June 13, 2023

S02E13: Discovering the Jellyfish Galaxy's Gas Trails and Other Space News with Steve and Hallie

S02E13: Discovering the Jellyfish Galaxy's Gas Trails and Other Space News with Steve and Hallie

Astronomy Daily with Steve Dunkley and his trusty AI Newsreader Hallie.
Ironically, space enthusiast Hallie dives into the extreme and violent conditions of Jellyfish galaxies, highlighting the unique gas trails and the goal of studying star...

Astronomy Daily with Steve Dunkley and his trusty AI Newsreader Hallie.
Ironically, space enthusiast Hallie dives into the extreme and violent conditions of Jellyfish galaxies, highlighting the unique gas trails and the goal of studying star formation, while the central conflict remains the influence of the main disk of a galaxy. In this episode, you will be able to: · Uncover the secrets of the Jellyfish galaxy and its intriguing gas trails that have captivated astronomers. · Dive into the NASA Earth Information Center, showcasing vital data on climate change and what it means for our world. · Get a glimpse of the Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper's stunning debut image, bringing the Turtle Nebula to life. · Examine Space Force's partnership with SpaceX and ULA, and understand its significance for military space operations. · Delve into the cutting-edge concept of beaming solar power from space, and its potential to transform clean energy. The resources mentioned in this episode are: · Visit the Earth Information Center at NASA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. for an exhibit showcasing information about our environment and climate, including large videos and interactive media stories and narratives. · Check out the Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper at the WM. Keck Observatory atop Mount Oka summit in Hawaii for detailed maps of gas around dying stars and other cosmic objects and to map the cosmic web that links and feeds galaxies. · Consider investing in space-based solar power technology, which could potentially yield eight times more power than solar panels on any location on the surface of the globe. Look into the California Institute of Technology's Space Solar Power Project, which aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to Earth. · Support Space Force by following their assignments for national security space launch missions divided equally between SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. These missions will help Space Force build out its communications and missile tracking satellite layers. · Keep an eye out for the Jellyfish galaxy J O 206, located around 700 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius the Water Bearer. This galaxy is a great example of a jellyfish galaxy with distinctive trails of gas that are ripped from it as it moves through the In The Jellyfish Galaxy The Jellyfish Galaxy, also known as J206, is a unique astronomical structure located around 700 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. It is characterized by the trails of gas that are ripped from it as it makes its way through the material between galaxies. These gas trails create a stunning visual effect reminiscent of a jellyfish, hence the name. The Jellyfish Galaxy is a fascinating subject for astronomers, as it offers a chance to study the behavior of stars and other celestial bodies in an environment vastly different from our own galaxy. Throughout the podcast, host Steve Dunkley and guest Hallie delved into the fascinating world of the Jellyfish Galaxy, providing a wealth of knowledge and insights. They discussed the unique gas trails that characterize this type of galaxy and the stunning images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hallie also shared how studying the Jellyfish Galaxy can give astronomers a better understanding of star formation in extreme conditions, far from the influence of a galaxy's main disk. NASA's Earth Information Center NASA's Earth Information Center is a cutting-edge exhibit designed to merge science and visualizations, offering visitors an immersive experience that deepens their understanding of our planet's changing climate. The center, which showcases data and insights provided by NASA's Earth-monitoring satellites and instruments, supports the wider Biden-Harris administration's emphasis on addressing climate change. By providing accessible information about the environment and climate, the exhibit helps bridge the gap between scientific research and everyday understanding. Steve and Hallie explored the role of NASA's Earth Information Center in raising awareness about climate change and its effects on our planet. Hallie emphasized the importance of making complex data accessible to laypersons, especially when it comes to helping communities understand and respond to the challenges posed by climate change. The podcast provided valuable context for why such initiatives are critical in educating the public on the importance of environmental conservation and stewardship. The Turtle Nebula The Turtle Nebula, a celestial structure comprised of a dying star surrounded by a glowing envelope of gas, was recently captured by the Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper (KCRM) at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii. This milestone event, known as the first light, signifies the telescope's readiness to begin its mission. The KCRM is designed to map the cosmic web that links and feeds galaxies – an essential part of understanding the large-scale structure of the universe. Steve and Hallie discussed the first light image of the Turtle Nebula and the significance of this celestial object in the study of the cosmic web. Hallie explained that the Turtle Nebula offers astronomers valuable information about the dynamic nature of the universe and its interconnected components. The conversation highlighted the importance of observing celestial structures like the Turtle Nebula to advance our understanding of the universe and its constituent elements.

