European Space Power, Jupiter's Cosmic Role, and Rings Forming Live

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Anna: Hello, cosmic explorers, and welcome to

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Astronomy Daily, your daily ticket to the

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wonders of the universe. I'm Anna, joined as

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always by my co host and fellow starchaser,

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Avery. It's October 24,

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2025, and we've got a packed show today,

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diving into five stellar stories that span

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European space ambitions. Jupiter's heroic

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past. Rings forming in real time. A

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massive new exoplanet and space expertise

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breaking records. Avery, you

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ready to blast off into today's news?

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Avery: Anna? I'm, um, fueled up and ready. My

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coffee's practically at escape velocity.

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Let's get into it with some big moves in the

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European space industry that could reshape

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the cosmic landscape.

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Anna: First up, a major shakeup in European

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aerospace. Airbus, Leonardo and

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Thales have signed a memorandum of

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understanding to create a new powerhouse

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company focused on space systems. This isn't

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just a merger. It's a bold step toward

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European autonomy in space tech, covering

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everything from satellites to deep space

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exploration modules.

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Avery: The details are out of this world, Anna. Uh,

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Airbus is taking a 35% stake with

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Leonardo and Thales, each holding

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32.5%. They're combining

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Airbus Space systems and digital businesses.

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Leonardo's space division, including its

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stakes in Telespasio and and Thales Aline

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Space and Thales's shares in those joint

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ventures, plus Thales SES. This

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new entity, set to launch in 2027 pending

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regulatory approval, will employ around

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25,000 people and generate about

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6.5 billion euros in revenue by

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the end of this year. That's a massive

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operation. The goal is to deliver end to end

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solutions for telecommunications, navigation,

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earnings, Earth observation, scientific

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missions, and even national security. Though

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launchers like Ariane aren't part of the deal

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yet, the CEOs of all three companies said

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it. By pooling our talent,

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resources, expertise and R and D

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capabilities, we aim to generate growth,

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accelerate innovation, and deliver greater

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value. And let's not forget the European

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Space Agency's take. ESA Director General

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Joseph Aschbacher called it very good

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news, saying it could make Europe a stronger

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global player while ensuring fair competition

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in ESA's procurement. Anna, uh, these

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companies already contribute to NASA's

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Artemis program and the ISS. Could this

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merger mean even bigger things for astronomy,

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like advanced telescopes or better data

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relays?

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Anna: Absolutely. A, uh, unified European space

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entity could streamline innovation, maybe

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giving us sharper tools to peer into the

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cosmos. It's a reminder that the tech

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behind our stargazing is just as critical as

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the discoveries themselves. Let's keep an

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eye on how this shapes up.

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Avery: Now, let's rewind billions of years for a

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story that's frankly, mind boggling. New

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research from Rice University shows that a

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young Jupiter may have saved Earth from

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spiraling into the Sun. Published in Science

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Advances, this study uses advanced

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simulations to reveal how Jupiter's early

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growth sculpted the solar system we know

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today.

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Anna: Here's the scoop. As Jupiter grew at about

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5.4 au, that's astronomical

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units or Earth sun distances, it

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pulled in gas, creating spiral arms and shock

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waves in the protoplanetary disk. Those

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waves cleared out gas in the inner solar

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system seven times faster than without

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Jupiter, forming a gap that stopped rocky

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planets like Earth and Venus from migrating

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inward toward a fiery doom.

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Avery: Lead researcher Andre Isidoro explained that

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Jupiter's growth created pressure bumps in

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the disk, trapping dust and allowing Earth

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and Venus to form stably at about one

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astronomical unit. This process took just

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300,000 years, lightning fast in

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cosmic terms. Co author Bhaibhav

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Srivastava added that Jupiter protected the

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inward outward solar system material

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separation, which explains why our solar

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system lacks the super Earth pile ups that

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seen around other stars.

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Anna: ALMA observations of young star systems back

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this up, showing similar ring and gap

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structures in their disks. Isidoro also

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tied this to chondrite meteorites, which

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formed 2.3 million years later, saying

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Jupiter itself created the conditions for

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their late birth. Avery this makes me wonder,

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is our habitable zone a cosmic fluke? Thanks

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to Jupiter's early hustle?

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Avery: It's wild to think about Anna we without

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Jupiter playing cosmic bouncer,

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Earth might not be here. This also

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reshapes how we hunt for habitable

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exoplanets. Maybe gas giants are

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key to stable rocky worlds. Could

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this guide where we point JWST

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next?

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Anna: Definitely. It's a clue that habitable

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systems might need a Jupiter like protector.

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This one's got me rethinking how lucky our

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solar system really is.

