June 18, 2026

Cosmic Connections: Mapping Magnetic Fields, Dark Matter Mysteries & SpaceX’s IPO Success |...

Cosmic Connections: Mapping Magnetic Fields, Dark Matter Mysteries & SpaceX’s IPO Success |...
Cosmic Connections: Mapping Magnetic Fields, Dark Matter Mysteries & SpaceX’s IPO Success |...
Space News Today
Cosmic Connections: Mapping Magnetic Fields, Dark Matter Mysteries & SpaceX’s IPO Success |...

Join us as we delve into the latest space science stories, from the universe's most comprehensive magnetic map to the mysteries of black holes and dark matter. Our casual chat is packed with insights into ongoing research and space exploration plans, including Elon Musk's ventures into space and beyond.

In this episode:

The CSIRO's groundbreaking map of the universe's magnetic fields, five times more extensive than previous efforts, revealing complex galactic structures and the role of magnetic fields in galaxy evolution [00:00–10:00]

How polarization and Faraday rotation are used to infer magnetic fields across the cosmos, and what the map tells us about the Milky Way's center [10:00–12:40]

The innovative method of reverberation mapping in studying black holes and the potential connection to dark matter congregations around these cosmic giants [16:37–22:39]

The speculative but exciting prospects for interstellar travel, including the limitations posed by physics, time dilation effects near relativistic speeds, and the Breakthrough Starshot initiative [50:57–55:36]

Elon Musk's recent public offer of SpaceX ventures, merchandise, and the symbolism of mission patches and rockets, illustrating his flair and boldness in space entrepreneurship [24:00–34:10]

The impact of lunar and planetary dynamics on Earth's tides, weather, and ocean currents, with reflections on moonless Earth scenarios [60:00–62:48]

Nostalgic references to 70s science fiction, notably Space 1999, and its imaginative visions of moon-based colonies and space wandering [58:56–59:53]

For enthusiasts eager to explore further, check out resources like:

CSIRO's Magnetic Map of the Universe

Breakthrough Starshot Initiative

SpaceX Official Website

Physical Review D - Space Science Publications

Connect with our guest, Professor Fred Watson:

LinkedIn | Twitter

Looking for the perfect space-themed gear? Visit our Shop for stickers, caps, T-shirts, and mission patches that celebrate our cosmic curiosity.

Join the conversation: Share your questions or comments at spacenutspodcast.com, and help us explore the universe together. Thanks for listening—until next time, keep looking up!


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts-astronomy-insights-cosmic-discoveries--2631155/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts-astronomy-insights-cosmic-discoveries--2631155/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .

Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/33857597?utm_source=youtube

10:00 - How polarization and Faraday rotation are used to infer magnetic fields across the cosmos, and what the map tells us about the Milky Way’s center.]

16:37 - The innovative method of reverberation mapping in studying black holes and the potential connection to dark matter congregations around these cosmic giants.]

24:00 - Elon Musk’s recent public offer of SpaceX ventures, merchandise, and the symbolism of mission patches and rockets, illustrating his flair and boldness in space entrepreneurship.34:10]

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.230
Hello again. Thanks for joining us on


00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.309
another episode of Space Nuts. My name


00:00:04.319 --> 00:00:05.829
is Andrew Dunley. It's great to have


00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:08.310
your company. I hope you're well. Uh


00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:10.390
coming up in this episode, some exciting


00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:15.509
stories and one of them is a new CSIO


00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:19.670
map developed in Australia of


00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:21.750
magnetic fields. Now, it's been quite a


00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:23.269
while since they updated this and


00:00:23.279 --> 00:00:25.269
they've got a new one out and uh it's


00:00:25.279 --> 00:00:26.950
quite extraordinary uh the way it was


00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:28.710
done and what it shows and and what it


00:00:28.720 --> 00:00:31.750
can be used for. Uh we've also got a new


00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.389
report about the relationship or


00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.350
otherwise between uh black holes and


00:00:37.360 --> 00:00:39.110
dark matter. Now, this is interesting


00:00:39.120 --> 00:00:42.470
because it's only been a theory until


00:00:42.480 --> 00:00:45.990
now. Now, this isn't absolute proof, but


00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.630
it's a step closer to proving there is


00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:50.229
something going on between the two of


00:00:50.239 --> 00:00:51.670
them. and they just don't want anyone to


00:00:51.680 --> 00:00:55.189
know. And the world's first trillionaire


00:00:55.199 --> 00:00:57.350
goes public. We'll talk about all of


00:00:57.360 --> 00:01:00.310
that on this episode of Space Nuts.


