Stellar Surprises; The Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS and Upcoming Comet LEMMON

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Avery: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Avery, and

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as always, I'm joined by my co host, Anna. We're here

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to bring you the latest and most fascinating news from the

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cosmos. Breaking down complex discoveries into

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conversations you'd have with your space obsessed friends over

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coffee.

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Anna: Hey, everyone, I'm Anna. And wow, do

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we have an incredible lineup for you today. We're talking about

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not one, but two amazing comets making

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headlines right now. Plus some groundbreaking observations from

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the James Webb Space Telescope that are helping us understand

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what it's like on pot. Potentially habitable worlds beyond our

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solar system.

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Avery: That's right. And what makes today's, uh, episode especially

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exciting is that we're covering some truly

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rare cosmic visitors. Anna, when I

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first read about our first story today about

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interstellar comet 3I

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ATLAS, I had to do a double take.

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We're talking about only the third known

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comet from outside our solar system.

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Anna: I know, right? It's absolutely mind blowing.

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Let's dive right into this because the Gemini South

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Telescope just captured some stunning new images

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of three I ATLAS. And what they're showing us

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is fascinating. This interstellar visitor was

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discovered on July 1, 2025 by the

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Atlas survey in Chile. And it's becoming

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increasingly active as it travels through our inner

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solar system.

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Avery: So, Anna, help me understand this. When we say it's becoming

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more active, what exactly are we seeing?

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Anna: Great question. The latest Observations show that

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3i ATLAS is developing a prominent

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tail and a glowing coma. That's the

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fuzzy atmosphere around the comet's nucleus. As

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it gets closer to our sun, the solar radiation is

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heating up the comet's surface, causing dust and

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ice to sublimate and create this beautiful glowing

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display. What's really remarkable is that the

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composition appears to be very similar to comets from

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our own solar system.

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Avery: That similarity in composition is what really gets me

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excited because it suggests that comet formation

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processes might be remarkably consistent

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across different star systems. I mean, think about

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it. This object formed around a, uh, completely different

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star, potentially billions of years ago, yet

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it's made of the same basic materials as comets we

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see regularly in our own neighborhood.

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Anna: Exactly. And speaking of age, Avery, here's

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something that blew my mind. Scientists think this could be

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the oldest comet we've ever observed.

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We're potentially looking at a relic from the very early

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universe, a time capsule that's been wandering through

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interstellar space for eons before finally

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making its way into our solar system.

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Avery: That's incredible. And it's not just passing through

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either. 3i ATLAS is going to make close

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passes by The Sun, Earth, Mars, and

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Jupiter. This gives astronomers an

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unprecedented opportunity to study an interstellar

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object up close as it interacts with our solar

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system.

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Anna: Those close approaches are going to provide us with so

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much valuable data. Every time we get a chance to study

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one of these interstellar visitors, we learn something new about

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how planetary systems form and evolve throughout the

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galaxy.

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Now, speaking of comets making news, we have

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another fascinating visitor to talk about. And this one might actually

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be visible to the naked eye.

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Avery: Oh, yes. Comet C 2025

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A6, also known as Comet

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LEMMON And this is the kind of story that gets

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amateur astronomers really excited, because there's a

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chance chance that people might be able to step

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outside in October and see this comet with their

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own eyes.

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Anna: That's right. This comet was discovered by the Mount

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Lemmon survey in Arizona, and it's approaching

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Earth right now. The closest approach will be on

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October 20th, when it'll pass by at about

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55.41 million miles away.

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Now, that might sound far, but in cosmic terms,

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that's practically next door.

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Avery: And here's where it gets interesting for skywatchers. The

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comet will reach perihelion, its closest point

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to the sun, on November. But

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the brightness predictions are all over the place, which

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honestly makes this even more exciting because we're not quite

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sure what we're going to get exactly.

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Anna: Some predictions suggest it could reach

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magnitude 4 to + 5,

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which would make it easily visible to the naked eye,

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even from moderately light polluted areas.

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But other estimates put it at magnitude

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7.3, which would require

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binoculars or a small telescope to see clearly.