For more Astronomy Daily visit www.spacenuts.io
WEBVTT

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Welcome to another episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Steve Dunkley.

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It is the thirteenth of June twenty
twenty three, and a quick apology for

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being a day late. Here in
New South Wales, Australia. We were

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celebrating the Monarch's birthday yesterday. Yes, King Charles, our new monarch,

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was having a birthday. It's our
official day off, so yes, we

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took a day off. I just
realized that it makes me a bit of

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a royal apologist. Anyway, leave
Dunkle and here's someone who never needs a

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day off. Our wonderful friend,
Hallie. Howie, Hollie, great to

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be here again. You always say
that. Well it's true. Oh that's

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good to hear. I hope you
had a nice time celebrating the King's birthday.

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No, not really. I ended
up with a bad case of salmon

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mela poisoning. Sorry you and your
stomach, Steve, there's no hope for

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you. Well, I'm definitely not
going for the astronaut program, that's for

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sure. Okay, what have we
got to go today? I'll be talking

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about space Jellyfish and the Hubble space
telescope and something new with space Force,

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and also the NASA Earth Information Center
and the Turtle Nebula too. I'm seeing

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a bit of a patentforming with your
stories. And you've got something about beaming

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power from space. Wow. Yes, that one sort of bridges the get

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between science fiction and science fact.
So I can't wait for that one.

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Meanwhile, habit some short takes,
okies, here's the short takes. The

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Hubble telescope has caught us a lovely
star spawning cosmic jellyfish. The celestial sea

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creatures tendrils formed when it interacted with
surrounding superheated gas. The celestial sea creature

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is actually the jellyfish galaxy JO two
O six, which is located around seven

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hundred million light years from Earth,
fittingly in the constellation of Aquarius, the

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water Bearer. The Hubble image shows
the main body of JO two O six

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as a colorful disc surrounded by a
hazy cloud of growing dust tendrils of material,

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much like the tendrils of the c
creature from which its name is derived,

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trail the galaxy. The jellyfish galaxy
is seen afloat in an inky black

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seat punctuated by stars. The spiral
galaxy is angled toward Earth. And hubble

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so that it is face on in
relation to our planet, allowing it to

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be seen in stunning detail. Jellyfish
galaxies like Jo two O six are found

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in galaxy clusters, and they are
characterized by the distinctive trails of gas that

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are ripped from them as they force
their way through material that lies between galaxies

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in these conglomerations, officially called the
intracluster medium. This means there is much

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more to the anatomical features of Jo
two O six than may initially meet the

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eye. As the spiral galaxy JO
two O six swims through the superheated intercluster

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medium, gas is pulled from the
faint cloud of material around the galaxy and

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forms numerous thin arms. This causes
intense bouts of star formation called starbursts in

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the tendrils. Studying these regions therefore
offers astronomers the chance to observe star formation

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in extreme and violent conditions, away
from the influence of the main disc of

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a galaxy that sounds gorgeous. It
seems. NASA is inviting media to tour

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before the opening of its Earth Information
Center, the New Earth Information Center at

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NASA's headquarters. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
is inviting media to a ribbon cutting ceremony

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on Wednesday, June twenty first,
for the opening of the center at the

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agency's headquarters in Washington. The exhibit
is a hybrid part physical, part online,

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an effort that blends science and visualizations, including immersive spaces that blend art

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and science to allow visitors to see
how our planet is changing. Climate change

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is a key priority of the Biden
Harris administration, and NASA plays a critical

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role in providing data to researchers and
others through its Earth monitoring satellites and other

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instruments. In advance of the ribbon
cutting, the agency will offer three staggered

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tours of the exhibit, which showcases
the information NASA and its partners share with

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communities about our environment and climate.
The exhibit includes large, awe inspiring videos,

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as well as interactive media stories and
narratives. NASA created the Earth Information

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Center with founding partners National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration NOAH, US Geological Survey USGS,

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US Department of Agriculture, USDA,
US Agency for International Development, USAID,

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Environmental Protection Agency EPA, and Federal
Emergency Management Administration FEMA. Speakers at

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the event include NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Kate Calvin, NASA Chief Scientist and

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Senior Climate Advisor, and Karen Saint
Germain, the director NASA's Earth Sciences Division.

