Dream Chaser Dilemmas, NISAR's Stunning Images, and Saturn's Strange Secrets

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Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast that

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brings you the universe one story at a time.

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I'm Avery.

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Anna: And I'm Anna. Today we've got a big

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show for you. We'll be looking at why Sierra

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Space's Dream Chaser is facing some tough

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challenges. And on a brighter note,

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the stunning first images from the new

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NASA ISRO satellite.

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Avery: We'll also be visiting an asteroid with some

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very human centric new names and peering

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into the mysterious upper atmosphere of

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Saturn with the James Web telescope.

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Anna: Plus, we have a few quick updates on

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platinum on the moon, how daylight savings

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time affects gravitational wave detectors

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and two galaxies taking a very,

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very fast plunge.

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Let's get started.

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Avery: First up, a story that sounds like it's

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straight out of a sci fi movie, but is

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hitting some real world turbulence. The

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Sierra Space Dream Chaser, that beautiful

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space plane set to deliver cargo to the

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International Space Station, is starting to

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resemble a bit of a nightmare for its crew

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creators.

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Anna: That's right, the program has been hit with

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significant delays and cost overruns.

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Initially planned for its first flight years

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ago, the vehicle is now in the final stages

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of pre flight testing at NASA's Kennedy Space

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Center. However, reports indicate that

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testing has revealed several issues that need

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to be addressed before it's cleared for

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launch.

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Avery: These aren't minor hiccups either. The

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challenges involve the vehicle's thermal

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protection system and flight software,

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both absolutely critical for a safe entry

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into Earth's atmosphere. It highlights just

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how difficult it is to develop a reusable

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lifting body spaceplane.

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Anna: It certainly does. While Sierra Space

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remains confident they can resolve these

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issues, the timeline for its inaugural

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mission is now looking uncertain. The

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pressure is on as NASA is counting on Dream

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Chaser to be a key part of its commercial

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cargo fleet.

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Avery: Absolutely. It's a reminder that

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spaceflight is incredibly challenging. Unlike

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capsules which re enter as a blunt body, a

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lifting body space plane like Dream Chaser is

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designed to land on a Runway. This requires a

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much more complex aerodynamic design and

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control system to manage the heat and stress

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of re entry. Getting that right is a

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monumental task.

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Anna: From a challenging project to a triumphant

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one.

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The NISAR satellite, a joint mission

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between NASA and the Indian Space Research

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Organization, has sent back its first

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incredible radar images of Earth's surface.

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Avery: And these images are spectacular.

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NISAR stands for NASA ISRO Synthetic

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Aperture Radar. And it's designed to give us

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an unprecedented view of our planet.

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Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy called

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the images a testament to what can be

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achieved with a shared vision of innovation

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and discovery.

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Anna: One of the first images captured mount Desert

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island on the coast of Maine. The level of

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detail is astounding. You can see

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forests represented in green water in

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dark shades and hard surfaces like buildings

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in magenta. The system can resolve

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objects as small as 15ft across,

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which is incredible from orbit.

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Avery: What makes NISAR truly unique is that it's

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the first satellite to carry two different

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types of radar systems. L band radar from

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab is great for seeing

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through vegetation to the ground. The S band

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from ISRO is more sensitive to small

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vegetation, making it perfect for monitoring

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crops and grasslands.

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Anna: This dual radar capability means NISAR

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will provide invaluable data for everything

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from disaster response to agricultural

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management. It will scan the entire earth

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twice every 12 days using a massive

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39 foot wide antenna reflector,

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the largest NASA has ever sent to space.

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Avery: Uh, think about the implications. By

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detecting tiny changes in the Earth's

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surface, NISAR can help predict volcanic

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eruptions, monitor melting glaciers, and

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track the rise and fall of land due to

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groundwater extraction. This isn't just about

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making maps. It's about creating a, uh,

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dynamic, near real time health report for

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our entire planet. For farmers, it

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can mean better crop management. For disaster

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response teams, it could provide critical

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data on earthquake, deformation or

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landslide risks. It's a truly

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revolutionary Earth science tool.

