Webb's Exoplanet Breakthrough, Private Astronauts Make History, and Surprising FRB Origins

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Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your go to source for the

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latest updates from across the cosmos. I'm, um, your

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host, Anna. And today we're diving into some truly

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groundbreaking discoveries and significant developments

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in space exploration and astronomical research.

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From the Webb Telescope's first exoplanet discovery,

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to private astronauts docking with the International Space

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Station, and even a fast radio burst traced

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back to a defunct NASA satellite. We have a lot

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to cover, so get ready to explore the universe with us.

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The James Webb Space Telescope, or jwst,

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has just hit an incredible new milestone.

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Since beginning its science operations in July

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2022, Webb has primarily been

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busy probing the atmospheres of known alien

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planets, looking for signs of habitability.

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But now, for the very first time, Webb has made its

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own discovery, directly imaging and finding a

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brand new exoplanet. This groundbreaking

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find reveals a young system hidden within a swirling

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cloud of dust and debris. And the planet

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itself is the lightest one imaged so far. A

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truly remarkable accomplishment made possible by Webb's

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advanced capabilities. This recent

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discovery, detailed in the journal Nature,

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opens up an exciting new window into hidden

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Saturn like worlds. Now you might

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wonder, how exactly does Webb manage to see a planet

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that's so close to its incredibly bright parent star?

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It's a challenge because planets are many orders of magnitude

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fainter than their stars, and from our perspective, they

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appear incredibly close to them. Anne Marie

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Lagrange, research director at the French National Centre

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for Scientific Research and lead author of the paper,

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explained that when you look at a planet, you mostly

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just see the star. To overcome this issue,

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her team used a special attachment for Webb's M mid

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infrared instrument called a coronagraph. Think of

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it like recreating a tiny solar eclipse. Within the

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telescope itself, the coronagraph blocks out

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the overwhelming light from the star, making its much

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fainter surroundings and any orbiting planets

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far more visible. Using this ingenious

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technique, scientists spotted a young planetary

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system only a few million years old, named

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TWA7. This system has three

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distinct rings, with one being particularly narrow and

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surrounded by two areas that are almost devoid of matter.

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In Webb's image, something lies right at the heart of that

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narrow ring. And the scientists concluded that

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this something is indeed an exoplanet.

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This newly discovered exoplanet, now dubbed um,

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TWA 7B, is more massive than

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Neptune, but about 30% less massive than

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Jupiter, making it quite similar in mass to

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Saturn. TWA 7b orbits

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a star that formed approximately 6.4 million

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years ago. And it maintains a significant distance

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from its star, about 52 astronomical

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units, which is 52 times the average

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distance between Earth and the Sun.

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Lagrange noted that this is also the first planet

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found that perfectly explains the gaps observed

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in a protoplanetary disc. Planets are

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born from the leftover material from a star's birth

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which forms a swirling disc of matter.

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Previous observations of these protoplanetary

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discs and have shown ring like structures and

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gaps which scientists believed were telltale

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signs of unseen planets. Until now,

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however, there were no direct observations of those planets.

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The mass and orbital characteristics of

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TWA7B precisely match the

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predicted properties of an exoplanet that would have

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formed in the gap between the first and second rings of this

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disc. By using Webb to observe

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these young faint planets, scientists have

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truly unlocked a new doorway into the discovery of

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alien worlds. As Lagrange puts it.

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In terms of imaging, this opens up the possibility

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of imaging Saturn like planets in the

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future. It will allow us to characterise the atmospheres

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of these Saturn like planets that aren't heavily

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irradiated by their stars, providing invaluable

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insights into their composition. It's a huge

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step forward and helps us understand the complexities of

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searching for very light planets in these early stages of

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planetary system formation.

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In other exciting space news, a quartet of private

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astronauts has successfully reached the International Space

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Station. Houston based Axiom Space

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launched its fourth crewed mission to the ISS known

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as AXE 4, lifting off on a

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space

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Centre in Florida. The mission began early Wednesday

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morning, taking off at 2:31am M.

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Eastern Daylight Time after what was

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described as a particularly long orbital chase.

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More than 24 hours between launch and rendezvous.

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The crew aboard the new SpaceX Crew Dragon,

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aptly named Grace, successfully docked with

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the space station on Thursday morning. Commanding the

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AXE 4 mission is none other than former NASA

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astronaut and Axiom's director of human space flight,

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Peggy Whitson. Peggy holds the

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impressive record for cumulative days spent in space by

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an American, a number that continues to climb with this

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mission. Joining her is a trio of international

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crew members. Shubanshu Shukla from India

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serving as mission pilot. Polish mission specialist

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Slawos Usnanski of the European Space Agency

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and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, also a mission

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specialist. Upon their arrival, these three

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became the very first from their respective countries to

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journey on a mission to the ISS. Marking

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a truly historic moment, the

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AXE4 astronauts are set to spend about 14 days

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aboard the orbiting lab where they will complete a record number

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of science investigations and stem, that's

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science, technology, engineering and math outreach

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events. In total, they have over 60 experiments

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planned more than any previous Axiom mission to date.

