Cosmic Chronicles: JAXA's Cargo Revolution, Solar Secrets Unveiled, and Distant Galaxies' Mysteries

WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.040
Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the

1
00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:05.560
podcast that brings you the biggest news from across the

2
00:00:05.560 --> 00:00:07.840
cosmos. I'm your host, Avery.

3
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:10.720
Anna: And I'm Anna. Uh, it's great to have you with us.

4
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.880
We have a packed show for you today covering

5
00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.480
everything from new hardware heading to the International

6
00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:19.560
Space Station to a deep dive into the

7
00:00:19.560 --> 00:00:22.520
sun's explosive behaviour. We'll also

8
00:00:22.520 --> 00:00:25.440
be looking at colliding galaxies that offer a

9
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.160
sneak peek into the Milky Way's distant future.

10
00:00:28.560 --> 00:00:31.480
And a surprising discovery from the James Webb

11
00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:34.180
Space Telescope that could change how we think

12
00:00:34.180 --> 00:00:37.180
about the dawn of the universe. So let's

13
00:00:37.180 --> 00:00:37.660
get started.

14
00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:41.020
First up, let's talk about the lifeline to our

15
00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:43.700
outpost in orbit, the International Space

16
00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:46.620
Station. It looks like Japan's space agency

17
00:00:46.700 --> 00:00:49.580
JAXA is preparing a major upgrade

18
00:00:49.580 --> 00:00:51.260
for its cargo delivery service.

19
00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:54.220
Avery: That's right. JAXA has announced that its new

20
00:00:54.220 --> 00:00:57.180
resupply vehicle, the HTV X, is

21
00:00:57.180 --> 00:00:59.580
scheduled to make its inaugural flight to the ISS

22
00:00:59.900 --> 00:01:02.860
this October. This is a big deal. For

23
00:01:02.860 --> 00:01:05.720
years they used the reliable Konotori or White

24
00:01:05.720 --> 00:01:08.560
Stork vehicles. The HTV X is its

25
00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.240
successor and it comes with some serious improvements.

26
00:01:11.880 --> 00:01:14.720
What kind of improvements are we talking about? The

27
00:01:14.720 --> 00:01:17.400
Konotori was already a very capable craft.

28
00:01:17.720 --> 00:01:20.480
Anna: It was, but space logistics are always

29
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.360
about efficiency. The HTV X can

30
00:01:23.360 --> 00:01:26.320
carry more cargo, about 4 metric tonnes of

31
00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:29.120
pressurised supplies. It also features a

32
00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:32.080
larger side hatch which is a game changer for

33
00:01:32.080 --> 00:01:34.760
loading last minute time sensitive cargo

34
00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.700
like fresh or critical science experiments

35
00:01:37.860 --> 00:01:38.900
just before launch.

36
00:01:39.460 --> 00:01:42.180
Avery: That late loading capability is something I know station

37
00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:45.180
managers have wanted for a long time. It

38
00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:48.060
adds a lot of flexibility. And I understand this new

39
00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:51.060
vehicle will be launched on Japan's new flagship rocket,

40
00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:52.020
the H AH3.

41
00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:55.340
Anna: Exactly. This first HTVX mission

42
00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.020
will be the third flight of the H3 rocket.

43
00:01:58.100 --> 00:02:00.980
It really showcases Jax's next generation of

44
00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:03.860
spaceflight hardware. The mission plan is for

45
00:02:03.860 --> 00:02:06.780
the HTVX to spend about 45 days

46
00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.560
docked at the station delivering supplies and

47
00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:12.360
experiments before it's loaded with trash and

48
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:15.080
undocks for a destructive re entry over the

49
00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:18.000
Pacific Ocean, a crucial role in keeping the

50
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.920
ISS running. It's a great example of

51
00:02:20.920 --> 00:02:23.599
the international collaboration that makes the

52
00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:24.480
station possible.

