Artemis 2 Progress, Iron Bars in Space & Life’s Deadly Origins | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights...

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Language: en

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Hi there. Thanks for joining us again.


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This is Space Nuts, where we talk


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astronomy and space science every week,


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twice a week, in fact. On today's


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episode, we're going to look at the


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progress of Arteimus 2. There's an


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update for you, and it's good news. Uh,


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this is a weird story. An iron bar seen


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in space. And no, it is not a runaway


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spanner from the International Space


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Station, although that does happen. and


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something deadly that could be important


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in the origin of life. We'll find out


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about that on this episode of Space


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Nuts.


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>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9


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Ignition sequence start.


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>> Space Nuts.


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>> 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


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>> Space Nuts.


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>> Astronauts report. It feels good. Back


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for more with stories galore is


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Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


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large. Hello, Fred.


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>> Good morning, Andrew. Or good good


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whatever part of the day it is when


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you're listening to this.


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>> Yes. It's difficult dealing with a


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global audience, isn't it? Because you


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just don't know.


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>> You just don't know what time it is


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wherever.


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>> But uh they know what time it is here.


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>> Well, it's Eastern summertime is what it


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is. And uh we are approaching the


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hottest time of the year in this part of


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the world. And I've been looking at the


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forecast, Fred, cuz uh right now it's


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not too bad. You know, low low to mid30s


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uh Celsius, which some people would be


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horrified by, but for us that's pretty


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normal. But next week,


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we are expected to hit a string of 40


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plus temperatures peaking at 45.


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45


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which is uh I for those who don't use


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the metric system that is 113 degrees


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Fahrenheit.


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So that's um that's what's coming up for


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us. I mean some people will hear this


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and it will already have happened and we


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won't be there next week and they'll


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wonder why. Well, that's the answer.


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We're just going to burn. We are burn.


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>> Uh yeah, horrific. It's been horrific.


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We had a massive storm here the other


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day and it uh ripped through the the


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city. I actually looked at it on the


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radar and it was only a really small


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cell,


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>> but gee, it was intense. It absolutely


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devastated the golf course. We lost a


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lot of trees and branches. Uh, but it


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happened all over town. So, yeah, we've


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had some uh pretty radical weather of


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late and now we're going to hit a heat


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wave and I don't I think we've got like


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six or seven days in a row at least over


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the old 100 Fahrenheit.


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So,


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>> there you go.


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>> Looking forward to that.


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Yes, I'm sure you are. It's a bit more


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temperate here on the coast, but uh we


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did have a day weight last Saturday


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where it it was 43 was the highest I I


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saw when I was out and about and it's


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been quite a few years quite a few years


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since we had a 45 here, but I do


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remember one some years ago and it Yeah,


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it was horrible. They actually forecast


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47 or 48 that day and it didn't get


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there thankfully.


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>> But um hopefully it won't do it again


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this year. But u it's been a long time


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since we've had temperatures like this.


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Um you


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for a few years in a row we didn't even


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make 40.


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But um yeah, we're we're getting at


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least four in a row next week.


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>> Anyway, um Oh, and the other thing


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that's been really exciting this week uh


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is um the auroral activity in you saw


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anything?


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>> No, I went out last night and didn't see


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anything. there's too much light and I I


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thought, "Oh, well, I go out of town."


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Uh, yeah. How far do I go? Where do I go


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to get a perch because it's pretty flat


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out here. Um, but I didn't see anything.


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There was one photo I took where it may


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there was a little bit of a purple sheen


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in the distance, maybe. I don't know.


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>> Last night, the night before was better.


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It was right.


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>> This morning, of course, I wake up to


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all these amazing photos that people


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have taken and they saw them as far


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north as southern Queensland. So,


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>> yeah, that's right.


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>> It's been a very intense solar storm


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that's um that's caused all this. But it


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looks like I missed the boat again,


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Fred.


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>> It's got to come with us to the Arctic


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sometime.


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>> Ah, look. Yeah. The other thing I saw


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this morning um was there's a um a trip


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to the Arctic this year to watch the


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solar eclipse. That'll be a big one. I


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think that's in um August.


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Is it? Or was that last year?


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>> Um no. Um there is I thought it was the


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Antarctic.


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>> Oh, it might be.


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>> Just kissed. Yeah, I think that's


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probably it. Yeah.


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>> Uh there's there is the there is an


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eclipse in August. It's the 12th of


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August. We'll be watching that from uh


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northern Spain.


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>> Um so we're taking one of M's tour


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groups up there to see the eclipse.


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>> Well, that's the one they were talking


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about.


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>> So that


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>> Yeah, I think the I think the one you're


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talking about was Antarctica and it's


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not the same eclipse. Anyway, never


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mind.


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>> Yeah, I can see the one the one I was


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thinking of is the one you're going to


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see in


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>> Okay. All right. Okay. might Yeah, might


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start in the Arctic.


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>> Yeah, it's crossing all the places we


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were visiting


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last year. So, we're all we're a year


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too early.


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Never mind.


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>> Always ahead of always ahead of the


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game. But


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>> yes, always get through Dodger before


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the disaster. That's what that's their


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philosophy.


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>> Um we've got a bit to get through. So,


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we'll we'll start with um this exciting


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news and that is an update on the


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Arteimus 2 mission. Now, we only


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mentioned that a week or so ago, uh that


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it was one of the big things happening


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in 2026. Uh it's starting to happen.


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They've started moving stuff.