00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.189
>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9g


00:01:05.199 --> 00:01:06.870
Ignition sequence start.


00:01:06.880 --> 00:01:07.830
>> Space nuts.


00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.390
>> 5 4 3 2


00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:12.789
>> 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.910
>> Space Nuts.


00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:16.789
>> Astronauts report. It feels good. And


00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.190
he's with us again for another dose of


00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:20.950
whatever it is he takes before he talks


00:01:20.960 --> 00:01:23.510
to me. It's Professor Fred. What's an


00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:25.190
astronomer at large? Hello, Fred.


00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.590
>> It's a good cup of tea that I take


00:01:27.600 --> 00:01:29.590
normally.


00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:32.870
Uh I I I've been drinking a bit more tea


00:01:32.880 --> 00:01:36.870
of late only because um by the afternoon


00:01:36.880 --> 00:01:38.950
I'm not really into coffee. But


00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:41.670
>> today I did have coffee. So


00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.190
>> um do love my coffee.


00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:44.469
>> I do too. But


00:01:44.479 --> 00:01:46.950
>> I make my own. I I got the whole barista


00:01:46.960 --> 00:01:49.030
thing going. I'm even doing I'm even


00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:50.870
doing latte art, Fred.


00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:52.230
>> Oh, really?


00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:53.749
>> I don't know if you'll see this. I I


00:01:53.759 --> 00:01:55.910
took this photo


00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.789
um today of my latte art. Can you see


00:01:58.799 --> 00:01:59.429
that?


00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:00.709
>> That is brilliant.


00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:01.670
>> Yeah.


00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:05.350
>> That's real self. Selfaugh barista.


00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:06.230
>> Yes.


00:02:06.240 --> 00:02:08.229
>> I don't know what it is. Some kind some


00:02:08.239 --> 00:02:09.830
kind of flower. Like a lotus flower.


00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.229
>> Well, it reminds me of ears of corn.


00:02:12.239 --> 00:02:13.510
>> Oh, yeah. It does, doesn't it?


00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.110
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's what it


00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.110
>> or just ducks sitting on top of each


00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:17.990
other or something.


00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.949
>> Could be your could be your corny latte.


00:02:20.959 --> 00:02:22.869
>> Yes, it could be. Yeah. Anyway, I've


00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.270
been working on that. That's


00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:26.630
>> impressive. I was going to do a whole


00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:28.550
series and put them on Instagram of my


00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.510
progression through being really crap at


00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:33.670
it and to reaching a point where it's,


00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.550
you know, something to look at. But I


00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.070
didn't bother and now I wish I had


00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.509
because I've had some epic fails. But,


00:02:41.519 --> 00:02:43.350
um, that one came out quite well today.


00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.509
That's very nice. Well done.


00:02:45.519 --> 00:02:47.350
>> Right, let's uh let's get on with this


00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.509
because uh we've got a lot to talk about


00:02:49.519 --> 00:02:52.630
as always and our first story comes from


00:02:52.640 --> 00:02:56.150
Australia, mate. And it is the uh the


00:02:56.160 --> 00:03:00.630
remapping of uh the magnetic fields of a


00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:04.309
large swave of um the universe or is it


00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.030
a large sway of whatever piece of the


00:03:07.040 --> 00:03:09.110
backyard sky someone can see out of? I'm


00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.149
not sure how much of it they got.


00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:13.910
a good chunk of it actually. Um


00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:14.869
>> I thought so


00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.070
>> because um so this was these


00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:22.470
observations were made at uh an site in


00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:24.550
Western Australia known as in Yarimani


00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.670
Ilgari Bundura which is Wadger for


00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:29.750
sharing sky and stars. The Wadger people


00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:31.670
are the traditional owners there and


00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.750
it's also called the CSRO Merches and


00:03:33.760 --> 00:03:35.670
Radio Astronomy Observatory but we tend


00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.229
to refer to it as Inarima Ilgari Bunda


00:03:38.239 --> 00:03:42.229
because it's a very nice name. Uh so


00:03:42.239 --> 00:03:45.910
what's there? There is uh first of all


00:03:45.920 --> 00:03:49.670
um it's the site for the low frequency


00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.390
uh arm of the square kilometer array. Uh


00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.390
the square kilometer array observatory


00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.949
exists in three places. Uh one is


00:03:56.959 --> 00:03:58.229
western Australia where the low


00:03:58.239 --> 00:04:00.869
frequency antennas are. Uh the other is


00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:03.270
in South Africa where the mid-frequency


00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.830
antennas are and the other is near


00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.390
Manchester where the headquarters are.


