Cosmic Debris in Australia, NASA's Lunar Shakeup, and the Mystery of Moonlight Signals

WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.120
Anna: Welcome everyone to Astronomy Daily, your

1
00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:03.720
regular guide to the biggest stories

2
00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.120
happening off world. Give us 10 minutes and

3
00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.240
we'll give you the universe. I'm Anna.

4
00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.800
Avery: And I'm Avery. It's fantastic to have you

5
00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.960
with us, Anna. Uh, it feels like every week

6
00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.640
the pace just gets faster. We've got so much

7
00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:17.440
to talk about today.

8
00:00:17.520 --> 00:00:19.840
Anna: We really do on the docket. Today we're

9
00:00:19.840 --> 00:00:21.720
starting on the ground in Australia with some

10
00:00:21.720 --> 00:00:23.600
mysterious burning debris that appears to

11
00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:24.720
have fallen from orbit.

12
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.490
Avery: From there we'll jump to the moon, or at

13
00:00:27.490 --> 00:00:29.690
least the plans to get there. NASA is

14
00:00:29.690 --> 00:00:32.130
signaling a major potential shakeup for its

15
00:00:32.130 --> 00:00:34.730
Artemis 3 landing contract. And it's all

16
00:00:34.730 --> 00:00:37.330
about competition and a new space race.

17
00:00:37.650 --> 00:00:39.730
Anna: Then we'll look at SpaceX's relentless launch

18
00:00:39.730 --> 00:00:42.090
cadence, including a very special satellite

19
00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:44.050
and a mind boggling milestone for their

20
00:00:44.050 --> 00:00:45.250
Starlink constellation.

21
00:00:45.730 --> 00:00:48.330
Avery: And after that, we're diving into one of my

22
00:00:48.330 --> 00:00:50.850
favorite topics. Are we alone?

23
00:00:51.250 --> 00:00:53.170
There's a huge update to the official

24
00:00:53.330 --> 00:00:55.780
playbook for what scientists should do if

25
00:00:55.780 --> 00:00:58.380
they actually detect a signal from ET.

26
00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:01.420
Anna: It's a big deal, it really is. And we'll

27
00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:03.140
finish by looking at our own moon and the

28
00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:04.940
strange flashes of light that have puzzled

29
00:01:04.940 --> 00:01:06.980
astronomers for centuries. With some new

30
00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.220
theories emerging, it's a packed show, so

31
00:01:09.220 --> 00:01:10.140
let's get right into it.

32
00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:13.780
Avery: Alright. Our first story takes us to

33
00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:16.460
Western Australia, where miners

34
00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:19.100
stumbled upon something you don't see every

35
00:01:19.100 --> 00:01:22.030
day. A large, still smoking

36
00:01:22.110 --> 00:01:25.110
piece of metal that had clearly fallen from

37
00:01:25.110 --> 00:01:25.630
the sky.

38
00:01:26.190 --> 00:01:28.750
Anna: Right. Pictures show this charred

39
00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:31.430
dome shaped object and authorities were

40
00:01:31.430 --> 00:01:33.750
quickly called in. The Australian Space

41
00:01:33.750 --> 00:01:36.350
Agency is now leading the investigation

42
00:01:36.510 --> 00:01:38.430
to formally identify the object.

43
00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:41.990
Avery: It must be quite a sight to just find that in

44
00:01:41.990 --> 00:01:44.790
a field. Now, while the official confirmation

45
00:01:44.790 --> 00:01:47.630
is pending, an astrophysicist has suggested

46
00:01:47.630 --> 00:01:50.190
it's very likely from the fourth stage of a

47
00:01:50.190 --> 00:01:53.130
Chinese Jielong 3 rocket which was launched

48
00:01:53.130 --> 00:01:53.850
last September.

49
00:01:54.010 --> 00:01:56.130
Anna: And that makes sense, given the trajectory

50
00:01:56.130 --> 00:01:58.810
and the materials. It really brings the issue

51
00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:00.730
of space debris into sharp focus.