53
00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.360
Okay, from low Earth orbit, let's travel

54
00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.280
towards the centre of our solar system. What's

55
00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:33.680
the latest news from our star, the sun?

56
00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:37.170
This is a fantastic story. NASA's

57
00:02:37.170 --> 00:02:39.770
Parker Solar Probe, the fastest object

58
00:02:39.930 --> 00:02:42.930
ever built by humans, has just confirmed a

59
00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:45.850
70 year old theory about how the sun unleashes

60
00:02:45.850 --> 00:02:48.730
its energy. We are talking about a phenomenon called

61
00:02:48.730 --> 00:02:50.410
magnetic reconnection.

62
00:02:50.810 --> 00:02:53.720
Avery: Magnetic reconnection for our,

63
00:02:53.720 --> 00:02:56.330
uh, listeners. Can you break down what that means? It

64
00:02:56.330 --> 00:02:57.290
sounds complex.

65
00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:00.490
Anna: Think of it like stretching a bunch of rubber bands.

66
00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:03.610
The sun's surface is a chaotic mess of

67
00:03:03.610 --> 00:03:06.550
powerful magnetic field lines. Sometimes

68
00:03:06.550 --> 00:03:09.510
these lines which point in opposite directions, get

69
00:03:09.510 --> 00:03:12.310
pushed together. They stretch and strain

70
00:03:12.470 --> 00:03:15.470
and eventually they snap and reconnect in

71
00:03:15.470 --> 00:03:16.710
a new configuration.

72
00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:19.750
Avery: And um, just like a snapping rubber band, that process

73
00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:21.350
must release a tremendous.

74
00:03:21.350 --> 00:03:23.950
Anna: Amount of energy, an unbelievable

75
00:03:23.950 --> 00:03:26.710
amount. This process is the engine behind

76
00:03:26.710 --> 00:03:29.350
some of the most violent events in the solar system.

77
00:03:29.750 --> 00:03:32.710
Like solar flares and coronal mass ejections,

78
00:03:33.290 --> 00:03:36.090
these events create what we call space weather,

79
00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:38.850
which can send streams of charged particles

80
00:03:38.850 --> 00:03:40.330
hurtling towards Earth.

81
00:03:40.810 --> 00:03:43.610
Avery: So how did the Parker Solar Probe confirm

82
00:03:43.610 --> 00:03:46.490
this? Scientists have suspected this was happening

83
00:03:46.490 --> 00:03:47.450
for decades.

84
00:03:47.770 --> 00:03:50.650
Anna: By doing something no other spacecraft could.

85
00:03:50.970 --> 00:03:53.610
It flew right through the heart of one of these

86
00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:56.410
events. On its eighth flyby of the sun, its

87
00:03:56.410 --> 00:03:58.970
instruments detected the telltale signs of

88
00:03:58.970 --> 00:04:01.610
reconnection happening in the solar wind.

89
00:04:01.850 --> 00:04:04.410
It measured the magnetic field's flipping direction

90
00:04:04.790 --> 00:04:07.230
and clocked particles being accelerated to

91
00:04:07.230 --> 00:04:09.990
incredible speeds, providing the first

92
00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:12.150
ever direct in place evidence.

93
00:04:12.630 --> 00:04:15.550
Avery: So it was basically flying through a solar

94
00:04:15.550 --> 00:04:18.550
explosion. That sounds incredibly dangerous.

95
00:04:19.030 --> 00:04:21.910
How did the probe even survive that? Well,

96
00:04:21.910 --> 00:04:24.910
it's an absolute triumph of engineering, Anna.

97
00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:27.030
Uh, the probe is protected by a

98
00:04:27.030 --> 00:04:29.950
revolutionary heat shield, officially named

99
00:04:29.950 --> 00:04:32.790
the Thermal protection system, or TPS.

