Remembering a Legend: James Lovell's Legacy

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your regular

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dose of the latest and greatest from across the

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cosmos.

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Avery: We're your hosts, Avery and Anna, and we've got

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some truly fascinating stories from the world of space and

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astronomy for you today.

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Anna: We'll be starting by remembering a true legend of

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space exploration. Astronaut James

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Lovell, whose incredible life and contributions

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left an indelible mark on humanity's journey to

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the stars. Then we'll shift our gaze to the

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night sky, discussing the upcoming Perseid

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meteor shower and whether the bright moon

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might put a damper on this year's viewing party.

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But don't worry, we'll have some tips for you

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after that. We're off to explore a

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groundbreaking discovery by the Hubble Space

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Telescope, which has revealed evidence of a

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rare white dwarf collision, shedding new

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light on steel stellar evolution.

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Avery: And finally, we'll launch into a truly ambitious

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concept, the potential for space travel to a nearby

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black hole within the next century, exploring the

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technology and the scientific implications of such

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a monumental journey.

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Anna: So get ready for an exciting tour of

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the universe.

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We begin our show today with some somber news from

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the world of space exploration. We're

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reflecting on the remarkable life of astronaut

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James Lovell, who sadly passed away recently

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at the age of. Lovell

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was a true icon, a member of

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humanity's first trip to the moon and

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famously the commander of NASA's challenging

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Apollo 13 mission.

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Avery: That's right, Ana. NASA announced his passing

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and acting administrator Sean Duffy released a statement

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saying, NASA sends its condolences to the family

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of Captain Jim Lovell, whose life and work

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inspired millions of people across the decades.

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Jim's character and steadfast courage helped our nation

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reach the moon and turned a potential tragedy

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into a success from which we learned an enormous

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amount. We mourn his passing even as we

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celebrate his achievements. It really speaks volumes

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about the man he was.

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Anna: Absolutely. He was a four time

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Gemini and Apollo astronaut. But he's

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perhaps most famously known for his portrayal

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in the 1995 feature film

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Apollo 13. Tom Hanks played him

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and Lovell himself had a great sense of humor about

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it, often joking at public appearances.

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I know today when I came out, many of you were

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expecting Tom Hanks, but you're going to have to settle

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for little old me.

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Avery: Such a humble man. His career was truly

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groundbreaking. He was selected with NASA's second

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group of astronauts in 1962 and

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first launched aboard Gemini 7 in

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December 1965. This was a

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pivotal mission as it was the first to include

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a rendezvous with another crewed spacecraft,

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Gemini 6. And he and Commander Borman

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spent two weeks in Earth orbit, setting the

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US record for the longest spaceflight at the time,

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all in preparation for the later Apollo missions.

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Anna: And he was a key figure in demonstrating the

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skills needed for lunar missions. He

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commanded Gemini 12, the program's final

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flight, where his crewmate Buzz Aldrin,

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conducted the first truly successful

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spacewalks, showing that astronauts could

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effectively work outside a, uh, spacecraft.

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This was a huge step forward for the program,

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indeed.

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Avery: Then came his first trip to the moon as part of Apollo 8

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in December 1968. This mission

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was revolutionary, marking the first time humans

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had flown to another celestial body. Lovell,

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Bolt Borman and William Bill Anders were the first to

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see the far side of the moon with their own eyes and captured

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the iconic Earthrise photographs, which many

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credit with inspiring the environmental movement.

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Lovell himself said, you had to pinch yourself,

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hey, we're really going to the moon. This is

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it. It truly was a high point. As Lovell

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himself later reflected, that mission brought a much

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needed uplift to the American people during the

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turbulent year when a telegram sent to the crew

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stating, you saved 1968.