52
00:02:01.610 --> 00:02:03.650
We often talk about it as a problem for

53
00:02:03.650 --> 00:02:06.330
satellites in orbit, but this is a reminder

54
00:02:06.330 --> 00:02:09.090
that it can and does have an impact right

55
00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:09.930
here on Earth.

56
00:02:10.490 --> 00:02:13.130
Avery: Exactly. Most of the tens of

57
00:02:13.130 --> 00:02:15.970
thousands of trackable objects are small but

58
00:02:15.970 --> 00:02:18.850
larger pieces like rocket stages and have

59
00:02:18.850 --> 00:02:21.370
a non zero chance of surviving re

60
00:02:21.370 --> 00:02:23.650
entry. We've seen it before with

61
00:02:23.650 --> 00:02:26.410
Skylab in 1979, also

62
00:02:26.490 --> 00:02:29.290
in Australia, and more recently with other

63
00:02:29.290 --> 00:02:31.040
Chinese rocket stages making uncontrolled,

64
00:02:31.040 --> 00:02:32.410
uh, re entries.

65
00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:36.010
Anna: Mhm. And that's the key term, uncontrolled.

66
00:02:36.570 --> 00:02:38.530
Most modern rockets are designed to re enter

67
00:02:38.530 --> 00:02:41.090
over the ocean or have systems to deorbit

68
00:02:41.090 --> 00:02:43.850
themselves safely. But some older designs

69
00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:46.540
or in some specific mission profiles, the

70
00:02:46.540 --> 00:02:48.580
stages are just left to tumble down wherever

71
00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:50.580
gravity and atmospheric drag take them.

72
00:02:50.660 --> 00:02:52.980
Avery: It's a bit like cosmic roulette.

73
00:02:53.220 --> 00:02:55.740
Thankfully, since so much of the Earth is

74
00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:58.660
water or uninhabited land, the

75
00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:01.140
risk to human life has been statistically

76
00:03:01.380 --> 00:03:03.780
very low. But it's not zero.

77
00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.740
And as the number of launches increases,

78
00:03:07.220 --> 00:03:08.900
that risk goes up.

79
00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:11.180
Anna: It's a problem that space agencies and

80
00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:13.220
private companies are taking more seriously

81
00:03:13.790 --> 00:03:15.590
with new technologies for active debris

82
00:03:15.590 --> 00:03:18.310
removal being developed. But for now, it

83
00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:19.950
seems we'll occasionally be getting these

84
00:03:19.950 --> 00:03:21.310
fiery visitors from above.

85
00:03:21.630 --> 00:03:24.310
Avery: Okay, from falling hardware to the hardware

86
00:03:24.310 --> 00:03:26.550
we're intentionally trying to send to the

87
00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:26.910
moon.

88
00:03:27.390 --> 00:03:29.549
Anna, uh, there's some major news from NASA

89
00:03:29.549 --> 00:03:32.350
about the Artemis 3 mission. The one that's

90
00:03:32.350 --> 00:03:34.470
supposed to put astronauts back on the lunar

91
00:03:34.470 --> 00:03:34.910
surface.

92
00:03:35.390 --> 00:03:37.870
Anna: This is a huge development. NASA's acting

93
00:03:37.870 --> 00:03:40.430
chief Sean Duffy has indicated that the

94
00:03:40.430 --> 00:03:42.710
agency is strongly considering opening up the

95
00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:45.550
moon landing contract to a second company in

96
00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:46.630
addition to SpaceX.

97
00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:50.030
Avery: Right. As it stands, SpaceX and its

98
00:03:50.030 --> 00:03:52.630
lunar Optimized Starship were the sole

99
00:03:52.630 --> 00:03:55.350
winners of that lucrative contract. But the

100
00:03:55.350 --> 00:03:57.790
new thinking at, uh, NASA is that relying on

101
00:03:57.790 --> 00:04:00.190
just one provider for such a critical

102
00:04:00.190 --> 00:04:02.150
national capability is risky.

