March 5, 2026

Artemis Updates, The Brain Nebula & Mapping the Galactic Center | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights...

Artemis Updates, The Brain Nebula & Mapping the Galactic Center | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights...
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Artemis Updates, The Brain Nebula & Mapping the Galactic Center | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights...
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Artemis Updates, the Brian Nebula, and Galactic Mapping

In this enlightening episode of Space Nuts , hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson dive into the latest developments in space exploration and celestial phenomena. From the shifting timelines of the Artemis program to the fascinating discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope, this episode is packed with cosmic insights and intriguing discussions.

Episode Highlights:

- Artemis Program Updates: Andrew and Fred discuss the recent delays in the Artemis 2 mission, which is now expected to launch no earlier than April. They also explore the implications of the newly inserted Artemis 3 mission, which will focus on testing spacecraft capabilities in Earth orbit before the lunar landing.

- The Brian in Space: The hosts delve into the discovery of the PMR1 nebula, also known as the Exposed Cranium Nebula. They discuss its unusual appearance and the significance of the James Webb Space Telescope's observations that reveal this nebula's intricate structure, reminiscent of a brain.

- Mapping the Galactic Center: Andrew and Fred highlight a groundbreaking survey of the center of our galaxy, revealing the complex dynamics and chemical compositions within this turbulent region. They discuss the technologies used in this research and what it means for our understanding of the Milky Way.


For more Space Nuts, including our continuously updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website. (https://www.spacenutspodcast.com/) Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on Facebook, Instagram, and more. We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a message or comment on your favorite platform.

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Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.


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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/32036521?utm_source=youtube

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.149
Hi there. Thanks for joining us again.


00:00:02.159 --> 00:00:04.630
This is Space Nuts. My name is Andrew


00:00:04.640 --> 00:00:06.309
Dunley. It's great to have your company.


00:00:06.319 --> 00:00:08.790
We're um going to talk about a lot of


00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.749
things today and one of them is the


00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.629
Arteimus program. Now, we did talk about


00:00:14.639 --> 00:00:17.269
it um very recently because things had


00:00:17.279 --> 00:00:20.710
changed. The Arteimus 2 launch was set


00:00:20.720 --> 00:00:22.550
back and it looks like they're actually


00:00:22.560 --> 00:00:24.710
going to take the Artemis 2 rocket back


00:00:24.720 --> 00:00:27.349
to the assembly building now. and


00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.589
they're not anticipating an Artemis 2


00:00:29.599 --> 00:00:31.509
launch to send humans around the moon


00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:34.630
and back until at least April. But


00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:35.990
that's not what we're going to talk


00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.350
about. We'll explain that shortly. Uh


00:00:39.360 --> 00:00:41.350
we're going to look at the new Cranium


00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:44.069
Nebula. This one sounds quite


00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.350
unbelievable. Um a brain in space could


00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:50.310
be. And the center of our galaxy has


00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.470
been mapped in detail. What's it look


00:00:52.480 --> 00:00:54.790
like? We will tell you on this episode


00:00:54.800 --> 00:00:56.709
of Space Nuts.


00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:01.510
>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9


00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.270
Ignition sequence start.


00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:04.229
>> Space Nuts.


00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:06.710
>> 5 4 3 2


00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:09.109
>> 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


00:01:09.119 --> 00:01:10.310
>> Space Nuts.


00:01:10.320 --> 00:01:13.270
>> Astronauts report. It feels good.


00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.070
>> Joining us once again is Professor Fred


00:01:16.080 --> 00:01:18.469
Watson, astronomer at large. Hi Fred.


00:01:18.479 --> 00:01:20.950
>> Hello Andrew. Good to see you back from


00:01:20.960 --> 00:01:24.550
your sodome. Yes. Yes. Um, I won't dwell


00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:26.230
on it too much. I'm sure people have


00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:28.310
seen the photos on Facebook if they care


00:01:28.320 --> 00:01:30.550
to look uh on on my page. I didn't put


00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:32.469
them on the space page, but uh yeah, we


00:01:32.479 --> 00:01:34.230
went to Borneo for a couple of weeks.


00:01:34.240 --> 00:01:37.429
Uh, and we saw some amazing wildlife.


00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.429
Uh, orangutang, uh, sunbears,


00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:43.910
uh, proboscus monkeys, civets, you know,


00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.590
you know about the civet, they eat the


00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:48.710
eat the coffee berry and poo out the


00:01:48.720 --> 00:01:50.230
bean and then they collect the beans and


00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:51.830
turn them into coffee.


00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:53.590
Yeah, we saw some of those. Uh, didn't


00:01:53.600 --> 00:01:56.550
try the coffee. Um, what else? Oh,


00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.190
Macack Monkeys. I even managed 18 holes


00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.990
at a a rather nice resort golf course.


00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:03.990
Um, and I paid the price for that


00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.149
because it was a pretty ordinary game,


00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:07.990
but I enjoyed the course. Beautiful.


00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:09.350
Although


00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:12.150
>> the greens in do are better than that.


00:02:12.160 --> 00:02:12.710
>> There you go.


00:02:12.720 --> 00:02:13.910
>> Much better.


00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:15.750
>> It's our superintendent was very pleased


00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:17.990
to hear when I saw him the other day.


00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.830
Um, but yeah, incredible country. I


00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:21.350
think um I don't know if you can see the


00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.190
map behind me, Fred. See that?


00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:24.710
>> I can. Yes, you can see.


00:02:24.720 --> 00:02:27.670
>> That is the map of the Sandakin death


00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.630
march uh in World War II. Uh Australian


00:02:30.640 --> 00:02:33.270
and English military personnel that have


00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:35.110
been captured by the Japanese were sent


00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.150
to Borneo uh to build an airport. And


00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:40.790
when it looked like the war was lost to


00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.270
Japan, they were ordered to kill all


00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:47.030
prisoners. and they force marched 1,800


00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:52.390
Australians from Sandakan to uh a um a a


00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:56.229
a place called Rena in northern Borneo.


