Uranus's Peculiar Moons, Cosmic Bubbles, and Rethinking Habitability

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Anna: Welcome, welcome, welcome to Astronomy

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Daily your go to source for everything

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happening beyond our blue planet. I'm

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Anna.

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Avery: And I'm Avery. We're so glad you could join us today

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for what promises to be a fascinating journey through

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the cosmos. We've got a packed show lined up

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delving into some truly mind bending discoveries

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and exciting news from across the solar system and

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beyond.

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Anna: That's right, we'll be unraveling the

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peculiar mysteries of Uranus and its moons,

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exploring a newly cosmic

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bubble surrounding our solar system and getting

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you up to speed on one of the busiest launch

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weeks we've seen this year.

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Avery: And um, stick around for what could be a

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groundbreaking discussion on how life might thrive

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in the most unexpected dark corners of the

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universe. It's a fresh perspective that challenges

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everything we thought we knew about habitability.

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So let's dive right in.

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Anna: Alright Avery, let's kick things off with a planet that

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truly lives up to its reputation for being

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a bit, well, weird. We're talking about

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Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, which

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has always stood out from its solar system siblings.

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Avery: It really does. While most planets spin

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fairly upright and their moons orbit neatly,

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Uranus is just doing its own thing, tilted

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on its side at a whopping 98 degrees.

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Imagine Earth's north pole pointing towards

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say, the constellation Ophiuchus instead of Polaris the

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that's Uranus for you.

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Anna: And it's not just its tilt. Its

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magnetic field is also off kilter,

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differing by 59 degrees from its spin

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axis. That's like our magnetic poles being

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in Perth, Australia and northern Florida,

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which is quite the cosmic anomaly.

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Avery: This peculiar setup led astronomer Christian

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Soto and his team at the Space Telescope Science

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Institute to study how Uranus's magnetic

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field might interact with its four largest moons,

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Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon.

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Anna: You'd expect that because Uranus

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rotates faster than its moon's orbit, its

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magnetic field would catch the moons from behind

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and bombard their trailing sides with

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radiation. This process, called

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radiolysis, should create dark

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compounds, making those trailing sides appear

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darker in ultraviolet light.

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Avery: But here's where it gets truly puzzling. When the

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Hubble Space Telescope peered at these moons, it

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found the exact opposite. For Ariel and

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Umbriel, there was hardly any difference between their

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leading and training sides. And for the outer two moons,

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Titania and especially Oberon, it was

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their leading sides that were darker.

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Anna: This was completely startling to the

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researchers. It suggests that Uranus's

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magnetosphere might not be as active as

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previously thought. Or it's far more

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complex. But the Darkening on the leading

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sides points to another process entirely.

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Avery: And that process, Soto suggests, involves

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Uranus. Irregular moons. These are

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smaller, often captured asteroids with

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unusual, highly tilted orbits. The

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theory is that micrometeorites constantly hit these

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irregular moons, ejecting dust into their

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orbits.

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Anna: Over millions of years, this dust

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drifts inward, crossing the paths of the major

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moons. As the major moons orbit, they

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sweep up this dust primarily on their leading

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hemispheres. Soto likens it to driving

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fast on a highway and bugs hitting your windshield.

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Avery: And, um, the outer moons, Oberon and Titania,

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likely shield the inner ones, Ariel and Umbriel, from

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this dust. But even within the outer pair,

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they're still a mystery. Why is Oberon

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getting so much more dust than Titania? That's still one of the

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weird findings they're trying to figure out.

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Anna: This fascinating research highlights how

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much more there is to learn about our own solar

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system. So Soto hopes for a dedicated mission

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to Uranus in the future, perhaps in the early

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2000 and 40s to truly unravel these

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mysteries. After all, as he put it, it

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is very weird.