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But of course, the mission that cemented his

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legend was Apollo 13 in April

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1970. What was intended to be NASA's

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third moon landing quickly turned into a fight

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for survival after an explosion tore through the

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spacecraft's service module. That's when his

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famous line, houston, we've had a problem here

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came into play. He saw gas escaping from the

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spacecraft and oxygen gauges dropping to zero,

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and it was a dire situation. But his calm

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leadership, along with crewmates Fred Haise and Jack

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Swigert, guided them through incredible challenges

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to a safe splashdown. It was a testament to

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his courage and ingenuity, turning a potential

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tragedy into an incredible story of human

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perseverance.

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Anna: He was already a record breaker even before

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Apollo 13, being the first person to launch

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into space four times. After

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his active flight career, Lovell continued to

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contribute, serving as Deputy Director of

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Science and Applications at what's now Johnson

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Space center before retiring from NASA and

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the Navy. He then moved into the business world,

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holding executive roles and serving on various

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boards.

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Avery: And his contributions were recognized with numerous

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accolades, including the Congressional Space Medal of

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Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He

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was inducted into the International Space hall of Fame, the US

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Astronaut hall of Fame, and the National Aviation hall of

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Fame. A crater on the far side of the moon

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was even named for him in 1970.

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Anna: His legacy extends beyond his professional

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achievements. His family released, uh, a statement

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saying they were enormously proud of his

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amazing life and career accomplishments

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highlighted by his legendary leadership in

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pioneering human spaceflight. But to all

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of us, he was dad, granddad, and

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the leader of our family. Most importantly,

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he was our hero. We will miss his

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unshakeable optimism, his sense of

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humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could

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do the impossible. He was truly one of a

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kind.

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Avery: What a beautiful tribute. With James Lovell's

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passing, only five of the 24 people who flew to

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the moon during the Apollo program remain Livin's.

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His contributions to space exploration and his

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unwavering spirit will undoubtedly continue to

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inspire generations to come. He truly

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embodied the adventurous and resilient spirit of human

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spaceflight.

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Anna: From a somber reflection, we now turn our gaze

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to a more regular yet still exciting

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celestial event, the annual Perseid

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meteor shower. August is often dubbed

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meteor month for observers in the Northern

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hemisphere, largely thanks to this

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display.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. It's beloved by everyone from

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serious meteor enthusiasts to casual summer

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campers. However, for 2025,

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skywatchers need to be aware of a significant

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obstaclethe Moon.

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Anna: Unfortunately, this year the moon will turn full

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on August 9th and will be in a very bright,

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waning gibbous phase a few nights later, right

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when the Perseid peak is predicted to occur. And

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that's for the overnight hours of Monday, August

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11th into the pre dawn hours of Tuesday,

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August 12th. Awaiting gibbous is just

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about the worst moon phase for meteor observing.

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Avery: It truly is. The moon will be 89%

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illuminated and will be flooding the sky with light through

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most of that keen night. This will definitely

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hamper any serious attempts to observe the meteors.

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It's a bit of a redux of 1968 when the

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moon was in the same phase during the Perseid peak. Back

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then, a meteor watch in Central park only saw a about one

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meteor every minute or eight, when

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typically you'd expect one every minute or two.

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Anna: So quantity over quality then, because

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moonlight only hides the fainter meteors.

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Many Perseids are known to be fast, bright

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and often leave persistent trains.

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These brighter, streaky Perseids can definitely burn

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right through a moonlit sky, exactly as.

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Avery: Uh, Guy Adewell notes in his Astronomical Calendar

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2025. Perseid meteors are swift,

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many are bright. 1 White, yellow, green,

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red, orange, leave spectacular long

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lasting trains and end in flares. And

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occasionally you get an outstandingly bright Perseid

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fireball that blazes forth impressive enough to attract

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attention even with bright moonlight. So if you're

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willing to sacrifice the sheer number of meteors,

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you might still catch some truly spectacular ones.

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Anna: The best time to watch, as always,

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is from 11pm or midnight

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straight on until the first light of dawn.

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10 the meteors can appear anywhere in the

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sky, so just make sure you're watching in a

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direction where the Moon isn't directly in your

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eyes.