103
00:04:02.230 --> 00:04:05.030
Anna: It definitely is. The acting chief cited a

104
00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.910
couple of key reasons. First, he acknowledged

105
00:04:07.910 --> 00:04:10.270
that SpaceX is behind schedule in developing

106
00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:13.090
the lander. They need to perform many test

107
00:04:13.090 --> 00:04:15.530
flights of starship, including an uncrewed

108
00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:17.570
lunar landing, before they can put astronauts

109
00:04:17.570 --> 00:04:19.290
on board. And that's taking longer than

110
00:04:19.290 --> 00:04:19.770
hoped.

111
00:04:20.170 --> 00:04:22.490
Avery: The second reason he gave was much more

112
00:04:22.490 --> 00:04:24.970
direct. He explicitly mentioned a race

113
00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:27.690
against China. China has its own

114
00:04:27.690 --> 00:04:30.290
ambitious lunar program with plans for a

115
00:04:30.290 --> 00:04:33.130
lunar base. And NASA is feeling the pressure

116
00:04:33.130 --> 00:04:34.250
to not fall behind.

117
00:04:34.730 --> 00:04:36.450
Anna: Yeah, you don't hear that kind of direct

118
00:04:36.450 --> 00:04:39.400
language every day. So the idea is to bring

119
00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:41.880
in another company like Blue Origin with

120
00:04:41.880 --> 00:04:44.440
their Blue Moon lander concept to develop a

121
00:04:44.440 --> 00:04:47.280
competing system. This creates redundancy and

122
00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:48.400
spurs competition.

123
00:04:48.880 --> 00:04:51.520
Avery: It's a return to the Apollo era model in a

124
00:04:51.520 --> 00:04:54.040
way where multiple contractors were often

125
00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:56.200
working on different parts of the same

126
00:04:56.200 --> 00:04:58.920
problem. This also comes with a more

127
00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.520
realistic timeline, with the Artemis 3

128
00:05:01.520 --> 00:05:04.280
landing now being publicly targeted for

129
00:05:04.280 --> 00:05:05.120
2028.

130
00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:08.090
Anna: It's a smart move in my opinion. It might

131
00:05:08.090 --> 00:05:10.010
cost more in the short term to fund two

132
00:05:10.010 --> 00:05:12.690
landers, but in the long term, it makes the

133
00:05:12.690 --> 00:05:15.330
entire enterprise more resilient and it

134
00:05:15.330 --> 00:05:17.570
signals that NASA is serious about creating a

135
00:05:17.570 --> 00:05:19.810
sustainable presence at the moon, not just a

136
00:05:19.810 --> 00:05:20.570
one off visit.

137
00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:23.650
Avery: Absolutely. The next few months will be

138
00:05:23.650 --> 00:05:26.250
critical as we wait to see if NASA formally

139
00:05:26.250 --> 00:05:28.970
opens up bids for this second contract, a

140
00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:30.330
very big story to watch.

141
00:05:31.460 --> 00:05:33.060
Anna: Well, while NASA might be worried about

142
00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:35.700
SpaceX's timeline for the moon, there's no

143
00:05:35.700 --> 00:05:37.460
question about their launch cadence here on

144
00:05:37.460 --> 00:05:40.060
Earth. This week alone, they're aiming for as

145
00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:42.260
many as four Falcon 9 launches.

146
00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:44.820
Avery: The pace is just relentless.

147
00:05:45.300 --> 00:05:47.580
It has fundamentally changed the launch

148
00:05:47.580 --> 00:05:50.420
industry. And one of this week's missions is

149
00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:53.380
particularly noteworthy because the Falcon 9

150
00:05:53.380 --> 00:05:56.020
first stage booster is going to be expended.

151
00:05:56.670 --> 00:05:58.430
Anna: Right? It's not going to attempt a landing.