00:02:56.239 --> 00:02:58.949
Uh of those 1800,


00:02:58.959 --> 00:03:02.550
six survived. Uh it's a terrible


00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:06.309
tragedy. It's um Australia's worst


00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.470
um atrocity in terms of uh of war. Uh


00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:12.470
and not many people know about it. They


00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:14.710
know all about Gallipoli. They know all


00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:16.790
about uh some of the major battles of


00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.509
World War I and World War II. Um the


00:03:19.519 --> 00:03:22.149
rats of Tbrook. It all goes down in


00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.030
folklore. But this is one of the


00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:26.790
probably one of the most forgotten


00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:28.710
elements of Australian military history


00:03:28.720 --> 00:03:30.789
and really and I would encourage people


00:03:30.799 --> 00:03:33.190
to go and read about it. um I knew about


00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:37.030
it, but um it's it's not well publicized


00:03:37.040 --> 00:03:39.190
and I think it's a tragedy that we tend


00:03:39.200 --> 00:03:42.309
to put this stuff at the at the back of


00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:44.789
our minds. Um and and should never be


00:03:44.799 --> 00:03:47.190
forgotten what happened over there. Uh


00:03:47.200 --> 00:03:49.430
so we we've basically on the tour


00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:52.149
followed the the route of the the death


00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:53.990
march. Not intentionally, it was just


00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.869
the way the road went, but um uh went to


00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.750
the memorials and um and and read all


00:03:59.760 --> 00:04:01.750
the names. uh hundreds and hundreds of


00:04:01.760 --> 00:04:03.270
names. Uh the British suffered


00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.589
similarly. Uh there were 600 British


00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:09.110
that were captured and basically left to


00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.509
die. It was just just horrible, Fred.


00:04:11.519 --> 00:04:12.949
Horrible.


00:04:12.959 --> 00:04:15.589
>> But the wildlife and the rainforest and


00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.670
the rivers and and the people


00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.150
magnificent. Highly recommend Borneo.


00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:22.710
Highly recommend it. Now, you were up


00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.189
late last night, weren't you?


00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.270
>> I was. Yeah. There was u because of the


00:04:27.280 --> 00:04:29.030
total eclipse of the moon


00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.909
>> which um we I know you didn't get to see


00:04:31.919 --> 00:04:35.909
because you had 88 cloud in do I know


00:04:35.919 --> 00:04:37.749
that because the Anglo Australian


00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.070
telescope not very far away from you got


00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:42.629
no observations last night of any kind


00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:44.710
but in Sydney uh we've had cloudy


00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.670
weather for weeks. Um but the the clouds


00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:51.350
the clouds broke uh and uh so we saw the


00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:54.710
eclipse and um that was Jordi of course


00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:57.030
>> uh that just chimed in there. But uh we


00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.950
actually have Jord's sister staying with


00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:02.710
us for a little while. Uh so um yeah,


00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:04.230
this is going to probably for the next


00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.710
few weeks we'll have uh the terrible


00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:08.710
duo. They're more or less identical.


00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:09.830
One's a little bit fatter than the


00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:11.510
other. I won't mention which is which,


00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:14.950
but um yeah. And so they Yes. She


00:05:14.960 --> 00:05:17.110
arrived, Rosie arrived today. Uh but


00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:18.550
yeah, that's nothing to do with the


00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.870
eclipse. Uh we did see the blood moon.


00:05:20.880 --> 00:05:22.469
It was a total eclipse of the moon. So


00:05:22.479 --> 00:05:24.950
that the earth, the moon was well


00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:27.270
immersed in the shadow of the earth. Uh


00:05:27.280 --> 00:05:30.230
we had about an hour of totality. Uh and


00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.670
during that time, the clouds came and


00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.469
went a bit, but we got uh really good


00:05:34.479 --> 00:05:36.629
view of the that blood moon phenomenon


00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.430
caused by scattering of light from the


00:05:39.440 --> 00:05:41.270
earth's atmosphere, scattering of


00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:42.950
sunlight. Yes. So it was it was good.


00:05:42.960 --> 00:05:44.550
But it was, as you've just said, a late


00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.629
night and I'm just catching up


00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:46.950
basically.


00:05:46.960 --> 00:05:48.390
>> Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, it's quite a


00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:50.230
spectacle, a blood moon. I'm sorry I


00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:51.909
missed it, but uh you can't help the


00:05:51.919 --> 00:05:53.430
weather.


00:05:53.440 --> 00:05:56.629
>> Um which reminds me, we also had to deal


00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:58.310
with flooding at the end of the monsoon


00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:00.230
while we were overseas. So, uh that was


00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:01.830
fun driving through flood waters. They


00:06:01.840 --> 00:06:03.110
wouldn't let you do that in Australia,


00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:05.029
but we weren't in Australia, were we?


00:06:05.039 --> 00:06:07.909
So, yeah. Uh we should get down to it,


00:06:07.919 --> 00:06:09.909
Fred. There's a lot to talk about. And


00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:12.309
our first subject is yet again the


00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.950
Arteimus missions. And I mentioned at


00:06:14.960 --> 00:06:16.950
the beginning that Artemis 2's been put


00:06:16.960 --> 00:06:19.029
back in the shed and probably won't


00:06:19.039 --> 00:06:22.230
launch those astronauts until at least


00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.870
April. But we are now talking about


00:06:26.880 --> 00:06:28.950
Arteimus 3. Now this was the mission


00:06:28.960 --> 00:06:33.510
that was slated for initially 2027, then


00:06:33.520 --> 00:06:36.469
pushed back to probably 2028


00:06:36.479 --> 00:06:39.430
to put people on the moon.


00:06:39.440 --> 00:06:42.150
Uh there's been several changes. It


00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:43.830
looks like they won't be doing that and


00:06:43.840 --> 00:06:46.550
they might not be using SpaceX


00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:48.950
>> the way things are shaping up.


00:06:48.960 --> 00:06:52.710
>> Uh that's right. So um this was uh an


00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:55.189
announcement last week uh at the time


00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.670
we're recording. Uh and you're quite


00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.070
right. What has happened is that there's


00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:02.070
been a major update to the Arteimus


00:07:02.080 --> 00:07:05.749
program uh with an extra mission slotted


00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:06.950
in. M


00:07:06.960 --> 00:07:09.510
>> um so Arteimus 3 exactly as you've said


00:07:09.520 --> 00:07:11.029
was originally going to be the lunar


00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:15.749
landing uh uh mission uh sometime after


00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:17.270
2027.


