Astronauts Return, Space Farming Breakthroughs, and the James Webb's Cosmic Cat's Paw

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Anna,

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and I'm thrilled to have you join us for another exciting dive into

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the cosmos. Today we're covering some big

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headlines from across our solar system and beyond.

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First up, we'll hear about an astronaut mission returning

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from the International Space Station, wrapping up a busy

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period of scientific research. Then

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we'll turn our attention to the groundbreaking efforts to

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cultivate fresh food in space, a crucial step

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for future long duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

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Next, we'll celebrate the James Webb Space Telescope's

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third year of operations with an absolutely stunning new

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image that reveals the secrets of a cosmic cat's paw.

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And finally, we'll shift our gaze to our own

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star, the sun, as an active

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sunspot that's been putting on an explosive show

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with magnetic bombs turns its fiery gaze towards

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Earth. So buckle up and let's explore

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the latest in astronomy.

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First up today we have news from the International Space

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Station where the Axiom Mission 4, or

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Axe 4 Crew is making final preparations to return

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to Earth after a highly productive

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2.5 week research mission.

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Mission managers have given the green light for Commander Peggy

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Whitson, pilot Shubanshu Shukla

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and mission specialist Slawash Usnansky

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Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu to board

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their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They are

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set to undock from the space facing port on the Harmony

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Module this coming Monday, July 14th

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at 7:05am um, Eastern Daylight Time.

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This private quartet has had an incredibly busy

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schedule packed with a diverse array of scientific

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investigations aimed at advancing our

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understanding of human health in space, sustainable

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life support systems and next generation

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technologies. Just a few days ago, the

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Axe 4 crew was focused on collecting blood samples for

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a comprehensive biomedical research study

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crucial for understanding how the human body adapts to

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microgravity. They also delved into the

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potential of microalgae, exploring its viability

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as a food source for future crews and its role as

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a key component in biological life support systems aboard

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spacecraft. Imagine the possibility of

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astronauts cultivating their own fresh food during long

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duration missions. In another fascinating area,

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the crew investigated nanomaterials, which could form

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the basis for constructing advanced wearable devices

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designed to comfortably monitor crew health, providing

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real time data on their vital signs and overall well

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being. As the mission drew to a close,

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the Axe 4 team spent their final days

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finalising several other important science experiments.

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This included an electrical muscle stimulation study

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which could offer insights into maintaining muscle strength

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in low gravity. They also tested suit

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fabrics engineered to promote thermal comfort during

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exercise, a critical factor for astronaut performance.

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And in an effort to understand the psychological

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aspects of space travel, they filmed crew activities

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for a behavioural health study. On

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Sunday, their focus shifted to the meticulous task of

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packing all the science gear, including precious research

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samples, along with their personal items and other

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cargo, securely inside the Dragon spacecraft

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for retrieval once they are back on Earth.

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It wasn't just the Axe 4 crew who were busy, though.

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The International Space Station's resident crew members were

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also deeply involved in assisting and continuing their own

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research. NASA flight engineer Anne

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McClane, for instance, helped the Axe 4 crew

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gather hardware and other items for packing. She

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also continued assisting the private crewmates as they

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utilised the station's resources for their ongoing

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science investigations. NASA flight

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engineer Nicole Ayers spent her day in the Columbus

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laboratory module, where she assisted the Axe 4 crew

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by spinning astronaut blood samples in a centrifuge

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and then carefully stowing them in a science freezer for

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preservation. She later moved to the Quest airlock

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to transfer water into a pair of spacesuits.

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NASA flight engineer Johnny Kim also lent a hand with the

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blood sample processing before spending the rest of his day

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inspecting electronics gear and swapping computer

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cables. Meanwhile, station commander

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Takuya Onishi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration

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Agency, or jaxa, started his day

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processing saliva samples for analysis and then

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recording his sleep experience for a computer questionnaire.

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He later worked in the Tranquilly module, replacing

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orbital plumbing hardware before deactivating and stowing a

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microscope in the Kibo laboratory module.

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From the Russian segment, Roscosmos flight engineers

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Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky took

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turns pedalling on an exercise cycle while wearing electrodes.