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That That's right. Uh so um as we speak


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the uh Arteimus 2 stack, if that's what


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you call it, with the uh space launch


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system and its two solid rocket boosters


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and the uh service module, the the I


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nearly said Apollo there, the Orion


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capsule on top, uh is sitting on


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launchpad 39B, uh which is a very famous


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part of the launch facility at um at


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Cape Canaveral.


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So uh it yes it's made its journey from


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the uh vehicle assembly building uh to


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launchpad 39B


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which if I remember rightly is 6


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kilometers and it took 12 hours to do


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it.


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>> So half a kilometer per hour um uh is


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that right? Yes, that's right.


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>> Yeah, I think it's like 082 of a mile


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per hour or something like that.


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>> Yes, that's what I saw too. Um I think


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the when you average it out it it comes


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to half a kilometer an hour but I think


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it's a little bit more than that uh in


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terms of um you know the the maximum


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speed when it accelerated up to full


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speed 82 miles per hour. Uh so that is


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the start of the journey to the moon uh


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which is really quite nice. Um and


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Artimus 2 yes the mission uh will uh we


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hope uh actually launch within the next


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few months. What we do know is that


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there is to be um a wet uh what's what's


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called a a wet um test. Is that the


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right word? Uh a wet dress rehearsal.


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That's that's the correct term. Uh where


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it's fully fueled up uh and basically uh


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under goes a countdown, a dummy


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countdown. Uh everything as if you were


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about to launch, but you don't launch.


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Uh, and we're told that is not going to


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happen any later than basically next


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week our time or the week after next.


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Uh, which is February the 2nd is the


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date that we've got. So, um, that will


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be exciting to see how that how that


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goes, whether everything goes flawlessly


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or whether they find a gotcha and have


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to wheel it back to the vehicle assembly


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building which has happened.


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>> That's happened before, hasn't it?


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>> Yeah, it's it did with Arteimus one. In


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fact, I think it happened two or three


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times, didn't it? If I remember rightly,


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uh because they've got to get this right


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and they've got to, you know, it's got


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to be right and it will be. Uh is the


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bottom line. Yeah.


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>> Yes, indeed. But it's exciting. Um I


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think it has been delayed. It was


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supposed to go last year, wasn't it?


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>> Uh that's correct. Yes. Uh indeed,


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that's true. It's I mean that you know


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the whole project has uh suffered


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delays. Uh there is one bit of good news


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though which has come out of


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uh Congress. I think I should get my


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terms right. But the but the NASA


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funding uh for next year or for this


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year uh seems to be uh much more secure


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than was previously thought. Some of the


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big cuts that were being planned have


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sort of evaporated. Uh and I think the


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funding level for NASA this year uh is


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not that much. I think it's on a par


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with what they received last year. Um uh


00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:20.230
notwithstanding the fact that yes, the


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Mars sample return mission has has still


00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.949
been axed from that budget, but that


00:09:24.959 --> 00:09:27.269
leaves room for some other things to be


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funded and no doubt there'll be further


00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.230
talks on how we get these canisters of


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uh Martian soil back from Mars before we


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all die.


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>> Yes.


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>> Yeah. Well, hope now let's hope somebody


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um riding a trail bike up there one day


00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:45.030
comes across it and goes, "Oi, what's


00:09:45.040 --> 00:09:48.870
this? What's this? Who left this here?"


00:09:48.880 --> 00:09:51.750
Um but yeah, uh it's good news. Uh and


00:09:51.760 --> 00:09:53.990
we should mention the astronauts


00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.190
involved, Reed Wiseman, V Glover,


00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.230
Christina Ko, uh and they're all from uh


00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:04.310
NASA Americans. And then you've got uh


00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.389
from the Canadian Space Agency, Jeremy


00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.870
Hansen. And uh they'll be journeying out


00:10:10.880 --> 00:10:13.829
and around and back uh over a period of


00:10:13.839 --> 00:10:15.750
10 days, which is about the same length


00:10:15.760 --> 00:10:18.310
as the average Apollo mission. Although


00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.230
there was one mission that only went 5


00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.190
days because well, they couldn't stop


00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:24.069
because they


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>> Yeah, that's right.


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>> They had a bit of


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>> that was another story.


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>> But it's true. It's reminiscent of


00:10:30.959 --> 00:10:34.310
Apollo 8. uh you know by Christmas Day,


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wasn't it?


00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:37.509
>> Uh Christmas Eve, I think. I can't


00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:37.750
remember.


00:10:37.760 --> 00:10:38.870
>> Something like Christmas Eve. I think it


00:10:38.880 --> 00:10:39.990
was Christmas Eve. Yeah.


00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:40.389
>> Yeah.


00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.870
>> 1968. Um um but but what's different


00:10:44.880 --> 00:10:46.790
though is I think their orbits around


00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:49.829
the backside of the moon will be uh at a


00:10:49.839 --> 00:10:52.230
higher distance from the lunar surface


00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.190
than we saw with the Apollo mission. So


00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.990
uh these astronauts will be uh will hold


00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.269
a record as being the furthest humans.


00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.269
the furthest that humans have been from


00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.670
planet Earth after at the end of their


00:11:05.680 --> 00:11:06.389
mission. So


00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.150
>> yeah, that record currently held by


00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:10.389
Michael Collins.


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>> That is correct. Yes.