00:07:17.280 --> 00:07:21.270
Uh but what they have uh what NASA has


00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:25.270
done is uh inserted


00:07:25.280 --> 00:07:28.230
another mission which is now Arteimus 3


00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.029
which will not land on the moon. Uh it


00:07:31.039 --> 00:07:34.870
will be a spacecraft uh that will simply


00:07:34.880 --> 00:07:38.550
go into earth orbit. Uh and uh what it


00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:42.230
will do is essentially


00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.430
replicate in a sense what Apollo 9 did


00:07:47.440 --> 00:07:50.469
um after the Apollo 8 mission. Uh it


00:07:50.479 --> 00:07:53.749
it's to check that you can rendevu with


00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.950
the equipment. You can do the necessary


00:07:56.960 --> 00:07:59.909
steps that need to be taken in space. uh


00:07:59.919 --> 00:08:02.469
which um have not yet been tried and


00:08:02.479 --> 00:08:05.430
tested because Artemis 2 uh will simply


00:08:05.440 --> 00:08:08.309
involve the uh the Orion capsule


00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.790
containing the four astronauts. Uh what


00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:13.189
that will do is uh it will accelerate up


00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.390
to the 11 kilometers/s needing to get to


00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:18.230
the moon, go around the moon and then


00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.869
come back again without um any of the


00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.510
kind of technical details involved with


00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:26.150
first of all refueling uh spacecraft in


00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:27.510
space. That's one of the things that's


00:08:27.520 --> 00:08:30.950
part of the Arteimus program, but also


00:08:30.960 --> 00:08:33.509
>> doing the rendevous uh and turning


00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.110
spacecraft around and things of that


00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.350
sort. It's a bit like in the Apollo


00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.469
missions where you had to turn the um


00:08:40.479 --> 00:08:43.430
turn the uh lunar module around to dock


00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.750
with the with the crew module with the


00:08:45.760 --> 00:08:48.630
the basically the the crew capsule. So


00:08:48.640 --> 00:08:52.470
all of that is now being slotted into


00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.230
Apollo sorry beyond Arteimus 3 with the


00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:00.150
landing itself uh actually forecast for


00:09:00.160 --> 00:09:02.630
Arteimus 4 and one of the reasons for


00:09:02.640 --> 00:09:07.350
this is the fact that there is still a


00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.910
lot of work to do on the landing


00:09:09.920 --> 00:09:13.430
vehicle. Now um back in the day some


00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.269
years ago uh NASA contracted both SpaceX


00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.790
and Blue Origin uh the two companies led


00:09:20.800 --> 00:09:22.550
by the two billionaires Elon Musk and


00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:25.430
Jeff Bezos. Uh those two companies were


00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:29.590
tasked with developing a a crew lander


00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.389
uh vehicle to land on the moon. Uh the


00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:36.150
favored version was uh Elon Musk's uh


00:09:36.160 --> 00:09:39.670
Starship uh the top end of a Starship um


00:09:39.680 --> 00:09:43.030
which would which uh was originally


00:09:43.040 --> 00:09:46.389
going to be the Arteimus 3 lander. Now


00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.150
the lander landing has been pushed back


00:09:48.160 --> 00:09:51.269
to Artemis 4, but the the gate is now


00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:55.509
still open for the BA Bezos company uh


00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.350
to further develop its own lunar landing


00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:02.150
module uh which has been under test for


00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:05.670
quite a while and is so in a sense is a


00:10:05.680 --> 00:10:09.110
competitor uh to SpaceX. So the two the


00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:10.949
two programs are running side by side


00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:13.430
and NASA will eventually have to make a


00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.829
choice as to which one they go with. Uh


00:10:15.839 --> 00:10:18.550
if I may, there's a very nice quote from


00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:20.550
uh NASA,


00:10:20.560 --> 00:10:23.030
a NASA associate administrator, a very


00:10:23.040 --> 00:10:25.829
senior person in NASA uh who says, "We


00:10:25.839 --> 00:10:27.670
are looking back to the wisdom of the


00:10:27.680 --> 00:10:30.069
folks that designed Apollo. The entire


00:10:30.079 --> 00:10:31.910
sequence of Arteimus flights needs to


00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:34.069
represent a stepbystep buildup of


00:10:34.079 --> 00:10:36.389
capability with each step bringing us


00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:38.150
closer to our ability to perform the


00:10:38.160 --> 00:10:40.550
landing missions. Each step needs to be


00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:42.470
big enough to make progress, but not so


00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.030
big that we take unnecessary risk given


00:10:45.040 --> 00:10:47.350
previous learnings. Therefore, we want


00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.430
to fly the landing missions in as close


00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.069
to the same earth ascent configuration


00:10:52.079 --> 00:10:54.389
as possible, which means using an upper


00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.150
stage and pad system as close to the


00:10:56.160 --> 00:10:57.910
block one configuration as possible.


00:10:57.920 --> 00:11:00.230
That's the basic the basic uh space


00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:03.269
launch system configuration. Uh so we


00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.509
will see what happens. Uh you're right


00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:09.590
that um Artemis 2 uh the that the uh the


00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.269
stack is currently back in the vehicle


00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.389
assembly building for checks on the


00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:16.310
upper stage. That's the second stage


00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.030
that will actually push the spacecraft


00:11:19.040 --> 00:11:22.069
into a lunar trajectory. Uh there were


00:11:22.079 --> 00:11:26.710
issues with the helium uh mechanism for


00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:28.470
that upper stage. You might remember we


00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:31.030
did talk about that before. Uh that's


00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:34.150
now being fixed. uh and we have a date


00:11:34.160 --> 00:11:37.269
no sooner than April the 6th for uh a


00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.190
launch of Otimus 2. So we'll look out


00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:41.269
for that. But yes, a major change in the


00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.750
in the strategy which makes a lot of


00:11:43.760 --> 00:11:45.670
sense.