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This physical fitness evaluation provides researchers

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with crucial data to understand the energy

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requirements crew members need for strenuous activities

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like spacewalks. And flight engineer Kirill

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Peskov replaced fire extinguishers in the

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Poisk, Rassvet and Zvezda modules,

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then checked computer hardware that supports the European

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robotic arm. It truly takes a global effort

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to keep the station running and to push the boundaries of science.

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Speaking of food for future space missions, one of the biggest

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challenges facing permanent human bases on the Moon and

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Mars is the ability to grow fresh food hundreds

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of thousands of kilometres from Earth. But exciting

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news on this front. The seeds of a rice variety ideal

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for growing outside Earth might soon be sprouting thanks

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to an innovative collaboration called the Moon Rice Project.

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This joint effort brings together the Italian Space

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Agency, the University of Milan, the

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University of Rome, and the University of Naples,

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all working to create the ideal food crop for future

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deep space outposts Dr. Marta Del

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Bianco, a plant biologist from the Italian Space

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Agency, explains that they are essentially trying

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to solve the same problems we face here on Earth, but

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in a much more extreme environment. Given the

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negative effects space can have on human health,

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it's crucial for astronauts to have readily available

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nutrient rich food. Currently, space

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exploration relies heavily on prepackaged meals

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delivered during resupply missions, which rarely include

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fresh ingredients. One of the major hurdles for

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farming in space is the sheer size of crops.

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Even small varieties like dwarf rice are still too big to

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depend on in the confined spaces of a spacecraft or

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lunar habitat. What we need is a super

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dwarf, says Del Bianco. However,

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creating a super dwarf rice comes with its own set of

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challenges. While scientists can manipulate a

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plant hormone called gibberellin to reduce the height of

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rice plants, this can negatively affect seed

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germination and production. As Del Bianco

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points out, they're not an ideal crop, because in space you

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don't just have to be small, you must also be

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productive. The project is delving into

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various aspects of rice biology and genetics to develop

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this perfect crop, one that can nourish

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humans on long duration missions. The project

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is only nine months into its four year plan, but the

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preliminary results are already looking very promising.

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Dr. Del Bianco's specific focus is on

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microgravity and how these rice plants will

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cope in that unique environment. To

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simulate microgravity on Earth, they continually

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rotate the plant so it's pulled equally in all directions

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by gravity, effectively confusing the plant about which

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way is up or down. Additionally, researchers at

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the University of Milan and have identified rice mutant

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varieties that grow to a mere 10 centimetres high.

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While the team in Rome has pinpointed genes that can

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maximise growth and production beyond just

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size and yield, Del Bianco and her team are also

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aiming to increase the protein content of the rice,

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as meat production for long duration missions will simply not

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be effective. Apart from being highly

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nutritious, they hope this crop will also offer

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significant benefits for the astronauts. Well, being,

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watching and guiding plants grow is known to be good for

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humans. And while pre cooked or mushy food might be

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fine for short trips, it could become a real concern

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on longer missions. Imagine the

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psychological boost of having fresh growing food in

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a sterile space environment. As Del Bianco

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puts it, if we can make an environment that physically

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and mentally nourishes the astronauts, it will reduce

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stress and lower the chances of people making mistakes.

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This groundbreaking research isn't just for space either.

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The hope is that if they can develop such a robust crop

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for space, it could also be used in challenging

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terrestrial environments like the Arctic Antarctic

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deserts, or even in places with very limited

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indoor growing space. The preliminary

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findings of this fascinating project were recently

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presented at the Society for Experimental

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Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp,

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Belgium.

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From the challenges of growing food in space, let's now turn

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our gaze to something truly spectacular that celebrates the

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third year of operations for the James Webb Space

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Telescope. Prepare to peer into the heart of

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a cosmic the Catspaw Nebula,

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a giant complex molecular cloud aptly named for its

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striking resemblance to a set of enormous tow beans.

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This isn't just a squishy looking cosmic temptation.

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The Cat's Paw Nebula, located approximately

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4,000 light years away in the constellation

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Scorpius, is a vibrant site of ongoing star

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formation. Here, massive stars

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are in the active process of forming, often obscured

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by vast clouds of dust and molecular gas.

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This is where JWST truly shines.

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Infrared light, unlike other wavelengths, has the

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remarkable ability to penetrate these dense clouds

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where other light would simply scatter off the particles.

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As the James Webb Space Telescope is an infrared

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telescope, it is perfectly equipped to peer directly

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through the dust and reveal the wild, intricate

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process of star formation unfolding within.