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Their return date will largely depend on the weather conditions at

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Dragon's splashdown zone in the Pacific Ocean.

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This will be SpaceX's second West coast crew recovery,

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a shift from previous Atlantic Ocean or Gulf recoveries.

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Now for a fascinating and rather surprising development in the world

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of astronomy. Fast radio bursts,

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or FRBs, have been a persistent mystery

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to astronomers ever since the first one, known as the

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Lorimer Burst, was detected in 2007.

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These quick, intense bursts typically last for mere

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nanoseconds, although some have been observed for up to

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three seconds. While their precise cause remains

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unknown, scientists have recently traced some

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FRBs back to their source, often finding them

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originating from neutron stars, leading to the

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theory that these bursts are caused by compact

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cosmic objects. However, a recent

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discovery has added a completely unexpected twist

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to this cosmic puzzle. On June

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13, 2024, scientists at the

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Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder detected a

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potential fast radio burst that lasted for a

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minuscule 30 nanoseconds. This pulse,

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with a bandwidth strong enough to temporarily eclipse all

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other radio signals in the sky, led

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scientists to initially speculate that it must have come from

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a distant cosmic source, as is typically

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the case with these powerful signals.

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But in a recent study, a team of astronomers and

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astrophysicists made a startling determination.

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This particular FRB did not come from a distant

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astronomical source at all. Instead, it was

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traced back to something much closer to home,

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NASA's Pathfinder 2 mission, a uh, now defunct

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satellite orbiting Earth. The study was led

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by Clancy James, an associate professor

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with the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research,

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or icrar, joined by a collaborative team

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from various institutions. The satellite

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in question, Relay 2, was launched way back

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in 1964 as part of a series of

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early American satellites designed to test

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communications technologies. While its

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predecessor, Relay1, famously provided the

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first American television transmissions across the Pacific,

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Relay 2 conducted radio transmissions for about a

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year before ceasing operations in

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1967 when its transponders

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failed. When the FRB was detected

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last year, the assumption was naturally a

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distant cosmic origin. However,

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subsequent analysis pointed to a source much closer to

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Earth. The team then used the Skyfield

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Python module, an astronomy programme that computes the

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positions of stars, planets and satellites in orbit.

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This programme revealed that the Relay 2 satellite

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was precisely within the observed FRB's time

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frame and position. The distance calculated

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between the ASCAP Telescope and Relay 2 at the time

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of observation was was

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4,322 kilometres,

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which was remarkably consistent with the estimated distance

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of the burst. The signal was so Strong because the

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satellite was passing directly over the ASCAP when the burst

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occurred, explaining its surprising clarity.

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As for what caused this burst from a long dead satellite,

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the team quickly ruled out the possibility that Relay 2

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had somehow temporarily come back online.

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Instead, they attributed it to electrostatic

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discharge, also known as esd, a UH

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phenomenon observed with satellites in the past.

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This happens when electrostatic charges build up on a

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spacecraft until they discharge in a large

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sudden burst. Another intriguing

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possibility is that the burst was caused by a charged plasma

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cloud resulting from a micrometeorite collision.

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These groundbreaking results could lead to new tools for studying

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FRBs and other signals, potentially even

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new techniques for monitoring the vast array of

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defunct satellites orbiting our planet.

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They also suggest that radio observatories searching for

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cosmic rays could now be capable of identifying

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nanosecond scale FRBs, helping future

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surveys distinguish between genuine cosmic events

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and interference from local objects. It's

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truly a testament to how even the oldest space junk

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can still hold scientific surprises.

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Now let's turn our attention to some significant developments from

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SpaceX, where they're facing extensive rebuilding efforts

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following a recent anomaly, while also making impressive

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progress on new infrastructure at their

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Massey's test stand. SpaceX is undertaking

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considerable repair work after a major incident involving

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Starship 36. During an attempted

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six engine static fire test, an anomaly

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occurred causing substantial damage to the facility.

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The immediate focus was on making Massey safe, and M

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crews have since been busy assessing the damage and cleaning up

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debris while larger pieces of Starship

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36 have been removed. Cleaning the trench itself

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might take longer due to the static fire stand still being in the

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way. The damage at Massey's is quite extensive. The

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gantry that held the ship Quick Disconnect is a

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tangled mess along with the liquid oxygen and

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liquid methane piping. All the vaporizers used

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to pressurise the methane tanks are destroyed, and at least

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one methane pump appears damaged. The static

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fire stand structure itself seems okay, but all its

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clamps and piping will need replacing. Inside the

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trench, the aft section and raptors are likely

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to have caused damage to the flame deflector.

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One of the items that will take the longest to replace is

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the control bunker, which was completely burned

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out. This structure is essential for operating the

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methane tank farm and the static fire stand.

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Additionally, a storage tent and shipping

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containers nearby were also destroyed by the fireball.