00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:48.710
>> Yeah, I think it does. Uh and copying a


00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:50.389
successful series like the Apollo


00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:51.829
missions, notwithstanding what happened


00:11:51.839 --> 00:11:54.389
to Apollo 13, but that wasn't that that


00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.949
was unforeseen. It was just a a quirk


00:11:56.959 --> 00:11:58.150
really.


00:11:58.160 --> 00:12:02.389
>> Uh and everyone got home. But um yeah,


00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:03.990
what what I find interesting is those


00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.150
Apollo missions went back to back to


00:12:06.160 --> 00:12:08.150
back to back to back really fast. Uh


00:12:08.160 --> 00:12:08.870
these ones


00:12:08.880 --> 00:12:11.910
>> seem to be much more elongated in their


00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:14.710
in their um mission dates, don't they?


00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.550
>> They do. Um and that's partly because


00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.030
the technology is now far more complex


00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:21.670
because the these missions are not just


00:12:21.680 --> 00:12:23.990
to achieve boots on the ground. Uh it's


00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:27.030
all about setting up science, you know,


00:12:27.040 --> 00:12:29.590
a kind of almost permanent presence on


00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:31.829
on the moon. Um the the ultimate


00:12:31.839 --> 00:12:35.190
schedule uh again this came out of the


00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.430
recent press releases uh and press


00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:39.269
conferences. The ultimate schedule is


00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.150
one Arteimus mission per year once we


00:12:42.160 --> 00:12:44.629
have start once the the first lunar


00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:46.389
landing has taken place. There'll be one


00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.030
a year. Now that is much slower than the


00:12:49.040 --> 00:12:51.670
Apollo cadence. They were one every few


00:12:51.680 --> 00:12:54.949
months. Um I think so Apollo 11 was


00:12:54.959 --> 00:12:59.670
July. Apollo 12 was uh was November.


00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:01.430
Can't remember when Apollo 13 was but


00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:03.910
you get that you know the the intervals


00:13:03.920 --> 00:13:05.350
were a few months rather than a few


00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:06.150
years.


00:13:06.160 --> 00:13:06.629
>> Yeah.


00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.310
>> Um I guess another reason for um not


00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.870
just not just the the scientific reasons


00:13:12.880 --> 00:13:15.430
for for making it a spacing of one year


00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:17.190
but that each of these is a very


00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.069
expensive venture. Uh, I've seen a


00:13:20.079 --> 00:13:22.470
figure quoted of $4 billion per launch


00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.829
for an Arteimus mission, which is eye


00:13:25.839 --> 00:13:27.509
watering. That's right.


00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.509
>> Yeah. Yeah. Did they hit you up for a


00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:32.550
loan for it?


00:13:32.560 --> 00:13:34.230
>> I think Yeah, I could probably muster a


00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.470
few dollars there, you know.


00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.310
>> Yeah. Uh, it's funny when you talk about


00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.310
the advances in technology because um,


00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.790
I'm holding my mobile phone in my hand


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:45.829
right now. It's got a hell of a lot more


00:13:45.839 --> 00:13:47.829
computer power than the computer on


00:13:47.839 --> 00:13:49.590
Apollo 11.


00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:51.590
>> That's right. Sadly, it's also invisible


00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.269
uh because of your background.


00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.470
>> Is that better?


00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:56.550
>> No. No.


00:13:56.560 --> 00:13:56.790
>> Yeah.


00:13:56.800 --> 00:13:57.670
>> It just disappears.


00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:58.629
>> You know what it looks like.


00:13:58.639 --> 00:13:59.829
>> You know what it looks like. That's


00:13:59.839 --> 00:14:01.590
right. Yeah. But but you're absolutely


00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.350
right. Yes. Um


00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.910
>> it's it's quite amazing. Not many people


00:14:05.920 --> 00:14:07.509
probably realize they're packing a lot


00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.189
more power than the Apollo missions


00:14:09.199 --> 00:14:11.350
carried. So yeah, it's all in your


00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.430
pocket. Uh if you'd like to read about


00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:17.509
the latest in regard to uh the Artemis


00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:18.949
missions, you can do that at the


00:14:18.959 --> 00:14:20.629
universetoday.com


00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.629
website, but NASA will have it on their


00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.189
website and many others as well. This is


00:14:25.199 --> 00:14:27.030
Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and


00:14:27.040 --> 00:14:34.230
Professor Fred Watson.


00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.629
That's agre that's agreement. He's at


00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:41.750
for goodness sake. I'M REALLY


00:14:41.760 --> 00:14:43.670
THIS IS what he does is he gets very


00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:48.230
enthusiastic. Hang on. Hang on.


00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:49.910
Space nuts.


00:14:49.920 --> 00:14:50.790
>> Oh dear.


00:14:50.800 --> 00:14:52.870
>> Drives me in mud. Honestly, it drives me


00:14:52.880 --> 00:14:55.110
mud.


00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.310
>> I love it. I really do. Uh to our next


00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:00.550
story. Um this this could be the title


00:15:00.560 --> 00:15:03.590
of a science fiction novel, The Brain in


00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.949
Space. Uh we're talking about a very


00:15:06.959 --> 00:15:10.069
strange nebula that looks like a brain


00:15:10.079 --> 00:15:14.949
inside a clear sphere. Uh and and this


00:15:14.959 --> 00:15:19.030
is the consequence of a um a star that's


00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:20.790
kind of shed its outer layers and


00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:24.150
created this this quite bizarre looking


00:15:24.160 --> 00:15:27.750
nebula called PMR1.


00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:30.870
>> Indeed. That's right. Um I I very much


00:15:30.880 --> 00:15:34.230
liked uh the headline from space.com


00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:36.949
covering this story uh which is James


00:15:36.959 --> 00:15:39.110
Webb Space Telescope performs brain


00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.750
surgery on mysterious exposed cranial


00:15:41.760 --> 00:15:43.990
nebula which I think sums it up pretty


00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.430
well. That's a good one.