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Avery: So why not from the mysteries of our own solar

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system? Let's zoom out a bit to our cosmic

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neighborhood. Our solar system isn't just floating in

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empty space. It resides within a

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massive million degree hot bubble of incredibly

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thin gas. And it's called the local hot

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bubble, or lhb.

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Anna: This LHB is essentially an

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invisible cocoon that glows in X ray

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light and stretches over a thousand light years

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across. And remarkably, despite its

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scorching temperature, its sparse

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atoms barely affect the surrounding matter.

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Some scientists even suggest this quiet

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warmth might have helped life flourish on

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Earth.

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Avery: For decades, the true shape and origin of this

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bubble remained a puzzle. But now, thanks to the

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sharp eyed Erocita X ray telescope and a team of

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scientists in Germany, the picture is

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finally coming into focus.

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Anna: The Max Planck Institute for

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Extraterrestrial Physics led the effort

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using Erocita to map the LHB in

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unprecedented detail. What made this

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telescope so crucial is its position

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far from Earth's atmosphere, allowing it to

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capture clear soft X rays ray emissions without

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interference from our own planet's solar wind

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interactions.

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Avery: And the findings? Well, the LHB is

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far from a smooth sphere. Lead researcher Michael

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Young described it as spikier and bumpier,

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with an irregular, jagged shape that

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bulges unevenly. It expands more

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freely towards the galactic poles, avoiding the

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denser midplane of the Milky Way, which

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makes sense as hot gas moves towards less

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resistance.

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Anna: This lumpiness likely reflects the chaotic

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forces that shaped it, such as Multiple

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overlapping supernova explosions and

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feedback from other stars. But perhaps the

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most surprising discovery was a previously

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unknown tunnel stretching towards the

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constellation Centaurus.

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Avery: This interstellar passage may connect the

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LHB with the neighboring superbubble, acting like

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a cosmic gateway. As co author

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Michael Freyberg explained, the existence of

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this tunnel carving a gap in the cooler

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interstellar medium was completely unknown

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until Erocita's sharper sensitivity

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revealed it.

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Anna: This new data from Erocita also helped

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settle a long standing debate. Scientists

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had proposed the LHB concept over

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50 years ago to explain faint X

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ray readings. But doubts arose in the

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90s when similar X rays were found to

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originate from solar wind interacting with

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Earth's atmosphere. Erocita's clear

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observations confirmed that much of that soft

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X ray background truly comes from the

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lhb.

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Avery: And the team also found a temperature difference across

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the bubble with the southern part being warmer than the

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northern side. This could point to recent heating

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events, perhaps new supernovas in the last few

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million years, suggesting the LHB isn't

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just a leftover but an active changing

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part of our uh, galactic landscape.

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Anna: And the idea of the Centaurus tunnel suggests

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it might be just one part of a larger system of

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tunnels like arteries running through the galaxy.

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These gaps between cold clouds could link

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the LHB to distant features like the

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Gum Nebula or other superbubbles,

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indicating the Milky Way is an interconnected

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structure and constantly shaped by explosive

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energy.

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Avery: It's truly mind boggling to think about.

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The team even mapped dense molecular clouds at the

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edges of the bubble, Some moving outward as

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if pushed by the original explosions that carved out

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the lhb. And fascinatingly,

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our sun is thought to have entered the LHB

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only a few million years ago. A ah, mere blank

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in its 4.6 billion year lifespan.

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Anna: The 3D model they built paints a

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vibrant layered picture of our solar

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system's galactic neighborhood, including

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supernova remains, molecular clouds,

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dust, and these newly discovered tunnels.

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Mapping this cosmic web could provide

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incredible insights into how stars

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die, galaxies evolve and how

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material moves between star systems.

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Avery: It's a major step in understanding not just our

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immediate bubble, but, but the dynamic, often

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explosive forces that shape the space between

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stars. It's like finding a secret highway

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system in space right outside our galactic door.

