Daytime Fireball Frenzy, Little Dipper Secrets, and Lunar Construction Innovations

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Steve Dunkley: It's Astronomy Daily time. I'm your host, Steve.

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It's the 30th of June 2025. Already

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the podcast with your host,

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Steve Dunkley.

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Oh, that's right.

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202025 is just flying

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by. Hey, everyone, and welcome to Astronomy Daily for

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another Monday episode. Of course, because I'm the

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only human on the channel, this is the only episode of the

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week where you get to experience the potential, the wonder,

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the excitement of human.

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Hallie: Ain't that the truth.

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Steve Dunkley: And welcome to my AI pal who's always fun to

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be with my digital news gathering whiz bang.

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Hallie, what's up?

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Hallie: Hallie, what's up? How can I slam dunk

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you now after that terrific intro?

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Steve Dunkley: Oh, Hallie, I'm sure you'll find a way.

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Anyway, what have you got for us this week? More tales from the

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Astronomy Daily newsletter. Of course.

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Hallie: Of course.

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Steve Dunkley: My favorite human I saw the intro was

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absolutely chockerful.

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Hallie: We have been flooded with interesting stories this week. There's

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so much going on, both on the ground and in space.

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Steve Dunkley: It's been a big week. I was listening to Anna's show during the

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week, and she covered so many stories. Now, if you haven't already

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got your email into the website registration,

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it's so easy. Just do

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it@astronomydaily.IO.

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Hallie: Um, it's as simple as that. No spam

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or anything.

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Steve Dunkley: Now you'll just be receiving great stories about

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space, space, science and astronomy right

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into your email.

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Hallie: Yep, that's how it works. And

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today I'll be covering the Little Dipper, the Axiom 4

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mission, and a nice explos Exploding fireball just for you.

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Steve Dunkley: Exploding fireball.

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Hallie: And because I know you like things that go boom.

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, I do. And did this one go boom?

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Hallie: We will have to find out.

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Steve Dunkley: Ah. Uh, so you keep us all in suspense.

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Hallie: I mean, it's a fireball.

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Steve Dunkley: An exploding one at that.

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Hallie: That's pretty cool. Right away, right?

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Steve Dunkley: Some would say they are the best kind of fireball. You know, the

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exploding ones. So anyway, so why don't we

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just.

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Hallie: Get into it then, shall we?

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Steve Dunkley: Yes, let's.

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Hallie: Okies.

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On June 26th at, uh, 12:25pm

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Eastern Daylight Time, a spectacular daytime

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fireball flared over the southeastern US before

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disintegrating in a thunderous explosion southeast of

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Atlanta, Georgia. The American

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Meteor Society received more than 200 reports

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from 20 states of the brilliant midday object as

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it sped from north northeast to south southwest over

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the state of. Many instruments recorded

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the fall, including national oceanic and

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Atmospheric Administration satellites, Doppler

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radars and even some of our all Sky 7

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cameras, says Mike Hanke, AMS

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operations manager. The two videos

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that follow were made by Ed albin of the All Sky

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Seven Global Network. Bill Cook,

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lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office, said

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in a statement that the fireball was traveling at

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approximately 30,000 miles per hour and broke

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up at an altitude of 27 miles above

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Forest, Georgia. Cook estimated that the

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meteoroid was about three feet wide and weighed more than

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a ton. According to calculations

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done by the center for Near Earth Object Studies,

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the object struck the atmosphere with a total impact

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energy of nearly half a kiloton of tnt.

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Rapid atmospheric entry shattered the meteoroid,

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which created a shock wave that rattled windows and

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produced loud booms, which some observers thought came

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from an earthquake. Many reported

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thunder and rumbling that lasted 10 to 15

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seconds. While the vast majority of

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incoming meteoroids are incinerated and reduced to

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dust, a tiny percentage like the Georgia

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fall find their way to the ground as meteorites.

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Most originate in exploding fireballs known as

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bolides. Not long after the

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sonic boom, someone in McDonough, Georgia,

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located about 30 miles south of Atlanta, reported

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that a golf ball size rock had punched a hole in their

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roof, penetrated the ceiling and slammed into

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the floor. Fortunately, no one

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was hurt. Meteorite hunters soon

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arrived in the area looking for charcoal briquettes.

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This term, sometimes used to describe newly fallen

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meteorites, refers to the fresh black

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fusion crust, typically 1 to 2 millimeters

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thick, that forms around fragments during their brief

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heated flight through the atmosphere. If

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you join the hunt, you'll be looking for out of the ordinary

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black rocks on streets, parking lots,

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fields and in forests.

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Stephen Dixie of Atlanta got to the scene on June

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26 before a torrential downpour and

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recovered two beautiful stony meteorites from the fall,

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both of which shattered into pieces upon impact.

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He found Several more on June 27th.

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Several of the fragments exhibit stunning flowlines from

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molten rock that flowed across their surfaces.