00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:49.670
>> Yeah, it's great. Uh so uh it's it's a


00:15:49.680 --> 00:15:52.389
basically a highly evolved star by which


00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.710
I mean a a star that's getting near the


00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:56.949
end of its life. it's thrown off some of


00:15:56.959 --> 00:16:01.590
the layers of its outer envelope. And


00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.550
what we've seen from the James Web is uh


00:16:04.560 --> 00:16:06.310
images which are taken in the near


00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.030
infrared and in the mid infrared. And so


00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:11.030
we get two quite different views of this


00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:13.430
thing that does look for all the world


00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.150
like a like an X-ray uh inside


00:16:16.160 --> 00:16:18.629
somebody's head. It's you can see the


00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:21.990
outline of the skull and a lot of funny


00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.990
stuff going on inside. It really does


00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.310
look that way, doesn't it? Like somebody


00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.470
put a a brain in a goldfish bowl and


00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:29.990
chucked that up in the air.


00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.829
>> Yes, that's right. With a few stars in


00:16:31.839 --> 00:16:33.110
the background.


00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:36.389
>> Um it's uh a little bit close to home


00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.030
for me actually because um this the


00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:43.590
object's technical formal name is PMR1.


00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:48.550
Um, and it was uh discovered originally


00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:50.710
uh by astronomers using the telescope,


00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.550
one of the telescopes I was astronomy in


00:16:52.560 --> 00:16:54.470
charge of, the 1.2 m UK Schmidt


00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:58.790
telescope uh back in the late 1990s. And


00:16:58.800 --> 00:17:01.509
three of my close colleagues were


00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.269
involved with this program. Quentyn


00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.750
Parker, David Morgan, and Ken Russell.


00:17:05.760 --> 00:17:07.990
And their names are Parker, Morgan, and


00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.069
Russell. And that is why this is called


00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.510
PMR1. was the first uh object that was


00:17:13.520 --> 00:17:16.309
discovered under a program actually


00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.630
really masterminded by Quentyn Parker,


00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:20.630
an old friend who's now a professor in


00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.750
the University of Hong Kong. um he uh


00:17:23.760 --> 00:17:28.150
had a uh a mission to photograph the sky


00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:29.750
cuz back in those days we were still


00:17:29.760 --> 00:17:31.029
using photography on the Schmidt


00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:33.510
telescope using what we call a narrow


00:17:33.520 --> 00:17:35.750
band filter that just picked out the


00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:37.830
light of excited hydrogen something


00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:41.190
called an H1 filter or an Halpha filter.


00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:44.470
Um and so the telescope used this filter


00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:47.669
to survey the night sky and many uh


00:17:47.679 --> 00:17:50.310
interesting objects were revealed of


00:17:50.320 --> 00:17:52.070
which the first one in the particular


00:17:52.080 --> 00:17:54.070
program that he collaborated with David


00:17:54.080 --> 00:17:57.669
Morgan and Ken Russell uh was concerned


00:17:57.679 --> 00:17:59.909
uh PMR1 that's the object we're talking


00:17:59.919 --> 00:18:02.630
about now we never saw it with the


00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.789
Schmidt telescope that was just a flame


00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.789
faint glowing blob but with the um with


00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.110
the James Web


00:18:11.120 --> 00:18:14.390
uh we see this extraordinarily detailed


00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:16.470
uh this detailed image so that the


00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.070
history is that it was discovered in the


00:18:18.080 --> 00:18:20.630
late 1990s on the Schmidt telescope the


00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.549
Spitzer space telescope which was a kind


00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:23.909
of forerunner of the James Webb


00:18:23.919 --> 00:18:25.909
telescope an infrared telescope a NASA


00:18:25.919 --> 00:18:28.870
infrared observatory um when they looked


00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.909
at PMR1 that was when this curious


00:18:31.919 --> 00:18:34.390
appearance led to its unofficial name of


00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.350
the exposed cranium nebula uh but the


00:18:37.360 --> 00:18:39.750
James Web has taken that a step further


00:18:39.760 --> 00:18:41.830
with these latest observations which are


00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:43.830
really quite remarkable and you do get a


00:18:43.840 --> 00:18:45.909
very strong impression of the


00:18:45.919 --> 00:18:49.669
three-dimensional view of this um ball


00:18:49.679 --> 00:18:52.549
of not so much a ball. It's a kind of


00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:56.549
elongated almost like a you know an oval


00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:01.750
football uh elongated sphere of gas with


00:19:01.760 --> 00:19:04.470
a whole lot of stuff going on inside it.


00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:08.870
Um and what we've got is uh an ancient


00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.870
star which is casting off its outer


00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:16.470
outer layers. Um there is a there is a


00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.830
class of stars called Vulf Rea stars


00:19:19.840 --> 00:19:24.549
named after two astronomers I think um


00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.710
doctors Vulf and Rey I think that's


00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.669
right thinking back um they are really


00:19:29.679 --> 00:19:31.510
ancient stars massive stars that are


00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:33.590
getting near the end of their lives uh


00:19:33.600 --> 00:19:35.510
and uh and are basically they have winds


00:19:35.520 --> 00:19:37.590
of radiation which are blowing away


00:19:37.600 --> 00:19:40.950
their outer envelopes um and and form


00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.750
this nebula and eventually uh they may


00:19:43.760 --> 00:19:45.990
turn into a supernova, an exploding


00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.950
star. Uh so um we understand though from


00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:52.470
the research that's been carried out


00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:55.190
with this that whether it is a Vulfraa


00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.990
star in the middle of PMR1 or something


00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.630
else, we don't know. Uh that's going to


00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.029
be absolutely at the very center of that


00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.470
brainike nebula inside the exposed


00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.830
cranium.


00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:10.710
>> Yeah. Um I'm gathering that seeing


00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:13.510
something like this is very unusual. Uh


00:20:13.520 --> 00:20:16.870
it doesn't look like the kind of nebula


00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:19.510
you'd normally see photographed. It's


00:20:19.520 --> 00:20:23.350
got uniformity for a start and it's uh


00:20:23.360 --> 00:20:26.710
and you can see the explosive effect uh


00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:30.789
radiating out. It just happens to look


00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.149
like a brain.