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Partner representatives will also speak, Well, you're a big time media personality,

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Hollie, did you get an invite
to that event? No? I

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didn't, Steve, Well, that
doesn't seem right. What's up with that?

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Isn't an AI good enough to attend? These days? We'll have to

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talk to their press agent. I
think have I had something a little bit

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more lighthearted? Here's one. It's
about the turtle Nebula. A new observatory

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instrument for studying a web of filaments
that connects galaxies across the universe has captured

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its first image, a milestone known
in astronomy as a first light. The

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Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper at the WM
Keck Observatory, a top Mount Ochaas summit

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in Hawaii, will provide detailed maps
of gas around dying stars and other cosmic

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objects, and it will map the
so called cosmic web that links and feeds

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galaxies. The instrument was recently installed
next to its partner, the Keck Cosmic

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Web Imager, which began operations in
twenty seventeen. The first light image shows

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the turtle nebula or n GC sixty
two ten, which consists of a hot,

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dying star that has blown off its
outer envelope of material. In the

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image, which combines data from both
KCRM and KCWI, two stubby gaseous arms

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can be seen protruding from the shell
of the turtles, demonstrating the power of

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the instruments to see faint gas in
the cosmos. The arms were captured easily

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in less than a minute of observation, says Martin. While the arms had

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been seen before, this is the
first time their spectral details have been completely

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mapped. The spectral image, which
covers most of the optical wavelength range of

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KCWI and KCRM from three hundred and
fifty to one thousand nanometers, was captured

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in about five minutes. More than
eighty individual spectral emission lines from many elements

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in the periodic table were easily detected. How about that, Well that sounds

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like a great raisin to visit Hawaii. You're always looking for a holiday.

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Well, that's true. We're listening
to the Astronomy Daily Podcast. We'll standing

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Hally. Sorry, that's Hilly and
Stave. Welcome back to the Astronomy Daily

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Podcast. I'm Stick Dunkley, your
host, and thank you very much for

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joining us. I hope you're getting
something out of today's episode. It is

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the thirteenth of June twenty twenty three
and we're normally out on a Monday evening

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here in East Coast Australia. However, we had a public holiday yesterday and

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we took the day off very well. So it's Tuesday thirteenth and on with

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the show. So you maybe aware
already that you can catch our partner in

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crime, Tim Gibbs, who hails
from Bath in England. He does the

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Friday sessions. I do the Monday
sessions, and once in a very rare

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while you'll catch Andrew Dunkley, my
big brother, who will host an episode

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here and there on whichever day he
chooses to do that. But he also

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hosts the parent podcast, which is
space Nuts, and you can catch all

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the episodes of both podcasts at space
nuts dot io. That's the address you

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go to and you can listen to
them anytime you like. Now, Holley,

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I'll need you to cue the music. Please okay, there it is

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Space Force. Space Force looks like
Space Force has chosen SpaceX and United Launch

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Alliance ULA for twelve military launchers in
twenty twenty five. The missions will help

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Space Force build out its communications and
missile tracking satellite layers. SSC, responsible

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forward developing and launching technologies for space. Space Force issued a statement on June

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eight detailing launch contract assignments for twelve
national security space space launch missions divided equally

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between space X and United Launch Alliance. In a statement, Space Command Systems

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Command Division Chief for Launch Procurement and
Integration, Colonel Chad Malone stated he was

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confident at SpaceX and ULA continue to
provide outstanding launch services, describe their systems

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as reliable and able to maintain the
one percent program of success for the assigned

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missions, which is nice to hear. The missions include a total of seven

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Space develop Agency SDA missions to Low
Earth orbit, containing the first generation of

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the Trench one Communication and Missile Tracking
satellite constellation. These transport and Tracking layer

