Launch Setback, Celestial Wonders, and the Allure of Astrophotography

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Avery: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the

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podcast that brings you the universe, one

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story at a time. I'm Avery.

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Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to have you with us.

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we've got a fascinating lineup today, from a

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mysterious interstellar object, baffling

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scientists to the quiet delay of a major

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rocket launch.

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Avery: Plus, we'll dive into the ongoing debate

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about a strange glow at the heart of our

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galaxy, tell you how to spot a rare double

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comet, and share the best places to find

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breathtaking space photography online. Let's

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get started.

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Anna: First up, a, significant development in the

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world of commercial spaceflight. Avery,

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it looks like Arianespace is facing a

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setback with its new heavy lifter.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. the first flight of the

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powerful 4 booster variant, the Orion

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64 has been quietly pushed back to

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2026. This was initially slated for

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late 2025, and it's a pretty big deal

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because this rocket is tasked with launching

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a significant portion of Amazon's Project

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Cooper satellite constellation.

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Anna: Project Cooper is Amazon's answer to

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SpaceX's Starlink, right? A

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huge network of Internet satellites in low

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Earth orbit.

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Avery: Exactly. And securing launch providers is one

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of the biggest hurdles for these mega

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constellations. The Orion 6IV is the key

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part of Amazon's strategy. The delay wasn't

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announced with the big press release. It was

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just updated on the Arianespace website,

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which suggests they're trying to manage

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expectations.

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Anna: It really highlights the immense complexity

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of developing these new launch vehicles. Even

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for established players like Arianespace,

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delays are almost part of the process.

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It'll be interesting to see how this affects

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Amazon's deployment timeline for project

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cooperation.

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Avery: It certainly will. Amazon has regulatory

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deadlines to meet for deploying half of its

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constellation by 2026. While they

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have launches booked with other providers

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like ULA and Blue origin, the Orion 6IV

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was a major pillar of their strategy. This

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forces them to reshuffle an already complex

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launch manifest.

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Anna: Absolutely. It's a critical moment. A delay

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of even a few months can have significant

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ripple effects in this highly competitive

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market. They need to demonstrate reliability

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and get their flight cadence up to speed to

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secure future contracts. We'll definitely be

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keeping a close eye on how this develops.

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Avery: And what does this mean for Ariane space? The

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Ariane 5 was a workhorse for decades, but the

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market has changed dramatically. Is this a

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critical moment for them? Time will tell.

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Alright.

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From engineering challenges here in our solar

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system to a deep mystery from beyond it, our

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next story is an update about an interstellar

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object that is breaking all the rules.

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It's named 3i ATLS.

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Anna: This sounds exciting. What makes it so

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unusual? It's not our first interstellar

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visitor, is it?

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Avery: No, but this one is behaving very strangely.

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Spectrometers have detected it emitting a

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compound called nickel tetracarbonyl.

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For context, this compound has never been

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seen occurring in nature before. On Earth,

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it's used in industrial processes to refine

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nickel.

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Anna: Wow. Okay. An industrial

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chemical in space. That is

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bizarre. Is there a natural explanation?

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Avery: That's the multi billion dollar question.

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Scientists are stumped. It gets weirder too.

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Unlike a typical comet that ejects M material

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away from the sun due TO solar wind,

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3I ATLAS is ejecting material

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towards the sun. It's defying our

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understanding of cometary physics.

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Anna: So it's not behaving like a comet.

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And it's venting a compound associated

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with industry. I can see why this has

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generated some controversial

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theories. Are they thinking it could be

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artificial?

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Avery: Before we get into that, how does this

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compare to our other known interstellar

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visitors like Oumuamua? That one also sparked

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a lot of debate about its origins, didn't it?

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Anna: But yes, that's certainly the most

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sensational theory being floated. Though

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most scientists are, urging caution and

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looking for a new unknown natural

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phenomenon to explain it. The

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frustrating part is that a probe on its way

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to Mars just had a close flyby. It

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could have captured high resolution images

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that might solve the puzzle.

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Avery: It did, but in a different way.

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Oumuamua was strange because it was a highly

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elongated rocky object that showed slight

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non gravit acceleration without any

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visible outgassing. Like a comet. 3 I

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ATLs is different. It is

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outgassing, but it's ejecting bizarre

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materials in a way that seems to defy

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physics. Oumuamua was mysterious for what

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it didn't do, while ATLs is

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mysterious for what it is doing. So you

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mentioned a flyby. Perfect. Does that mean

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we'll have answers soon?

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Anna: Well, about that. The data

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is currently unavailable. The transmission

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was halted due to a government shutdown

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affecting the Deep Space Network. So

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for now, one of the biggest mysteries in

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modern astronomy is on hold. Because of

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bureaucracy, you can't make the stuff up.

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Avery: An interstellar mystery. Potentially

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groundbreaking data. And it's all stuck in

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cosmic limbo. Incredible.

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Speaking of cosmic mysteries, let's bring our

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focus closer to home. To the very heart

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of our own Milky Way galaxy. For

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years, astronomers have been debating the

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source of a puzzling gamma ray glow

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emanating from the galactic center.