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Avery: It's definitely not the ideal year, as a single

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observer in the absence of moonlight might see

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45 to 90 meteors per hour. We

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won't come close to that in 2025, but

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for those already thinking ahead, 2026

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promises a much better show, with the peak

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night coinciding with a new Moon and even a

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solar eclipse. The so while this year is

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challenging, next year will be a different story.

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In the meantime, keep an eye out for a few celestial

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streakers and don't forget the eye catching

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conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. Low in the

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east northeast sky a few hours before sunrise.

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It's a nice constellation prize for the Moonlit Perseids

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of 2025.

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Anna: From looking at our own skies, let's now pivot to

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a truly fascinating discovery made possible

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by the venerable Hubble Space Telescope.

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It has uncovered compelling evidence of a rare

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white dwarf merger, shedding new light on

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stellar evolution and the ultimate fates of

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binary stars.

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Avery: This is a significant finding. Scientists at the

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University of Warwick detected carbon in the ultra

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massive white dwarf known as

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WD0525526,

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which is located about 130 light years away.

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In optical light, it looks like an ordinary hydrogen

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rich white dwarf, but Hubble's

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ultraviolet spectra revealed something much more

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unique.

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Anna: That faint carbon trace in its atmosphere is the

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telltale sign that this object is the product of a

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rare white dwarf merger rather than just

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a single star's evolution. What's even more

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remarkable is that the detected carbon is four

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to five orders of magnitude lower

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than in previously known merger remnants, making this

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the earliest stage example of such a merger found so

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far.

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Avery: It really highlights the power of ultraviolet

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observation. Normally, ultramassive white

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dwarfs hide their carbon beneath thick hydrogen

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and helium envelopes, but in

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WD0525526

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these layers are 10 billion times

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thinner. This thinning likely resulted from

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two stars merging and burning off their outer layers

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during the cosmic collision. The leaving behind a stripped

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remnant with a nearly pure hydrogen

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atmosphere, yet with carbon still leaking through.

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Anna: And the mechanism behind this carbon leakage is also

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quite intriguing. At nearly four times the

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sun's surface temperature,

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WD0525526

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is too hot for typical convection to bring up

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carbon. Instead, the team identified

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semiconvection, a subtle mixing Process

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never before seen in white dwarfs that allows

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a modest amount of carbon to drift upward.

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This opens a new chapter in stellar physics.

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Avery: The discovery challenges previous assumptions that

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hydrogen rich white dwarfs lack carbon.

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It implies that low level carbon pollution might be

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hidden beneath thin atmospheres in many

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ultramassive white dwarfs, only detectable

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with sensitive ultraviolet data.

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Anna: This research deepens our understanding of cooling

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delays in what's called the Q branch of the

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Gaia hertzsprung Russell diagram, which is linked

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to core crystallization. It also ref

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binary merger rates and helps us better identify

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potential progenitors of Thermonuclear

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Supernova

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WD0525526

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acts as a benchmark for models of stellar mergers

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and white dwarf evolution.

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Avery: It's incredible that Hubble, even at 35 years old,

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is still the only telescope capable of making such

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observations. The researchers stress the vital

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importance of planning for a new ultraviolet

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observatory to continue this work and survey

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more ultramassive white dwarfs across the galaxy,

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which could reveal a whole hidden population of these rare

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merger remnants.

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Anna: From uncovering hidden stellar secrets with Hubble,

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let's now set our sights on an even more ambitious

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concept. The idea of interstellar

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travel to a black hole. It sounds like

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something out of science fiction, but a new concept by

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astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi of Fudan University

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suggests a tiny laser propelled probe

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could actually make this trip to within a human

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lifetime.

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Avery: That's absolutely mind blowing. This

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vision, published in Eye Science, outlines how gram

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scale nanocrafts could journey to a nearby

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black hole and directly test the depths of

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gravitational physics. The first challenge, of course,

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is finding a hidden black hole. Close enough.

