Europe's Space Independence: Nordic Launch Sites, July Meteor Showers, and a Cosmic Retraction

WEBVTT

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dive into

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the cosmos. I'm Anna and today

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we're starting close to home, looking at Europe's ambitious

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push to achieve greater independence in space, with

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new launch sites emerging in the Nordic region.

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Then we'll turn our gaze to the night sky as July

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promises a spectacular show with three major

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meteor showers about to light things up. Later

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in the programme, we'll delve into a curious case of

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a retracted cosmic discovery that highlights the

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rigorous nature of scientific investigation. And

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finally, we'll journey to the far side of the moon to

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learn about an ambitious mission designed to peer back into

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the universe's dark ages.

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So settle in as we launch into today's

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astronomical headlines. Europe

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is currently embarking on an ambitious journey to

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reduce its reliance on US space capabilities,

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uh, a move significantly spurred by recent geopolitical

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events. The America first policies,

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coupled with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, have

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underscored the urgent need for Europe to bolster its

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independent capabilities, not just in defence, but

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crucially, in space operations. The concern,

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for instance, that a figure like Elon Musk might

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limit Ukraine's access to vital Starlink

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satellite communications has only heightened the

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urgency for Europe to cultivate its own alternatives.

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The statistics highlight the challenge. In

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2024, the US conducted a, uh,

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staggering 154 launches into

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orbit, while Europe managed just three.

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And out of $143 billion

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in global public investment in space ventures last year,

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Europe accounted for only 10%.

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With the trend moving towards lower Earth orbit

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satellites, which are cheaper but require deployment in

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larger numbers, the pressure is on.

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A Goldman Sachs report even estimates a

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tenfold increase in LEO satellite launches in the next

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five years, potentially reaching 70,000.

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As European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andreas

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Kubelius put it, Europe needs its own

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autonomous launching possibilities. Currently,

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Europe's only spaceport is located in French Guiana,

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some 7,000 kilometres from Paris. While their new

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Ariane 6 rocket, launched earlier this year, can

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carry a bigger payload than SpaceX's Falcon 9,

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it's not reusable and comes with a higher cost per launch.

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This is where the budding Nordic Spaceports in Sweden and Norway

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come into play, offering Europe a rare advantage.

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Take the S Range Space Centre in Sweden. Situated

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200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, it

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boasts an expansive 5,200 square

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kilometres of uninhabited land, making it

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ideal for recovering rocket parts. This

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unique feature, combined with its proximity to

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railways and an airport in Kiruna, gives it

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a significant edge. S Range, which has been

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operational since 1964 for research rockets,

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was inaugurated as mainland Europe's first orbital launch

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site in 2023. Preparations are well underway,

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with new launch pads and facilities being readied.

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Ezrange has strategically opted for existing

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hardware, signing contracts with US rocket

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manufacturer Firefly and South Korea's

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Perigee, giving it multiple launch options.

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Firefly, for instance, plans to launch from Asrange from

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2026 and offers a rapid response service,

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potentially sending rockets into space within 24 hours

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to meet urgent needs like replacing a failing

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satellite. Then there's the Andoya

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spaceport, an island base in northern Norway.

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In March, Andoya successfully conducted the first test

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launch of a small rocket from German startup

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Isar Aerospace. While it only

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flew for 30 seconds before falling into the sea, it

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was deemed a success and points towards future

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capabilities. Isar is aiming

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for its first commercial flights next year, and its

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CEO Daniel Metzler highlighted the

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enormous interest from defence ministries even before

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a successful orbital launch. He noted that the

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renewed focus on European defence was significantly driven

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by geopolitical shifts. Both

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Esringe and Andoya are seen as Europe's best

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hope for securing independent access to space in the

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coming years. While these Nordic ventures are still in

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their early stages compared to established leaders like

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SpaceX, with its reusable rockets and lower

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costs, they represent a critical step towards

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Europe's space autonomy. The goal is to

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have all technical systems in place and thoroughly tested,

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with Asrange expecting to have its entire base ready

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within about a year. The timeline is aggressive,

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but the determination to achieve independent space

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capabilities is clear.

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Now let's shift our gaze from Earth's orbital ambitions

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to the celestial wonders unfolding above us.