00:11:11.680 --> 00:11:14.150
>> Yes. I think in fact uh there's a famous


00:11:14.160 --> 00:11:16.069
photo I think I've mentioned before that


00:11:16.079 --> 00:11:19.110
Michael Collins took which showed the


00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.430
moon where Neil Armstrong and Buzz


00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:23.190
Aldrin were on the surface at the time


00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:25.590
and Earth in the background and it


00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.790
basically said every human being that's


00:11:28.800 --> 00:11:31.350
ever existed is in this photo except


00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.190
one.


00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:34.230
>> I think that's great.


00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:36.389
>> That was Yeah.


00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.949
>> Yeah. I mean you think


00:11:38.959 --> 00:11:40.069
>> to feel lonely.


00:11:40.079 --> 00:11:42.310
>> It's pretty Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty deep


00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:45.190
when you take a photo and someone says


00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:46.870
to you, "Lady, do you realize you're the


00:11:46.880 --> 00:11:49.590
only human human being in history that's


00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.230
not in that photograph?"


00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.310
I reckon that's uh that's incredible.


00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.310
Yeah. Uh of course, people come back and


00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:57.590
say, "Oh, but what about the people on


00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:58.470
the other side of the planet that


00:11:58.480 --> 00:11:59.670
weren't in the picture?" Well, they were


00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:01.269
on the planet, so they were in the


00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:01.670
picture.


00:12:01.680 --> 00:12:03.110
>> Yeah, we we knew.


00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.790
>> We could use a bit of creative license.


00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:05.269
Sure. We


00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.790
>> Yes, that's right.


00:12:06.800 --> 00:12:07.190
>> That's right.


00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:10.150
>> Um we should also mention why why this


00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:12.790
mission is happening. And it's it's it's


00:12:12.800 --> 00:12:17.110
based around putting long-term humans or


00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.110
long a long-term human presence on the


00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.509
lunar surface, but the ultimate goal is


00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.629
to create that springboard for missions


00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.069
to Mars. So it it's it's part of a


00:12:28.079 --> 00:12:30.710
long-term venture, I suppose.


00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.949
Yeah, I think actually that you know


00:12:32.959 --> 00:12:36.069
it's got an immediacy about it that um


00:12:36.079 --> 00:12:40.150
um is makes the Mars issue


00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:44.069
uh perhaps uh not reducing its


00:12:44.079 --> 00:12:48.150
significance but um but giving us a good


00:12:48.160 --> 00:12:50.069
you know a good reason to be on the moon


00:12:50.079 --> 00:12:52.230
anyway and that's the the possible


00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:53.590
resources that are on the moon.


00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.310
>> Yeah. Plus, there's still a geopolitical


00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:58.629
uh aspect of this, exactly as there was


00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:02.230
in the 1960s. Um, the Americans are very


00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.069
keen to get there before Chinese


00:13:04.079 --> 00:13:05.829
tyonauts walk on the lunar surface,


00:13:05.839 --> 00:13:08.150
which they're certainly planning to do


00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:11.110
by 2030. That is what we hear. But


00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.509
you're right. Um, I mean, Arteimus 2 is


00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:16.230
a is a precursor to Arteimus 3, which is


00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:17.910
likely to be not next year, but the


00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:19.269
following year. There's still a lot of


00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.350
work to do on that. uh where four


00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:23.190
astronauts will land on the lunar


00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:26.710
surface. And that in a in a sense is the


00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:28.310
perhaps the opening gambit for a


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.790
permanent uh or a semi-permanent human


00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:33.110
presence on Mars. And yes, you're right.


00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.629
Eventually that will lead to we hope uh


00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.030
expertise that we can gather that will


00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:41.990
take astronauts to Mars, not to colonize


00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.430
it, but to explore it in a in a suitably


00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:46.710
ethical way.


00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:49.269
>> You you hope not to colonize it.


00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.310
>> Yeah. Well, that's right.


00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.990
>> Okay. Um, yeah, very exciting news and


00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.629
hopefully all will go well with the uh


00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:00.629
with the tests. Uh, in fact, they're


00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.069
talking about doing it more than once if


00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:05.670
they've got time. Um, but yeah, it'll be


00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:08.310
uh it'll be and it'll it'll bring about


00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.030
the same level of excitement, I suppose,


00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:13.189
that we enjoyed in the 60s with the


00:14:13.199 --> 00:14:14.790
Apollo missions because you got a whole


00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:16.790
new generation that weren't around to


00:14:16.800 --> 00:14:19.350
see that. And so this is all fresh and


00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:20.790
new for them.


00:14:20.800 --> 00:14:22.629
>> I reckon that that's right.


00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.150
>> That will revive the uh the interest in


00:14:26.160 --> 00:14:29.590
uh space science uh as well. I suppose


00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.350
uh if you'd like to read all about it,


00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:34.230
you can log on to Scitec Daily, but I


00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:35.750
think you'll probably find there's


00:14:35.760 --> 00:14:37.910
plenty of news on plenty of platforms,


00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:40.069
including the NASA website. This is


00:14:40.079 --> 00:14:41.829
Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and


00:14:41.839 --> 00:14:45.030
Professor Fred Watson.


00:14:45.040 --> 00:14:46.790
Let's take a break from the show so I


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00:16:04.560 --> 00:16:07.430
3 2 1


00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:08.949
>> Space nuts.


00:16:08.959 --> 00:16:12.389
>> Okay, Fred. Uh, this weird story has,


00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:15.189
uh, been published in a in a paper about


00:16:15.199 --> 00:16:18.710
a nebula that is demonstrating something


00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.189
that at this point in time is


00:16:21.199 --> 00:16:22.870
inexplicable.


