A New Era for NASA, Tracing Comet 3I Atlas' Origins, and DART's Asteroid Deflection Lessons

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your regular dose of the

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cosmos. I'm Anna, and today we've got an

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exciting lineup of stories for you. First up,

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we'll dive into the surprising news from Washington, D.C.

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where NASA has just received a new interim administrator with

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a rather unconventional background. Then we'll

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journey beyond our solar system to uncover a

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groundbreaking discovery about the origin of a recently

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spotted interstellar comet. It's a first of its

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kind. We'll also get the Latest insights from NASA's

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DART mission, learning how deflecting asteroids isn't

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quite as straightforward as once thought. And

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finally, for all you stargazers out there, I'll share some

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tips on how to spot the magnificent ringed planet Saturn

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as it makes its grand return to the late night sky this week.

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Let's get started. Our first

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big story takes us to the political landscape of space,

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as President Trump has appointed a new interim administrator for

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NASA, Sean Duffy. This comes six weeks

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after the termination of Jared Isaacman's nomination.

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What makes this appointment particularly noteworthy is that

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Duffy currently serves as the Secretary of transportation,

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a massive role overseeing 55,000

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employees and 13 agencies, including

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the FAA. President Trump announced

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the news on his social media, praising Duffy's

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tremendous job in transportation and calling

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him a fantastic leader for the space agency,

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even if only for a short time. Duffy

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himself took to X, stating he was honoured to accept this

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mission. Time to take over space. Let's launch.

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This choice might seem unconventional considering

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Duffy's background, which includes starring on

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the Real world Boston in 1997,

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working as an ESPN commentator and serving as

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a Republican in the US House of Representatives. He

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doesn't have a traditional space career, although he has

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recently shown interest in spaceflight as FAA

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administrator, even watching the Crew 9

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missions splash down. This appointment

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apparently caught NASA officials off guard, as they had

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anticipated the current acting administrator, Janet Petro,

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would remain. However, sources suggest

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President Trump wanted someone he personally liked and

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trusted at NASA's helm. This could actually be

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a significant advantage for the agency, providing a direct

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line to the president. Duffy could, for instance,

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text Trump directly if NASA needs something or

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faces unfairness during the budgeting process,

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offering a level of political sway Petro lacked.

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On the flip side, there are genuine concerns about

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NASA's future under Duffy's leadership.

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Given his political background, his primary mission

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might be to implement the president's budget request,

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which proposes significant cuts to NASA's

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science funding and changes to its deep space

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exploration plans. He's expected to

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align with Russ Vaught, who leads the White House Office of

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Management and Budget and holds strong views on

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presidential authority over federal spending. This could

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mean a more aggressive push to enforce budget cuts,

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potentially impacting NASA's workforce and ongoing

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projects. While NASA now has a

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trusted and politically savvy leader for the next few months,

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the path forward is anything but clear. It

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remains to be seen whether Duffy will heed the concerns of

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NASA's Scientific and Engineering leadership, or

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if his mandate will be to streamline the agency according to

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the proposed budgetary directives.

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It's a development we'll be watching closely here at Astronomy

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Daily, Shifting gears from

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earthbound space politics to incredible cosmic

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journeys Astronomers have just made a groundbreaking

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discovery about the third known object to visit our solar

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system from M interstellar space. This new

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visitor, Comet 3i Atlas, has a truly

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unique origin that sets it apart from its predecessors

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Oumuamua and 2i Borisov. A team

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led by astrophysicist Matthew Hopkins of the University of

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Oxford has traced Comet 3I Atlas

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back to the thick disc of the Milky Way. This isn't

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just any region of our galaxy it's a vastly

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different and much older environment than the thin disc where

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our sun currently resides. This

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unprecedented finding suggests that Comet 3i

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Atlas is significantly older than our own solar system,

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with researchers estimating its age to be between

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7.6 and 14 billion years old

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compared to our Sun's mere 4.6 billion years.

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The comet, discovered on July 1, 2025,

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was found travelling at an astonishing velocity of

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57 kilometres per second. To

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pinpoint its origin, Hopkins and his colleagues employed

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a sophisticated protocol known as the Otautahi

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Oxford Interstellar Object Population Model.

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This model, developed by astronomers from New Zealand and

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the uk, combines Gaia satellite data with

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models of galactic chemistry and object movement

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to map out populations of interstellar objects.

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Their analysis revealed that the comet's velocity is

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perfectly consistent with an origin in the Milky

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Way's thick disc. This region contains about

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10% of the galaxy's stars, most of which are

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over 10 billion years old. This discovery not

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only makes 3i Atlas the first known interstellar

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interloper from this ancient part of our galaxy, but

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also makes it highly unlikely that all three known

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interstellar visitors came from the same source.

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Comet 3I Atlas is estimated to be between 10 to

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20 kilometres across, with a bluer surface hue and a

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redder coma than most comets native to our solar system.

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Its closest approach to the sun will occur in October

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2025, bringing it just inside the

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orbit of Mars before it continues its journey

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back out of our solar system. While it's currently

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impossible to Trace these interstellar objects back to a

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single specific star. The fact that 3i

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Atlas hails from the thick disc provides

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invaluable insights. These interstellar

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objects offer a rare opportunity to study the process of

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planetesimal formation and evolution from diverse

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galactic environments, expanding our understanding

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beyond just our own cosmic neighbourhood. It's

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a remarkable glimpse into the broader history of our

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galaxy. From ancient

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interstellar travellers, we now turn our attention to how we're

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preparing to defend our own cosmic neighbourhood from

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asteroids right here in the solar system.