100
00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.370
This shield is about 8ft in diameter, but

101
00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:39.290
only 4.5 inches thick. And it's

102
00:04:39.290 --> 00:04:42.250
made of a reinforced carbon carbon composite,

103
00:04:42.490 --> 00:04:45.210
A material designed to be both lightweight and

104
00:04:45.210 --> 00:04:48.130
incredibly heat resistant. On its sun

105
00:04:48.130 --> 00:04:51.010
facing side, it has to withstand temperatures that

106
00:04:51.010 --> 00:04:53.650
can reach nearly 2,500 degrees

107
00:04:53.650 --> 00:04:56.010
Fahrenheit. Hot enough to melt steel.

108
00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:58.890
But the truly incredible part is its

109
00:04:58.890 --> 00:05:01.490
efficiency. While the front of the shield is

110
00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:04.250
scorching hot, the instruments just a few

111
00:05:04.250 --> 00:05:07.050
feet behind it are kept at a comfortable room temperature

112
00:05:07.470 --> 00:05:09.950
around a balmy 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

113
00:05:09.950 --> 00:05:12.870
Anna: That is truly remarkable. It's one thing to

114
00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.790
have a theory, but to actually fly a probe

115
00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:18.750
through the event as it's happening is another level

116
00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:21.350
of confirmation. And uh, this has practical

117
00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:23.550
implications for us here on Earth, doesn't it?

118
00:05:24.030 --> 00:05:26.990
Avery: Absolutely. Better understanding the fundamental

119
00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:29.910
physics of space weather helps us improve our

120
00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:32.670
forecasts. Severe space weather can

121
00:05:32.670 --> 00:05:35.150
disrupt our GPS and communications

122
00:05:35.150 --> 00:05:38.110
satellites, damage power grids on the ground

123
00:05:38.190 --> 00:05:40.810
and pose risk to astronauts in space.

124
00:05:41.450 --> 00:05:44.290
Confirming this theory is a huge step

125
00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:46.810
toward predicting these events more accurately.

126
00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:50.170
Anna: Amazing work from the Parker Solar Probe team.

127
00:05:50.890 --> 00:05:53.770
Alright, from the drama in our own solar system,

128
00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:56.970
let's look much, much further afield.

129
00:05:57.210 --> 00:06:00.210
We have a story about colliding Galaxies that acts as

130
00:06:00.210 --> 00:06:02.810
a sort of crystal ball for our own Milky Way.

131
00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:06.490
Avery: This is a glimpse into our very, very

132
00:06:06.490 --> 00:06:09.080
distant future. Astronomers have been

133
00:06:09.080 --> 00:06:11.840
observing two colliding galaxies known

134
00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:13.880
as NGC 5713 and

135
00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:16.880
NGC 5719.

136
00:06:17.760 --> 00:06:20.760
As these two massive systems merge, their

137
00:06:20.760 --> 00:06:23.440
gravitational forces are tearing long

138
00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.080
streams of stars and gas away from them,

139
00:06:26.320 --> 00:06:28.640
creating what are called tidal tails.

140
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.080
Anna: And this is relevant to us because our own

141
00:06:32.080 --> 00:06:34.720
Milky Way galaxy is on a collision course with our

142
00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.520
nearest large neighbourhood, the Andromeda Galaxy.

143
00:06:38.080 --> 00:06:40.960
Avery: It is, but don't panic. It's not expected

144
00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:43.640
to happen for another four and a half billion

145
00:06:43.640 --> 00:06:46.640
years. By studying systems like NGC

146
00:06:46.640 --> 00:06:49.080
5713 and NGC

147
00:06:49.080 --> 00:06:51.960
5719, we get a preview of what

148
00:06:51.960 --> 00:06:54.960
that cosmic smash up might look like. But

149
00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:57.520
there's another fascinating piece to this puzzle.

150
00:06:57.840 --> 00:06:58.960
Anna: Oh, uh, what's that?