00:16:22.880 --> 00:16:24.629
Uh, they know what it is,


00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.790
>> they don't know why it is.


00:16:26.800 --> 00:16:29.829
>> Yeah. Exactly. And so this story is


00:16:29.839 --> 00:16:32.949
about perhaps one of the most famous um


00:16:32.959 --> 00:16:35.430
celestial objects in the northern sky.


00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.389
Uh an object called the ring nebula. Uh


00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.030
because it's shaped like a ring. Uh it's


00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:43.350
in the constellation of Lyra. Uh one


00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.430
that um certainly I've been aware of


00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.350
ever since I first became interested in


00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.749
astronomy in the 1950s.


00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:54.069
Um it is a planetary nebula and that is


00:16:54.079 --> 00:16:56.230
a bit of a misnomer term. It was one


00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:57.910
coined by William Hershel in the early


00:16:57.920 --> 00:17:00.629
1800s because these things kind of look


00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:02.150
like planets, but they're nothing to do


00:17:02.160 --> 00:17:03.509
with planets. They're not in the solar


00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.669
system. They're clouds of gas. And we


00:17:05.679 --> 00:17:07.429
now know that they are the the bubbles


00:17:07.439 --> 00:17:11.270
of gas that are puffed off by uh uh


00:17:11.280 --> 00:17:14.150
giant stars in their old age. Um and we


00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.150
also know that the sun will go through a


00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:17.829
phase where eventually it's surrounded


00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.549
by a a nebula, a planetary nebula very


00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.630
like the ring nebula. Uh so um we know a


00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:28.150
lot about that nebula and um what's


00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:29.909
there's a sort of slightly personal


00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:32.549
aspect to this story because a uh a


00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.630
telescope that I worked on quite


00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.430
commonly in the 1990s uh the William


00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.310
Hershel telescope uh which uh was then


00:17:40.320 --> 00:17:42.710
operated by the UK I think it's now the


00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.909
UK and some other


00:17:45.919 --> 00:17:49.669
uh sorry I'm going to cancel this can't


00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:51.669
take that call don't know whether you


00:17:51.679 --> 00:17:54.150
heard Uh my phone is ringing.


00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.950
>> It's ringing in my my earphones. Sorry.


00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:59.350
Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. It's all right. I'll


00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:02.710
call them back shortly. Um it's uh it's


00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:04.230
a


00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:06.950
uh the telescope that uh was built in


00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:10.230
the 19 late 1980s, commissioned I think


00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:13.430
around about 1990. Uh as I said, I


00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.390
worked on it in the in the 1990s. A 4.2


00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.830
2meter telescope which is situated uh at


00:18:19.840 --> 00:18:23.350
a place called El Rock de los Machos


00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:25.669
which is the name of a peak in the


00:18:25.679 --> 00:18:28.470
island of La Palma. It's a volcanic peak


00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:30.710
uh and there is a major global


00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:34.630
observatory there. Um it's uh it's as I


00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.190
said 4.2 m telescope. Uh I think it's


00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:39.590
now jointly operated by a number of uh


00:18:39.600 --> 00:18:41.830
different nations. Uh it was built by


00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:45.590
the Brits uh and uh was for a while


00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:46.870
something like the third biggest


00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.870
telescope in the northern hemisphere I


00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:53.110
think. Um it uh uh has an instrument on


00:18:53.120 --> 00:18:55.510
it. Uh which is sort of let me guess.


00:18:55.520 --> 00:18:55.990
Let me guess.


00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.110
>> Descendant.


00:18:57.120 --> 00:18:59.270
>> It's a saxophone.


00:18:59.280 --> 00:19:00.150
>> Sorry couldn't help.


00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.990
>> It's an E flat trombone. Uh


00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.390
it's a it's a um an instrument which is


00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:09.830
I was going to say it's a descendant of


00:19:09.840 --> 00:19:12.390
a let me rephrase that. It is an optical


00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.830
instrument. Uh which is a descendant of


00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:17.990
uh something I was very deeply involved


00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.230
with when I was there. Um I was project


00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.830
scientist for a thing called a


00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:24.950
spectrograph which is um uh the device


00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.430
that splits up light uh and lets us see


00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:30.390
that barcode of information in the light


00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.470
of a star or galaxy or indeed a


00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.029
planetary nebula. Uh but the new version


00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:37.830
of that I we were using optical fibers


00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:40.549
uh to to look at individual objects. uh


00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.590
the new version uh uses optical fibers


00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:46.070
again but in such a way that you can


00:19:46.080 --> 00:19:48.870
look at an object like this nebula and


00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.110
for every point on the image you can get


00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:54.150
a spectrum uh and we uh it's a a


00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.390
technology which is known as integral


00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.549
field spectroscopy


00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.870
uh and uh they have built something


00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.190
called a LEU which is a large integral


00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.230
field unit for the weave instrument


00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:10.390
which is the WH enhanced area velocity


00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:13.029
Explorer. Uh, great stuff. And the


00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.430
bottom line is that the to get to the


00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.990
end of this long rambling story. This is


00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.990
a brand new instrument that is just


00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.510
being tested. And what better object to


00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:25.669
test it on than this lovely northern


00:20:25.679 --> 00:20:28.390
hemisphere nebula, the Ring Nebula. And


00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:31.029
so that's what they've done. a group of


00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.909
scientists mostly I think from the UK uh