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Anna: Right. The gamma Ray excess. I

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remember the two leading theories were pretty

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different from each other.

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Avery: Very different. On one side, you have a

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relatively conventional explanation. The

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glow is the combined light of thousands of

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undiscovered pulsars. Super dense

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spinning stellar remnants. On the other, a,

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much more exotic theory. The glow

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is caused by the annihilation of dark matter

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particles, which would be.

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Anna: The first direct evidence of dark matter

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interacting in a way we can detect. A

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monumental discovery. So where

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does the debate stand now?

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Avery: Well, the case for dark matter just got a

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boost. New computer simulations have shown

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that dark matter could be distributed in the

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galaxy in a clumpy, irregular way.

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And it turns out this clumpy distribution

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would produce a gamma ray signal that

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perfectly matches the shape of the observed

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glow.

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Anna: That's fascinating. For listeners who

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might not be familiar, could you briefly

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explain what it means for dark matter

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to annihilate? It sounds quite

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dramatic.

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Avery: It does. The leading theory is that dark

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matter is made of particles that are their

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own antiparticles. So when two of

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these particles meet, they annihilate each

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other, converting their mass directly into

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energy in the form of other particles,

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including high energy gamma rays.

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The clumpy distribution means more of these

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collisions would happen in specific areas,

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creating a signal that matches what we see.

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Anna: So it puts the dark matter theory back on

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equal footing with the pulsar theory.

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Avery: Exactly. It doesn't prove it, but it

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shows it's just as plausible. The

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simulation removes a major objection to the

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dark matter hypothesis. Ultimately, the

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deadlock might only be broken by the next

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generation of gamma ray telescopes, which

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could have the resolution to either spot the

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individual pulsars or rule them out for

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good.

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Anna: It's a fantastic example of how theory

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and observation work together.

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Until we finally get an answer.

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From the invisible glow of gamma rays

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to something you can actually see in the

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night sky, we have some good news. For

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stargazers, this week offers a

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rare opportunity to see two comets

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at once.

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Avery: A, double header. That's not something you

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see every day. which comets are we talking

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about?

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Anna: They're named Comet LEMMON and Comet

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Swan. On October 20, they will

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both be making their closest approach to

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Earth, making it the best time to view them.

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They should be visible with a good pair of

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binoculars or a small telescope away from

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city lights.

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Avery: And for those who might be clouded out or

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don't have the equipment, is there a way to

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join in?

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Anna: There is. Several astronomy

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organizations are hosting a live online

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stream of the event, with telescopes from

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different parts of the world providing views

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and commentary from astronomers. It's a

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wonderful way to experience the event no

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matter where you are.

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Avery: That's fantastic. It's a great reminder of

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the dynamic, ever changing nature of our

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solar system. These icy visitors are making

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a fleeting pass and we get to witness it.

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We'll be sure to put a link to the livestream

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in our show. Notes Seeing events like that

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double Comet flyby often gets people inspired

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by the beauty of the cosmos.

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Which brings us to our final story. Where to

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find the Best Space Photography Online

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the images we get from our telescopes and

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probes are just awe, inspiring.

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Anna: They really are. And there are some fantastic

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resources out there. For the highest quality,

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scientifically significant images, the

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official agency websites are the best place

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to start. NASA's image of the day, the

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European Space Agency's gallery and the

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European Southern Observatory's archives are

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treasure troves.

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Avery: Absolutely. The Hubble and James Webb Space

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Telescope galleries in particular have images

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that will just change your perspective on the

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universe. But it's not just the big

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agencies. There's a thriving community of

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amateur astrophotographers who do incredible

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work.

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Anna: That's so true. Where can listeners find

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their work?

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Avery: Online communities are the best bet. Reddit's

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r Astrophotography subreddit is

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amazing. You'll see stunning images of

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galaxies and nebulae taken from people's

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backyards. Another great site is

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AstroDailyPod Bin, which is a, dedicated

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hosting platform for astrophotography where

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people share details about their equipment

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and techniques. And it's not just about

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appreciating the beauty. Many of these

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platforms connect to real scientific work.

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There are citizen science projects like

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Galaxy Zoo, where the public can help

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astronomers classify the shapes of distant

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galaxies from telescope images. It's a way

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for anyone to contribute directly to our

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understanding of the universe.

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Anna: That's amazing. So you can go from being

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an admirer to a contributor. It's a

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wonderful way to see what's possible. And

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since we're talking about online communities,

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it's a good time to mention a quick tip for

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online safety. When you're browsing these

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sites, it's always smart to be mindful of the

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information you share and to stick to well

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known, reputable platforms.

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Avery: An excellent point, but with that in mind,

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diving into these galleries is one of the

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best ways to feel connected to the cosmos.

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Anna: And that brings us to the end of today's

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episode of Astronomy Daily. From launch

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delays and mysterious visitors to galactic

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glows and cosmic photography, the universe

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never fails to keep us on our toes.

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Avery: Thanks so much for tuning in. We hope you'll

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join us again tomorrow as we continue to

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explore the final frontier. Until then, keep

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looking up.