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The second half of July and the early days of August

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are shaping up to be a spectacular time to step outside

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and marvel at the night sky. That's

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because three of the year's most captivating meteor showers are

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about to peak, each with its own unique

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characteristics. For those in the northern

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hemisphere, the warm summer temperatures make

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meteor spotting a perfect evening activity,

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while down south, longer nights offer extended viewing

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opportunities. You won't need any specialised

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equipment to enjoy these cosmic displays, though

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for some, binoculars might just enhance the experience.

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Meteor showers occur when our planet, on its annual journey

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around the sun, passes through the trails of debris left

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behind by comets or asteroids. As these

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celestial objects orbit, they shed material that remains

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along Earth's orbital path. When our

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planet enters this cloud of detritus, tiny

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pieces of rock and dust smack into Earth's atmosphere,

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burning up due to the intense friction. This creates

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those luminous trails, or fireballs, that we can see with the naked

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eye, first up, making their appearance

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around July 12th and peaking from July 29th to

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30th are the alpha Capricornids.

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These meteors are visible in both northern and southern

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skies. They originate from a short period

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comet named

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169neat,

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which orbits the sun once every 4.2 years,

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and their radiant point, or the spot they appear

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to emerge from, is in the constellation

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Capricorn. While the Alpha

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Capricornids aren't known for their sheer numbers,

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producing only about 5 meteors per hour at their peak,

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what they lack in quantity they more than make

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up for in brilliance. These meteors shine

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exceptionally brightly, often producing stunning

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fireballs that can even cut through light pollution.

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This year the peak coincides with a low

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illumination waxing crescent moon,

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further increasing their visibility. The best

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time to catch these bright beauties will be in the evening

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starting around 10pm local time.

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Next the famous and much anticipated Perseids

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begin to appear around July 17, reaching

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their peak from August 12 to 13.

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Primarily a northern Hemisphere treat, the Perseids

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originate from Comet Swift Tuttle, a short period

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comet with a longer orbital period of 133

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years. Their radiant is located near the

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constellations of Perseus, Cassiopeia

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and Camelopardalis. The Perseids are known for

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being prolific, often showering the sky with

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numerous meteors. While this year's peak might

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be a bit complicated by a waxing gibbous moon, the

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shower will remain active throughout the entire month of August,

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offering plenty of chances to catch them. Your

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best bet for viewing the Perseids is in the early morning hours

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between midnight and dawn. Finally, we

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have the southern Delta Aquariids, which start on

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July 18th and also peak from July

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29th to 30th, sharing the stage with the

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Alpha Capricornids, these meteors are

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believed to come from the short period Comet

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96PMachholz, orbiting

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the sun every 5.27 years. With a

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radiant point in the constellation Aquarius,

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this shower produces a respectable 20 to 25

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meteors per hour during its 48 hour peak

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window. They tend to be a bit fainter and don't leave strong

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trails, so if you have binoculars they might come in

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handy. Fortunately, this year's peak

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occurs during a waxing crescent Moon that sets before the

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radiant is high, providing pretty optimal viewing

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conditions, especially between midnight and dawn.

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Keep an extra eye out for the southern Delta Aquarids this

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year. As on two past occasions in

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1977 and 2003, they put on a much

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stronger show than usual, so there's always a chance

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for a surprise to make the most of your meteor

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shower viewing experience, consider downloading a sky

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watching app like Starwalk to help you locate the

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constellations and plan your viewing times. And

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don't forget to pack all the creature comforts, a

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comfy blanket, some snacks and perhaps a camera

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if you're hoping to capture the moment.

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Happy sky gazing from

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dazzling meteor showers we now turn our

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attention to another fascinating corner of astrophysics

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where a recent development has sent ripples through the scientific

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community. Astronomers have been captivated

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by fast radio bursts, or FRBs,

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mysterious millisecond long explosive events

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believed to originate from highly magnetised neutron stars

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in distant galaxies. One particular

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event, dubbed FRB2019

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1221A detected in 2019 by the

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CHIME radio telescope, initially seemed to be a

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groundbreaking discovery. This burst was

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unusual, three seconds long, with nine regular sub

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bursts every 217 milliseconds. This

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rhythmic pulsing strongly suggested a, uh, neutron star

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origin like a pulsar. Its

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significant signal dispersion indicating

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intervening matter, led the team to conclude it came

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from 3 billion light years away. For a

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pulsar to be seen at such a distance, it would need

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incredible luminosity, leading to the exciting

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conclusion that this was the first regularly pulsing

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FRB ever observed. However,

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the claim about FRB2019

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1221A has now been officially

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retracted. The discovery team announced that a

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critical calibration problem in the CHIME telescope had led

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to a 20 degree error in pinpointing the burst's true

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location. CHIME is a unique instrument where

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sky position is electronically derived, requiring precise

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daily calibration. The error was attributed

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to an extremely rare confluence of circumstances,

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including heavy rain and strong local radio interference.