00:20:33.919 --> 00:20:35.750
they've used the ring nebula just to


00:20:35.760 --> 00:20:38.070
make sure that the weave spectrograph


00:20:38.080 --> 00:20:40.390
works properly and does everything they


00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:42.549
want it to and they've uncovered a


00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:45.590
complete surprise uh that has blown


00:20:45.600 --> 00:20:47.270
everybody's mind because nobody


00:20:47.280 --> 00:20:49.909
understands it and that is exactly as


00:20:49.919 --> 00:20:52.789
you've said is an iron bar. Now, um,


00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.870
when you talk about a bar in astronomy,


00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:56.630
it's not something you prop yourself up


00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.190
against to, um, get over all your


00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:01.350
problems. Uh, although you can do that


00:21:01.360 --> 00:21:05.029
if you want. Uh, it's it's uh, usually


00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.870
it's a


00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.830
a structure, a linear structure. Um,


00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:12.789
often made of stars. Uh, galaxies often


00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.390
have a bar across the middle. We call


00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.870
them barred spiral galaxies. And that


00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:18.470
bar is made of stars which are


00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:22.310
circulating in a in a very elliptical


00:21:22.320 --> 00:21:24.549
orbit around the center of the galaxy.


00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.830
So it looks like a essentially a solid


00:21:27.840 --> 00:21:29.909
bar of material. It's actually made of


00:21:29.919 --> 00:21:32.470
stars. So the bar in the ring ring


00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.950
nebula is not made of stars. It's made


00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.789
of gas. Uh but what is interesting is


00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.350
that that gas is highly ionized. That


00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:45.590
means energized uh version of iron. So


00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:50.149
this is a plasma of iron atoms. Uh and


00:21:50.159 --> 00:21:51.990
um one of the interesting comments that


00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:55.110
comes out of the the data um that's been


00:21:55.120 --> 00:21:58.470
released on this on this uh piece of


00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:00.870
research is that the total mass of the


00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:04.310
iron that's in that bar is comparable to


00:22:04.320 --> 00:22:07.029
the mass of Mars. Uh that is quite


00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:09.669
significant. Uh and I love this comment.


00:22:09.679 --> 00:22:12.470
its length is about equal to 500 times


00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.110
the orbit of Pluto around the sun. Uh


00:22:15.120 --> 00:22:17.350
and so it's, you know, if you imagine


00:22:17.360 --> 00:22:19.990
Pluto's orbit, multiply it by 500 times


00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.830
and then take its diameter, that's how


00:22:21.840 --> 00:22:24.549
big this iron bar is. Uh so it's not an


00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:26.230
iron bar in the sense that something you


00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.149
can pick up and hit somebody on the head


00:22:28.159 --> 00:22:30.549
with if you're that way inclined, and


00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:33.029
I'm certainly not. uh uh but it's an


00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.270
iron bar in the sense of a barred


00:22:35.280 --> 00:22:39.430
structure in what is completely normally


00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.669
expected to be quite spherically


00:22:41.679 --> 00:22:43.590
symmetrical because this is a bubble of


00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:45.750
material. The ring nebula is a bubble of


00:22:45.760 --> 00:22:48.470
gas and yet here in the middle of it is


00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.990
this linear feature a bar uh of made of


00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.029
highly ionized iron atoms. So as you


00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:57.430
said at the beginning Andrew the big


00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.909
question now is where did it come from?


00:22:59.919 --> 00:23:02.149
>> Yeah. What? Why is it there? What what


00:23:02.159 --> 00:23:04.149
happened to create that? Because it's it


00:23:04.159 --> 00:23:05.990
sounds like it's it's unique. There's


00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.549
nothing else like it yet bound.


00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.149
>> Not that we know of. That's right. But


00:23:10.159 --> 00:23:12.549
nobody's looked for a lion in Yeah. Uh


00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:16.149
in the center of these these objects. So


00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:21.830
um I think uh there is, you know, a a


00:23:21.840 --> 00:23:25.110
sort of well as the as the article we


00:23:25.120 --> 00:23:27.350
might quote because this is from our old


00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:29.270
friend Universe Today. It's by Evan


00:23:29.280 --> 00:23:36.149
Goff. Uh the um the bottom line is that


00:23:36.159 --> 00:23:38.470
uh there are two uh let me let me let me


00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.470
just read because this is uh this is


00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.990
quite nicely put. There are two broad


00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.149
exploration explanations for this iron


00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:46.390
bar. One is that it reveals something


00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:48.789
new about how the central star and


00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.870
that's the star that it eventually gave


00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:53.029
rise to the nebula. How the central star


00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:55.909
ejected its material. Uh the other is


00:23:55.919 --> 00:23:58.390
that the bar, the iron bar is the


00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.350
remnant of a planet that was vaporized


00:24:01.360 --> 00:24:03.830
and destroyed by the star as it expanded


00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:06.870
into a red giant. That's a really really


00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:09.270
interesting uh conjecture that what


00:24:09.280 --> 00:24:11.909
we're seeing is perhaps the um the


00:24:11.919 --> 00:24:16.149
remnant that the vaporized core of a


00:24:16.159 --> 00:24:18.310
planet, perhaps a rocky planet that was


00:24:18.320 --> 00:24:20.630
in orbit around the star uh when it


00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:23.110
turned into a red giant. uh it was


00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:25.909
vaporized and what we are left with is


00:24:25.919 --> 00:24:30.630
this streak of uh highly ionized gas uh


00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.750
highly energized gas uh made of iron


00:24:33.760 --> 00:24:35.750
across the middle of the nebula. Really


00:24:35.760 --> 00:24:38.149
really interesting uh uh really


00:24:38.159 --> 00:24:40.630
interesting um results there.


