Mysteries of a Rogue Planet, Astrosat's Ten-Year Triumph, and Moonlit Festivities

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Avery: Welcome back to Astronomy Daily, the podcast

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that brings the cosmos down to Earth. I'm

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your host, Avery.

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

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We've got a packed show today, Avery. We'll

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be looking at a dazzling cosmic light show on

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a rogue planet. Celebrating a decade

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of discovery for India's first space

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observatory. Checking out some new plasma

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engines that could get us to Mars in record

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time. And finally, we'll tell you how you

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can join a massive global event to celebrate

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our very own moon.

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Avery: That's a lot to cover, so let's get right to

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it.

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First up, a truly fascinating discovery from

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the James Webb Space Telescope. It seems

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it's spotted an unusual weather forecast

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on a world far beyond our solar system,

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complete with brilliant aurora like displays.

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Anna: That's right. Astronomers at, uh, Trinity

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College Dublin have been investigating the

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atmosphere of a nearby free floating

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planet, also known as a rogue planet.

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This one is called Simp Webb

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0136. For our listeners,

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a rogue planet is one that doesn't orbit a

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star. It just drifts through interstellar

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space on its own.

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Avery: And using Webb's incredibly sensitive

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instruments, the research team was able to

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measure tiny variations in the planet's

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brightness as it spins. These subtle

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shifts gave them a wealth of information

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about its temperature, cloud cover and

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chemical makeup. But the really unexpected

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part was the discovery of intense auroral.

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Anna: And what's so strange about that is how these

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auroras are generated. Here on Earth,

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auroras are powered by the solar wind, but

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a rogue planet has no star,

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so the energy must be coming from somewhere

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else. Scientists speculate it could be

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generated by an unseen moon orbiting the

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plant, whose gravity stirs up electrical

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currents. It's a real cosmic mystery.

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It's an amazing find. These shimmering light

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shows are similar to our own northern lights,

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but probably closer in strength to the

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massive auroras we see on Jupiter. And they

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seem to be playing a significant role in

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heating the planet's upper atmosphere.

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The lead author of the research, Dr. Evert

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Nosydkin, highlighted just how

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precise these measurements were.

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Avery: He said these are some of the most precise

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atmospheric measurements of any extrasolar

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object to date. And he made a pretty

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striking comparison, Saying at over

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1500 degrees Celsius,

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Simp136 makes this summer's heat wave

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look mild. The team could record temperature

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changes smaller than 5 degrees Celsius.

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Anna: And those temperature changes were linked to

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shifts in the planet's chemical composition,

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which suggests the presence of huge storms

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similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot,

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rotating into and out of view

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but there was another surprise. Researchers

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expected to see the cloud coverage change,

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like watching patches of clouds pass by here

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on Earth.

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Avery: Instead, they found that the cloud coverage

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was constant. And these aren't your typical

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water ice clouds. At the extreme temperatures

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on Simp136, the clouds are made of

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silicate grains. Basically, it has

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clouds of sand. So you've got a rogue

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planet with auroras, sand,

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clouds, and storms bigger than anything on

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Earth. The universe is a wild place.

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Anna: It certainly is.

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And speaking of incredible instruments

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peering into the universe, our next story

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celebrates a major milestone for an

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observatory that has been doing just that for

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a full decade. India's first

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dedicated space astronomy observatory,

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Astrosat, has just completed 10

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years of operations.

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Avery: That's a huge achievement. It was launched

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back on September 28, 2015,

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with a designed mission life of just five

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years. So it's doubled its expected

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service time and is still providing valuable

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data. That's a testament to some fantastic

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engineering.

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Anna: Absolutely. The Indian Space Research

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Organization, or isro, commemorated the

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milestone, highlighting astrosat's

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groundbreaking insights across the

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electromagnetic spectrum. It has studied

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everything from black holes and neutron stars

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stars to our nearest stellar neighbor,

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Proxima Centauri.

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Avery: And it even made the first ever detection of

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far ultraviolet photons from galaxies an

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incredible 9.3 billion light years

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away. That's a huge distance looking deep

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into the history of the universe.

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Anna: What makes ASTROSAT so powerful is its

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multi wavelength capability. It was designed

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to observe the universe simultaneously in the

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visible, ultraviolet and both low

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and high energy X ray regions. This is

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possible because it carries five distinct

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scientific payloads.