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Next up, let's talk about giving things

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names. We humans love to name things,

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from our pets to our planets. And now

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even the lumps and bumps on distant

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asteroids. The geological features of

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asteroid 152446, Donald

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Johansson, visited by NASA's Lucy

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spacecraft, have.

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Anna: Now official names, and the names

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are wonderfully interconnected. The

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asteroid itself is named after Donald

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Johanson, the paleoanthropologist who

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discovered the famous Luc Lucy hominin

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skeleton. That fossil in turn inspired

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the name for the Lucy spacecraft mission.

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It's a beautiful tribute to the study of

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human origins.

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Avery: So what are the new names? Well, the asteroid

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has two distinct lobes. The smaller

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lobe is now officially called Afar,

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named after the Afar Triangle region in

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Ethiopia where the Lucy skeleton was found.

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Anna: And the larger lobe has been named Alduvai,

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after the famous river gorge in Tanzania,

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another incredibly significant site where

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many other hominin fossils have been

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discovered. It's a fantastic way to link our

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exploration of the solar system with the

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exploration of our own ancient past.

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Well, if it's a mystery you're after, the

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James Webb telescope always delivers Its

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latest observations of Saturn have revealed

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features in the planet's upper atmosphere

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that have astronomers completely baffled.

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Avery: This is wild. About 680

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miles above Saturn's clouds, within its

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glowing auroras, JWST spotted

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a chain of g dark bead like patches.

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Think of them as dark spots on the northern

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lights. But on a planetary scale,

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nothing like this has ever been seen before.

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Anna: And it gets weirder. About 300 miles

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lower in the stratosphere, the telescope saw

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a huge sprawling star shaped feature

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stretching out from the North Pole. But

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instead of being a perfect six pointed star

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like a snowflake, two of its arms are just

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missing. It's a lopsided four

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armed star pattern.

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Avery: The lead astronomer on the study, Tom

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Stallard, said in a statement that these

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features were, and I quote, completely

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unexpected and at present are completely

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unexplained. It just goes to show how even a

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planet we think we know well, like Saturn,

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still holds profound surprises.

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Alright, now it's time for a few quick

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stories from across the cosmos. First up, it

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seems the next platinum rush might not be on

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Earth.

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Anna: That's right. A new paper suggests that vast

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reserves of precious metals delivered by

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asteroids could be hidden across the lunar

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surface. Researchers estimate that up to

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6,500 impact craters on the

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Moon may contain valuable platinum group

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metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium.

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The same study also suggests some

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3,400 craters could contain water

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in the form of hydrated minerals.

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Avery: From lunar riches to a very terrestrial

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problem affecting cosmic research. It turns

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out that our most sensitive gravitational

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wave detectors like LIGO are affected

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by us. A new study found that LIGO

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sensitivity changes based on human

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activity, showing patterns for weekdays

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versus weekends and day versus night.

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Anna: The most fascinating part is that this daily

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cycle literally shifted when the

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observatories changed their clocks for

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daylight savings time. It's a stark reminder

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of how interconnected everything is and how

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even subtle human noise can impact our

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search for the faintest whispers from the

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universe.

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Avery: And finally, talk about a cosmic commute.

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Astronomers have spotted two galaxies, NGC

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4532 and DDO

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137, falling into the massive

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Virgo cluster at a staggering

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547 miles per second.

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Anna: As they plunge through the hot gas

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surrounding the cluster. Gas is being

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scoured from the galaxies, forming a

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colossal tail that's 1.6

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million light years long. Even more

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amazing, astronomers using the Ask

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AP radio telescope in Australia

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discovered a bridge of gas

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185,000 light years

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long connecting the two galaxies as they

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fall together. It's a dramatic and

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beautiful display of galactic interaction.

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Avery: And that's all the time we have for today on

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Astronomy Daily. From troubled space planes

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to mysterious patterns on Saturn, the

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universe never fails to keep us on our toes.

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Anna: We hope you'll join us again tomorrow for

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another journey through the latest in space

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and astronomy news. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Thanks for listening. Clear

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skies and keep looking up.