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Anna: Well from cosmic bubbles and

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planetary tilt, let's bring it back to

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Earth for a moment and look at the immediate future

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of space travel. We have a ah, packed week of

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launches ahead.

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Avery: It's truly bustling. Anna. This week's

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launch manifest is one of the busiest of

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2025. So far we've. With 10

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launches scheduled from around the world, we're

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talking everything from crewed missions to

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secret government payloads.

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Anna: Kicking things off on July 29,

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ispace's Shuangquusian 1 rocket

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is set for its eighth flight from China after a

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year long hiatus following a failure on its seventh

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mission. The payload for this one is currently

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unknown, but ISPACE is clearly hoping

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this launch will restore some reliability to their rocket.

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Avery: Then later that day, SpaceX is launching

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its first batch of Starlink satellites. This week,

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Group 1029 from Cape

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Canaveral Falcon Booster

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B1069 will be making its

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impressive 26th flight after

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a quick 37 day refurbishment.

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That's a true workhorse.

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Anna: China's CASC has a launch on July

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30th with their Changxing 8A

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carrying an undisclosed number of Guawang communications

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satellites. These are part of China's planned

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mega constellation of Internet satellites, aiming

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to rival SpaceX's Starlink, at least within

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China.

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Avery: Also on July 30, we have a significant

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international mission, the joint NASA

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ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or

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NISAR satellite. This satellite is

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set to map Earth's elevation multiple times

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a month, focusing on ecosystem

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disturbances like earthquakes, tsunamis,

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volcanoes and ice sheet collapses.

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Anna: NASA is contributing the L band radar and

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a high rate telecommunications system, while

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ISRO is providing the satellite bus, the S

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band radar and the launch services from India.

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It's a great example of global collaboration in

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space science.

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Avery: Later that same day, SpaceX is back at

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it with another Starlink launch, Group

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134 from Vandenberg.

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This flight will mark Falcon's 500th

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recovery attempt, really underscoring

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SpaceX's commitment to reusability.

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Anna: And speaking of secretive payloads, Rocket Lab

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is launching a suborbital mission called Jake

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4 on their haste testbed. This is

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a highly secretive government payload believed to be

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a hypersonic reentry missile. Rocket

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Lab has completed three HASTE missions so far,

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showing a growing demand for launching payloads to

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suborbital space at hypersonic speeds.

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Avery: Another unknown payload is scheduled to launch from

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China on July 31, with X

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Pace's Kuaizhou 1A rocket

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making its 30th mission.

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Anna: But perhaps the biggest highlight of the week is

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SpaceX and NASA's Crew 11 mission to

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the International Space Station. On July

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31, four astronauts, including

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NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Finke,

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JAXA's Kamiya Yui and Russian

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cosmonaut Oleg Platanov, will head to the ISS

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for a six month mission of Science and research.

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Avery: And of course, in true SpaceX fashion, the

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Booster B1094 will

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attempt a return to launch site landing. And the

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crew Dragon capsule Endeavor will be flying to

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the ISS for the sixth time as after

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515 days of refurbishment.

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Anna: Wrapping up the week, SpaceX has a third

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Starlink mission on August 2nd. And then on

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August 4th, another Chinese Changzang 12

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rocket will launch from Winchinchuang carrying

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more Guawang satellites. Given that this is

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the second launch of Guawang satellites this week, it

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looks like China is pushing hard to expand its

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constellation rapidly, aiming to fulfill its

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goal of 13,000 satellites and provide

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reliable Internet for its people. It's certainly

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going to be a busy week for space watchers.

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From the incredible pace of launches, let's

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shift our focus to something even more

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fundamentalthe very definition of where life

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can exist. A groundbreaking new study

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is challenging our traditional views on habitability,

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proposing that life doesn't always need sunlight

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to thrive.

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Avery: That's right, Anna. Uh, this study, led by

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Demetra Attri at NYU Abu Dhabi,

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suggests that high energy radiation from deep

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space, specifically galactic cosmic

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rays, could actually support life in

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dark underground environments on planets like

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Mars and moons such as Europa and

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Enceladus. It really flips the script on

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what makes a planet or moon livable.

