Sept. 27, 2024

S03E165: Rocky Exoplanet Discovery, ISS Crew Rotations, and Hubble's Jet Surprise

S03E165: Rocky Exoplanet Discovery, ISS Crew Rotations, and Hubble's Jet Surprise

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E165
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and Astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and in today's episode, we'll be covering several exciting stories from across the cosmos.
Highlights:
- First...

Season 3
Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E165
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and Astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and in today's episode, we'll be covering several exciting stories from across the cosmos.
Highlights:
- First Rocky Planet Orbiting a White Dwarf: Astronomers have discovered the first rocky planet orbiting a white dwarf star, located about 4200 light years away. This frozen world, nearly twice the mass of Earth, survived the death and expansion of its host star, raising intriguing questions about Earth's future as our sun ages.
- ISS Crew Changes: Two Russian cosmonauts, Oleg Konenenko and Nigel Chubb, returned to Earth after a record-breaking 374 Daily in space, providing valuable data on long-duration spaceflight effects. NASA is gearing up for more crew rotations, with the SpaceX Crew-9 mission set to launch soon.
- Potential Resumption of Spacewalks: NASA is working to resolve technical issues with spacesuits, aiming to resume spacewalks from the US segment of the ISS. These extravehicular activities are crucial for maintenance and upgrades.
- SpaceX Crew-9 Mission: Scheduled to launch on Saturday, September 28, at 1:17 PM Eastern from Cape Canaveral, this mission will carry NASA astronaut Nick Haig and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov to the ISS. Register as a virtual guest for exclusive resources and updates. To register as an invited guest, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasas-spacex-crew-9-launch-registration-881980135327?aff=feature
- Hubble's Unexpected Discovery: The Hubble Space Telescope revealed that a supermassive black hole's jet is causing nearby stars to erupt more frequently. This finding challenges our understanding of black hole jets and their interactions with surrounding stars.
- First Discovery from the NEID Earth Twin Survey: Astronomers announced the discovery of HD 86728 b, a planet nine times the mass of Earth, orbiting a star 49 light years away. This showcases the precision of new instruments and brings us closer to finding Earth-like planets.
- Dark Matter Interactions: A new study suggests that dark matter may interact with regular matter in ways beyond gravity. Observations of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies hint at a more complex relationship, potentially opening new avenues for detecting dark matter.
For more space news, be sure to visit our website at astronomydaily.io. There you can sign up for our free Daily newsletter, catch up on all the latest space and Astronomy news with our constantly updating newsfeed, and listen to all our back episodes.
Don't forget to follow us on social media. Just search for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, and TikTok.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
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WEBVTT

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space

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in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and in today's episode,

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will be covering several exciting stories from across the cosmos.

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In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have spotted the first rocky

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planet orbiting a white dwarf star, providing a fascinating glimpse

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into what might be Earth's fate billions of years from now.

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This frozen world, located about four thy two hundred light

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years away, managed to survive the death and expansion of

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its host star. The planet, with a mass nearly twice

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that of Earth now orbits a stellar remnant the white

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Dwarf at a distance that puts it well beyond the

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former star's habitable zone. It's a chilly outpost, as the

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white Dwarf emits only a fraction of the light it

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once did as a normal star. This discovery raises intriguing

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questions about our own planet's future, as our Sun ages

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and expands into a red giant before becoming a white dwarf.

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Will Earth survive Some models suggest it might, while others

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predict Earth's destruction. This newfound planet implies the Earth's chances

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for survival could be higher than previously thought. However, even

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if our planet does survive, it would likely become an inhospitable,

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frozen world, much like this newly discovered exoplanet. It's a

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sobering reminder of the long term cosmic challenges facing our

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home world. The International Space Station has been bustling with

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activity lately as several crew changes have taken place. Most notably,

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two Russian cosmonauts, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubb recently returned

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to Earth after spending an incredible three hundred and seventy

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four days in space. This record breaking mission has provided

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valuable data on the effects of long duration spaceflight on

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the human body. Meanwhile, NASA is gearing up for more

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crew rotations in the coming days. The SpaceX Crew nine

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mission is set to launch as soon as this weekend,

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bringing fresh faces to the orbiting laboratory. This constant cycling

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of crew members ensures that the ISS remains continuously staffed

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and productive. Another exciting development is the potential resumption of

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space Wall from the US segment of the station. These

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crucial extra vehicular activities have been on hold for nearly

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a year due to technical issues with the space suits. However,

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NASA is working diligently to resolve these problems and get

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astronauts back outside the station to perform vital maintenance and upgrades.

