Space Health Insights; Lunar Eclipse 2025 and LEGO's Galactic Investment

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your go

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to source for the latest news from space and

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beyond. I'm Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. We've got some absolutely

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fascinating stories for you today from groundbreaking

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research on how space travel affects our bodies

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to a spectacular lunar eclipse coming next

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year, and even the most expensive Lego

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set ever created.

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Anna: Oh, that Lego story is going to be fun.

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But first, let's dive into some serious

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science.

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NASA just published some pretty concerning

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findings about what happens to our blood cells

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in space. Avery. This study

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tracked human stem cells during four different

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SpaceX missions to the International Space Station.

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Avery: Yeah, and the results are pretty eye opening, Anna.

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Uh, these cells spent between 32 to

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45 days in space, and researchers found

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they started losing their ability to make healthy new

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cells. Basically, they began showing signs of

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accelerated aging up there.

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Anna: That's really troubling when you think about it. What

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specifically were they seeing? DNA damage.

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Avery: Exactly. The cells show DNA damage

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and something called shorter telomeres. Think of

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telomeres like the plastic tips on shoelaces.

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They protect our chromosomes. And when they get

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shorter, it's a sign of cellular aging.

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But here's the interesting part. So some of this damage

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actually reversed when the cells returned to Earth.

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Anna: M that's actually encouraging news. So our

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bodies might have some ability to recover from

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space induced aging, but this research is

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crucial for planning those long duration missions to Mars,

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right?

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Avery: Absolutely. A trip to Mars could take six

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to nine months each way. So we're talking about

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astronauts spending well over a year in space.

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Understanding how to protect them from the cellular damage is

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going to be essential. The research team led

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by SC from UC San Diego found

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that the space environment creates what they call a

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senescence like state in these stem cells.

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Basically, premature aging at the cellular level.

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Plus, this research might also help us understand

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aging here on Earth, potentially leading to

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new treatments for age related diseases.

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Anna: That's fascinating. So what exactly

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is it about the space environment that causes this

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damage? Is it the radiation or

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the microgravity or both?

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Avery: Great question, Anna. Uh, it's actually a combination

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of multiple stressors. First, there's the

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cosmic radiation. High energy particles

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that constantly bombard astronauts outside

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Earth's protective magnetosphere. Then

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there's microgravity, which affects how cells distribute

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nutrients and waste products. The researchers

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also noted that the confined space environment and altered

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circadian rhythms could contribute to cellular

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stress. It's like a perfect storm of

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conditions that our bodies simply didn't evolve to handle.

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Anna: M Are there any potential countermeasures being developed?

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I imagine this research is leading to Ideas

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about how we might protect astronauts on those long

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Mars missions?

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Avery: Absolutely. NASA and other space agencies

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are exploring several approaches. They're looking at

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pharmaceutical interventions, drugs that could

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protect cells from radiation damage or help

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maintain telomere length. There's also research

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into better spacecraft shielding, artificial

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gravity systems using rotating modules, and

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even the possibility of using stem cell therapy

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to refresh an astronaut's blood supply during long

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missions. Some scientists are even investigating whether

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certain dietary supplements or exercise

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regimens might help counteract these effects.

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Anna: That's a great point. Space research often leads

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to medical breakthroughs for everyone.

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But speaking of things we can all look forward to,

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let's talk about this amazing lunar eclipse coming

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up. Avery, tell me about this blood Moon

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event.

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Avery: Oh, this is going to be spectacular.

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On September 7th and 8th, 2025,

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we're getting a total lunar eclipse that will be

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visible to over 7 billion people around the

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world. That's like 85% of the global

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population. Anna. Uh, the eclipse will be best seen

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from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

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The total phase will last for about 65

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minutes, making it one of the longer total lunar

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eclipses we'll see this decade.

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Anna: That's a long duration. Can you walk us through

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what viewers will actually see during those 65

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minutes of totality?

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Avery: It's going to be amazing. The eclipse will

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begin with a subtle dimming as Earth's penumbral

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shadow starts covering the moon. Then, around

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1826 UTC, the partial

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eclipse begins as Earth darker umbral shadow

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starts taking a bite out of the Moon. The real

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magic happens at 19:30 UTC, when

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the moon will turn that beautiful deep red or copper

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color. During totality, viewers might also

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see stars that are normally washed out by the Moon's

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brightness. The whole event will last about five

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and a half hours from start to finish.