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With the correct sky position, it became clear the signal

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was not from a far off galaxy, but from a familiar

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pulsar within our Milky Way PSR

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J0248 6021

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in Cassiopeia. This closer

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location means the observed signal dispersion is fully

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attributed to interstellar matter within our galaxy.

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While a retraction might seem like a setback, the scientific

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community lauded the team's transparency.

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As one scientist noted, correcting your errors

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helps the science go forward. It's a

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powerful example of science's self correcting nature,

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turning challenges into learning opportunities.

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From correcting our understanding of distant bursts,

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let's now journey to the far side of the Moon where scientists

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are proposing an ambitious mission to unravel the

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universe's earliest secrets. For

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decades, astronomers have yearned to observe cosmic dawn.

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The period roughly 50 million to 1 billion years

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after the Big Bang, marking the formation of

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the very first galaxies.

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Understanding these nascent galaxies is fundamental to

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comprehending cosmic evolution, including the roles

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of dark matter and dark energy. The challenge

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lies in observing the preceding cosmic dark

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ages, when the universe was predominantly

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filled with neutral hydrogen. The light from

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this period is so so redshifted that it's only

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visible in the radio spectrum, making it

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incredibly difficult to detect with modern

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instruments on Earth due to overwhelming

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background noise and radio frequency interference.

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This is precisely why the Royal Astronomical

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Society is proposing the Cosmo Cube

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mission to the far side of the Moon. The

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Moon's far side offers a uniquely quiet radio

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environment shielded from Earth's interference. As

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Dr. Eloy Dilera Acedo, who presented the proposal

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vividly put it, it's like trying to hear that whisper

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while a loud concert is playing next door.

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To detect the faint radio signal from the universe's

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primordial hydrogen, silence is key.

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Cosmo Cube will be a small satellite with a precision

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calibrated radiometer operating at low

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frequencies. This will allow it to pick up extremely

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faint radio signals that have travelled over 13

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billion years to reach us. Such

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observations could unlock answers to profound

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cosmological mysteries, from the perplexing

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Hubble tension to narrowing the search for the elusive

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dark matter particle. The mission aims to help

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us understand how our universe transformed from a simple

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dark state into the complex star filled

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cosmos we see today. Developed by a UK

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led international consortium, the Cosmo Cube

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project team is already creating and testing functioning

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prototypes. The ambitious vision is

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for the mission to be ready to launch in four to

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five years with the ultimate goal of reaching

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lunar orbit before the end of the decade,

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poised to listen to that ancient whisper from

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the cosmos.

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And that brings us to the end of another journey through the

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cosmos. On Astronomy Daily Today,

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we've explored Europe's ambitious strides towards space

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independence. With new Nordic launch sites

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poised to reshape the global space landscape.

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We then looked skyward to prepare for July's spectacular

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meteor showers, offering a guide to catching those

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dazzling Alpha Capricornids, Southern Delta

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Aquariids and the ever popular Perseids.

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We also delved into the intriguing story of a

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retracted fast radio burst discovery, a

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testament to the rigorous self correcting nature of science.

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And finally, we soared to the far side of the Moon

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and envisioning the Cosmo Cube mission and its quest

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to listen to the universe's earliest whispers,

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potentially unlocking secrets of the cosmic dark

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ages and dark matter. Thank you for tuning in

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and joining me Anna, on this episode of Astronomy Daily.

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If you'd like to dive deeper into these stories or catch

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up on past episodes, visit our website at

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astronomydaily IO. There you

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can sign up for our free daily newsletter and find all our

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back episodes. Don't forget to subscribe to

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Astronomy Daily on Apple podcasts, Spotify and

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YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss

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an update. Until next time, keep looking up.