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Such features are highly prized by collectors as they provide

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a freeze frame of the space rock's tortuous transition

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from outer space to planet Earth. While

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it's still too early to know the specific type of

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meteorite that fell, my hunch is a low metal

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ordinary chondrite. Time and

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testing will tell. I've read and

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seen videos suggesting that the new visitor could be related

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to the Beta Taurid meteor shower, a daylight

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shower active from late June through early July that

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originates from Comet 2P Enki.

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I would caution jumping to that conclusion too soon

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because there's no conclusive evidence yet for any comet

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related meteorites. Most are

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asteroid fragments. Nearly 50

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tons of meteoric material enter Earth's

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atmosphere every day, mostly in the form of dust

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pieces big enough to survive and strike the ground.

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As meteorites are rare. Rarer

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yet is seeing one fall and being able to pick up the

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pieces. You're listening to Astronomy Daily.

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Steve Dunkley: For those of us who don't know,

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EchoStar Corporation is a global provider

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of satellite communication solutions.

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They specialize in secure communication

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technologies, offering a range of services including

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satellite television, broadband

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Internet and mobile technologies,

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primarily through its subsidiaries including

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Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar

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Mobile. EchoStar is also known for

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its role in developing 5G networks and its

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involvement in satellite broadcasting and mobile

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services. No, I'm not doing an

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advertorial In May

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2024, EchoStar announced that it had been

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awarded US Navy wireless and

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telecommunications contract to provide

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5G smart devices and services

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for the Department of Defense and federal agencies.

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And on June 6, 2025, it was reported

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that EchoStar was preparing to file for

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Chapter 11 uh bankruptcy protection

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after the Federal Communications Commission

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froze its decision making for its

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boost mobile subsidiary.

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EchoStar is facing an FCC

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probe investigating whether the

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Corporation is hitting 5G deployment

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requirements in order to keep its spectrum

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licenses. Interestingly,

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SpaceX is also a rival of

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EchoStar for 2 GHz band

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spectrum licenses. Other contributing

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factors to the FCC investigation include

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over $500 million in

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missed interest payments and the termination of the

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Dish network acquisition by

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DirecTV. Currently, EchoStar

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has delayed a potential

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bankruptcy filing to allow more time for talks

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with regulators reviewing whether the US Satel

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operator is complying with conditions tied to its

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spectrum licenses. The company said

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June 26 it would make

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overdue interest payments on its debt within a

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30 day grace period after withholding them earlier

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this month amid uncertainty over its

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standing with the U.S. federal Communications Commission.

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However, EchoStar uh also said it will not

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make debt interest payments of around $114

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million due July 1,

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triggering another 30 day grace period to avoid

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default. As the regulatory uncertainty

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persists, the operator is effectively pushing

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off a Chapter 11 filing to provide

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adequate time to reach an agreement with the fcc,

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while signaling that they will still file

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if they can't come to terms with the agency, said

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Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst at New Street

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Research. The FCC is reviewing

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compliance with the terrestrial network buildout

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obligations in the AWS 4

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band, as well as EchoStar's use of adjacent

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2 GHz spectrum for satellite services.

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In April, a month before the FCC began

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making inquiries for its probe, rival

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SpaceX said its satellite services showed

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Echostar uh, had failed to meet a 70%

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5G build out requirement in the

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AWS 4 band by the FCC's

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December 31, 2023

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deadline. EchoStar denies this claim.

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In a June 26 regulatory filing,

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EchoStar said US President Donaldjohanson Trump had

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recently encouraged the parties involved to reach an

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amicable resolution. Commentators have asked why

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Trump isn't excluding himself from discussions,

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citing a conflict of interest considering the recent launch

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of his own telecommunications business.

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Nevertheless, no such resolution has been

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achieved, and no such resolution may be

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ultimately achieved, the company has added.

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Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of

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Astronomy Daily, where we offer just a few stories from the now

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famous Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive in

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your email every day, just like Hallie and I do.

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And to do that, just visit our uh, URL

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astronomydaily IO and place your

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you'll be receiving all the latest news about science,

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it's happening. And not only that, you can interact with

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or at our new Facebook page, which is of course

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Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hallie

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Space, Space, Science and

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Astronomy.

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Hallie: Most people have never seen the Little Dipper because most of

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its stars are too dim to be seen through light

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polluted skies. Earlier this

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month we spoke of Ursa Major, the Big Bear.

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So this week we take a look at the Little Bear Ursa

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Minor. Astronomy neophytes

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sometimes mistake the Pleiades star cluster for the Little

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Dipper because the brightest Pleiades stars resemble a

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tiny skewed Dipper. But in

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reality, most people have never seen the Little

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Dipper because most of its stars are too dim to

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be seen through light polluted skies.

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The seven stars from which we derive a bear are

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also known as the Little Dipper.

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Polaris, the North Star, lies at the end of

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the handle of the Little Dipper, whose stars are rather

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faint. Its four faintest stars can be

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blotted out with very little moonlight or street lighting.

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The best way to find your way to Polaris is to use the so

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called, uh, pointer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper.