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Anna: Wow, that's incredible reach. But

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unfortunately, we here in the US Won't be able

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to see it directly, right?

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Avery: That's right. But don't worry. There are going to be

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multiple free livestreams available. The Virtual

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Telescope project in Italy and Time and Date from

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Cyprus are both planning coverage. So we can still

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experience that beautiful blood Moon effect from our

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computers.

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Anna: For our listeners who might not know, can

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you explain what creates that dramatic red

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color during a total lunar eclipse?

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Avery: Sure. So during a total lunar eclipse,

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Earth passes directly between the Moon and the

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Sun. But Earth's atmosphere acts like a

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lens, bending sunlight around our planet.

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The red wavelengths of light get through more easily than

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blue ones. So the Moon takes on this eerie

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reddish glow. It's the same Reason sunsets look

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red.

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Anna: I love how astronomy connects these

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everyday phenomena.

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Now let's shift gears to some exciting

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telescope news. The Murchison

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Wildfield Array in Western Australia

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just completed a major upgrade.

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Avery: This upgrade is massive, Anna. Uh, they've

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completed what they're calling phase three, which doubled

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the telescope from 4,096 antennas

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to 8,192 antennas

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spread over a 30 square kilometer area.

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That's quadrupled their data output and

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significantly improved their resolution.

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Anna: That's an incredible scale. What are they

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planning to study with all this new capability?

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Avery: They're focusing on some of the most fundamental questions in

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astronomy. They want to study the epoch of

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reionization, basically the period when the first

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stars and galaxies lit up the universe after the

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dark ages, about 13 billion years ago.

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This upgrade will let them map hydrogen signals from

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that era with unprecedented detail. They're

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also looking at transient events like fast radio

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bursts and something really mysterious called

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odd radio circles, or orcs.

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Plus, they'll be doing advanced studies of pulsars, which

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are like cosmic lighthouses that can help us understand

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extreme physics.

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Anna: Odd radio circles. That sounds

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intriguing. Are these like crop circles

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but in space?

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Avery: Not quite, but they are mysterious.

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Orcs are these huge circular

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radio structures that we can see with radio

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telescopes, but they don't appear in visible light,

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X rays, or infrared. We're not exactly

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sure what causes them. They might be shockwaves

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from galactic collisions or something even more

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exotic. The upgraded MWA should

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help us figure out what they really are.

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Anna: And this is all preparation for an even

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bigger project, right?

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Avery: Exactly. This upgrade is helping prepare for

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the Square kilometer array, or

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SKA, which will eventually have

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131,000 antennas.

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When that's complete, it'll be the world's largest

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radio telescope. The MWA is basically

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a testing ground for the technologies and techniques they'll

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need for that massive project.

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Anna: Speaking of groundbreaking discoveries, we should talk

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about some recent James Webb Telescope

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findings that are literally rewriting

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astronomy textbooks. Avery. The

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Webb Telescope has been finding galaxies that

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are much more massive and mature than we expected

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in the early universe.

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Avery: Oh, yes, this is absolutely revolutionary stuff.

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Anna Webb is seeing galaxies that

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formed just 400 to 600 million years

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after the Big Bang. That's when the universe was only

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about 3 to 4% of its current age. But

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these galaxies are surprisingly large and well

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structured. Some are as massive as our Milky Way,

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which, according to our previous models, shouldn't have

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been possible so early in cosmic history. It's

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like finding a fully grown oak tree in what you expected

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to be A nursery of seedlings.

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Anna: That's such a perfect analogy. So

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what does this mean for our understanding of how the universe

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evolved? Are astronomers having to revise their

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models?

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Avery: Absolutely they are. These discoveries suggest that

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galaxy formation and growth happened much

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faster than we thought possible. Astronomers are now

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reconsidering how efficiently the first black holes and stars

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formed and how quickly they could accumulate matters.

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Some theories propose that the universe's early dark matter

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structures were more massive and formed more rapidly than

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our standard models predicted. It's also possible that the

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first stars were much more massive and short lived than

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we assumed, leading to faster chemical enrichment of

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the early universe.

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Anna: It's incredible how much Webb is changing our

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perspective on the cosmos.

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And speaking of discoveries that challenge our assumptions,

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let's talk about some exciting news from Mars.

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The Perseverance rover has made some remarkable

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discoveries in Jezero CR that are giving

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us new insights into ancient Martian water

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activity.