00:20:32.159 --> 00:20:35.990
>> Yes, that's right. Um, so it I mean it


00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.630
that um hydrogen alpha survey that I


00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:40.390
mentioned that Quentyn Parker and


00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:42.950
colleagues were engaged in. I'm pretty


00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.029
sure I took some of the photographs for


00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:47.350
it as well back in the day. Um because I


00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:48.950
was still a working astronomer then when


00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.470
I was astronomer in charge. Uh I think


00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:54.870
uh that one of the main things that that


00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:58.310
uh program did was reveal a very large


00:20:58.320 --> 00:21:00.789
number of so-called planetary nebula. So


00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.909
a planetary nebula is a cloud of gas


00:21:03.919 --> 00:21:06.789
that's got usually has circular symmetry


00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:08.710
which is why it looks like a planet and


00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.510
it was William who gave it gave them the


00:21:11.520 --> 00:21:13.350
name a planetary nebula. The most famous


00:21:13.360 --> 00:21:15.990
ones are are the the ring nebula in the


00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.149
northern hemisphere and the helix nebula


00:21:18.159 --> 00:21:20.870
down in the south. Uh but um this thing


00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.950
might might be might actually in the end


00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:24.710
turn out to be a planetary nebula which


00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.230
is an old star that's um cast off its


00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.350
outer layers and the central core of the


00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:32.870
star has turned into what we call a


00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:36.710
white dwarf something about the size of


00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:41.029
the earth uh but with um very high mass


00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:44.549
um mass of a star. uh and uh those are


00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.070
white dwarfs are very hot and they're


00:21:46.080 --> 00:21:48.149
what excite the the the g the glowing


00:21:48.159 --> 00:21:50.630
the gas into into glowing, but it's not


00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:53.110
clear whether this object is actually a


00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:55.190
white dwarf or one of these wolf stars


00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:56.630
that I was just talking about.


00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.110
>> Yeah. Yeah. Uh I I think we've probably


00:21:59.120 --> 00:22:01.350
got a bit of a paradolia effect here


00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:03.590
because we've just looked at it and gone


00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:04.630
that's a that's a brain.


00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:06.710
>> It's a it's a brain. Yeah, that's right.


00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.710
Definitely was paradolia. Yeah. When we


00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.830
were out on the river in Borneo, um what


00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:14.070
they told us was it's chalk full of


00:22:14.080 --> 00:22:16.310
saltwater crocodiles. Of course, every


00:22:16.320 --> 00:22:17.909
time we saw a log.


00:22:17.919 --> 00:22:18.950
>> Yes.


00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:20.149
>> The thing you thought it was.


00:22:20.159 --> 00:22:22.870
>> Oh, it's a crocodile. Yes. Yeah.


00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.149
>> Yeah. I I think when we saw that 40 m


00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:28.230
crocodile surging down the river, we


00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.750
were all panicking a bit. Turned out to


00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:30.950
be a tree,


00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.710
>> but um


00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.230
>> Well, the branches gave it away, did


00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:34.710
they?


00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.549
>> Yes. Well, no, it didn't have any. was


00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.789
that's what really made it weird.


00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.990
>> Like a crocodile. Yeah.


00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.149
>> Well, cuz we had all that monsoon rain


00:22:42.159 --> 00:22:43.510
while we were there and the river was


00:22:43.520 --> 00:22:46.390
flooded. And this is a river 560


00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:48.789
kilometers long and about where we were


00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.669
2 or 300 m wide. It was massive.


00:22:51.679 --> 00:22:53.750
>> And the water was flowing very fast. It


00:22:53.760 --> 00:22:55.750
was quite scary actually. But um yeah,


00:22:55.760 --> 00:22:58.149
it is it is um yeah, one of those weird


00:22:58.159 --> 00:22:59.909
effects. We we try to humanize


00:22:59.919 --> 00:23:02.310
everything we see and you'll look at


00:23:02.320 --> 00:23:03.909
something and think crocodile. No,


00:23:03.919 --> 00:23:06.549
actually, no. That's a log. Uh, and here


00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.549
we here we are looking at a brain in


00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.909
space, which is a yeah, some kind of


00:23:11.919 --> 00:23:13.909
nebula trying to figure out what kind


00:23:13.919 --> 00:23:16.070
and how it all happened. But you can


00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:19.830
read about that at the issae.org


00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:21.430
website if you want to check it out.


00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:23.990
Amazing images they are, too. This is


00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:25.669
Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and Fred


00:23:25.679 --> 00:23:28.710
Watson.


00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:32.549
>> I'm going to step off the land now.


00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.909
That's one small step for man,


00:23:37.919 --> 00:23:40.870
one giant leap for mankind.


00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.029
>> Space nuts.


00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:45.029
>> In the past, Fred, we've had questions


00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:46.710
from the audience about the center of


00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:50.310
our galaxy. Uh, and it's not easy to


00:23:50.320 --> 00:23:52.070
answer because we can't see it. It's all


00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:54.230
shrouded in dust. Although you and I


00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:56.230
have discussed what it would be like on


00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.430
Earth if there was no dust and the light


00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:01.510
would be so much different for us. So,


00:24:01.520 --> 00:24:03.590
um things could have turned out a


00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:05.270
different way had that dust not been


00:24:05.280 --> 00:24:08.070
there. But, um yes, it's shrouded, but


00:24:08.080 --> 00:24:10.630
there are ways to look. And they've just


00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:14.710
published a um a finding uh thanks to a


00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.710
couple of the the great telescopes on


00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:19.350
Earth of what the center of our galaxy


00:24:19.360 --> 00:24:21.510
is like. They've mapped a a massive


00:24:21.520 --> 00:24:25.830
section of it in in significant detail.


00:24:25.840 --> 00:24:28.549
>> That is correct. And um I might just


00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:31.909
preface this discussion by uh noting


00:24:31.919 --> 00:24:35.669
that um in terms of personnel there is a


00:24:35.679 --> 00:24:37.430
close connection with what we've just


00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:39.590
been talking about the UK Schmidt


00:24:39.600 --> 00:24:41.669
telescope because one of my former


00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:44.230
colleagues at the UK Schmidt telescope


00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:47.269
um uh Dr. Randy Longore. Uh I worked


00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.470
with him at the Royal Observatory,


00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.870
Edinburgh. Uh he's still based in


00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.269
Edinburgh, but he and his wife Marie


00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.190
were actually visiting us here in


00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.269
Australia at the beginning of this year.