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Anna: Exactly. Known black holes like Jaia

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Baeshuan, uh, are over 1500 light years

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away. But Bambi estimates there might be 1 within

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20 to 25 light years. Based on stellar and

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white dwarf densities in galactic region.

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Detecting one would require new techniques such as

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microlensing or gravitational wave events, which

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could pick up the pull of an otherwise invisible object.

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Given rapid advances in these methods, Bambi

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argues we could locate a suitable target within 10

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years.

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Avery: That's a much shorter timeline for finding one than I

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would have thought. The core of this incredible

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mission lies in those nanocrafts. They'd

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be space probes or weighing just a few grams,

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Essentially a silicon chip like wafer

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with a reflective light sail made from advanced

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metamaterials. A powerful laser array

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on Earth would push the sail,

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accelerating the craft to speeds approaching a third of

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the speed of light.

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Anna: And at that astonishing speed, a black hole 20

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to 25 light years away could be reached in about

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60 to 75 years. Once the data is

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gathered, the signals would take another 20 to

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25 years to return, making the mission's full

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timeline around 8, 80 to 100 years,

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potentially even shorter if higher speeds are achieved.

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Avery: This isn't just about the journey. It's about the

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extraordinary experiments they could conduct Near

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a black hole's extreme gravity. For instance, if

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two or more nanocrafts were used, One could

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orbit closer while another observes. The

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inner craft would beam, uh, a steady electromagnetic

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signal Back to its partner According to general

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relativity. The timing of that signal should match

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predictions of the Kerr metric, which describes

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spacetime Around a rotating black hole. Any

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deviations could reveal new gravitational

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physics.

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Anna: Another fascinating test involves approaching or

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even crossing an event horizon. If a

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nanocraft falls into a true black hole,

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Its signal should become increasingly redshifted

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until it vanishes from view. But if the object is

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a fuzzball with no horizon, the signal

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might disappear suddenly. Only a direct

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mission could truly reveal the truth. They could even

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test if fundamental constants, like the fine structure

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constant change under intense gravity.

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Avery: Despite the incredible scientific payoff, There

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are major hurdles. The laser infrastructure

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alone would cost an estimated 1 trillion euros

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today. Though Bambi expects costs to drop

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significantly over the next two to three decades,

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Nanocraft technology, including durable light

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sails and miniaturized instruments, still needs

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development and communication across light years.

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Navigation and target precision are

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daunting.

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Anna: Yet as Bambi points out, Breakthroughs once

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deemed impossible, like detecting gravitational

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waves or imaging black hole shadows,

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are now realities. His goal is to

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spark a conversation that could launch a century

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long project, Potentially opening a

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direct window into gravity's most extreme

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realm.

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Avery: It's truly inspiring to think that future generations

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Might begin building and planning for such a mission.

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While today's scientists are laying the groundwork.

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This interstellar ambition could transform

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astrophysics, Allowing direct measurements of

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spacetime and extreme gravity that either

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reaffirm or challenge Einstein's theory.

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Anna: Well, that brings us to the end of another fascinating

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episode of Astronomy Daily. Thank you so much for

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joining us today.

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Avery: It's been quite a journey through the cosmos, hasn't it?

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We remembered the incredible legacy of astronaut

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James Lovell. We discussed the challenging

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Perseid meteor shower this year, and explored

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Hubble's amazing discovery Of a rare white

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dwarf collision.

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Anna: And of course, we dared to dream about the possibility

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of sending nanocrafts to a black hole within the

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next century. There's always so much happening in

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the universe.

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Avery: Indeed, there is. We hope you enjoy

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diving into these stories with us, and please

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visit our website at, uh, astronomydaily

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IO for more news and to listen to our back

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episodes.

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Anna: Join us next time for more celestial insights

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and the latest news from beyond our world. Until

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then, keep looking up