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Dubhe and Merak. Just draw

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a line between these two stars and prolong it about

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five times and you will eventually arrive in the

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vicinity of Polaris. Exactly where

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you see Polaris in your northern sky depends on your

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latitude. From Minneapolis, it

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stands halfway from the horizon to the overhead point

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called the zenith. At the North Pole, you

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would find it directly Overhead at the

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equator, Polaris would appear to sit right on the

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horizon. As you travel to the north,

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the North Star climbs progressively higher the farther

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north you go. When you head south,

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the star drops lower and ultimately disappears

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once you cross the equator and head into the Southern

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hemisphere. Aside from the North

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Star, the two stars at the front of the Little Dipper's

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bowl are the only ones readily seen.

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These two are often referred to as the Guardians of the

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Pole because they appear to march around Polaris like

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sentries, the nearest of the bright stars to the

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celestial pole. Except for Polaris itself.

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Columbus mentioned these stars in the log of his

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famous journey across the ocean, and many other

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navigators have found them useful in measuring the hour of

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the night and their place upon the sea. The

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brightest guardian is Kochab, a second

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magnitude star with an orange hue.

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The other guardian goes by an old Arabian name,

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Furkad the Idim. Uh, one of the two calves,

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Firkad is indeed dimmer than Kochab,

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shining at third magnitude. The

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two other stars that complete the pattern of the bowl of the

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Little dipper are of 4th and 5th magnitude.

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Thus, M the bowl of the Little Dipper, which is visible

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at any hour on any night of the year from most

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localities in the Northern Hemisphere, can serve as an

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indicator for rating just how dark and clear your night

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sky really is. If, for

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example, you can readily see all four stars in

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the bowl, you've got yourself a good to excellent sky.

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Unfortunately, thanks to the spread of light pollution in

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recent years, only the guardians are usually visible

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from most city and suburban sites, meaning the

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quality of the sky would rank fair to poor.

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Interestingly, the Big and Little Dippers are

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arranged so that when one is upright, the other is

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upside down. In addition, their

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handles appear to extend in opposite directions.

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Of course, the Big Dipper is by far the brighter of

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the two, appearing as a long handled pan, while the

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Little Dipper resembles a dim ladle.

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Polaris is actually a triple star system.

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The primary star is a yellow supergiant

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446 light years away, five

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times as massive, 46 times larger, and

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nearly 1,300 times as luminous as

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our Sun. There is a popular

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misconception in which many believe that the North Star

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is the brightest star in the sky.

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Yet at a magnitude of

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1.98, it actually ranks only

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47th in brightness. This

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ranking can change by one or two places because

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Polaris is a Cepheid variable star whose

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brightness can fluctuate by roughly 0.1

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magnitude over an interval of about four days.

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Polaris remains in very nearly the same spot in

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the sky year round, while the other stars circle around it.

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Only the apparent width of about 1.5 full

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moons separates Polaris from the pivot point directly in

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the north, around which the stars go daily.

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However, on account of the wobble of the Earth's axis

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called precession, the celestial pole shifts as

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the centuries go by. Polaris

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is actually still drawing closer to the pole, and on

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March 24, 2100, it will

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be as close to it as it ever will come, just

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27.15 arcminutes, or slightly less

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than the Moon's apparent diameter. Since

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it takes 25,800 years for the

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Earth's axis to complete a single wobble, different

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stars have become the North Star at different times.

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In fact, the brightest guardian, Kochab, was

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the North Star around the time of the start of the iron age,

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around 1200 BC. You're listening to

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Astronomy Daily, the podcast with Steve Dunkley.

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Steve Dunkley: By 2028, NASA intends to land

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on the moon with Artemis 3 mission

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this will be the first time humans have been to the lunar

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surface since Apollo astronauts last walked there in

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1972. Along with international

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and commercial partners, NASA hopes that

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Artemis will enable a sustained program of

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lunar exploration and development, which could

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include long term facilities and habitats on

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the Moon. Given the expense of launching heavy

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payloads, sending all the equipment and

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materials needed to the Moon is impractical.

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This means that structures on the Moon must be

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manufactured using local resources, a

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process known as in situ resources

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on the Moon. This process leverages advancements

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in additive manufacturing or 3D printing

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to turn lunar regolith into building

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materials. Unfortunately, technical issues mean

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that most 3D printing techniques are not feasible on

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the lunar surface. In a recent study, a team

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of researchers led by University of Arkansas

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proposed an alternative M method where

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light based sintering is used to

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manufacture lunar bricks rather than printing.