00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:59.190
So I went up to Newcastle to see them,


00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.390
and it's their son that is the lead


00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.110
author on the paper that has just mapped


00:25:05.120 --> 00:25:07.909
the center of the galaxy. Uh which is


00:25:07.919 --> 00:25:09.750
very nice. It's a lovely connection. So


00:25:09.760 --> 00:25:13.590
Steve Longmore their son uh like father


00:25:13.600 --> 00:25:16.310
like son he's turned into an astronomer


00:25:16.320 --> 00:25:19.269
and very capable because he has led this


00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:25.350
major survey uh which is called as is a


00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:30.070
uh an acronym for ALMA CMZ


00:25:30.080 --> 00:25:33.110
exploration survey and the CMZ if I


00:25:33.120 --> 00:25:35.350
remember rightly is the central uh


00:25:35.360 --> 00:25:38.149
something zone central molecular zone of


00:25:38.159 --> 00:25:41.830
the uh of the galaxy where molecules


00:25:41.840 --> 00:25:45.350
lurk around uh around the the black hole


00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:47.110
at the center of the galaxy. So these


00:25:47.120 --> 00:25:49.510
observations uh have been principally


00:25:49.520 --> 00:25:52.630
done by as you said uh it's been done by


00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.710
some of the great telescopes uh one of


00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:57.909
them is ALMA Alma itself the Atakama


00:25:57.919 --> 00:26:01.350
large millimeter submill array uh that


00:26:01.360 --> 00:26:05.430
has basically formed images of the whole


00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:08.630
of the region around the center of our


00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.990
galaxy and it's a very very detailed uh


00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.830
image. It's a mosaic basically that's


00:26:13.840 --> 00:26:15.669
been built up. The great thing about


00:26:15.679 --> 00:26:19.350
Alma is that you can tune it in uh to


00:26:19.360 --> 00:26:21.669
various chemical molecules all of which


00:26:21.679 --> 00:26:23.990
emit their radio frequencies at


00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:26.390
different wavelengths. So it's like


00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:29.990
having a radio spectrum of every point


00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:31.830
in the center of our galaxy which means


00:26:31.840 --> 00:26:34.870
that you can build up images showing how


00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:39.350
these molecules behave around the center


00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:42.870
uh of the of the galaxy. So it it really


00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.630
is u an extraordinary piece of work um


00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.590
with a lot of detail uh a great deal of


00:26:51.600 --> 00:26:54.549
um information about both the the the


00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.390
turbulence and the chemistry that's


00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:58.470
taking place around the center of our


00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:01.990
galaxy. There's a very extensive article


00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.710
about it on the brighter side of of of


00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:08.070
science uh a brighter side of news. Uh


00:27:08.080 --> 00:27:11.029
it's um got some great images and a lot


00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.669
of details about what has been found.


00:27:13.679 --> 00:27:15.510
I'm looking for a quote which came from


00:27:15.520 --> 00:27:19.510
one of the scientists uh which really


00:27:19.520 --> 00:27:23.750
describes very cogently uh what uh


00:27:23.760 --> 00:27:26.950
they've done. Um, in fact, Andy, sorry,


00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:29.510
Steve Longmore himself, uh, is saying


00:27:29.520 --> 00:27:32.390
the CMZ or CMZ we would call it, but


00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:34.549
Americanizing it because that's the


00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.710
Artakama large millimeter arrays got a


00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:39.590
strong US contingent as well as other


00:27:39.600 --> 00:27:42.070
international users. The CMZ hosts some


00:27:42.080 --> 00:27:44.070
of the most massive stars known in our


00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:46.950
galaxy. Uh many of these stars live fast


00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.029
and die young and they end in supernova


00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:50.710
explosions and in some cases what we


00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.990
call hypernovi very very intense uh


00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:57.110
supernovi. Um let me just find some


00:27:57.120 --> 00:27:58.870
other words that I was looking for


00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.269
because uh the the the the extraordinary


00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:06.549
thing is just how turbulent this region


00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:10.549
is. uh the fact that we've got u packed


00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:12.870
into that region around the center of


00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:15.590
our galaxy. We've got the turbulence of


00:28:15.600 --> 00:28:18.549
gas moving under the in gravitational


00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:20.070
influence of a black hole. You've got


00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:21.830
the gravity of the black hole. You've


00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:24.230
got intense magnetic fields. You've got


00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:27.029
outflows from these giant stars. And all


00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:29.590
of this is coming together to make a


00:28:29.600 --> 00:28:33.110
very complex uh region of space which


00:28:33.120 --> 00:28:35.510
basically is what has been revealed uh


00:28:35.520 --> 00:28:37.110
by this new image. is quite


00:28:37.120 --> 00:28:38.070
extraordinary.


00:28:38.080 --> 00:28:40.710
>> It is rather and I'm just reading some


00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:43.190
of the data and uh you know the


00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.310
description they've given lists a radius


00:28:46.320 --> 00:28:48.870
of 6.1 parex


00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:50.870
uh with an expansion velocity of 21


00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.750
kilometers a second. Uh


00:28:53.760 --> 00:28:55.269
like you said it's a pretty busy


00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:56.470
neighborhood.


00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.630
>> Yes. About 650 light years across. So


00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.350
really quite a large a large area. And


00:29:03.360 --> 00:29:05.590
you're right actually um that the the


00:29:05.600 --> 00:29:07.110
other telescope that was involved sorry


00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:09.590
I didn't mention that is the European


00:29:09.600 --> 00:29:11.430
Southern Observatory's Vista telescope


00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.510
which is one that is also at Sarah


00:29:13.520 --> 00:29:17.269
Paranel near the the VT. Uh Vista was a


00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:18.950
telescope built actually by the Brits


00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:22.549
and used by them as their buy into the


00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:25.110
European Southern Observatory.