00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:42.549
>> Yeah, absolutely. And and the pictures


00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:45.190
that they've gathered are spectacular.


00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:46.149
It looks amazing.


00:24:46.159 --> 00:24:48.950
>> Yeah. Yeah, it does. It's quite


00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:50.950
extraordinary. Uh there's a quote from


00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:54.230
Janet Drew who I won't say I know but


00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:55.750
I'd certainly have met her a few times


00:24:55.760 --> 00:24:57.750
back in the day. Uh she's one of the


00:24:57.760 --> 00:25:00.549
studies co-authors uh University College


00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:03.990
London uh said says we this is in a


00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.230
press release we definitely need to know


00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.149
more particularly whether any other


00:25:08.159 --> 00:25:10.870
chemical elements coexist with the newly


00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.350
detected iron as this would probably


00:25:13.360 --> 00:25:15.269
tell us the right class of model to


00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.149
pursue. In other words, um whether it


00:25:18.159 --> 00:25:20.230
was ejected from the star or a vaporized


00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.549
planet. Uh right now we're missing this


00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:24.710
important information. So, yep. Really


00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.950
um really interesting stuff.


00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:28.789
>> Yeah. And now that they've found it,


00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:30.789
they know what to look for and they may


00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:34.230
well find that this has happened quite a


00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:35.830
few times that you might even have one


00:25:35.840 --> 00:25:38.710
in your closet. You never know.


00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:41.190
What's what uh is interesting to me and


00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.230
there's a it's a tenuous link here but


00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:46.549
um perhaps the most famous planetary


00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.870
nebula in the southern hemisphere and


00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.870
it's one that is very familiar. It's


00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:53.190
called the Helix Nebula. Beautiful.


00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:57.190
Again, a ring-like structure. Uh we just


00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.269
uh yesterday I think or the day before


00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:01.590
received some new images of that from


00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:04.310
the James Webb uh space telescope which


00:26:04.320 --> 00:26:07.590
are absolutely staggering. uh they show


00:26:07.600 --> 00:26:10.470
structure on the sort of inner edge of


00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.470
this bubble of gas which is what the


00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:16.710
Helix Nebula is as well. Uh which is


00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:19.590
it's it's it's unfathomable almost. What


00:26:19.600 --> 00:26:21.110
we're seeing is little bubbles of gas


00:26:21.120 --> 00:26:23.750
being stretched out into these these


00:26:23.760 --> 00:26:25.269
myriad of fingers. It almost looks like


00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.110
a grassy paddock. It is quite


00:26:27.120 --> 00:26:28.789
extraordinary. It's well worth a look if


00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.269
you can find it, Andrew. Uh and I


00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:33.350
encourage our listeners and viewers to


00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:35.269
look for the James Webb telescope image


00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.310
of the ring of the Helix Nebula uh just


00:26:38.320 --> 00:26:39.350
released.


00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:40.149
>> Yeah.


00:26:40.159 --> 00:26:41.990
>> Keep an eye on that. But if you uh want


00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.230
to read about this particular iron bar


00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:48.310
discovery, you can read it uh on what is


00:26:48.320 --> 00:26:50.789
uh the universe today.com website or you


00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.430
can go to the paper which was published


00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:55.669
in the


00:26:55.679 --> 00:26:57.830
Royal Astronomical Society monthly


00:26:57.840 --> 00:27:00.630
notices of you could say it the other


00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:02.950
way around and you'd be right. Uh yeah.


00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.470
Um,


00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:06.310
but the pictures are spectacular in


00:27:06.320 --> 00:27:08.310
themselves, but the mystery itself is uh


00:27:08.320 --> 00:27:11.750
is quite um quite extraordinary. You're


00:27:11.760 --> 00:27:13.750
listening to Space Nuts with Andrew


00:27:13.760 --> 00:27:19.029
Dunley and Professor Fred Watson.


00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:21.190
>> Okay, we checked all four systems and


00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:21.990
being with


00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:23.350
>> Space Nuts.


00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:27.590
>> Our final yarn, Fred, uh takes us into


00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:30.950
uh a bit of a mystery land. um something


00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.950
deadly that could be important in the


00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:35.830
origin of life. Uh and you know if you


00:27:35.840 --> 00:27:38.950
would ask people what is deadly to human


00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.750
life and life in general um you would


00:27:41.760 --> 00:27:45.990
come up with a few well-known um things


00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.269
including hydrogen cyanide and and that


00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.470
is the topic of the discussion.