152
00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:01.390
This is for the SpainSat NG1 satellite,

153
00:06:01.550 --> 00:06:03.710
a sophisticated communications satellite for

154
00:06:03.710 --> 00:06:05.990
the Spanish government. Why are they

155
00:06:05.990 --> 00:06:07.550
expending the booster for this one?

156
00:06:07.790 --> 00:06:10.310
Avery: It all comes down to performance. This

157
00:06:10.310 --> 00:06:13.190
satellite is very heavy and it's headed for a

158
00:06:13.190 --> 00:06:15.790
high energy geostationary transfer orbit.

159
00:06:16.270 --> 00:06:18.950
To get it there, the Falcon 9 has to burn its

160
00:06:18.950 --> 00:06:21.470
engine for longer and at a higher thrust,

161
00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:23.960
leaving no fuel reserves for the complex

162
00:06:23.960 --> 00:06:25.720
boostback and landing burns.

163
00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:27.760
Anna: So they're prioritizing the customer's

164
00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:30.520
mission over recovering the hardware. It's a

165
00:06:30.520 --> 00:06:33.200
good reminder that as routine as the landings

166
00:06:33.200 --> 00:06:36.080
have become, they are still secondary to

167
00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:37.320
the primary mission.

168
00:06:37.799 --> 00:06:38.680
Avery: Exactly.

169
00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.480
And Speaking of routine, SpaceX quietly

170
00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:44.240
passed a massive milestone recently. They

171
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.160
successfully launched their 10,000th Starlink

172
00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:49.450
satellite. Just think about that number for a

173
00:06:49.450 --> 00:06:49.690
second.

174
00:06:50.090 --> 00:06:52.930
Anna: 10,000. The scale of that constellation is

175
00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:55.490
almost impossible to comprehend. It's

176
00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:57.930
providing Internet to remote places all over

177
00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:00.890
the world, which is incredible. But it's also

178
00:07:00.890 --> 00:07:03.130
causing ongoing headaches for ground based

179
00:07:03.130 --> 00:07:04.810
astronomers due to light pollution.

180
00:07:05.210 --> 00:07:07.370
Avery: It's a complex issue with passionate

181
00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:10.050
arguments on both sides. And to complete the

182
00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:12.490
global launch picture for the week, a Chinese

183
00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:15.250
Long March 5 rocket is also scheduled to lift

184
00:07:15.250 --> 00:07:17.380
off. But but its payload is a secret.

185
00:07:17.780 --> 00:07:19.460
Anna: A little bit of intrigue from the China

186
00:07:19.460 --> 00:07:21.300
National Space Administration. We'll be

187
00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:22.820
keeping an eye out for what that might be.

188
00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:26.100
Avery: Okay, for our next story, let's venture

189
00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:28.620
into the hypothetical. Let's say

190
00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:31.100
tomorrow. Astronomers using a radio

191
00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:33.860
telescope detect an unmistakable

192
00:07:34.100 --> 00:07:36.740
structured signal from a nearby star system.

193
00:07:37.380 --> 00:07:39.940
It's intelligent. What happens next?

194
00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:42.340
Anna: Well, for decades, the plan has been what's

195
00:07:42.340 --> 00:07:45.140
known as the post detection policy. But now

196
00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:47.500
the International Academy of Astronautics is

197
00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:50.340
proposing a major, major update. And

198
00:07:50.340 --> 00:07:51.980
it's a fascinating look at how our

199
00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:53.300
perspective has changed.

200
00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:56.540
Avery: It really is. The old protocol was largely

201
00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:59.300
about verification. A scientist who found a

202
00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:01.340
signal would first need to rule out all

203
00:08:01.340 --> 00:08:04.100
terrestrial sources and then get independent

204
00:08:04.100 --> 00:08:06.180
verification from another observatory.

205
00:08:06.820 --> 00:08:08.900
After that, the information would be released

206
00:08:08.900 --> 00:08:09.460
to the public.