00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:10.789
Um that's Jodel Bank is where the


00:04:10.799 --> 00:04:13.830
headquarters of SKAO are. Uh and they've


00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:16.390
just got a new director general by the


00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:19.110
way. Um Jessica Dempsey I think is her


00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:21.990
name. Somebody I've kind of run into


00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.030
before over the years. Uh is um uh the


00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.590
new director general of the SKAO


00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:29.909
observatory. Sorry, SKA Observatory.


00:04:29.919 --> 00:04:32.230
Anyway, yeah. Also on the site in


00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.510
Western Australia is ASCAP, which is the


00:04:35.520 --> 00:04:37.110
Australian


00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:38.629
SKA


00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.150
Pathfinder, ASK AP.


00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.629
>> Coincidence an ASCAP is also something


00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:45.990
you can wear if you don't have any


00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.710
pants.


00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.510
>> There's no answer to that, Andrew. I uh


00:04:53.520 --> 00:04:55.350
No,


00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.189
>> no, we just let that one.


00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.590
>> I might leave that one alone. Yeah.


00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:02.710
Anyway, notwithstanding that,


00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:03.990
see, you don't get this on other


00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.550
podcasts, do you? It's why we're number


00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:07.830
one in Iceland.


00:05:07.840 --> 00:05:09.270
>> That's right.


00:05:09.280 --> 00:05:11.350
>> We are. Thank you, Iceland.


00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:15.350
>> Absolutely. Go for it. Um I forgot. Yes.


00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:19.430
ASCAP. The not the not the garment, but


00:05:19.440 --> 00:05:22.790
the um the radio telescope array. 36 12


00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:27.029
m dishes which were built um over the I


00:05:27.039 --> 00:05:28.710
guess 15 years ago was when they


00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:30.629
started. It's been operational for


00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:32.710
probably more than 10 years now and done


00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.510
some fabulous work. Uh, but the latest


00:05:35.520 --> 00:05:37.270
piece of high-profile research that's


00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:40.070
come from ASCAP is exactly as you've


00:05:40.080 --> 00:05:42.950
said, the largest magnetic map of the


00:05:42.960 --> 00:05:44.950
universe ever produced. Five times


00:05:44.960 --> 00:05:46.629
larger than all previous efforts


00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.029
combined and it marks the beginning of a


00:05:49.039 --> 00:05:50.790
new generation of research into the


00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.110
field of intergalactic magnetism. And


00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.590
I'm reading there from the CSRO news


00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:57.830
release. Um, you could probably spot the


00:05:57.840 --> 00:05:59.909
hype, but it's welldeserved hype as


00:05:59.919 --> 00:06:02.390
well. And a welld deserved kudos to the


00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:06.309
team leader, Alec Thompson of CSRO. Um,


00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.629
what they've done is used the telescope


00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:14.950
in a in a I suppose an innovative way.


00:06:14.960 --> 00:06:16.790
Uh, how do you measure magnetic fields?


00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:18.469
Well, you know, normally to measure a


00:06:18.479 --> 00:06:21.110
magnetic field, we stick a magnetometer


00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.029
in the way. That's how magnetic fields


00:06:23.039 --> 00:06:24.550
are measured in the solar system by


00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.230
various spacecraft because they carry


00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:28.550
magnetometers which measure the local


00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.670
magnetic field of where you are. Um, and


00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.070
that gives us some insights into not


00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:36.230
just the the Sun's magnetic field, not


00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:37.749
the Earth's magnetic field and the Sun's


00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:40.469
magnetic field, but also uh courtesy of


00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:42.790
Voyager, the two Voyager spacecraft, the


00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:44.790
galaxy's magnetic field, because we can


00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.110
sense the direction of that with the


00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.350
magnetometers uh carried by those


00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:50.950
spacecraft which are now beyond the


00:06:50.960 --> 00:06:54.790
sun's magnetic influence. But uh it's


00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:59.990
quite a a long jump from the environs of


00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.309
the solar system to the universe as a


00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:05.110
whole. Uh which is what these scientists


00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:11.270
have done. And the basic technique is uh


00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:15.350
it's all about um polarization.