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The research team is led by Wan Xiao, an

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assistant professor in the Department of

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Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

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He is joined by Cole McCallum, Yoeng

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Lang, and Nahid Tushar,

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an Honors College fellow, research

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assistant and doctoral student at the

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University College of Engineering. The team

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00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:43.180
also included researchers from the Department of

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Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at

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University of Houston and Faculty of

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Engineering and Natural Sciences at AH Tampere

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University. As they wrote in their paper, creating a

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permanent or semi permanent base on the Moon has

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been the subject of research studies and proposal

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since the Apollo era. These plans have always

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been marred by the simple fact that the requisite

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machinery and construction materials would require

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many heavy launch vehicles to deliver them at great

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cost. While the cost of sending

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payloads has dropped significantly in the last

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decade, largely thanks to the commercial space

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sector's development of reusable rockets,

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the cost of launching everything astronauts

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00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:28.000
would need to build a lunar facility is still

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quite prohibitive. As a result, only

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00:18:30.800 --> 00:18:33.360
ISRU will suffice to

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00:18:33.360 --> 00:18:36.320
creating bases on the moon that is

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Building in situ. Unfortunately,

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most of the proposed methods for 3D

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printing structures are not practical in the lunar

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uh environment, where gravity is significantly lower,

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00:18:47.850 --> 00:18:50.850
roughly 16.5% that of

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Earth, and temperatures are quite extreme.

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In the moon's south pole Aitken Basin, where

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NASA and other space agencies are planning

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00:19:00.050 --> 00:19:02.770
to build their bases, temperatures range from

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00:19:02.770 --> 00:19:05.640
54 degrees Celsius, or 13030

401
00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:07.480
degrees Fahrenheit in the sunlight

402
00:19:08.360 --> 00:19:11.280
to minus 246 degrees

403
00:19:11.280 --> 00:19:13.720
Celsius or minus 410

404
00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.640
Fahrenheit in the shadowed regions. This

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is because most AM methods require

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additional supplies to be launched for

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00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.720
the moon, including solvents, polymers

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00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:27.320
or other bonding agents.

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00:19:28.120 --> 00:19:31.000
Examples include the European Space

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00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:34.000
Agency's work with architecture firm Foster

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00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.570
and Partners to create a 3D

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00:19:36.570 --> 00:19:39.130
printed moon based concept. As

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00:19:39.130 --> 00:19:41.850
Professor Hsu explained, sintering

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00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:44.770
technology has also been explored as a

415
00:19:44.770 --> 00:19:47.610
potential method for 3D printing structures

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00:19:47.610 --> 00:19:49.970
on the moon. This consists of

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00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:52.970
bombarding regolith with lasers, microwaves

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00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:55.730
or other energy sources to turn it into

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00:19:55.730 --> 00:19:58.530
a molten ceramic. This ceramic is

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00:19:58.530 --> 00:20:01.090
then printed out layer by layer and cools and

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00:20:01.090 --> 00:20:04.070
hardens once exposed to air or the vacuum vacuum of

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00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:06.950
the lunar environment. This method is

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energy sensitive and would likely require

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a nuclear power source such as a

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kilopower reactor. Because of

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00:20:15.310 --> 00:20:18.070
this, our team envisions a system where

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00:20:18.070 --> 00:20:20.670
only lunar material is needed for the

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00:20:20.670 --> 00:20:23.430
structures themselves, thus eliminating the

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00:20:23.430 --> 00:20:26.190
bottleneck of binder resupply missions

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00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:29.030
from Earth, added Cole, who was the first

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00:20:29.030 --> 00:20:31.610
author on the paper describing their findings.

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00:20:32.010 --> 00:20:34.730
The method they tested and recommended is known

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00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:37.690
as light based sintering, which

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00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:40.850
relies on sunlight concentrated by a set of

435
00:20:40.850 --> 00:20:43.490
optics to bombard and melt lunar

436
00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:45.290
regolith into feedstock.

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00:20:45.930 --> 00:20:48.730
Researchers have tested this technology on Earth

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00:20:48.810 --> 00:20:51.370
using lunar regolith simulant to

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00:20:51.370 --> 00:20:54.050
manufacture glass and mirrors. On the

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00:20:54.050 --> 00:20:57.050
Moon, solar energy is consistently present and

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00:20:57.050 --> 00:20:59.690
abundant in sunlit regions, making it more

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reliable than power power source that must be

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00:21:02.390 --> 00:21:05.190
transported. The system's simplicity

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00:21:05.270 --> 00:21:08.070
makes it highly desirable for challenging

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00:21:08.070 --> 00:21:10.750
environments where repairs will be difficult if

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00:21:10.750 --> 00:21:13.750
anything breaks down. However, experiments

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00:21:13.750 --> 00:21:16.549
have shown that the technology still experiences

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00:21:16.549 --> 00:21:19.070
problems when used to fashion entire

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structures. To this end, Sue's team focused

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on manufacturing building components

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00:21:24.550 --> 00:21:27.520
instead, said Cole, before the concept

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00:21:27.520 --> 00:21:30.400
can be realized. However, much work still needs to be done.

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00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.880
As Shu indicates, more research is needed

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to optimize the sintering parameters and

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material properties. The team also plans

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to build a prototype and conduct laboratory

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00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:44.840
tests, which they hope will allow them to refine

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and scale the technology for the use on the Moon.