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Closer to home, astronomers have made history

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by observing rings forming around a solar

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system object in real time for the first

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time. The star of the show

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2060 Chiron, a centaur, a

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hybrid comet asteroid orbiting between Saturn

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and Uranus.

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Avery: Using Brazil's Pico dos Dias observatory

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in 2023 and comparing data from

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2011, 2018 and 2022,

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researchers spotted 44 rings of water, ice

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and rock around Chiron ranging from

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273 kilometers to 1400

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kilometers from its center, plus some

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diffused material likely triggered by a

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recent collision. This evolving system makes

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Chiron the fourth known ringed small body.

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Joining Chariklo Haumea and Kauar,

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co author.

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Anna: Braga Ribas from the Federal University of

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Technology Pirana, writing in the

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Astrophysical Journal Letters, called it an

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evolving system that will help us understand

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the dynamical mechanisms governing the

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creation of rings and satellites around small

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bodies. Avery Watching rings form live

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is like catching a planet's makeup tutorial

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in action.

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Avery: Totally. It's a front row seat to

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processes we usually only model. The

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outermost ring might not last, so follow up

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observations are critical. This could tell us

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not just about Chiron, but but about ring

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formation across the universe. Maybe

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even for exomoons or debris disks.

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Anna: Exactly. Centaurs like Chiron are proving to

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be more dynamic than we thought. It's a

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reminder that our solar system is still

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cooking up surprises even after decades of

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study.

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Avery: Let's zoom out to 37 light years away

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where a new super Earth has astronomers

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buzzing.

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Ross508b4times

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Earth's mass was discovered using the

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upgraded Subaru telescope in Hawaii.

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This is a big deal for planet hunters.

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Anna: The National Astronomical Observatory of

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Japan used a new instrument optimized for

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low mass stars to spot Ross

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508B, which has a radius

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1.83 times Earth's. It

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orbits an M M dwarf red dwarf, just

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0.18 solar masses in a

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10.8 day elliptical orbit at

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0.053 au, dipping in

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and out of the habitable zone. That

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elliptical path means wild temperature

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swings, but there's potential for liquid

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water, which has NASA eyeing it for

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atmospheric studies.

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Avery: M dwarfs are the most common stars out there.

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Anna long lived and dim, making

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them ideal for finding rocky planets.

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Ross508 Ah B's variability

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makes it a prime target for JWST

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to probe its atmosphere. Could it hold

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clues to habitability? Or is it too

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chaotic?

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Anna: I'm, um, leaning toward chaotic but

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intriguing. Elliptical orbits challenge our

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Earth centric ideas of habitability. But

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that's what makes it exciting. As the first

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planet found with this new Subaru tool, it's

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a sign we'll see more super Earth soon.

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Avery does this make you hopeful for finding

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nearby worlds we could study in detail?

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Avery: Oh, for sure. It's close enough to poke with

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our best scopes. And M dwarfs are treasure

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troves for planet hunters. This could

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redefine what we call a.

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Anna: Habitable world back on Earth or

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just above it.

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SpaceX has hit a jaw dropping milestone.

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Their 139th mission of 2025

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launching Spain's SpainSat NG2 satellite on a

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Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on October 23rd.

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This sets a new record for the.

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Avery: Company that's 134 Falcon 9 launches

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this year alone, surpassing their 2024

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total. The booster, on its 23rd flight,

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was expended due to the high energy

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geosynchronous transfer orbit needed for

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spinsat NG2, which bolsters

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Spain's telecom fleet alongside NG1.

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Launched in January, the upper stage

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nailed deployment 36 minutes after liftoff.

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Anna: SpaceX's cadence is unreal, especially with

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starship tests ramping up. This launch

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cadence means more satellites for astronomy,

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like better data relays or even small

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cubesats for niche experiments.

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Avery, is this relentless pace the future of

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space access, or are we pushing the limits?

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Avery: It's the future, Anna. Cheaper launches

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mean more science payloads, more

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telescopes, more probes. SpaceX

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is making space feel less like a frontier and

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more like a highway. What's next?

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Anna: A launch a day wouldn't surprise me. This

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kind of access could supercharge our ability

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to study the cosmos, from exoplanets to

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cosmic background radiation.

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Avery: And that's our cosmic journey for October 24,

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2025. From Jupiter's ancient

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heroics to SpaceX's launch marathon,

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we've covered the universe's latest chapters.

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Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily. We

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love having you along for the ride.

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Anna: Couldn't have said it better, Avery. If you

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enjoyed today's episode, hit that subscribe

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button. Leave us a review and let us know on

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social media which story sparked your

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curiosity. Join us tomorrow for more cosmic

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updates. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Keep looking up and clear

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skies, everyone.