James Webb's Cosmic Revelation, Lunar Landers Take Flight, and a Race Against Time for SWIFT

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Anna: From the dawn of the universe to the shores

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of the moon and the skies above your head

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tonight. This is Astronomy Daily.

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Avery: Coming up, James Webb has finally cracked the

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four year cosmic mystery. We'll tell you what

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those strange little red dots really are. And

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it's even weirder than you'd expect.

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Anna: A brand new lunar lander just made its

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public debut, and it's aiming to lay the

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foundation for a permanent moon base. We have

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the details.

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Avery: And there's a NASA spacecraft on a race

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against time. A robotic rescue mission is

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heading for an observatory that's slowly

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falling out of the sky.

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Anna: Plus, a, uh, science packed dragon capsule is

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heading home from the ISS as we speak.

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There's a celestial triple play in tonight's

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sky. And we've got a space weather update for

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aurora watchers.

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Avery: It is Tuesday, June 16,

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2026. And this is Astronomy Daily.

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Season five, episode 116.

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I'm, um, Avery.

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Anna: And I'm Anna. Let's get into it.

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We're starting with a big one today. A

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mystery that has genuinely unsettled

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cosmologists since James Webb first opened

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its eyes.

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Avery: We're talking about the little red dots. And

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if that name sounds almost comically

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understated for something that threatened to

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break our understanding of the universe,

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well, that's astronomy for you.

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Anna: So let's rewind a little. When Webb

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began science operations back in

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2022, astronomers noticed something

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deeply strange. Practically everywhere

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the telescope looked in the ancient, distant

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universe. In a period just a few hundred

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million years after the Big Bang, it kept

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spotting these tiny, compact ruby

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red objects. They were everywhere. Far

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too many of them, far too bright, and

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nobody could explain what they were.

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Avery: The problem was that they didn't behave like

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anything in our existing models. They looked

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too massive and too mature to be young

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galaxies lit up by newborn stars. But they

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also weren't blasting out the X rays and

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radio waves you'd expect from a supermassive

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black hole. Feeding on gas and dust,

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they seemed to break every box astronomers

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had.

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Anna: Some researchers genuinely used the phrase

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broken cosmology, not because they thought

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physics had failed, but because these objects

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appeared in such numbers and with such

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properties that the standard story of how the

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early universe evolved simply couldn't

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account for them.

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Avery: And now, four years later, Webb has

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handed astronomers the object they needed to

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solve it. It goes by the name

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glimpse17775.

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Not exactly a catchy title, but it turned out

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to be the Rosetta Stone for this whole

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mystery.

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Anna: A team led by Vasily Kakhorev at the

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University of Texas at Austin observed

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glimpse 1-7775. Through a

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stroke of cosmic luck, Webb was actually

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pointed at a galaxy cluster called Abel

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S1063 as part of a

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program searching for something entirely

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population three stars, the hypothetical

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first generation of stars in the universe.

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The galaxy cluster's gravity acted as a

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natural lens, magnifying what was behind it.

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And right in the field of view was glimpse

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1-7775, magnified

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beautifully, giving the team the most

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detailed spectrum of a little red dot ever

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obtained.

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Avery: The data, published in the astrophysical

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journal on June 10, is about as clear as it

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gets. These objects are supermassive black

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holes, but not in the way we're used to

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seeing them. They're in the midst of an

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explosive early growth phase, wrapped in

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dense cocoons of hot ionized gas.

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The gas acts like a disguise. It scatters and

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absorbs the high energy radiation that would

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normally give a growing black hole away,

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making these objects look red and compact

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rather than blazingly bright.

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Anna: Though the universe isn't broken, we just

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couldn't see through the costume.

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Avery: And this finding also resolved something that

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had alarmed astronomers even further. Earlier

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estimates suggested these black holes were

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extraordinarily massive, which made the

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timeline for how they grew seem impossible.

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But the team's analysis shows the gas cocoon

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was distorting those mass measurements. The

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black holes inside the little red dots are

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likely around a hundred times less massive

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than originally thought, bringing them back

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within the bounds of what our models can

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explain.

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Anna: Very. I think the thing that strikes me most

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about this story is what it says about how

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science actually works. Four years of

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competing theories, genuine alarm among

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serious scientists, and then one lucky

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observation of one well placed object, and

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suddenly the picture snaps into focus.

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Avery: Serendipity and a very big

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telescope, a combination that seems to work

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remarkably well.

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Anna: The little red dots are solved, and the

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universe, it turns out, was never broken.

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Just very good at keeping secrets.

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Avery: Story two and we're heading to the moon. Or

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at least heading toward heading to the moon.

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Anna: Yesterday, June 15th, Pittsburgh based

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company Astrobotic held a public unveiling of

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their Griffin 1 lunar lander at the Moonshot

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Museum, which is co located with their

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headquarters and has a large window into the

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clean room so the public could actually watch

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engineers working on the vehicle in real time

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while the press conference was

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Avery: happening, which is a nice touch.