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Avery: The uncertainty is part of what

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makes comet watching so thrilling. Comets

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are notoriously unpredictable. They can suddenly

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brighten dramatically, or sometimes they just

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fizzle out. For Comet Lemmon, the best

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viewing opportunities look like they'll be in early October.

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And starting October 12, it should be visible

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in the evening sky.

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Anna: And here's a fun detail for anyone planning to

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observe it. Comet LEMMON is expected

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to display a greenish color, which is

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likely caused by dicarbon molecules in its

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coma. That green glow is actually a

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pretty common feature in comets, and it

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creates this beautiful, otherworldly appearance

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against the night sky.

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Avery: What I find fascinating about this comet

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is its orbital period. It's

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approximately

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1,350 years.

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But here's the kicker. That period has actually

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been shortened due to an encounter with

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Jupiter. It's yet another example

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of how the giant planets in our solar system act

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as gravitational shepherds, influencing the

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paths of these cosmic wanderers.

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Anna: Jupiter really is the heavyweight champion of our

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solar system when it Comes to altering orbits.

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Now let's shift gears from these relatively

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nearby visitors to something much

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distant but equally fascinating. The

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the James Webb Space Telescope has been studying

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Trappist1e, an earth sized

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planet in the habitable zone around a red dwarf

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star about 40 light years away.

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Avery: The Trappist 1 system has been on

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everyone's radar since its discovery because it

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has seven Earth sized planets and several

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of them orbit in the habitable zone where

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liquid water could potentially exist on the surface.

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Trappist1e is particularly

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interesting because it's right in the middle of

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that Goldilocks zone.

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Anna: Right. And what JWST has been doing

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is observing transits, basically

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watching as the planet passes in front of its host

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star. From our perspective, based on the first

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four transit observations, the results are

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both revealing and somewhat disappointing

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for those hoping for signs of a thick,

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potentially life supporting atmosphere.

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Avery: So what did they find, Anna? Uh, I, um, know the

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results suggest the planet likely lost its

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primary atmosphere, but can you break that down

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for us?

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Anna: Sure. The main finding is that

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Trappist1e has probably lost its primary

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atmosphere due to stellar flaring from its red

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dwarf host star. Red dwarfs are

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notorious for being very active, especially

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when they're young, producing intense radiation

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and particle bombardment that can strip away

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planetary atmospheres. JWST

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didn't detect the thick hydrogen atmosphere

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that some models might have predicted was present.

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Avery: But here's the thing, and this is why

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I love science. The results don't completely

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rule out the possibility of a secondary atmosphere.

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Right. There could still be an atmosphere that

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formed after the primary one was stripped away.

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Anna: Absolutely. And in fact, there are some

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intriguing hints in the data. The

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observations suggest there might be trace amounts

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of methane in what could be a, uh, nitrogen rich

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atmosphere. Now, methane in an

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atmosphere is particularly interesting because

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it can be produced by both geological and

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biological processes, Though

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we.

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Avery: Have to be careful not to get too excited about the

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biological implications just yet. The challenge

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with these observations is that they're

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complicated by stellar contamination from the

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red dwarf's flaring activity. When the star

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flares, it can create signals that, uh, mimic

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or mask atmospheric features.

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Anna: Exactly. And that's why the

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JWST team has developed a really

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clever technique to deal with this problem.

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They're planning 15 more observations

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and they're going to compare Trappist 1e to,

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with its neighboring planet, Trappist 1b,

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to filter out those stellar artifacts.

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By observing both planets, they can better

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separate the star's contribution from the

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actual planetary atmospheric signals.

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Avery: That's brilliant. It's like having A control group in

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the Same star system, Trappist 1b,

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orbits much closer to the star, so it's definitely

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had its atmosphere stripped away, making it the perfect

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reference point for understanding what signals are coming from

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the star versus the planet we're actually interested

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in.

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Anna: And this technique could revolutionize how

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we study exoplanet atmospheres around active

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stars. Red dwarfs make up about

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75% of all stars in our

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galaxy, and many potentially habitable

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exoplanets orbit these stars. So

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figuring out how to reliably detect atmospheres

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around them is crucial for understanding

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habitability throughout the cosmos.