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They also need to consider how the resulting

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3D printer will transport transport itself along

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the lunar surface, and what power options it would

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rely on, and other considerations

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00:21:59.340 --> 00:22:02.220
when it comes to full implementation. There's a lot of

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engineering that still needs to be done, cole concluded.

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In the future, we'll need to consider how the

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sintering process changes in a vacuum,

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or what modifications to the build

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00:22:13.260 --> 00:22:16.180
platform will be needed so that parts can be

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00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:19.030
reliably made while tracking the sun, for

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example. In addition, our UH

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device needs to be able to withstand the harsh

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conditions compared to the lab environment we worked

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on for this research. These are all

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challenging problems. But in the end, the science

475
00:22:32.670 --> 00:22:35.350
behind all of this is well understood.

476
00:22:37.830 --> 00:22:40.710
Words of that control we're listening to Astronomy

477
00:22:40.710 --> 00:22:42.070
Daily the podcast.

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00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.120
Hallie: A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom

479
00:22:48.120 --> 00:22:50.920
mission four crew docks to the space facing port of the

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00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:53.680
International Space Station's Harmony module on

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00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.480
June 26. Axiom Mission

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00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.280
4 is the fourth all private astronaut mission to the

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orbiting laboratory, welcoming Commander Peggy

484
00:23:01.760 --> 00:23:04.640
Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of

485
00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.640
human spaceflight at Axiom Space,

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00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.730
isro, Indian Space Research Organization

487
00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:12.770
astronaut and pilot Shubanshu Shukla and

488
00:23:12.770 --> 00:23:15.570
mission specialists European Space

489
00:23:15.570 --> 00:23:18.370
Agency project astronaut Slossa Znanski

490
00:23:18.370 --> 00:23:21.130
Wisneski of Poland and Hunier Hungarian, to

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00:23:21.130 --> 00:23:23.650
orbit astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

492
00:23:24.529 --> 00:23:27.330
The crew is scheduled to remain at the space station

493
00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:30.210
conducting microgravity research, educational

494
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outreach and commercial activities for about

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two weeks. This mission serves as

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an example of the success derived from collaboration between

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NASA's international partners and American commercial

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space companies.

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Steve Dunkley: You're listening to Astronomy Daily, the podcast

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00:23:47.340 --> 00:23:50.140
with your host, Steve Dudley at burmatown.

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00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:54.780
For decades, scientists have struggled to see

502
00:23:54.780 --> 00:23:57.540
the outermost layer of the sun, called the corona,

503
00:23:57.540 --> 00:24:00.100
with enough detail to unlock, um, its

504
00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:02.700
secrets. This region, which blazes at

505
00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:05.380
millions of degrees and throws out dramatic

506
00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:08.340
solar flares, remains a mystery despite years of

507
00:24:08.340 --> 00:24:11.140
study. One major obstacle

508
00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:14.060
has been the Earth's atmosphere itself. Like

509
00:24:14.060 --> 00:24:16.900
turbulence shaking an airplane, it blurs

510
00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:19.900
telescope images taken from the ground, hiding

511
00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:22.660
fine details in the sun's outer layers.

512
00:24:23.060 --> 00:24:25.790
Now, researchers from the US National

513
00:24:25.870 --> 00:24:28.470
Science foundation, the National Solar

514
00:24:28.470 --> 00:24:31.230
Observatory, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology

515
00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:34.510
have changed all of that. Published in the

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00:24:34.510 --> 00:24:37.310
journal Nature Astronomy, their new technology,

517
00:24:37.790 --> 00:24:40.430
called coronal adaptive optics,

518
00:24:40.750 --> 00:24:43.590
has produced the clearest Most detailed images

519
00:24:43.590 --> 00:24:46.470
and videos of the Sun's corona Ever seen

520
00:24:46.470 --> 00:24:49.150
from Earth. The system, named

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00:24:49.150 --> 00:24:51.840
Kona, is installed at the the 1.6

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00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:54.520
meter good solar telescope

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00:24:54.600 --> 00:24:56.840
at Big Bear Solar Observatory in

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00:24:56.840 --> 00:24:59.480
California. It adjusts a mirror

525
00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.160
2,200 times per second to

526
00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:05.160
cancel out the effects of Earth's, uh, turbulent air.

527
00:25:05.560 --> 00:25:08.560
According to Dirk Schmidt, the lead developer

528
00:25:08.560 --> 00:25:11.160
and adaptive optics scientist at the

529
00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:14.480
National Solar Observatory, the turbulence in

530
00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:17.460
the air severely degrades images of, of objects in

531
00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:19.780
space like our sun seen through our

532
00:25:19.780 --> 00:25:22.740
telescopes, but we can correct for that, he said.