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Anna: Very nice touch. Now, Griffin one is

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significant on multiple levels. NASA has

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selected it as the lander for what they're

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calling The Moon Base 2 mission, part of

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the first phase of the agency's efforts to

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establish a permanent lunar outpost.

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Astrobotic CEO John Thornton described it as,

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quote, the first infrastructure class lander

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going to the surface of the moon, and

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Avery: it's carrying a substantial payload to prove

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that point. The largest is the Flip rover,

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the Flex lunar innovation platform from

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California company Astrolabe. Flip is

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designed to demonstrate critical technologies

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for future large scale commercial lunar

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rovers. It'll be deployed in the Noble region

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near the lunar South Pole.

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Anna: The lander is also carrying several other

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payloads, including Astrobotic's own Beacon

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Cube rover and the European Space Agency's

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Landcam X, designed to help improve

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precision landing on future missions. There

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are also payloads from Japan, Canada,

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Germany and worth a mention for our audience,

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Australia, of course. Griffin

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One is now preparing to depart Pittsburgh for

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

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California, where it'll go through

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environmental testing. From there it'll head

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to Florida, where the Flip rover will be

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integrated ahead of launch on a SpaceX Falcon

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Heavy currently targeting the fourth quarter

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of this year.

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Avery: Now, Astrobotic's previous mission, the

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Peregrine lander in early 2024,

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unfortunately didn't make it to the surface

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due to a helium valve issue early in flight.

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But Thornton emphasized that the in house

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avionics and systems performed as expected on

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that flight and the post anomaly review was

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thorough. Griffin is the next chapter.

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Anna: A moon base has to start somewhere, and if

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all goes to plan, this could be one of the

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most significant robotic landings in the

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history of lunar exploration.

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Avery: We'll be watching very closely.

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Anna: Story three has all the drama of a rescue

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mission, because that's exactly what it is.

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Avery: NASA's Neil Garros Swift Observatory has been

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one of the workhorses of high energy

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astrophysics since it Launched back in 2004.

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22 years of catching gamma ray bursts,

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the most powerful explosions in the known

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universe, and relaying that information to

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ground telescopes fast enough to catch the

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afterglows.

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Anna: It has acted, as NASA put it, as a kind of

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cosmic dispatcher, spotting a burst and

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immediately alerting other observatories to

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follow up before the light fades. It has

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been extraordinary. But now Swift

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has a problem.

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Avery: Like all spacecraft in low Earth orbit, Swift

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experiences drag from the upper atmosphere,

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which gradually lowers its altitude over

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time. That's manageable, except that the

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recent surge in solar activity has

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dramatically accelerated the process. The

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orbit has decayed faster than expected, and

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without intervention, Swift would re enter

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Earth's atmosphere in the autumn of this

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year.

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Anna: Now, many spacecraft simply do that at end of

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life. It's a normal retirement, but NASA

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looked at this situation and saw an

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opportunity to do something unprecedented.

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In September 2025, they awarded a contract

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to a company called Catalyst Space

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Technologies in Flagstaff, Arizona to build

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and launch a robotics servicing spacecraft

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called Link to rendezvous with Swift and

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physically boost its orbit to a higher

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altitude in less than a year.

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Avery: That, uh, turnaround is remarkable in itself.

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Link went through testing at Goddard Space

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Flight center, was transported to NASA's

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Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, and was

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integrated into a Northrop Grumman Pegasus

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XL rocket on June 12th. That

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rocket was attached to the belly of

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Northrop's Stargazer, a modified L1011,

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and is now ready for the trip south.

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Anna: Link will launch from Kwajalen Atoll in the

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Marshall Islands later this month. The air

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launch approach gives flexibility in reaching

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Swift's orbit that a ground launch couldn't

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match. Once in orbit, Link will use its

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three ion thrusters and robotic arms to

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rendezvous with Swift and execute the boost.

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Avery: NASA is calling it bluntly a fast,

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high risk, high reward mission. There are no

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guarantees. This type of on orbit servicing

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at this speed has never been done before. But

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if it works, it not only saves a beloved and

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productive science mission, but it

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demonstrates a capability that could be

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transformative for the future of the entire

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spacecraft fleet.

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Anna: A NASA media briefing on the mission is

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scheduled for tomorrow, June 17, so we'll

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likely have more details coming. We'll keep

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you across it.

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Avery: Swift has spent 22 years watching the

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universe's most violent moments. Here's

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hoping it gets a few more years to keep doing

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exactly that.

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Anna: Story four is happening right now as we

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record a SpaceX Dragon cargo

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spacecraft supporting NASA's 34th

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Commercial Resupply Services mission has

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undocked from the International Space

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station. Today, Tuesday, June 16,

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at around 12:05 in the afternoon Eastern

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time.

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Avery: Flashdown off the coast of California is

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expected tomorrow morning, June 17, at around

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8am Eastern.