207
00:08:10.190 --> 00:08:11.990
Anna: And crucially, the decision of whether or not

208
00:08:11.990 --> 00:08:14.830
to reply was left largely to the discoverers.

209
00:08:15.230 --> 00:08:17.870
There wasn't a Global consensus required. The

210
00:08:17.870 --> 00:08:19.950
new proposal completely changes that last

211
00:08:19.950 --> 00:08:20.270
part.

212
00:08:20.670 --> 00:08:23.110
Avery: That's the core of it. The new protocol

213
00:08:23.110 --> 00:08:25.550
states that no response should be sent to a,

214
00:08:25.550 --> 00:08:27.870
uh, confirmed alien signal until

215
00:08:27.870 --> 00:08:30.590
appropriate international consultations have

216
00:08:30.590 --> 00:08:33.350
taken place. Specifically through a body like

217
00:08:33.350 --> 00:08:34.430
the United Nations.

218
00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:36.950
Anna: So in essence, we have to talk amongst

219
00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:39.909
ourselves before we talk to them. It

220
00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:41.909
takes the decision out of the hands of a

221
00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:43.909
small group of scientists and places it on

222
00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:44.829
the world stage.

223
00:08:45.389 --> 00:08:48.189
Avery: Exactly. And the rationale is a

224
00:08:48.189 --> 00:08:50.469
reply to an alien signal would be sent on

225
00:08:50.469 --> 00:08:53.469
behalf of all of humanity. What would we say?

226
00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:56.309
Who would craft the message? What are the

227
00:08:56.309 --> 00:08:58.909
potential risks and rewards? These aren't

228
00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:00.909
just scientific questions. They're political,

229
00:09:01.309 --> 00:09:02.749
cultural and ethical.

230
00:09:03.069 --> 00:09:05.229
Anna: You can just imagine the debates at the un.

231
00:09:06.130 --> 00:09:08.950
It would be unbelievable. This reflects a,

232
00:09:08.950 --> 00:09:11.490
uh, growing understanding that contact isn't

233
00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:14.130
just a scientific discovery. It's a

234
00:09:14.130 --> 00:09:17.050
species level event. And it's probably

235
00:09:17.050 --> 00:09:19.450
wise to have a plan in place before we're

236
00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:20.530
forced to improvise.

237
00:09:21.090 --> 00:09:23.970
Avery: I agree. It's a sober, mature step

238
00:09:23.970 --> 00:09:25.810
for the SETI community to take.

239
00:09:26.690 --> 00:09:28.490
Anna: Alright, for our last story, we're heading

240
00:09:28.490 --> 00:09:30.570
back to the Moon to look at a genuine long

241
00:09:30.570 --> 00:09:33.360
standing astronomical mystery. Transient

242
00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.120
lunar phenomena or TLPs.

243
00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.760
Avery: Right. These are reports of short lived

244
00:09:37.760 --> 00:09:40.640
lights, colors or other changes on the lunar

245
00:09:40.640 --> 00:09:42.520
surface. They've been documented for

246
00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:45.360
centuries, even by pre telescopic observers,

247
00:09:45.520 --> 00:09:47.640
but they're notoriously difficult to confirm

248
00:09:47.640 --> 00:09:48.160
and study.

249
00:09:48.560 --> 00:09:50.400
Anna: So what are the leading theories for what's

250
00:09:50.400 --> 00:09:52.160
causing them? It seems like there's more than

251
00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:52.880
one answer.

252
00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.240
Avery: There likely is. For the briefest flashes.

253
00:09:56.560 --> 00:09:59.400
Just a blink and they're gone. The

254
00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:01.440
consensus is that these are meteoroid

255
00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.440
impacts. We have networks of telescopes

256
00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:07.280
that now monitor the Moon for these, and we

257
00:10:07.280 --> 00:10:10.080
see them fairly often. A small rock hitting

258
00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.600
the dark side of the moon at 30,000 miles per

259
00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.400
hour creates a visible flash of

260
00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:16.440
vaporized rock.