00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:17.430
And we've talked about polarization


00:07:17.440 --> 00:07:21.589
before. We all know what it does when we


00:07:21.599 --> 00:07:23.589
wear our polarizing sunglasses and


00:07:23.599 --> 00:07:26.070
you're driving your car into the


00:07:26.080 --> 00:07:28.710
sunlight and there's a huge reflection


00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.230
coming off the road, especially if it's


00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:33.350
wet. Uh, and your polarizing sunglasses


00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.749
magically take that away. That's


00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.710
happening because the the light waves uh


00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.189
have um


00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.110
they're if you think of them as as just


00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.110
being wiggles in space, which they are


00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.110
electromagnetic wiggles, they have a


00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.390
preferred direction. Um normal light has


00:07:50.400 --> 00:07:53.270
a mix of all these directions, but uh it


00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:56.469
turns out that you can separate out them


00:07:56.479 --> 00:07:58.629
by using well a polarizing filter, which


00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.390
is what we've got in our sunglasses that


00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:02.950
only lets through the vibrations that


00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:04.869
are vertical. That's the vertical


00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:06.629
direction of the light that's coming to


00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:09.189
you. Because the horizontal ones which


00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.430
are um very much reflected in the uh in


00:08:13.440 --> 00:08:15.909
in the in the you know in the reflection


00:08:15.919 --> 00:08:17.909
from the wet road they are canceled out


00:08:17.919 --> 00:08:20.070
and so you don't see them.


00:08:20.080 --> 00:08:22.550
>> Uh so so we're kind of familiar with


00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.029
that effect that idea of the direction


00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:28.150
of vibration of of light waves. Well the


00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:32.230
same holds good in um in radio waves.


00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:34.949
And so ASCAP and many other radio


00:08:34.959 --> 00:08:37.110
telescopes can actually sense the


00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.389
polarization of the radio signals that


00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:43.589
they're receiving from deep space. Uh


00:08:43.599 --> 00:08:45.750
and so that's all well and good. You can


00:08:45.760 --> 00:08:48.870
sense the polarization, but you can also


00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:51.910
detect if that polarization's been


00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:54.710
twisted. And that's what happens when


00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:56.550
the light passes through a magnetic


00:08:56.560 --> 00:08:59.590
field. Um it it actually rotates. It's


00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:01.910
called Faraday rotation. It's the plane


00:09:01.920 --> 00:09:05.990
of the of the radio waves twists and you


00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.430
can detect that with an array like ASCAP


00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.070
and that is what has allowed people to


00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:13.670
measure the magnetic field of the


00:09:13.680 --> 00:09:15.750
universe because


00:09:15.760 --> 00:09:19.509
what you do is you look at the light


00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:22.550
from a distant galaxy and you look at


00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:25.590
the way its polarization changes uh as


00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.750
that light comes towards us by using


00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:30.310
this technique. And so what you what


00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.310
you're saying is that you've got a kind


00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:36.310
of um you know a beacon lamp in the


00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.470
distance and what you can sense is


00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:39.990
what's happening to the light coming


00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.310
from that as it passes through magnetic


00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.430
fields on its way. And so that's the


00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:48.949
basis of the map. Um as far as I can


00:09:48.959 --> 00:09:50.710
tell from because I'm not a radio


00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.630
astronomer which is patently obvious


00:09:52.640 --> 00:09:54.070
probably from the way I'm talking about


00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:58.150
it. Um I I think you you probably don't


00:09:58.160 --> 00:10:00.150
know how far away that magnetic field


00:10:00.160 --> 00:10:05.269
is. And so um what you can infer is uh


00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.910
how how for example how rapidly it


00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:11.990
changes uh depending on the position in


00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.590
the sky. Um it's there's there's when


00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:17.829
you look at this map and I urge our


00:10:17.839 --> 00:10:19.110
listeners to have a look at it. It's


00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.350
pretty easy to find the largest magnetic


00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:23.990
map of the universe yet. Um you'll see


00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.069
lots of colors. Um the colors I think


00:10:26.079 --> 00:10:29.190
are colorcoded in that um I think if I


00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.150
remember rightly red is with the north


00:10:32.160 --> 00:10:34.150
pole pointing towards us of the


00:10:34.160 --> 00:10:37.269
magnetism and blue is it pointing the


00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:40.870
other way. Um and so that uh lets you


00:10:40.880 --> 00:10:43.430
sense the magnetism along that line of


00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:45.829
sight. And so the the biggest detail is


00:10:45.839 --> 00:10:48.230
actually in the galactic center which is


00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:50.550
full of churning magnetic fields. I I