151
00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:02.560
Avery: It might help solve a major headache in

152
00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:05.120
cosmology known as the dwarf

153
00:07:05.200 --> 00:07:08.110
satellite galaxy problem. The standard

154
00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:10.990
model of cosmology, our best theory for how

155
00:07:10.990 --> 00:07:13.710
the universe works, predicts that large

156
00:07:13.710 --> 00:07:16.470
galaxies like the Milky Way should be

157
00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:19.270
surrounded by many more small dwarf

158
00:07:19.270 --> 00:07:21.550
satellite galaxies than we actually

159
00:07:21.630 --> 00:07:23.870
observe. There's a mismatch.

160
00:07:25.150 --> 00:07:27.870
Anna: So there are, uh, missing galaxies. Theoretically,

161
00:07:28.510 --> 00:07:30.110
how does this observation help?

162
00:07:30.830 --> 00:07:33.310
Avery: Well, observations of these colliding

163
00:07:33.310 --> 00:07:36.070
galaxies show that the clumps of gas and

164
00:07:36.070 --> 00:07:38.270
dust within those tidal tails

165
00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:41.850
actually collapse under their own gravity to

166
00:07:41.850 --> 00:07:44.410
form new small dwarf galaxies.

167
00:07:44.570 --> 00:07:47.210
These are called tidal dwarf galaxies.

168
00:07:47.610 --> 00:07:50.410
The idea is that these collisions could be a

169
00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:52.850
factory for creating the missing

170
00:07:52.850 --> 00:07:53.610
satellites.

171
00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:57.250
Anna: So the dwarf galaxies aren't missing, they

172
00:07:57.250 --> 00:08:00.050
just haven't been formed yet. Or maybe

173
00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:02.850
they were formed in past collisions and we just haven't been able

174
00:08:02.850 --> 00:08:04.250
to identify them as such.

175
00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:07.540
Avery: Precisely. It suggests that galactic

176
00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:10.500
collisions are a key part of the cosmic

177
00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:13.460
ecosystem, recycling material to build

178
00:08:13.460 --> 00:08:16.340
new structures. So this one observation

179
00:08:16.340 --> 00:08:18.660
gives us a window into our future

180
00:08:18.980 --> 00:08:21.860
and a potential solution to a long standing

181
00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:24.700
cosmological puzzle. It's a beautiful piece of

182
00:08:24.700 --> 00:08:25.060
science.

183
00:08:25.700 --> 00:08:26.660
Anna: It certainly is.

184
00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:29.900
And for our final story, we're going from the

185
00:08:29.900 --> 00:08:32.420
distant future to the very, very

186
00:08:32.420 --> 00:08:35.420
distant past. The James Webb Space Telescope

187
00:08:35.420 --> 00:08:37.940
has once again delivered a finding that is making

188
00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:40.860
astronomers scratch their heads. This time about

189
00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:43.740
the chemical makeup of one of the earliest known galaxies.

190
00:08:44.380 --> 00:08:47.300
Avery: Yeah, this is a, uh, mind bender. Using both

191
00:08:47.300 --> 00:08:49.900
JWST and the ALMA Radio

192
00:08:49.900 --> 00:08:52.460
Telescope Array in Chile, an international

193
00:08:52.780 --> 00:08:55.420
team studied a galaxy called Jades

194
00:08:55.420 --> 00:08:58.420
GS z11O. The light from

195
00:08:58.420 --> 00:09:01.260
this galaxy has travelled for so long to reach

196
00:09:01.260 --> 00:09:03.340
us that we are seeing it as it was, just

197
00:09:03.910 --> 00:09:06.550
400 million years after the Big

198
00:09:06.550 --> 00:09:09.150
Bang. That's the cosmic equivalent of a

199
00:09:09.150 --> 00:09:10.070
newborn baby.

200
00:09:10.070 --> 00:09:13.030
Anna: Incredible. And what was so surprising about

201
00:09:13.030 --> 00:09:14.390
this infant galaxy?