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Pieces of ship 36 are scattered across Massey's

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for analysis. According to SpaceX's updates,

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the initial failure mode seems to be a composite

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overwrapped pressure vessel that was holding nitrogen in

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the payload Bay. The root cause is still

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under investigation and it could take some time to

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determine precisely what happened. It's fortunate this

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occurred on the ground, making the investigation much more

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feasible than if it had happened in space. As a

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result, no static fire testing of ships or flights

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are likely to occur until the root cause is identified and

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Massey's is repaired. Despite this

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setback, SpaceX is known for its resilience

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and they anticipate this will only cause a short term

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stand down. They hope to fly the last two block

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two ships by the end of the year. In parallel with these

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repairs, SpaceX is also making steady

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progress on new hardware and infrastructure elsewhere

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at their Sanchez site, work continues on components for

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launch Pad B, including booster quick disconnect

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hardware that might be sent to the launch site within the next

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month or two. Progress on Pad B is moving at a

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consistent pace. A new assembled flame diverter

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ridge is also visible, likely destined for

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LC39A, which will need it in the coming

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months. While there was talk of a new gigabay

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foundation for a new building, that process hasn't started

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yet.

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Over at the launch site, incredible progress has been made on

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Pad B. The launch mount is installed along

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with the final two water plate manifolds and some

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booster quick disconnect hardware. There's also significant

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progress on the ground support equipment structure known

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as the gantry, which houses the high pressure

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electrical and main cryogenic propellant

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lines. The flame trench for Pad B is

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also seeing rapid development, with crews

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installing steel plates that will form its floor and ramps up.

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This design means there will be no exposed concrete to

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damage, allowing SpaceX to fix cracks and

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damage by simply replacing plates or welding

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cracks on the walls. This pad is designed to use

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a massive amount of water, around 450,000

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gallons per launch, flowing through the mount and flame

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deflectors to protect hardware from the heat of 33

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Raptor engines during liftoff. This will ensure quick

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turnaround times between launches. To achieve

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this, SpaceX is using a different pressurisation

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system than at Pad A or Massey's,

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utilising 9 methane and oxygen turbopumps to

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vaporise liquid nitrogen before pumping it into the

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tanks, which then force water through the pipes.

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They've also begun digging the trench for the propellant

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lines that will connect to the tower. Recently,

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testing of the eight liquid oxygen pumps already installed for

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Pad B's tank farm began it including flowing

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liquid nitrogen through them for operational checks and

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leak detection on the subcoolers. This

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marks a significant step towards getting Pad B fully

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operational. As for Pad A, it's

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currently sitting unused, awaiting either Booster

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152 for a static fire or Flight 10

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following the loss of ship.

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36 Moving on

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NASA engineers are currently working to fix an issue with the

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Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, or

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Nicer X Ray Telescope. This vital

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instrument, mounted on the International Space Station,

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has temporarily halted its ability to track celestial

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objects due to a bad motor. NASA paused its

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operations on June 17 when the degradation in its

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tracking ability became apparent, though they haven't

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specified when it might resume. This isn't the first

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challenge for Nicer, which has been in use since

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2017. Back in May

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2023, it developed a light leak when

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several thin thermal shields were damaged,

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rendering it useless during daylight hours.

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Astronaut Nick Haig installed nine patches in January

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to fix the worst areas, but some light

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interference continued. Closer inspection

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revealed smaller cracks and holes, prompting engineers

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to reconfigure the telescope's measurement power unit,

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allowing it to resume normal operations on March 12.

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However, additional damage to at least one thermal shield

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forced NASA to minimise daytime observations

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again in late May. Despite these

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setbacks, Nicer remains a crucial tool. It measures

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neutron stars, identifies black holes, active

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galaxies, and other phenomena, and even helps map

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routes for future Mars missions. X ray

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telescopes like Nicer enable scientists to study

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and better understand extreme radio events in space.

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For instance, observations from Nicer, along with the

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Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, were

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instrumental in assessing a rapid burst of radio waves from

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a Magnetar in 2020, an event that

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00:16:00.780 --> 00:16:03.340
released as much energy in a fraction of a second

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as our sun does in an entire year, producing

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a laser like beam instead of an explosion.

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Scientists used these same telescopes to observe another burst

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from that magnetar in October 2022.

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That's all the exciting news from the cosmos for today's episode of

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Astronomy Daily. Thank you for tuning in and

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exploring the universe with us. This episode

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was hosted by me, Anna, and we hope you enjoyed our look

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00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.500
at the latest in space exploration and astronomical

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00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:34.180
discoveries. For more out of this World

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00:16:34.180 --> 00:16:35.220
content, visit our

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00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.140
website@astronomydaily.IO where

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you can sign up for our free daily newsletter and listen to all our

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back episodes. Subscribe to Astronomy

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Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.560
next time, keep looking up and I'll be back tomorrow with another

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roundup of the latest in space and astronomy news.

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Bye.