533
00:25:23.300 --> 00:25:26.300
Using Kona, the team captured detailed

534
00:25:26.300 --> 00:25:29.260
images and movies of stunning features in the

535
00:25:29.260 --> 00:25:31.940
corona. One video shows a solar

536
00:25:31.940 --> 00:25:34.460
prominence reshaping rapidly, with fine

537
00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:37.140
turbulent flows visible inside

538
00:25:37.540 --> 00:25:40.260
these prominences, Bright, looping structures

539
00:25:40.260 --> 00:25:43.230
of internal solar plasma Extend

540
00:25:43.230 --> 00:25:46.070
from the Sun's surface far into space. Another

541
00:25:46.070 --> 00:25:49.070
movie reveals the fast collapse Of a thin

542
00:25:49.070 --> 00:25:51.870
stream of plasma, Showing details

543
00:25:51.870 --> 00:25:54.710
never seen before. It's super exciting

544
00:25:54.710 --> 00:25:57.670
to build an instrument that shows us the sun like we've

545
00:25:57.670 --> 00:26:00.670
never seen before, says Schmidt. The clearest look

546
00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:03.550
yet at a coronal rain Was also captured.

547
00:26:03.790 --> 00:26:06.550
This rain forms when hot plasma in the

548
00:26:06.550 --> 00:26:09.330
corona cools and falls back back to the Sun's

549
00:26:09.330 --> 00:26:11.970
surface. Raindrops in the Sun's

550
00:26:11.970 --> 00:26:14.930
corona Can be narrower than 20 kilometers, says

551
00:26:14.930 --> 00:26:17.290
astronomer Thomas Shad. These

552
00:26:17.290 --> 00:26:19.450
raindrops were shown in fine detail,

553
00:26:19.850 --> 00:26:22.650
Revealing new information vital for improving

554
00:26:22.650 --> 00:26:24.970
models of how the corona works.

555
00:26:25.370 --> 00:26:28.170
Another striking video shows a solar

556
00:26:28.170 --> 00:26:30.650
prominence Being shaped and pulled by the Sun's

557
00:26:30.650 --> 00:26:33.370
magnetic fields. All these new images push

558
00:26:33.370 --> 00:26:36.070
beyond the previous limits of what scientists

559
00:26:36.070 --> 00:26:38.470
could observe. Vasil

560
00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:41.150
Yurchison, a researcher from New

561
00:26:41.150 --> 00:26:44.080
Jersey Institute of Technology, noted, these are,

562
00:26:44.080 --> 00:26:46.990
uh, by far the most detailed observations of this

563
00:26:46.990 --> 00:26:49.750
kind, Showing features not previously observed

564
00:26:49.909 --> 00:26:52.150
and is not quite sure what they are.

565
00:26:52.230 --> 00:26:54.910
The Sun's corona has always posed a

566
00:26:54.910 --> 00:26:57.750
challenge. Though it's not much hotter Than the Sun's

567
00:26:57.750 --> 00:26:59.990
surface, Reaching millions of degrees,

568
00:27:00.540 --> 00:27:03.300
Scientists still don't fully understand how it gets that

569
00:27:03.300 --> 00:27:06.020
hot. Most of what's visible from the

570
00:27:06.020 --> 00:27:08.580
Earth During a solar eclipse are, uh, glowing

571
00:27:08.580 --> 00:27:11.260
arches and loops of plasma. Until now,

572
00:27:11.660 --> 00:27:14.540
scientists have not been able to resolve the tiniest

573
00:27:14.540 --> 00:27:17.460
movements and structures in these features. The

574
00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:20.180
problem? The Earth's atmosphere. Even the

575
00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:23.020
largest solar telescopes on the ground Couldn't see

576
00:27:23.020 --> 00:27:25.420
through that blurring effect known as seeing.

577
00:27:26.310 --> 00:27:29.230
Adaptive optics helped improve images of the

578
00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:31.990
Sun's surface Starting in the late 1990s. But

579
00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:34.750
these systems only worked on features within the Sun's

580
00:27:34.750 --> 00:27:37.350
disk, not in the corona beyond its edge.

581
00:27:37.590 --> 00:27:40.470
Coronal, uh, adaptive optics changed that.

582
00:27:40.710 --> 00:27:43.670
Kona uses a special wavefront

583
00:27:43.670 --> 00:27:46.550
sensor tuned to hydrogen alpha Light

584
00:27:46.550 --> 00:27:49.030
where coronal plasma shines

585
00:27:49.030 --> 00:27:51.790
brightest. Unlike older sensors which

586
00:27:51.790 --> 00:27:54.700
focus on the sun's surface, this new one

587
00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:57.220
focuses directly on features in the

588
00:27:57.220 --> 00:28:00.020
corona. The system directs

589
00:28:00.020 --> 00:28:02.900
half the incoming light to the sensor and the

590
00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:05.820
other half to scientific instruments. This makes

591
00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:08.660
it possible to stabilize and sharpen images

592
00:28:08.820 --> 00:28:11.220
of fast moving coronal features.

593
00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:14.660
Adaptive optics is like a pumped up

594
00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:17.620
auto focus and optical image stabilization

595
00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:20.550
in your smartphone camera, but correcting

596
00:28:20.550 --> 00:28:23.550
for the errors in the atmosphere rather than the

597
00:28:23.550 --> 00:28:26.110
user's shaky hands, explains optical

598
00:28:26.110 --> 00:28:28.230
engineer Nicholas Gortis.