202
00:09:14.950 --> 00:09:17.510
Avery: It was surprisingly rich in oxygen.

203
00:09:17.750 --> 00:09:20.310
Now, in cosmic terms, elements heavier than

204
00:09:20.310 --> 00:09:22.870
hydrogen and helium are called metals.

205
00:09:23.110 --> 00:09:25.830
Oxygen is one of them. These elements are

206
00:09:25.830 --> 00:09:28.630
forged inside stars and scattered into space

207
00:09:28.630 --> 00:09:31.390
when those stars die. The early universe

208
00:09:31.390 --> 00:09:33.990
was almost exclusively hydrogen and helium.

209
00:09:34.930 --> 00:09:37.610
Anna: So to find a lot of oxygen so early

210
00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:40.610
on means that there must have been at least one

211
00:09:40.610 --> 00:09:43.250
full generation of massive stars that had already

212
00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:45.890
formed, lived their entire lives, and

213
00:09:45.890 --> 00:09:48.570
exploded to enrich the galaxy with these heavier

214
00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:51.490
elements. And that all had to happen within the

215
00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:53.010
first 400 million years.

216
00:09:53.650 --> 00:09:56.370
Avery: That's the issue. It pushes the timeline.

217
00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:59.130
It suggests that the first stars might have formed even

218
00:09:59.130 --> 00:10:01.490
earlier than we thought, or that they were

219
00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:03.850
exceptionally massive and burned through their fuel

220
00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:06.630
incredibly quickly, ceding the cosmos with

221
00:10:06.630 --> 00:10:09.550
heavy elements at a furious pace. Our

222
00:10:09.550 --> 00:10:12.510
current models of early galaxy formation might need some

223
00:10:12.510 --> 00:10:13.470
serious revision.

224
00:10:13.950 --> 00:10:16.910
Anna: And there's an even bigger implication here, isn't there?

225
00:10:17.310 --> 00:10:20.190
When we talk about oxygen, we often think

226
00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:22.030
about its role in biology.

227
00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:25.670
Avery: That's the most exciting part. For life as

228
00:10:25.670 --> 00:10:28.670
we know it, elements like oxygen and carbon are

229
00:10:28.670 --> 00:10:31.390
essential building blocks. The prevailing thought

230
00:10:31.390 --> 00:10:34.150
was that the universe had to be quite old before

231
00:10:34.150 --> 00:10:36.830
enough of these elements were available to make life

232
00:10:36.830 --> 00:10:39.580
possible. This discovery suggests that the

233
00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:42.500
necessary chemical ingredients for life might have been

234
00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:45.340
present much, much earlier in the universe's

235
00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:47.140
history than we ever imagined.

236
00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:50.340
Anna: It doesn't mean life existed then, of course,

237
00:10:50.660 --> 00:10:53.660
but it slightly opens the door to the possibility that

238
00:10:53.660 --> 00:10:56.260
the conditions for it could have emerged sooner.

239
00:10:56.660 --> 00:10:59.420
What an incredible discovery. From space

240
00:10:59.420 --> 00:11:02.340
station logistics to the origins of the elements

241
00:11:02.420 --> 00:11:05.380
needed for life, we've really covered some ground today.

242
00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:08.540
Avery: We certainly have. And that's all the time we have for

243
00:11:08.540 --> 00:11:11.380
this episode of Astronomy Daily. We hope you've enjoyed this

244
00:11:11.380 --> 00:11:13.140
journey through the latest cosmic news.

245
00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:16.180
Anna: Thank you for listening. You can find more information

246
00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:19.060
on all the stories we discussed on our website,

247
00:11:19.460 --> 00:11:22.380
astronomydaily.IO Join

248
00:11:22.380 --> 00:11:25.140
us next time as we continue to explore the

249
00:11:25.140 --> 00:11:26.100
universe together.

250
00:11:26.260 --> 00:11:27.860
Avery: Until then, keep looking up