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It's an excellent tool for investigating these cosmic

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nurseries. The telescope's Near

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Infrared Camera, or nircam,

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captures different stages of this stellar birth process

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throughout the scene. In the upper middle chamber,

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a uh, structure affectionately nicknamed the Opera House,

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we can spot a baby yellow star actively

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illuminating and blowing away the surrounding dust.

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This represents one of the final stages of a star's

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formation. Meanwhile, in the thick brownish

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dust right in the middle of the image, you can see

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glowing fiery red blobs. These

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are sites where star formation is still actively underway,

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heavily obscured by the nebular material. An

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orange region in the upper right with a noticeably low

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star count indicates an area where star

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formation is in its even earlier stages.

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The beautiful opalescent blue glow illuminating the

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hollowed out areas comes from the light of fully

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formed stars scattered throughout the cloud.

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And those intriguing filaments of dust through which

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very little light penetrates suggest areas

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of such high density that the star

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formation process is just beginning.

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Dense knots of gas collapsing under gravity

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to form the very seeds of baby stars.

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Against this backdrop, bright blue white stars

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gleam with crackling clarity. These are the

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fully formed stars that have successfully blown away

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their surrounding material, now free to shine their

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light across the cosmos. It's a truly

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magnificent and dynamic portrait of stellar birthday.

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If you'd like to see this breathtaking image for yourself,

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wallpaper sized versions are available for download on the

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European Space Agency's JWST website.

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I'll drop a link into the show notes for you to check it out. In

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all its glory, it's an incredible way to

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celebrate three years of groundbreaking discoveries from

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this phenomenal telescope.

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Now let's shift our focus closer to home to our very

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own star, the sun, which is putting on quite a show.

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A new sunspot Designated Region 4136

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has recently emerged over the sun's eastern limb and

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it's crackling with dozens of magnetic explosions known as

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elearmin bombs. French

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astrophotographer Philippe Tosi captured this

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incredible activity on July 10 from Nimes, France,

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using an H alpha filter to reveal the fine

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details of these explosions. The image shows

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these elearmin bombs popping like fireworks near a

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sunspot that has already unleashed multiple M M

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class solar flares, which are mid level eruptions

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on the solar flare scale. Ellerman

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bombs were first described in the early 20th century

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by physicist Ferdinand Elearman.

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These energetic events occur in the lower solar

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atmosphere and are primarily driven by magnetic

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reconnection. This is a process on the

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sun where oppositely charged magnetic fields meet and

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then explosively reconfigure rec releasing a burst

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of energy. Each Elelerman bomb might release

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an amount of energy equivalent to roughly 100,000

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World War II era atomic bombs. While

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that's only about 1 millionth the energy of a large solar

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flare, these mini explosions are highly significant.

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They are seen as key indicators of magnetic complexity

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within a sunspot. When opposite magnetic polarities

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collide and reconnect, they quickly release energy in these

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bright rapid flashes. That

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complexity could potentially mean even bigger

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fireworks ahead. With sunspot region

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4136 now rotating to face Earth,

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it could pose a threat for stronger space weather events in the

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coming days. M um class flares like those

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already observed have the potential to cause brief radio

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blackouts and minor satellite disruptions if they are aimed

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directly at our planet. Scientists and

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skywatchers alike will certainly be keeping a very close eye

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on this active sunspot region as it continues

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its rotation into an Earth facing position.

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It's a dynamic reminder of the powerful

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processes constantly at play on our star.

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That's all for this episode of Astronomy Daily.

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Thank you for joining us for another exciting journey through the

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cosmos. It's truly incredible what we continue

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to discover, from returning astronauts

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and future food sources for space to the

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breathtaking beauty of nebulae and the

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powerful dynamics of our own Sun. Um, for more

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astronomy news, make sure to visit our

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website@astronomydaily.IO.

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there you can sign up for our free daily newsletter

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to get the latest updates delivered straight to your inbox, and

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you can also listen to all our back episodes. You

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can subscribe to Astronomy Daily on Apple Podcasts,

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Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your

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podcasts so you never miss an episode.

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I'm Anna, your host, and we hope you'll join us again soon

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for more amazing stories from across the universe.

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Until then, keep looking up. There's a lot going on out

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there.