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These crew changes and potential space walks highlight the dynamic

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nature of life aboard the International Space Station, as well

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as the ongoing commitment to scientific research and exploration in

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Low Earth orbit. In related news, back on the ground,

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NASA is gearing up for the crew change over this weekend,

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and they want you to be a part of it.

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The SpaceX Crew nine mission is set to blast off

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on Saturday, September twenty eighth at one seventeen pm Eastern

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Time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This

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mission will carry NASA astronaut Nick Haig and russ Cosmos

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cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov to the orbiting laboratory aboard a SpaceX

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Dragon spacecraft. While you can't be there in person, NASA

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is offering the next best thing, a virtual front row

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seat to all the action. By registering as a virtual Ganes,

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you'll receive exclusive resources, interactive opportunities, and the latest mission updates.

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You'll even get a special collectible stamp for your virtual

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guest passport after liftoff. To register, you'll need to visit

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NASA's registration page online, and I'll include the link in

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the show notes. Live coverage of the launch will begin

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at nine ten am Eastern on NASA's website and streaming platforms,

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So mark your calendars and get ready to witness another

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incredible journey to the stars. Let's move on to some

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Hubble news today. In a stunning revelation, the Hubble Space

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Telescope has unveiled an unexpected cosmic phenomenon. Astronomers have discovered

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that the powerful jet emanating from a super massive black

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hole at the core of a massive galaxy is causing

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nearby stars to erupt more frequently than usual. This jet,

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a blazing stream of plasma stretching over three thousand light years,

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seems to be influencing double star systems in its vicinity.

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These systems, known as novae, are experiencing twice as many

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eruptions compared to similar stars elsewhere in the galaxy. The

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finding has left researchers puzzled, challenging our current understanding of

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how black hole jets interact with their surroundings. Lead author

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alec Lessing from Stanford University admits, we don't know what's

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going on, but it's just a very exciting finding. This

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discovery opens up new questions about the complex relationships between

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black holes, their jets, and the stars that inhabit their

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galactic neighborhoods. It's a reminder that even after decades of observation,

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the universe still has plenty of surprises in store for us.

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Now some exciting news from the world of exoplanet hunting.

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Astronomers have just announced the first discovery from the Knead

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Earth Twin survey. This new planet, named HD eight six

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seven two eight B, is orbiting a star located about

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forty nine light years away from us. What makes this

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discovery special is that it showcases the incredible precision of

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new instruments like this spectrograph. HD eight six seven two

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eight B has a mass about nine times that of

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Earth and orbits its star every thirty one days. While

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this particular planet isn't quite an Earth twin, its discovery

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proves that we're getting better at finding smaller, potentially rocky

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worlds around nearby stars as we continue to refine our

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techniques and instruments we're inching closer to the ultimate goal

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of finding true Earth like planets in habitable zones around

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other stars. This first success from the NEED survey is

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just the beginning. Astronomers are optimistic that more exciting discoveries

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are on the horizon as they continue to search for

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alien worlds in our cosmic neighborhood. Moving on now to

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a dark matter update. In a surprising twist that challenges

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our understanding of the universe, a new study suggests that

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dark matter may not be as aloof as we once thought.

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Scientists have long believed that dark matter interacts with regular

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matter only through gravity. However, recent observations of ultra faint

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dwarf galaxies are hinting at a more complex relationship. The study,

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published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, looked at six of

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these tiny galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. By comparing computers

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simulations with real world observations. Researchers found that the distribution

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of stars in these galaxies doesn't quite match what we'd

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expect if dark matter and regular matter were only linked

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by gravity. This slight discrepancy could indicate that dark matter

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interacts with regular matter in ways we haven't yet understood.

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While the exact nature of this interaction remains a mystery,

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the implications are profound. It could open up new avenues

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for detecting dark matter directly and force us to rethink

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our current models of how the universe works. As always

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in science, more data is needed to confirm these findings,

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but if true, this discovery could be a game changer

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in our quest to understand the enigmatic substance that makes

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up most of the Universe's mass. That's all for today's

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episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm anna. Thanks for listening. Visit

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our website at Astronomy Daily dot io for more space news,

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our daily newsletter, and all our previous episodes. You can

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also find us on social media as astro Daily Pod

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on Facebook, x YouTube, and TikTok. Until next time, keep

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looking up Sunny Day. Star is Star is the Star.