00:10:50.560 --> 00:10:52.230
guess you're having a look at it now. I


00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.389
I'm looking at it right this minute and


00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:55.829
yeah, you're right that they they're


00:10:55.839 --> 00:10:57.670
explaining that just like um you've got


00:10:57.680 --> 00:10:59.670
blue shift and red shift with with light


00:10:59.680 --> 00:11:01.990
waves, the magnetic


00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.150
>> fields have the same kind of qualities


00:11:04.160 --> 00:11:06.389
in terms of north south


00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.470
>> on the um on the magnetic plane. And


00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.230
yes, the center of the Milky Way galaxy


00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:12.389
is probably the most volatile part of


00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.670
this entire picture. Um yeah, not


00:11:15.680 --> 00:11:17.829
surprising. We live there. We know we


00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:20.630
know all about volatility. Yeah, it's


00:11:20.640 --> 00:11:23.030
home from home. Uh, and just just going


00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:25.509
back to um what you said a few minutes


00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.829
ago, um there is a there is a hole in


00:11:27.839 --> 00:11:31.269
the in the uh map and that's because


00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.750
ASCAP there's certainly regions of the


00:11:33.760 --> 00:11:35.829
northern sky that ASCAP can't see


00:11:35.839 --> 00:11:37.269
because they're permanently below the


00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:38.870
horizon. They're relatively small


00:11:38.880 --> 00:11:40.710
actually because ASCAP can look a long


00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:42.389
way down towards the horizon, much


00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:43.670
further than we can in optical


00:11:43.680 --> 00:11:45.910
astronomy. in optical astronomy that the


00:11:45.920 --> 00:11:47.430
atmosphere just gets too thick when


00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.430
you're looking very low down and so you


00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:50.949
get all the distortions and everything


00:11:50.959 --> 00:11:53.110
from the atmosphere. That doesn't happen


00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.910
uh with low frequency radio waves. So um


00:11:55.920 --> 00:11:57.990
the the gap that's missing because of


00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.389
the northern hemisphere uh because it's


00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:01.910
not visible to the telescope that's


00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:04.069
actually relatively small compared with


00:12:04.079 --> 00:12:06.069
if it was an optical astronomy picture


00:12:06.079 --> 00:12:07.990
that you were looking at. But yes, the


00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.230
this this map has the the line of the


00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:12.550
Milky Way across its equator across the


00:12:12.560 --> 00:12:15.430
middle. Um, lots of magnetic turbulence


00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:17.509
in there. Some really intriguing


00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.350
features, things that look like magnetic


00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:21.990
fingers just sort of pointing around.


00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.470
It's a remarkable map which um, yeah, I


00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:26.389
encourage people to have a look at.


00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.790
Yeah. Just by way of um, taking this a


00:12:28.800 --> 00:12:32.069
step further. Uh, what can they now or


00:12:32.079 --> 00:12:34.470
what can anybody now do with a map like


00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:36.230
this? Because it's been made publicly


00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.150
available, hasn't it? Yes. So, that


00:12:38.160 --> 00:12:41.190
that's exactly right. those data are now


00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.430
publicly available. By the way, I do


00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.949
like the name of it which is spice


00:12:46.959 --> 00:12:47.670
racks.


00:12:47.680 --> 00:12:51.910
>> Yeah. Uh so RAX is the rapid ASCAP


00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:55.269
continuum survey and I've forgotten what


00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.990
spice is but it's something equally


00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.550
equally delightful. Uh but the spice


00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:03.110
rack survey I think is uh is you know


00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.629
it's got its own uh own charm about it.


00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.190
I I was going to say something tongue


00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.509
and cheek about a a girl group named


00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:12.790
something to do with spice.


00:13:12.800 --> 00:13:14.310
>> Oh yes, I know the one you


00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.150
>> and then then I thought no, you can't


00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:17.750
really associate that with racks. You


00:13:17.760 --> 00:13:19.670
could get yourself smacked across the


00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:20.230
face.


00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:21.829
>> I would leave that well alone.


00:13:21.839 --> 00:13:23.269
>> I will I won't mention it.


00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:24.790
>> Yeah.