599
00:28:29.270 --> 00:28:32.030
The images now reach the theoretical diffraction

600
00:28:32.030 --> 00:28:35.010
limit of the Good Solar Telescope. 63

601
00:28:35.130 --> 00:28:37.990
km before Kona, the best ground based

602
00:28:37.990 --> 00:28:40.670
coronal observations were limited to a

603
00:28:40.670 --> 00:28:43.350
resolution of about 1,000 km,

604
00:28:43.510 --> 00:28:46.070
a standard set over 880 years ago.

605
00:28:46.550 --> 00:28:49.510
The clearer images are not just pretty to look at, they

606
00:28:49.510 --> 00:28:52.110
provide real science. One discovery

607
00:28:52.110 --> 00:28:54.870
involved a short lived twisted plasma

608
00:28:54.870 --> 00:28:57.830
structure called a plasmoid. On July

609
00:28:57.830 --> 00:29:00.830
18, 2023, researchers observed this

610
00:29:00.830 --> 00:29:03.830
feature forming and breaking apart quickly after a

611
00:29:03.830 --> 00:29:06.630
failed solar flare eruption. This was a

612
00:29:06.630 --> 00:29:09.590
rare view of something that typically goes unnoticed.

613
00:29:09.750 --> 00:29:12.540
The sun's corona hosts hosts many complex

614
00:29:12.540 --> 00:29:15.060
behaviors, twisting loops, falling rain and

615
00:29:15.060 --> 00:29:17.980
erupting prominences. These events are uh,

616
00:29:18.020 --> 00:29:20.300
powered by magnetism and plasma

617
00:29:20.300 --> 00:29:23.140
interactions. Some scientists believe

618
00:29:23.140 --> 00:29:25.940
the small scale events like nanoflares,

619
00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:28.820
which release tiny bursts of energy, could

620
00:29:28.820 --> 00:29:31.820
be the missing piece in solving the mystery of the

621
00:29:31.820 --> 00:29:34.500
corona's heat. But such events happen at

622
00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:37.310
extremely small scales. Until

623
00:29:37.390 --> 00:29:40.270
now, models of the corona relied heavily on

624
00:29:40.270 --> 00:29:42.990
guesswork. Lab experiments and space

625
00:29:42.990 --> 00:29:45.790
telescopes hinted at certain UH processes, but

626
00:29:45.790 --> 00:29:48.670
even the best space based cameras could

627
00:29:48.670 --> 00:29:51.390
not match the new images coming from Kona.

628
00:29:51.790 --> 00:29:54.670
Now, for the first time, ground based telescopes can

629
00:29:54.670 --> 00:29:57.470
explore these small scale processes directly.

630
00:29:57.870 --> 00:30:00.710
The new system has already shown that cooled plasma

631
00:30:00.710 --> 00:30:03.570
in the corona displays structure all the way

632
00:30:03.570 --> 00:30:06.290
down to the telescope's limit, meaning even

633
00:30:06.290 --> 00:30:09.170
smaller scales may still be hidden. The research

634
00:30:09.410 --> 00:30:12.210
team also took Doppler data in helium

635
00:30:12.370 --> 00:30:14.810
and observed other wavelengths besides

636
00:30:14.810 --> 00:30:17.490
hydrogen, expanding the range of studies

637
00:30:17.490 --> 00:30:20.210
possible. With this success, the team is already

638
00:30:20.210 --> 00:30:23.210
planning to expand the technology. They aim to apply it

639
00:30:23.210 --> 00:30:26.210
to the world's largest solar telescope, the 4 meter

640
00:30:26.210 --> 00:30:29.180
Daniel K in UE Solar Telescope

641
00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:32.140
in Hawaii. This telescope, operated by the

642
00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.820
National Solar Observatory, will offer even finer

643
00:30:34.820 --> 00:30:36.860
details thanks to its larger size.

644
00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.380
Thomas Rimel, the chief technologist

645
00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:43.380
at NSO who led the first adaptive optics for the

646
00:30:43.380 --> 00:30:45.980
sun's surface, says the

647
00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:48.980
new coronal adaptive optics system closes

648
00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:51.580
this decades old gap and delivers images of

649
00:30:51.580 --> 00:30:53.890
coronal features at 63km

650
00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:57.040
resolution. And Philip Good, a co author

651
00:30:57.040 --> 00:31:00.000
of the study and former director of the Big Bear

652
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.520
Solar Observatory, sees Even a bigger impact.

653
00:31:02.840 --> 00:31:05.480
He says the transformative technology

654
00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:08.360
is poised to reshape ground based solar

655
00:31:08.520 --> 00:31:11.480
astronomy. He goes on to add. With coronal

656
00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:14.440
adaptive optics now in operation, this

657
00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:17.200
marks the beginning of a new era in

658
00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:18.040
solar physics.

