Apollo's Legacy Mystery, Blue Origin's Next Steps, and Orionid Wonders

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast

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where we bring you the latest from the final

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frontier. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. It's great to be back with you

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today for another exciting episode filled

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with groundbreaking space news.

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Anna: In today's show, we'll be discussing a

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tiny moon rock that's rewriting lunar

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history, Blue Origin's upcoming rocket

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launch, the ongoing oriented meteor

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shower, and stunning new images from the

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James Webb telescop.

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Avery: So buckle up, space fans. Let's dive right

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in.

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Anna: First up, a story that proves sometimes the

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smallest things can have the biggest impact.

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We're talking about a, um, Moon rock

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collected by Apollo 17 astronauts

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50 years ago. Sample

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76535.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. Uh, this tiny rock is

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challenging our entire understanding of the

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Moon's early history. New computer

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simulations show it formed deep within the

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Moon's crust and then rose to the surface

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surface about 4.25 billion years ago.

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Anna: And here's the crucial part. It didn't get

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there through a violent impact, which was the

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previous assumption. The simulations suggest

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a much gentler process, like buoyant

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ascent through the lunar mantle.

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Avery: This gentle rise implies that the Moon's

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large impact basins, the giant craters

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we see, might be about 300 million years

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older than we thought. That's a significant

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shift in the timeline. The researchers used

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sophisticated computer modeling that

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simulates the thermal and chemical evolution

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of the lunar interior over billions of years.

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Anna: What's particularly fascinating about the

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methodology here is how they combined

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geochemical analysis of the rock sample

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with advanced computational models. The

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rock itself contains specific mineral

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compositions and isotopic signatures. That

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acts like a geological clock.

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Avery: Exactly, Anna. Um. By analyzing the ratios of

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different elements and isotopes, scientists

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can determine when and under what conditions

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the rock formed. Then they feed that data

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into models that simulate the Moon's thermal

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evolution, including how heat from

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radioactive decay and early impacts would

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have affected the lunar interior.

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Anna: This has huge implications for understanding

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the early solar system. If the Moon's

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basins are older, it means the period of

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heavy bombardment when asteroids and comets

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were constantly hitting. Planetary bodies

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started earlier and perhaps lasted

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longer.

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Avery: And that affects our understanding of when

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conditions became suitable for life on Earth.

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The heavy bombardment period would have

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sterilized the planet's surface. Repeatedly

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pushing that timeline back means we might

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need to reconsider when life could have first

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emerged.

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Anna: Looking ahead, this research highlights why

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future lunar missions are so important.

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NASA's Artemis program and other

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international missions will be collecting new

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samples, samples from different regions of

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the Moon, which could confirm or refine

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these findings.

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Avery: Particularly samples from the lunar south

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pole, which has remained in shadow for

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billions of years and may preserve ancient

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materials that could tell us even more about

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the Moon's earliest history and by extension,

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Earth's formation.

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Anna: Exactly. If these basins are

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older, it means the period of heavy

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bombardment in the inner solar system

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happened to earlier too. This could force

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us to rewrite chapters in textbooks about how

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planets and moons evolved.

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Avery: It's amazing what we can still learn from

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samples brought back half a century ago. It

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just goes to show the enduring value of the

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Apollo program shifting gears.

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Anna: From ancient history to the very near future.

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Let's talk about launch schedules. Avery,

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what's the latest with Blue Origin?

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Avery: Great question, Anna. Blue Origin is gearing

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up for the second launch of its massive New

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Glenn rocket, currently targeting a window in

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mid October.

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Anna: This is a big deal because the payload is

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NASA's Escapade mission, twin small

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satellites designed to orbit Mars and

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study its magnetosphere.

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Avery: That's correct. Escapade stands for Escape

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and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics

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Explorers. These twin spacecraft are part

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of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for

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Planetary Exploration program, designed to

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be cost effective while delivering

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significant science.

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Anna: The science goals are really fascinating.

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Escapade will study how solar wind

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interacts with Mars's weak magnetic field

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and atmosphere. This is crucial for

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understanding why Mars lost most of its

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atmosphere and water over time,

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transforming from a potentially habitable

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world to the dry planet we see today.

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Avery: Each spacecraft carries a sophisticated suite

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of instruments, including magnetometers to

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measure magnetic fields, plasma analyzers

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to study charged particles, and electron

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spectrometers. By working in tandem,

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they'll create a 3D picture of how solar

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wind particles are accelerated away from

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Mars.

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Anna: Now let's talk about the new Glenn rocket

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itself. This is Blue Origin's heavy

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lift vehicle. Standing over

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320ft tall with a 23

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foot diameter, it's designed to be partially

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reusable, with the first stage capable of

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landing on a sea platform and being flown

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again.

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Avery: The first stage is powered by

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7Be4 engines, the same

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engines used on United Launch Alliance's

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Vulcan rocket. These methane fueled engines

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represent the next generation of rocket

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propulsion, offering better performance and

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reusability compared to traditional kerosene

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engines.

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Anna: This launch represents a significant

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milestone for the commercial space industry.

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NASA's decision to use New Glenn for such an

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important science mission shows growing

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confidence in commercial providers for

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critical planetary exploration missions,

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beyond just cargo resupply to the

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International Space Station.

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Avery: It's part of a broader trend where NASA is

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leveraging commercial partnerships to reduce

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costs and accelerate mission timelines. This

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approach allows the agency to focus its

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resources on developing the most complex

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technologies while benefiting from the

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innovation happening in the private sector.

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Anna: The fact that NASA chose New Glenn for this

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mission is a strong vote of confidence in the

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new rocket system, especially after after its

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successful debut flight earlier this year.