00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.110
>> Yeah, that's right. Um now I pre I


00:27:55.120 --> 00:27:56.870
preface this discussion with something


00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:58.470
that you and all our listeners know


00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.789
already and that is that I'm no chemist


00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:04.070
and certainly no um biochemist but um


00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:07.190
this is a yeah it's a really interesting


00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:10.870
uh study um that I think comes from


00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.909
Swedish uh Swedish scientists uh and


00:28:15.919 --> 00:28:18.630
it's it's about


00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:22.389
hydro hydrogen cyanide as a molecule HCN


00:28:22.399 --> 00:28:25.190
it's a chemical ical formula um which we


00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:28.630
know occurs uh commonly in space. It's


00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:30.230
one of these molecules that seems to be


00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:33.669
readily formed um in the co uh the


00:28:33.679 --> 00:28:35.990
coldness of space. So we find it for


00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:39.350
example in comets um and that's one of


00:28:39.360 --> 00:28:41.750
the reasons why excuse me there was


00:28:41.760 --> 00:28:44.950
panic in 1910 um when it was known that


00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:47.110
there was hydrogen cyanide in the tail


00:28:47.120 --> 00:28:49.350
of comet Halley and the earth was going


00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:51.990
to pass through the tail and so um I


00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.110
think all these quack you know quack


00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:56.630
chemists


00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:59.029
made up their their potions to stop you


00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.510
being poisoned by hydrogen cyanide fact


00:29:01.520 --> 00:29:04.549
that it's you know very very rarified


00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:06.789
gas wasn't something that impinged on


00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:08.950
their on their consciousness. They just


00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.269
made money out of it. Anyway, it's in


00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:14.470
comets. Uh it's in clouds of


00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:17.350
interstellar gas and dust. Uh it's also


00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:19.909
present in large amounts actually as an


00:29:19.919 --> 00:29:23.029
ice in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's


00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:24.310
moon, Titan.


00:29:24.320 --> 00:29:28.389
>> Uh and um it's um not only on the


00:29:28.399 --> 00:29:30.549
atmosphere, but it condenses out on


00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.269
deposits onto the surface as well. And


00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:36.230
so the basically the


00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:37.909
>> Don't lick the rocks, kids.


00:29:37.919 --> 00:29:39.350
>> Don't lick the rocks. Don't lick the


00:29:39.360 --> 00:29:39.750
rocks. In


00:29:39.760 --> 00:29:41.350
>> fact, don't and don't breathe the


00:29:41.360 --> 00:29:43.990
atmosphere.


00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.070
>> Uh which you wouldn't want to anyway um


00:29:46.080 --> 00:29:48.870
because it's pretty horrible. But um the


00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.230
so so that has led scientists to look


00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:56.789
more closely at the chemistry uh and


00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:00.470
sort of physics as well of of hydrogen


00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.669
cyanide. And in particular, what they've


00:30:03.679 --> 00:30:07.269
found is that it has essentially


00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.190
electric electrostatic properties that


00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:14.470
um may encourage


00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:17.990
uh it to assist with the formation of


00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.789
other molecules. It's apparently got


00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:24.789
really strong electric fields at the


00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.389
ends of a a solid crystal of hydrogen


00:30:28.399 --> 00:30:31.830
cyanide. Um, and what they're saying is


00:30:31.840 --> 00:30:34.549
that that might be a property that would


00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:38.630
allow this deadly chemical nevertheless


00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:42.310
to assist in the, you know, the the


00:30:42.320 --> 00:30:46.070
building up of uh prebiotic molecules,


00:30:46.080 --> 00:30:49.750
the the organic molecules that we think


00:30:49.760 --> 00:30:53.269
um are basically the uh the building


00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.350
blocks of life. M


00:30:55.360 --> 00:30:57.029
>> um


00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:02.149
it's so so it's um yeah it's really uh a


00:31:02.159 --> 00:31:06.149
really interesting uh piece of work that


00:31:06.159 --> 00:31:09.669
they are uh that these these authors


00:31:09.679 --> 00:31:13.269
have highlighted that maybe uh this this


00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:15.750
thing that to us is anathema hydrogen


00:31:15.760 --> 00:31:18.149
cyanoid maybe it's the reason why we're


00:31:18.159 --> 00:31:20.549
here uh because of reactions that might


00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:23.430
have taken place and of course that has


00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:26.950
um some interesting uh implications for


00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:29.590
Titan if it's common place on Titan.


00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:32.549
Titan's a world that we think could


00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:37.110
harbor life uh maybe in its uh under ice


00:31:37.120 --> 00:31:39.190
oceans. It's an ice world like many of


00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:40.950
the other uh satellites of the outer


00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:43.350
planets, but also has these seas and


00:31:43.360 --> 00:31:46.950
lakes of liquid ethane and methane. Um,


00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:48.549
you know, maybe there there are


00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:51.430
reactions going on in there that involve


00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:54.310
hydrogen cyanide that might have created


00:31:54.320 --> 00:31:57.350
uh uh organisms that use these um


00:31:57.360 --> 00:32:00.230
basically these uh liqufied natural


00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:03.029
gases, which is what they are as their


00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:06.070
working fluid. Who knows? Well, and and


00:32:06.080 --> 00:32:07.350
that's something we've talked about


00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:09.830
before because we, you know, when you we


00:32:09.840 --> 00:32:11.750
think of life, we we look at ourselves,


00:32:11.760 --> 00:32:13.750
carbon based life forms that breathe


00:32:13.760 --> 00:32:17.029
oxygen and, you know, and have a heavy


00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:20.549
reliance on water, but why does it just


00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:24.070
have to be that? Why why can't life


00:32:24.080 --> 00:32:26.149
develop in an environment that we would


00:32:26.159 --> 00:32:31.110
find toxic and well, basically hostile?


00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:34.149
But if you can create the catalyst for


00:32:34.159 --> 00:32:36.870
life on a world like Titan, why couldn't


00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:39.750
it develop independently as a a totally


00:32:39.760 --> 00:32:40.789
different life form?


00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:42.230
>> Something quite different. That's right.