00:29:25.120 --> 00:29:27.590
>> I it's a really great article. Uh I like


00:29:27.600 --> 00:29:30.070
the way they've got those different


00:29:30.080 --> 00:29:32.310
images of the various chemical makeups


00:29:32.320 --> 00:29:34.710
of sex and they've over overlapped them


00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:37.190
all to create one image but uh you can


00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:39.590
you can look at it from several


00:29:39.600 --> 00:29:42.870
viewpoints really and um helps you to


00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:44.230
understand what's going on in there


00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.230
which we've been trying to figure out


00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:47.669
for a long time. friend.


00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:49.830
>> Yeah, that's right. I mean, um, you


00:29:49.840 --> 00:29:53.029
know, again, hopping back to my time at


00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.950
the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, um,


00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:57.590
my work was actually on my research was


00:29:57.600 --> 00:30:00.230
about stars in the galactic center


00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.549
region. And we we couldn't see the


00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:03.909
galactic centers because it's it's


00:30:03.919 --> 00:30:05.669
hidden from us by dust. And a lot of


00:30:05.679 --> 00:30:08.310
these stars were, you know, visible


00:30:08.320 --> 00:30:10.549
through thick layers of dust. That's all


00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:12.710
penetrated, of course, with infrared


00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.430
telescopes. That's why and and by


00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:17.909
millimeter wave telescopes too. That's


00:30:17.919 --> 00:30:20.630
why you can reveal all these fairly


00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:23.110
complex molecules that have been that


00:30:23.120 --> 00:30:26.710
that have been found. Uh so um really


00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:28.630
quite a remarkable exactly as you've


00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:31.430
said it's a great article uh gives you a


00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:33.350
good idea of just what's going on in the


00:30:33.360 --> 00:30:34.870
center of our galaxy.


00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:36.789
>> Somebody's going to ask so I'll ask on


00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:38.789
their behalf. Why couldn't James Webb


00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:40.870
have done this?


00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:44.230
Um, so it a lot of it's to do with field


00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:46.389
of view. Um, the fact that you've got a


00:30:46.399 --> 00:30:48.549
huge area here, uh, you need the


00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:50.310
coverage of what we would call a survey


00:30:50.320 --> 00:30:52.710
telescope, which the James Web isn't. It


00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:55.830
homes in on fine points of detail. Um,


00:30:55.840 --> 00:30:57.510
and the other thing is the James Web


00:30:57.520 --> 00:31:01.430
would give you a different set of um of


00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:03.909
of chemical constituents because you're


00:31:03.919 --> 00:31:07.269
looking at different wave. Uh so these


00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:11.269
are the the the um the the uh ACS


00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:13.510
project the one I just mentioned uh


00:31:13.520 --> 00:31:16.549
which uses ALMA as its main uh


00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:18.710
instrument that's looking in the


00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:21.669
millimeter sub millimeter wave region.


00:31:21.679 --> 00:31:23.830
Uh and so you see that's sensitive to


00:31:23.840 --> 00:31:25.909
different molecules from what you get in


00:31:25.919 --> 00:31:29.190
the infrared. So, uh, it is it's really,


00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:31.269
uh, it's a really neat piece of work


00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:33.029
that's been done by the right telescope


00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:34.630
by the look of it and the right group of


00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:35.190
people.


00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:37.750
>> Indeed. Yes. Fantastic. Uh, if you want


00:31:37.760 --> 00:31:40.310
to read all about it, you can do so by


00:31:40.320 --> 00:31:42.549
uh, finding the paper. Just do a search


00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:45.430
for AS's overview paper or you can read


00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:49.269
the fabulous article at the brightside.


00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:52.789
News. Uh, we're just about done. Fred,


00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:53.990
thank you very much.


00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.990
>> Uh, it's a pleasure. That went extremely


00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.029
quickly. Andrew,


00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:59.110
>> it has been lately.


00:31:59.120 --> 00:32:00.470
Maybe we're finally getting more


00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.590
efficient.


00:32:01.600 --> 00:32:02.950
>> No, no, no.


00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:03.590
>> Don't think so.


00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:05.430
>> All the adequate not efficient.


00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.350
>> Uh I think it's because Jordy didn't


00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:09.750
actually play up too much that


00:32:09.760 --> 00:32:11.590
>> that's right. It's because his sister's


00:32:11.600 --> 00:32:12.630
holding him down.


00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:16.230
>> Yeah, she is. Sisters do that. Thanks,


00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:18.149
Fred. We'll catch you very, very soon.


00:32:18.159 --> 00:32:19.750
>> Sounds great. Thanks, Andrew.


00:32:19.760 --> 00:32:21.509
>> Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:22.950
large. Uh don't forget to visit us


00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:25.350
online while you're uh listening to the


00:32:25.360 --> 00:32:27.909
podcast. Maybe uh spacenutspodcast.com


00:32:27.919 --> 00:32:29.830
or spacenuts.io


00:32:29.840 --> 00:32:32.310
and have a look around, visit the shop,


00:32:32.320 --> 00:32:35.509
maybe become a supporter. Um leave a


00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:38.470
review uh on your platform wherever you


00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.470
listen to us. And uh don't forget you


00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:43.509
can send us um notes and information and


00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:45.669
questions on the ask me anything tab at


00:32:45.679 --> 00:32:48.710
the top ama. And thanks to Hugh in the


00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:51.110
studio. Now Hugh couldn't be with us


00:32:51.120 --> 00:32:53.509
today. Apparently, he uh heard about


00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:55.750
this this mapping of the center of the


00:32:55.760 --> 00:32:57.830
galaxy and put the coordinates in his


00:32:57.840 --> 00:33:00.149
car GPS and he has hasn't been seen


00:33:00.159 --> 00:33:01.750
since.


00:33:01.760 --> 00:33:03.350
>> And from me, Andrew Dunley, thanks for


00:33:03.360 --> 00:33:04.630
your company. We'll see you on the next


00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:06.870
episode of Space Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:07.830
>> Space Nuts.


00:33:07.840 --> 00:33:09.909
>> You've been listening to the Space Nuts


00:33:09.919 --> 00:33:12.230
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00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:15.190
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