261
00:10:16.680 --> 00:10:18.880
Anna: Okay, that one makes sense. But what about

262
00:10:18.880 --> 00:10:20.840
the ones that last longer? The reports of

263
00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.880
areas that seem to glow or have a strange

264
00:10:22.880 --> 00:10:24.440
haze for minutes or even hours?

265
00:10:25.450 --> 00:10:27.610
Avery: That's where it gets more interesting. A

266
00:10:27.610 --> 00:10:30.130
strong candidate is the release of gas from

267
00:10:30.130 --> 00:10:32.770
the Moon's interior. The Moon isn't

268
00:10:32.770 --> 00:10:35.290
geologically dead. It's thought to have a

269
00:10:35.290 --> 00:10:37.650
molten core and still experiences

270
00:10:37.650 --> 00:10:40.170
moonquakes. These quakes could release

271
00:10:40.170 --> 00:10:43.090
pockets of trapped gas, like radon from

272
00:10:43.090 --> 00:10:44.090
below the surface.

273
00:10:44.330 --> 00:10:45.530
Anna: And that gas could glow.

274
00:10:46.010 --> 00:10:48.690
Avery: Potentially. The gas itself might

275
00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:51.050
fluoresce under the harsh solar radiation.

276
00:10:51.210 --> 00:10:53.960
Or, or it could stir up fine lunar dust which

277
00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.680
then reflects sunlight in a peculiar

278
00:10:56.680 --> 00:10:59.640
way. The Aristarchus Plateau is a known

279
00:10:59.640 --> 00:11:02.400
hotspot for these kinds of events. And it's

280
00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:04.240
also a region known for a gas release.

281
00:11:05.040 --> 00:11:07.760
Anna: Fascinating. And what about the really weird,

282
00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:08.880
long lasting lights?

283
00:11:09.280 --> 00:11:12.280
Avery: Those are the most contentious. One theory

284
00:11:12.280 --> 00:11:14.800
is electrostatic dust levitation,

285
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:18.080
where solar radiation charges fine dust

286
00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:20.560
particles and makes them hover above the

287
00:11:20.560 --> 00:11:23.280
surface, forming a kind of temporary

288
00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:26.080
dusty atmosphere that can scatter light.

289
00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:28.960
Other scientists are more skeptical,

290
00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:31.920
suggesting these are just misidentified

291
00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:34.720
satellites or even phenomena in our

292
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.120
own atmosphere projected against the Moon.

293
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.000
Anna: So we still don't have a definitive answer.

294
00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.040
It's amazing to think that we've walked on

295
00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:44.040
the Moon, yet it still holds these

296
00:11:44.040 --> 00:11:46.600
fundamental mysteries. It's a good reason to

297
00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.040
keep sending robotic and eventually human

298
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:50.720
observers back to investigate.

299
00:11:51.020 --> 00:11:52.860
Avery: And with that mystery, our time is up for

300
00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:55.500
this episode of Astronomy Daily. From cosmic

301
00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:57.980
litter in the outback to global debates about

302
00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:00.660
talking to aliens, it's been an episode full

303
00:12:00.660 --> 00:12:01.820
of incredible science.

304
00:12:02.060 --> 00:12:04.700
Anna: It certainly has. The universe never fails to

305
00:12:04.700 --> 00:12:07.059
keep us on our toes. We hope you've enjoyed

306
00:12:07.059 --> 00:12:09.340
this tour of the latest astronomical news.

307
00:12:09.660 --> 00:12:12.060
Avery: A, uh, huge thank you to all of you for

308
00:12:12.060 --> 00:12:14.780
listening. Be sure to join us again tomorrow

309
00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:17.420
for another deep dive into the cosmos.

310
00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:20.560
Until then, from both of us, clear

311
00:12:20.560 --> 00:12:22.640
skies and keep looking up.