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Anna: It's fascinating because we usually associate

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ionizing radiation with harm damage to

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cells, DNA and proteins. Space

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agencies even consider cosmic rays a major

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threat to astronauts. But this research highlights

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another side. In certain environments,

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radiation doesn't just destroy, it

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creates.

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Avery: Exactly. When these energetic charged

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particles hit ice or rock, they can break

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apart water molecules in a process called

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radiolysis. This reaction releases

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electrons and other useful products. On

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Earth, we found bacteria in deep South

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African gold mines that use these electrons as

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an energy source, much like plants use sunlight for

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photosynthesis, thriving kilometers below the

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surface without any light at all.

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Anna: So Autry's team used a, uh, physics simulation

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tool to calculate how much energy cosmic rays

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could deposit beneath the surfaces of Mars,

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Europa and Enceladus. They then

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estimated how much of that energy could support

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life, leading to a new concept they call

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the rhz, or

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Radiolytic Habitable Zone.

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Avery: This RHZ shifts the focus away from

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the traditional Goldilocks zone, that sweet

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spot around a star where temperatures allow for liquid

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water. Instead, the RHZ

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looks underground at places where water, ice

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and cosmic radiation combine to create

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energy rich environments. It depends on how much

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radiation penetrates, uh, a planet's thin atmosphere or

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icy shell, and how deep it can reach.

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Anna: Their simulations showed that Saturn's moon

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Enceladus actually had the greatest potential

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to support life through radiolysis. With

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Mars following closely and Jupiter's moon

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Europa coming in third. These icy

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bodies, often thought of as lifeless because of their

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cold, sunless surfaces, could harbor

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dense underground ecosystems fueled by

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this radiation.

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Avery: And the key here, as with so many discussions about

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extraterrestrial life, is water.

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Even small pockets of liquid water underground

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would allow these chemical reactions to happen more easily,

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providing a medium for complex molecules to form

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and react. It means those suspected

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oceans beneath the ice of Europa or

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Enceladus could be prime locations for alien

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life. Powered by cosmic rays hitting the

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surface ice.

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Anna: This study truly broadens our definition of

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habitability. Life might not need warmth from

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a star or even geothermal heat from a planet's

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core. Cosmic rays, long feared,

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could actually be a life giving energy source.

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Avery: In the right conditions, it completely

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redefines where we might look next. Instead of just

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focusing on warm, sunlit worlds, we can now

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consider cold, dark places. As long as they have some

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water beneath the surface and are exposed to

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cosmic rays, it offers hope that the universe

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may be teeming with life, quietly thriving

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in hidden oceans, powered by the stars

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themselves.

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Anna: What an episode. Avery. We've journeyed from the

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puzzling mysteries of Uranus and its

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strangely dark moons, which are still baffling

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scientists, to the incredibly dynamic

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local hot bubbles surrounding our solar system.

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Avery: It's been a whirlwind. And let's not forget the sheer

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excitement of this week's launch roundup. With so

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many missions heading into space, including crewed

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flights and groundbreaking Earth observation

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satellites.

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Anna: Absolutely. But perhaps the most mind bending

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discussion was about the radiolytic habitable

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zone, pushing the boundaries of where life could exist

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beyond our traditional sun drenched views.

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It really makes you rethink what's possible out there.

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Avery: It certainly does. It's been a privilege to share all this

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incredible space and astronomy news with our listeners today.

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Don't forget, if you want more news and commentary from us,

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simply visit astronomydaily.IO.

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Anna: We hope you enjoyed exploring the cosmos with us on Astronomy

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Daily. Thank you for tuning in, and we look forward to

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sharing more cosmic insights with you in our next

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episode, which will be tomorrow, of course.

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Until then, keep looking up.