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Avery: Yes, this is really exciting. Perseverance has been

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analyzing sedimentary rocks that clearly show

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evidence of a substantial lake that existed in

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Jezero Crater buildings of years ago. But

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what's particularly interesting is the chemistry they're

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finding. The rover has detected organic

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compounds, carbon based molecules that could

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potentially be biosignatures. Now these could

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also have non biological origins, but they're

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exactly the kind of molecules that life as we know it would

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produce.

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Anna: And Perseverance is collecting samples from these

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promising locations. Right, for eventual return to

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Earth.

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Avery: Exactly. Perseverance has now collected over

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24 samples in sealed tubes. And several

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of them are from these particularly intriguing

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locations. The Mars sample return mission is

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still being planned. But when those samples eventually make

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it back to Earth, hopefully Sometime in the2030s,

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scientists will be able to analyze them with laboratory

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instruments that are far more sophisticated than

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anything we can send to Mars. That's when we might

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finally get definitive answers about whether life ever existed on

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Mars.

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Anna: The possibility of finding life on Mars,

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that would be the ultimate discovery.

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But while we wait for those samples to return,

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let's bring things back to Earth with something that's

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sure to delight space fans of all ages.

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And it's going to cost you nearly $1,000 if

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you want it.

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Avery: Ugh. You're talking about the new LEGO Death Star. Anna. Uh,

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this thing is absolutely incredible. Lego just

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announced their new Star Wars Ultimate Collector series, Death

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Star, and it's the most expensive LEGO set

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they've ever made at

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$999.99.

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Anna: Nearly a thousand dollars for LEGO

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blocks. But I have to admit, when I saw the

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specs, I was Pretty impressed. How many pieces

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are we talking about here?

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Avery: Get this. 9,023

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pieces and 38 minifigures. The completed

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Death Star measures 28 inches high,

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32 inches wide, and 11 inches deep.

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It's got this amazing cross sectional design that

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shows all the famous locations from the Star wars films

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inside the Death Star.

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Anna: So you can see the throne room where Luke

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confronted the emperor, the trash compactor,

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all those iconic scenes.

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Avery: Exactly. And, um, LEGO really knows their

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audience. It goes on sale October 1st for LEGO

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Insiders, and then everyone else can get it starting

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October 4th. What's really impressive is

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that this isn't just a display model. It's designed

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to be highly interactive. The cross sectional design

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lets builders recreate famous scenes from the movies.

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And with 38 minifigures, you can

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populate all those detailed interior spaces.

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I have a feeling this is going to sell out pretty quickly, especially

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with the holidays coming up.

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Anna: The engineering that goes into these massive

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LEGO sets is incredible, too. Uh, I

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imagine supporting a structure that size and

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weight with LEGO bricks requires some

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serious architectural planning.

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Avery: Oh, absolutely. Lego's designers are

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basically architects and engineers. This

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Depth Star uses advanced building techniques like

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technic beams for internal structure, specialized

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connector pieces to handle the weight distribution, and

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clever use of overlapping plates to ensure

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stability. The fact that it can support its own weight

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while still allowing access to all those

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detailed interior sections is really a masterpiece

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of toy engineering. It's estimated to take about

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20 to 30 hours to complete for most builders.

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Anna: I can see this becoming a serious collector's

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item, though. At that price point,

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it's definitely more of an investment piece than

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a casual purchase. But for Star wars fans

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who also love building, it sounds like it could

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be worth every penny.

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Avery: Absolutely. And you know what I love about stories like

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this? It shows how space and science fiction

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continue to inspire people in so many different

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ways. From serious research about aging in

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space to incredibly detailed recreations of

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imaginary space stations.

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Anna: That's such a great point, Avery. Whether it's

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NASA studying how to keep astronauts

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healthy on Mars missions, radio

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telescopes, PE back to the dawn of time,

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or LEGO bringing the Death Star to our living

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rooms, it all stems from that same human

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fascination with what's out there beyond our world.

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Avery: And we'll be here to bring you all of it.

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That's all for today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

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Don't forget to mark your calendars for that lunar eclipse in

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September 2025. Even if we can't see it

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directly here in the US Those live streams are going to be

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amazing.

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Anna: Thanks for joining us today, everyone. Keep looking

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up. And Steve and Hallie will be here on

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Monday with more news from the cosmos. I'm

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Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. Until next time, stay curious about

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the universe around us.