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Avery: Speaking of keeping our eyes on space activity, Anna, um, we should

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definitely tell our listeners about this weekend's launch

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activity. There's a really interesting SpaceX

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mission coming up that I think will be worth watching.

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Anna: Oh, yes, the CRS

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NG23 mission. This one's

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launching on Sunday, September 14th at

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exactly 8 hours, 11 minutes and 49 seconds PM

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Eastern Time from Cape Canaveral. What makes

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this launch particularly interesting is that it's

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using a Northrop Grumman style Cygnus

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XL spacecraft. That's the stretched

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version with significantly more cargo capacity.

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Avery: Right. And that XL designation isn't just

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marketing. We're talking about a spacecraft that can carry up

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to 1,300kg more mass than the previous

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Cygnus versions. That's a substantial increase in

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capability, which means more supplies,

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experiments, and equipment heading to the International

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Space Station crew.

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Anna: And there's actually a bit of a story behind this mission.

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Avery to this Cygnus is stepping in to

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replace the NG22 spacecraft

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that was damaged in transit. The space

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industry really shows its resilience in moments like

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these. When one spacecraft can't make it, there's

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always a backup plan. This particular

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Cygnus will be named after William

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Willie C. McCool, the naval

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aviator and astronaut.

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Avery: What I find fascinating about this mission is the booster

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story. SpaceX is using B1094

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and this will be its fourth flight. Another example of

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how routine booster reuse has become. But

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here's what makes it even more interesting for viewers.

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This booster is going to perform a return to launch site

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landing at landing zone 2. Which means if

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you're watching the launch, you might actually get to see the

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landing burns and touchdown as well.

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Anna: I love those double features. Launch

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and landing. And speaking of international

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collaboration, it's worth mentioning that this

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Cygnus was built by Thalis Alenia

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Space, with facilities in both France and

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Italy. It's always amazing to see how these

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cargo missions represent this incredible

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global effort to keep the International Space

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Station supplied and operational.

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Avery: So if you're free Sunday evening around 8:11pm

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Eastern, it's definitely worth stepping outside or tuning

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in to the livestream. There's something special about watching

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these routine supply missions. They remind us that we

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literally have people living and working in space right

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now, and missions like this keep that incredible

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achievement going. You know Anna, what

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strikes me about all of these stories is how they represent

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different scales of exploration. From

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interstellar visitors in our own solar system to

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naked eye comets we can observe from our backyards

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to detailed atmospheric analysis of worlds

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dozens of light years away, it's this incredible

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range of astronomical discovery happening all at once.

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Anna: That's such a great point. And what I love is

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how each discovery builds on our understanding of

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the bigger picture. Whether it's learning that

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interstellar comets have similar compositions

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to our local ones, or figuring out how to

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detect atmospheres around distant worlds,

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every observation helps us understand our

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place in the universe a little bit better.

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Avery: And for our listeners who might be inspired by today's

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comet stories, October is shaping up to be

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a fantastic month for skywatching.

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Whether Comet LEMMON reaches naked eye, visibility

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or requires binoculars, it's going to

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be worth looking for. There's something magical

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about seeing these ancient wanderers with your own eyes.

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Anna: Absolutely. And remember, even if you need

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binoculars to see Comet LEMMON clearly,

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you'll still be looking at something that last visited

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our inner solar system over a thousand years ago

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ago. That's perspective that never gets old.

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Avery: Thanks for joining us on today's Journey through the Cosmos, everyone.

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I'm Avery alongside Anna, and we'll be back soon

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with more fascinating discoveries from the universe.

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Until then, keep looking up. And remember,

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every clear night is an opportunity to connect with the

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cosmos.

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Anna: Thanks for listening to Astronomy Daily. Whether

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you're planning to hunt for Comet Lemmon in October,

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or just marveling at the fact that we can study the

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atmospheres of worlds light years away from,

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remember that we're living in an incredible age of

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cosmic discovery. Clear skies everyone,

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and keep looking up.