00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:43.750
And um you know, that raises the


00:32:43.760 --> 00:32:45.350
question, how do you recognize that it's


00:32:45.360 --> 00:32:48.230
actually life if it's so different from


00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:51.430
from our our living organisms, too?


00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.190
>> Well, we don't really have a proper


00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:54.950
definition of what life is.


00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.870
>> No. No. And you you know some people


00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.630
argue that a virus isn't a life form.


00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:03.350
>> Yeah.


00:33:03.360 --> 00:33:07.669
>> So is is a is a virus life?


00:33:07.679 --> 00:33:09.669
>> I've seen that argument tossed around a


00:33:09.679 --> 00:33:14.310
few times. So what debate rages?


00:33:14.320 --> 00:33:16.149
>> Yeah. A definition that I think NASA


00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:18.630
uses from time to time is a living


00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:22.549
organism is a a self- sustaining,


00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:24.070
selfreplicating


00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:27.830
organism capable of Darwinian evolution.


00:33:27.840 --> 00:33:29.830
And and I actually think a virus would


00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:30.470
satisfy that.


00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:32.070
>> I I think it would.


00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:34.230
>> And it does it fast.


00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:35.750
>> Yeah. And it does. And I think I've got


00:33:35.760 --> 00:33:37.190
one at the moment, which is why I feel


00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:38.310
so crooked these days.


00:33:38.320 --> 00:33:40.149
>> Yeah.


00:33:40.159 --> 00:33:41.909
>> Yeah. They hang on, don't they?


00:33:41.919 --> 00:33:43.590
>> They do. Well, you know that that's


00:33:43.600 --> 00:33:46.070
that's the natural order, isn't it? In


00:33:46.080 --> 00:33:48.710
the the the fight for continuity. That's


00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.789
what a virus does.


00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:52.870
>> Yeah. All right. Uh very interesting


00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:56.149
story and uh don't go to the chemist


00:33:56.159 --> 00:33:58.630
asking for hydrogen cyanide because you


00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:00.310
want to, you know, revive your cat or


00:34:00.320 --> 00:34:03.750
something. Don't. It doesn't work


00:34:03.760 --> 00:34:05.830
>> because you know it's got um interesting


00:34:05.840 --> 00:34:07.430
electrical properties. It would be a


00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:08.869
good excuse, wouldn't it?


00:34:08.879 --> 00:34:10.389
>> Oh, yes. Well, we'll sell you some if


00:34:10.399 --> 00:34:11.349
that's the case. Yes.


00:34:11.359 --> 00:34:14.230
>> Yes. Why not? Yeah. I don't think you


00:34:14.240 --> 00:34:16.470
could get it very easily, could you?


00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:18.230
>> I don't know how you'd get I don't want


00:34:18.240 --> 00:34:20.470
any, but I don't know how you get it.


00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:22.550
>> You'd have to go to an illegal arms


00:34:22.560 --> 00:34:25.430
dealer or something, I think. But u Yes.


00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:26.790
>> Anyway, uh if you want to read about


00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:31.030
that, it's uh in the universetoday.com


00:34:31.040 --> 00:34:33.829
website. Uh and I think there's probably


00:34:33.839 --> 00:34:36.149
a paper that I have overlooked where


00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:39.109
it's been published, but um uh or you


00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:43.190
could go to the acs.org org website. Uh,


00:34:43.200 --> 00:34:45.270
ACS Central Science is where you'll find


00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:49.190
the article. Um, we're just about done,


00:34:49.200 --> 00:34:51.990
Fred. Thank you very much.


00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:53.829
>> You're welcome, Andrew. And, uh, thank


00:34:53.839 --> 00:34:56.149
you for having me. Um, as always, it's a


00:34:56.159 --> 00:34:56.869
pleasure.


00:34:56.879 --> 00:34:58.790
>> It It is good fun. We really enjoy


00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:00.470
ourselves and hopefully the audience


00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:01.829
does too. They've been sticking with us


00:35:01.839 --> 00:35:04.069
for a good many years now, which we


00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:06.550
greatly appreciate. And between shows,


00:35:06.560 --> 00:35:07.910
don't forget to visit us on social


00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.870
media, Facebook, Instagram. we might pop


00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:13.030
up in other places that I'm unaware of.


00:35:13.040 --> 00:35:15.109
I don't know. We'll have to um we'll


00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:16.790
have to go and lean on an iron bar and


00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:19.829
have a few drinks and figure it out. And


00:35:19.839 --> 00:35:22.950
um on our website, you can also uh look


00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:25.270
around at the shop or the astronomy


00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:26.950
daily news feed if you want to sign up


00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:28.950
for that. There's plenty to do on on the


00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:31.589
website, so check it out. Uh and thanks


00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:32.950
to Hugh in the studio who couldn't be


00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:34.230
with us today. We were talking about the


00:35:34.240 --> 00:35:36.550
weather earlier, Fred. And um I don't


00:35:36.560 --> 00:35:37.990
know if you know this, but Hugh's from


00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:39.349
New Zealand. And so once the temperature


00:35:39.359 --> 00:35:41.990
hits 6°, it's way too hot for him to go


00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:44.470
outside. So that's why he can't be with


00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:46.950
us today. And from me, Andrew Dunley,


00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.150
thanks for your company. We'll catch you


00:35:48.160 --> 00:35:50.790
on the next episode of Space Nuts.


00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:51.750
Bye-bye.


00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:52.790
>> Space Nuts.


00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:54.870
>> You'll be listening to the Space Nuts


00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.109
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00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:00.069
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