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Avery: Those are the Ultraviolet Imaging

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Telescope, the Large area X ray

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proportional counter, the cadmium zinc

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telluride Imager, the Soft X Ray

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Telescope, and the Scanning Sky Monitor.

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Each one gives a different view of the

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cosmos. Congratulations to ISRO and the whole

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ASTROSAT team on a successful decade.

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Anna: Well said. Now, from looking deep into space

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to developing new ways to travel through it.

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Our next story comes from Russia, where

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engineers have showcased new plasma engines

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designed for deep space exploration.

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Avery: That's right. Russia's Kaldish Research

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center demonstrated the new engine at the

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Army 2025 International Military Technical

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Forum. This isn't like a traditional chemical

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rocket. It's a type of ion thruster known as

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a Hall Effect thruster.

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Anna: Exactly. Instead of using heat and pressure

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from burning fuel, a Hall Effect

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thruster uses an electric field to

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accelerate a propellant. In this case, a

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plasma. The new design is an improvement on

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an existing thruster, but it uses a system of

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permanent magnets to apply the magnetic

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field.

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Avery: According to reports, this significantly

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improves the engine's characteristics,

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including its efficiency, and also reduces

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its weight. And less weight is always a huge

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win in spaceflight.

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Anna: These plasma engines are perfect for

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maneuvering in orbit and for long

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interplanetary flights. They're characterized

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by very low thrust, so you're not getting a

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dramatic, powerful launch. But they can

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operate for a very long time, allowing a

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spacecraft to gradually build up to

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incredibly high velocities.

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Avery: It's the tortoise and the hare of space

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travel. And Anna, uh, this is the really mind

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blowing claim. Last year, the director of the

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Keldish Center, Vladimir Koshlikov, said

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that plasma engines will make it possible to

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fly to Mars in just a month and a half.

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Anna: That would be a complete game changer.

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Current missions take six to nine months to

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get to Mars. Reducing that travel time so

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dramatically would solve so many problems,

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from astronaut radiation exposure to mission

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logistics. It's a very exciting development

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to watch indeed.

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Avery: And from those future trips to Mars, let's

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bring it back a little closer to home.

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For our final story, we're talking about our

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very own Moon. And an invitation for all of

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our listeners to join a global celebration.

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Anna: That's right. This Saturday, October 4, is

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NASA's international observe the Moon Night.

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It's an annual event that offers everyone a

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chance to celebrate the inspiring bond

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between the Earth and the Moon. And this

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year, it ties in beautifully with the

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excitement building for NASA's Artemis 2

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mission.

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Avery: Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in early

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2026, and it will send four astronauts

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on a flight past the Moon and back. First

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crewed mission to the lunar vicinity in over

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50 years. So this Saturday is a great time to

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get reacquainted with our celestial neighbor.

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Anna: On Saturday night, the Moon will be in a

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waxing gibbous phase, which means most of its

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face will be lit up by the Sun. It's a

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perfect phase for viewing. With just your

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unaided eye, you'll be able to see the large,

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dark patches on the Moon. These are called

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maria, which is Latin for seas.

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Ancient astronomers thought they were seas of

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water, but we now know they are vast, flat

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plains of solidified ancient lava that

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erupted billions of years ago. If you have

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binoculars or a telescope, you can see even

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more geological features, like craters,

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volcanic domes, and even bright swirls on

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the surface. NASA has even provided an

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interactive map on their website specifically

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for the moon's phase on October 4,

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highlighting interesting areas and offering

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viewing tips. There are so many ways to

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participate, from backyard viewing parties

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to lunar art.

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Avery: Projects, uh, truly global event. In

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2024, an estimated 1.3 million

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people from 127 countries took

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part. So if you look up at the moon on

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Saturday night, know that millions of people

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around the world are looking up with you.

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I'll put a link in the show notes so you can

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find out more and sign up if you wish to take

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part in this global celebration.

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Anna: And that brings us to the end of our show.

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We've journeyed from a rogue planet with sand

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clouds to celebrating a decade of

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astrosat. From futuristic plasma

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engines to a worldwide party for our

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own moon.

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Avery: Thanks so much for joining us on Astronomy

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Daily. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get

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your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

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You can also find us on social media to

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continue the conversation. Just search for

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AstroDailyPod Daily Pod on all the main

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platforms.

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Anna: Until next time, keep looking up. I'm

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Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery Clear Skies.