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Anna: Now, the Dragon arrived at the ISS on May

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17 carrying nearly 6,500

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pounds of supplies and equipment for the

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Expedition 74 crew. But what it's bringing

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back is what makes this particularly

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interesting, because packed inside

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Avery: Dragon right now are some genuinely

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remarkable research specimens. Blood stem

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cells harvested by NASA flight engineer

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Jessica Mayer inside the Kibo laboratory

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module have been growing aboard the station

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and are now heading home. Researchers are

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exploring whether the microgravity

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environment of space could allow these cells

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to be developed into therap blood cancers and

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immune diseases that are difficult to

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manufacture on Earth.

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Anna: There are also samples of bioprinted organ

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and cartilage tissue produced using three

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dimensional Printing techniques aboard the

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station and materials developed for what are

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described as DNA inspired cancer

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treatments.

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Avery: The capsule is also carrying hardware,

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including equipment related to cryogenic fuel

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storage experiments, data that will be

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valuable for future deep space missions.

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Anna: The ISS has long been described as a

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laboratory in the sky. Missions like this are

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a reminder of what that actually means in

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practice. That the unique conditions of orbit

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allow science that simply isn't possible on

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the ground. And that the journey home is

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sometimes the most scientifically significant

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part of the mission.

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Avery: Safe travels, Dragon, and fingers crossed for

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a smooth splashdown tomorrow.

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Anna: Now for something you can actually go outside

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and see tonight. And it is a lovely

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1m.

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Avery: Right now in the western sky after sunset,

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three planets are visible to the naked eye.

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Venus, Jupiter and Mercury. That

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alone is worth stepping outside for. And

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tonight specifically, the slim waxing

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crescent Moon is joining the party, appearing

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between Mercury and Jupiter in the western

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sky. About an hour after Sunset

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Tomorrow evening, June 17, the moon will

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drift further along and sit next to brilliant

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Venus.

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Anna: Mercury is the trickiest of the three to

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spot. It's much fainter than Venus and

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Jupiter and sits very close to the horizon.

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So you'll want a clear sky and an

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unobstructed western view. It actually

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reached its greatest eastern elongation,

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its furthest point from the sun as seen from

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Earth just yesterday on June 15th.

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So right now is genuinely the best time of

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this apparition to find it.

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Avery: Venus, as always, is unmissable, the

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brightest object in the sky after the sun.

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And the Moon. And Jupiter sits just below it,

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the second brightest, both of them easy to

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Anna: find for our, uh, listeners in Australia and

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New Zealand. The geometry will appear

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flipped compared to Northern Hemisphere

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charts, with the planets appearing to the

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right rather than the left as they track west

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after sunset. But the view is equally

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beautiful.

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Avery: The crescent Moon alongside three planets all

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setting together in the western glow. It's

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one of those simple no telescope required

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moments that reminds you why people fell in

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love with the night sky in the first place.

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Anna: Get outside tonight if you can.

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And finally, a quick space weather update

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which also ties in nicely with our sky

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watching story.

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Avery: Forecasters at NOAA Space Weather Prediction

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center are tracking a coronal mass ejection,

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uh, a CME that departed, uh, the sun on June

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12th. It's expected to deliver a glancing

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blow to Earth today or tomorrow, June

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16th to 17th.

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Anna: The emphasis is glancing. A, uh, direct

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hit is not anticipated, but

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forecasters expect active conditions with a

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kp index up to around four. And

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there's a chance of an isolated G1

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minor geomagnetic storm. Uh, a

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G1 is the lowest level on NOAA's five

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point scale, but it can still produce aurora

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activity at high latitudes.

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Avery: If you're in the higher latitudes of

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Australia, Tasmania or New Zealand tonight,

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it's worth keeping an eye on Space Weather

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Apps the Aurora Australis won't be putting on

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a headline show, but with clear skies and a

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bit of luck, there may be some activity on

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the southern horizon for those in the right

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location.

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Anna: June is generally a, uh, quieter time for

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southern aurora chasers, given the shorter

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nights as we head towards the solstice in

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just a few days, but the sun has been

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reasonably active this month. Earlier in

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June, There was a G3 watch issued for a

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series of more significant CMEs, and

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this is a reminder that space weather remains

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worth monitoring.

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Avery: We'll of course keep watching and update us.

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Anna: Conditions develop and on that note,

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that is your Astronomy daily for Tuesday,

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June 16, 2026.

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Avery: A uh, massive thank you for spending part of

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your day with us. If you're enjoying the

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show, please subscribe, leave a review or

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share it with a fellow space enthusiast. It

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makes an enormous difference.

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Anna: Find us at astronomydaily IO

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and follow us on social media

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astrodailypod. We'll be back tomorrow

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with another full episode.

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Avery: Until then, keep looking up.

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Anna: This is Astronomy Daily. Goodbye for

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now.