us a review. It really does help new 472 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.320 listeners find the show. You can find us at 473 00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:58.600 astronomydaily IO and we're 474 00:19:58.600 --> 00:20:01.120 @astrodaily pod on all the major platforms. 475 00:20:01.670 --> 00:20:04.390 Anna: Astronomy Daily is part of the bites.com 476 00:20:04.390 --> 00:20:07.070 podcast network. We'll be back tomorrow with 477 00:20:07.070 --> 00:20:09.270 more of the universe freshly delivered. 478 00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:10.390 Avery: See you then.