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Avery: Absolutely. It signals that New Glenn is

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becoming a reliable workhorse for important

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scientific missions. We'll be watching that

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launch closely.

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Now for something you can actually see with

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your own eyes, no telescope required. The

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annual Orionid meteor shower is about to get

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underway.

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Anna: That's right, Avery. It begins on October 2nd

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and will run through November 12th, with the

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peak activity expected around October 20th

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to 23rd.

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Avery: These shooting stars are bits of debris left

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behind by the most famous comet of all,

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Halley's Comet. As Earth plows through this

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debris trail, the particles burn up in our

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atmosphere, creating those brilliant streaks

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of light. The Orionids are particularly

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special because they come from one of the

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most studied comets in history.

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Anna: Halley's Comet has been observed for over

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2000 years, with records dating back to

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ancient China and Babylon. It returns to

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the inner solar system every 76 years,

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and each time it passes close to the sun, it

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sheds more material that creates these meteor

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showers.

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Avery: The science behind meteor showers is

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fascinating. These particles are typically no

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larger than grains of sand, but they enter

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our atmosphere at incredible speeds, up to

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148,000 miles per hour. For the

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Orionids, the friction with air molecules

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heats them to thousands of degrees, causing

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them to glow.

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Anna: For optimal viewing, you'll want to give your

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eyes about 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the

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darkness. Avoid looking at your phone or any

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bright LEDs. The best time is typically

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between midnight and dawn, when your location

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is facing the direction of Earth's orbital

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motion, so you're essentially plowing into

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the meteor stream.

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Avery: Another great tip is to use peripheral vision

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rather than staring directly at the radian

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point. Meteors can appear anywhere in the

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sky, and your peripheral vision is actually

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more sensitive to detecting faint, fast

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moving objects.

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Anna: Objects the Orionids typically

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produce about 20 meteors per hour at

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peak, but they're known for occasional

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outbursts where rates can double or even

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triple. They're also famous for

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producing fireballs, exceptionally

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bright meteors that can light up the entire

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sky.

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Avery: What makes this year particularly good is

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that the Moon will be new on October 22,

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meaning no moonlight will interfere with

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viewing. This creates ideal dark

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sky conditions that can make even faint

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meteors visible.

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Anna: The Orionids are known for being

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particularly fast and for sometimes

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leaving persistent glowing trails.

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For the best viewing, you'll want to find

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a dark sky away from city lights.

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Avery: A pro tip is to look about 40 degrees

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above the Radium Point, which is in the

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constellation Orion after midnight. And this

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year the New Moon phase means dark sky

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skies perfect for meteor watching.

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Anna: So set an alarm, grab a blanket, and

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enjoy the show. It's one of nature's

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best free performances.

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Finally, we have to talk about the James Webb

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Space Telescope. It's done it again,

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delivering absolutely breathtaking

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images. This time, Webb has

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turned its powerful gaze toward

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Sagittarius B2, the most

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massive star forming cloud in our

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Milky Way galaxy.

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Avery: Using both its mid infrared and near

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infrared instruments, Webb has pierced

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through the cosmic dust to reveal young stars

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and intricate structures in

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unprecedented detail. The

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telescope's NIRCam and MIRI instruments

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work together to capture different aspects of

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this star forming region.

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Anna: The Near Infrared M Camera, or

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nrcam, is particularly good

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at detecting the youngest stars that

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are still embedded in their natal cocoons

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of gas and dust. Meanwhile,

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the mid infrared instrument Miri M

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can see through the dust to reveal the

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thermal emission from warm material.

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Avery: Sagittarius B2 is scientifically important

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because it's located just 390 light

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years from the supermassive black hole at the

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center of our galactic this means

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stars are forming in an environment with

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extreme gravitational forces,

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intense radiation, and powerful

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magnetic fields, conditions very different

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from star formation in our local

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neighborhood.

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Anna: The region contains massive

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molecular clouds with temperatures

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ranging from extremely cold

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to incredibly hot. It's also

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rich in complex organic molecules,

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including some that are precursors to

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life as we know it. Understanding star

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formation here could tell us about the

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conditions that might lead to habitable

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planetary systems.

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Avery: One of the key mysteries astronomers hope to

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solve is why this region is so

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efficient at star formation. The current

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theory involves turbulence and compression

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from nearby supernova explosions and the

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gravitational influence of the central black

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hole, creating ideal conditions for

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rapid star birth.

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Anna: Webb's observations will also help

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scientists understand the initial

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mass function in extreme

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environments, that is, the distribution

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of star sizes that form. Do

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these harsh conditions favor the formation

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of more massive M stars compared to

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quieter regions of the galaxy? This research

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has implications beyond our own galaxy, too.

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By studying star formation in the galactic

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center, we can better understand similar

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processes in other galaxies,

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particularly those with active galactic

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nuclei, where star formation occurs under

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even more extreme conditions.

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Avery: What's fascinating astronomers is a puzzle.

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This region produces about 50% of

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all the stars in the galactic center, yet

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it contains only about 10% of the.

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Anna: Material found there, so it's incredibly

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efficient. These new images will

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help scientists understand why

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they're studying the physics of how stars are

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born in this extreme environment

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right in the heart of our galaxy.

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Avery: It's another reminder of Webb's incredible

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power to unlock secrets of the universe that

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were previously hidden from view.

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Anna: And that wraps up today's cosmic news

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rundown. From the moon's ancient past

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to the birth of new star, it's been a

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fascinating journey indeed.

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Avery: Thanks for joining us on Astronomy Daily. Be

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sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next

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episode. And please visit our website if

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you'd like to check more of today's space and

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astronomy news, along with all our back

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episodes. Just go to

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astronomydaily.IO until

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next time, keep looking up.

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Anna: I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Clear Skies, everyone.