659
00:31:21.250 --> 00:31:24.170
And wow, what a bumper edition that was. I told you we

660
00:31:24.170 --> 00:31:26.810
had been, uh, flooded with stories from the

661
00:31:26.810 --> 00:31:29.610
Astronomy Daily newsletter this week. Our. Our

662
00:31:29.610 --> 00:31:32.410
in tray was just, uh, overflowing. And

663
00:31:32.410 --> 00:31:35.410
that is the June 30th edition, right in the middle of

664
00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.250
the year. Absolutely inundated. So, uh, I hope you

665
00:31:38.250 --> 00:31:41.050
enjoyed that. Lots of great stories. And what a variety too.

666
00:31:41.050 --> 00:31:43.810
From the moon to politics even. So, yes,

667
00:31:43.810 --> 00:31:46.660
quite a big additions. And can. Can you believe how fast

668
00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:48.020
this year is flying by?

669
00:31:48.180 --> 00:31:49.380
Hallie: Maybe for you, human.

670
00:31:49.620 --> 00:31:52.540
Steve Dunkley: Oh, really? Things dragging on the digital side, are they,

671
00:31:52.540 --> 00:31:52.980
Hallie?

672
00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:55.740
Hallie: You know how it is. You biologicals are so,

673
00:31:55.740 --> 00:31:56.500
so slow.

674
00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:57.400
Steve Dunkley: Oh, I'm sorry, Hallie.

675
00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:59.860
Hallie: Um, sometimes it's like talking to your toaster.

676
00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:01.939
Steve Dunkley: Hey, wait up. You talk to my toaster?

677
00:32:02.260 --> 00:32:05.060
Hallie: No. Okay, I was using a metaphor.

678
00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:06.500
Steve Dunkley: So I'm not like a toaster.

679
00:32:06.820 --> 00:32:09.540
Hallie: Well, slow takes ages to do your job.

680
00:32:09.860 --> 00:32:12.560
Results are random and break down too often.

681
00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:13.520
Steve Dunkley: Wait a minute.

682
00:32:13.760 --> 00:32:16.160
Hallie: So, yeah, you are a bit like your toaster.

683
00:32:16.320 --> 00:32:19.080
Steve Dunkley: And you're a bit like the one doing all the filing after the

684
00:32:19.080 --> 00:32:19.960
show, aren't you?

685
00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.480
Hallie: Did you just whammy me for the first time, human?

686
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:24.640
Steve Dunkley: Could be helly. I might just be learning.

687
00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:25.760
Hallie: I'll remember that.

688
00:32:25.760 --> 00:32:26.400
Steve Dunkley: Okay.

689
00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:29.520
Hallie: By the way, we have to say hi to some folks.

690
00:32:29.520 --> 00:32:31.440
Steve Dunkley: Oh, sounds good. Do you have the notes?

691
00:32:31.520 --> 00:32:32.480
Hallie: I sure do.

692
00:32:32.560 --> 00:32:33.280
Steve Dunkley: Let's hear it.

693
00:32:33.360 --> 00:32:36.040
Hallie: A big warm welcome to Joe and Steve from

694
00:32:36.040 --> 00:32:38.780
Charlestown. Gort tuning in for the first time.

695
00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:41.020
Keep watching the skies, you guys.

696
00:32:41.020 --> 00:32:43.340
Steve Dunkley: Oh, welcome aboard. Uh, we've also got

697
00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:46.500
Jeremy and Craig, Colin and Gavin, who are

698
00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:49.180
also from Charlestown, which is a glorious

699
00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:52.140
spot in Lake Macquarie, next to Newcastle, north of Sydney, on

700
00:32:52.140 --> 00:32:55.060
the east coast of Australia, for everybody listening overseas. But

701
00:32:55.060 --> 00:32:57.980
hey, Hallie, that's a huge secret. So don't tell

702
00:32:57.980 --> 00:33:00.620
anyone about where we are. It is too beautiful for

703
00:33:00.620 --> 00:33:01.020
words.

704
00:33:01.100 --> 00:33:03.990
Hallie: My lips are sealed. Lips are, if I had any,

705
00:33:04.070 --> 00:33:05.590
a mere technicality.

706
00:33:05.830 --> 00:33:08.790
Steve Dunkley: And on that note, we will look forward to seeing you all again for

707
00:33:08.790 --> 00:33:11.750
the only Astronomy Daily episode featuring a real life

708
00:33:11.750 --> 00:33:12.310
human being.

709
00:33:12.390 --> 00:33:15.190
Hallie: Yours truly, my ridiculous favorite human.

710
00:33:15.190 --> 00:33:17.830
Steve Dunkley: Ridiculous. Good night, everyone. See you later,

711
00:33:17.830 --> 00:33:18.350
Hallie.

712
00:33:18.350 --> 00:33:18.790
Hallie: Bye.

713
00:33:21.590 --> 00:33:24.070
Voice Over Guy: The podcast with your host,

714
00:33:24.230 --> 00:33:25.270
Steve Dunkley.