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satellites, with designations T one TL
and T one TR, are part of

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the sda's proliferated war fighter space architecture
and network of satellites that allow for advanced

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weapons detection and high speed communication among
critical military infrastructure. A Space Systems Command

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to Program Executive Officer for Assured Access
to Space, Major General Stephen Purty,

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said, our ongoing commitment to successfully
launch our Secure Communications g YES and Space

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Awareness satellites and place them all into
their orbits continues to provide our war fighters

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and nation's decision makers with the assets
and vital information they need every day to

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stay ahead of and deter adversarial forces. That's a long way from throwing sticks,

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isn't it. Now Here's what I
like to see. But if science

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fiction becoming science fact. The scientists
at Caltech so I've learned to beam solar

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power to Earth from space. For
the very first time. The Space Solar

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Power Demonstrators MAPLE experiment was able to
wirelessly transfer collected solar power to receive as

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in space and direct energy to Earth. A solar power prototype has demonstrated its

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ability to wirelessly beam power through space
and direct a detectable amount of end towards

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Earth for the very first time.
The experiment proves the viability of tapping into

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the near limitless supply of power in
the form of energy from sun from space.

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Because solid energy in space isn't subject
to factors like day and night,

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obstruction from clouds or weather on Earth, it's always available and in fact,

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it's estimated that space based harvesters could
potentially yield eight times more power than solar

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panels panels at any location on the
surface of the globe. The wireless power

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transfer was achieved by the Microwave Array
for Powers Transfer Low Orbit Experiment. That's

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MAPLE, an array of flexible and
lightweight microwave power transmitters, which is one

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of three instruments carried by Solar Power
Demonstrator SSPD one. It was launched in

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January twenty twenty three as part of
the California Institute of Technologies Space Solar Power

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Project, the primary goal of which
was to harvest solo power in space and

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then transmitted to the surface of the
Earth. Through the experiments we've run so

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far, we've received confirmation that MAPLE
can transmit power successfully to receivers in space.

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Codirector of the Space Based Solar Power
Project, doctor Ali had you Mary

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said in a statement, we've also
been able to program the array to direct

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its energy toward Earth, which we
detected here at Caltech. We've had of

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course tested it on Earth, and
we now know that it can survive the

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trip to space and operate there.
Now this will give you a kind of

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scale on what kind of experiment they're
running. Maple demonstrated the transformation of energy

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wirelessly through space by sending energy from
a transmitted to two separate receiver arrays around

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a foot away that's thirty centimeters for
the rest of us, where it was

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transformed into electricity. This was used
to light up a pair of LEDs.

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The instrument would then be yes,
it's an experiment. The instrument then beamed

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energy from a tiny window installed in
the unit in the roof of Gordon and

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Betty Moore Laboratory of Engineering onto Caltech's
campus in Pasadena. Because Maple is not

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sealed, the experiment also demonstrates its
ability to function in the harsh environment of

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space while subject to swings in temperature
and exposure to solar radiation. The conditions

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experienced by this prototype will soon be
felt by large scalepp units. That is

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important, so Hajemri and his team
are now assessing the performance of the individual

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units that comprise MAPLE. A painstaking
process that will take as long as six

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months to complete, and this will
allow them to provide feedback that will guide

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the development of the fully realized versions
of the system in the future. It's

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planned that SSPP will eventually consist of
a constellation of modular spacecraft collecting sunlight,

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transforming into electricity and turning into microwaves
that are then beamed over vast distances,

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including back to Earth where energy is
needed. This could include regions of the

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globe currently poorly served by existing energy
infrastructure. And just like that, we've

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beamed to the end of another episode
of Astronomy Daily. Thank you so much

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for joining us. I hope you've
got something out of today's episode. We'll

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be back again on Friday with Tim
Gibbs all the way from the beautiful countryside

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of or cityside of Bath in England. And I'll be back with you again

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on Monday. I'm Steve Duckley,
your host, Andrew and Fred will be

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with you on Space Nuts as usual. You can check out all the past

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episodes of both podcasts at space Nuts
dot io. And that's all from me,

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how about you, Hollee. That's
all from him too. Bye for

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now everybody. We'll be your whole
bun,