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NASA's DART mission, a real world test of asteroid

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deflection, made history by purposefully colliding with

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Dimorphos, a small asteroid moon,

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in late 2022. The mission

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successfully changed the moon's orbital period by a

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remarkable 33 minutes. However, what

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unfolded after the collision has opened a

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complex new chapter in asteroid science.

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As DART slammed into Dimorphos, it

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launched a significant swarm of boulders into space.

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These rocks, some as large as 3.6

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metres, were propelled at high speeds,

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carrying over three times the momentum of the DART

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spacecraft itself. This surprising revelation

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came from images captured by Lichicube, a

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tiny Italian spacecraft that flew alongside dart.

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A team led by Tony Farnham at the University of Maryland

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analysed these ejected boulders, finding they weren't

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randomly scattered. Instead, they formed two

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distinct clusters. Farnham noted

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something unknown is at work here, with one large

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cluster flung towards the south, possibly breaking off from two

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massive surface boulders. This analysis

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highlights, uh, a crucial difference from previous missions.

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Jessica Sunshine, a, uh, co author, explained that unlike

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earlier impacts on uniform surfaces, DART

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hit a rocky asteroid. This created chaotic

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ejecta, proving that an asteroid's composition and

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surface structure significantly influence impact results,

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a critical lesson for future planetary defence.

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The ejecta's shape and direction are vital for

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understanding momentum transfer. The plume formed

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a tilted cone, meaning the force wasn't just straight

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back. It also moves sideways. This

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lateral force could potentially tilt the asteroid's orbit

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or change its spin. Researchers estimate

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this recoil might have shifted Dimorphos orbital

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plane by up to one degree, which is significant

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in spaceflight. The DART mission aimed to

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measure momentum enhancement, the extra push from

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kicked up material. The momentum from these ejected

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boulders was directed almost perpendicular to Dart's

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path and adding a significant twist to the expected

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outcome. Farnham emphasised while the

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direct impact of the DART spacecraft caused this change,

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the boulders ejected gave an additional kick that was almost

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as big. That additional factor

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changes the physics we need to consider when planning these types

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of missions. As Jessica Sunshine

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vividly put it, you can think of it as a cosmic pool

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game. We might miss the pocket if we don't consider all the

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variables. This underscores why tracking

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debris movement is so essential.

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Lichicube's detailed images analysed with

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parallax, made a, uh, 3D map possible,

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helping scientists understand velocities and ejecta

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evolution. Looking ahead, this analysis will

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be crucial for Europe's HERA mission, scheduled to arrive at

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the Didymos system in 2026.

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HERA will closely examine the aftermath of the DART

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impact, using this study as a vital roadmap.

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Ultimately, dart's success wasn't just about moving an

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asteroid. It was about revealing the complex

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physics involved when an asteroid breaks apart and

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ejects material. It's a powerful reminder

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that when trying to protect Earth, we truly need to account

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for every single rock.

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And now, shifting our gaze from potential threats to a

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celestial beauty, we have some exciting news for

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stargazers. The magnificent ringed

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gas giant Saturn is making its long

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awaited return to the late night sky for observers in the

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Northern Hemisphere this coming week, offering a prime

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opportunity for some breathtaking views. For

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the past few months, Saturn has been putting on a

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spectacular show for early risers. Appearing

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as a morning star just before or during

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dawn each day, it's been rising a

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little earlier, steadily moving away from the light of the

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sunrise. Now, for those in the Northern

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hemisphere, Saturn will be making its triumphant

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return to the late night sky. For

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instance, New Yorkers can expect to see Saturn

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rise alongside the stars of the Constellation

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Pisces at 11:57pm

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EDT on July 9th. Remember

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that the exact times a planet rises and sets

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will vary based on your specific location,

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so it's always a good idea to check a trusted website like

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inthesky.org for timings tailored to where you

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are. Each successive night, Saturn will

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rise a few minutes earlier, becoming increasingly

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visible in the evening sky by the time it

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reaches opposition, which is when Earth is positioned

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directly between the ringed giant and the sun. On, uh,

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September 21st, it will rise just a few minutes

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after sunset and be observable throughout the entire

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night. Saturn will remain a consistent

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fixture in the evening sky until the middle of March

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2026, when it will pass close to the

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sun from our perspective, temporarily disappearing from

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view before its cycle begins anew in the

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predawn sky. While Saturn is

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absolutely spectacular to view with the naked eye alone,

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if you have a 6 inch telescope, you'll be able

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to resolve its iconic ring system and perhaps

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even some of its larger moons. For those with a

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larger 8 inch scope, you might even be able to make

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out the 2,980mile gap in the

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iconic ring system known as the Cassini Division.

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Especially under good seeing conditions and dark

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skies, it's a truly awe inspiring sight.

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So if you have the chance, definitely take a look.

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That's all the cosmic news we have for you today on Astronomy Daily.

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Thank you for tuning in and joining me Anna, as we explore the

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universe together. If you want to catch up on all

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the latest space and astronomy news with our constantly

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updating news feed or listen to all our back

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episodes, be sure to visit our

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website@astronomydaily.IO. you can

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also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts,

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Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your

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podcasts to make sure you never miss an episode.

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Until next time, keep looking up.