00:13:24.800 --> 00:13:28.550
So um it's Yes. So it's so and and yes,


00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.870
as you said the the data are already


00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:33.670
publicly available. uh research groups


00:13:33.680 --> 00:13:36.790
are already actually digging through


00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:40.230
this to see what it tells us about the


00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.389
you know the magnetism of galaxies for a


00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:46.310
start. Uh it's and and just the way the


00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.269
environment of a galaxy is dominated by


00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.590
a particular magnetic field. It's only


00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.470
recently that we've understood that


00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.350
cosmic magnetic fields i.e. magnetic


00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.389
fields in space play a huge role in so


00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.069
many areas of astrophysics. But


00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:04.790
certainly in the way galaxies evolve


00:14:04.800 --> 00:14:07.110
over the millennia,


00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.590
billennia I suppose they are uh the way


00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.670
they evolve uh is um is very much


00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:16.150
dominated by the local magnetic fields.


00:14:16.160 --> 00:14:18.870
And one of the big puzzles in cosmology,


00:14:18.880 --> 00:14:20.949
the science of you know the universe as


00:14:20.959 --> 00:14:22.949
a whole is where did these magnetic


00:14:22.959 --> 00:14:24.790
fields come from in the first place?


00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:27.189
Yeah. And it's actually one of it's one


00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:29.990
of the things on the list of target


00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.990
science that as that the square


00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.710
kilometer array itself was designed to


00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.949
address. What's the origin of the of the


00:14:36.959 --> 00:14:39.590
cosmic magnetic field? Because we really


00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:42.870
don't know how they came to exist and


00:14:42.880 --> 00:14:44.949
more than that we don't know how


00:14:44.959 --> 00:14:47.110
magnetic fields have changed as you know


00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.430
as the universe itself has evolved. All


00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:50.870
this lets you do that because of course


00:14:50.880 --> 00:14:52.629
as you look further out into space


00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.550
you're looking further back in time. So


00:14:54.560 --> 00:14:56.710
there's a a time dimension of this as


00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:57.269
well.


00:14:57.279 --> 00:14:58.550
>> Yep. There's a there's a lot of


00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:00.710
magnetism out there and as you say they


00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.389
don't know where it came from. Uh we


00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:04.470
probably would have solved it solved it


00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:06.150
except dark matter and dark energy came


00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:07.590
along and we went oh well this is more


00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.389
exciting but um yeah it's just another


00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.069
one of those mysteries by the look of


00:15:12.079 --> 00:15:15.590
>> it is and I I you know I'm sure the um


00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.509
all the scientists who've been involved


00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:19.430
with this have got magnetic


00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.629
personalities.


00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:24.470
>> Oh sorry I do my best. We aim to please.


00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.629
>> Pretty good that one. All right. If


00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.150
you'd like to read up on it, you can do


00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:30.870
that through the CSRO website. It's an


00:15:30.880 --> 00:15:32.870
Australian website and you can download


00:15:32.880 --> 00:15:35.670
the map. It's only 6 million megaby.


00:15:35.680 --> 00:15:38.710
It's 6 megabytes. It's not a big file in


00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.590
the modern age. Uh you can also read the


00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.750
paper in publications of the


00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:46.949
Astronomical Society of Australia. This


00:15:46.959 --> 00:15:49.509
is Space Nuts with Professor Fred Watson


00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:53.990
and Andrew Dunley.


00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.590
G and I feel fine.


00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:59.670
>> Space nuts. All right. Um, now you did


00:15:59.680 --> 00:16:01.430
you did press record, didn't you?


00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.470
>> I did press record. Yes. Um, yes. The


00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.230
giant gap was a misfire.


00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.389
>> Oh, good. That's good. Okay. We get


00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.189
those. Uh, now, uh, our next story, it's


00:16:11.199 --> 00:16:13.590
a, uh, a new report about the


00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.670
relationship between black holes and


00:16:15.680 --> 00:16:17.110
dark matter. Now, this is this is


00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:19.030
something that our audience has quite


00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:21.030
often thrown up. you know, there's got


00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:23.670
to be a connection uh between black


00:16:23.680 --> 00:16:27.189
holes and and dark matter, etc., etc. Uh


00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:29.910
and now they've released a paper that's


00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:32.069
suggesting just that.


00:16:32.079 --> 00:16:34.069
>> Yes, this is really interesting stuff.


00:16:34.079 --> 00:16:37.670
And of course, it it um it covers two of


00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:41.030
the most popular topics that we discuss


00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:44.310
on on Space Nuts. Uh this is research uh


00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.269
from Virginia Tech uh in the United


00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:51.030
States and it it's very neat because it


00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:53.269
uses a technique that I've always found


00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.590
absolutely fascinating


00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:59.910
um which is it's got a fancy name uh


00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:03.430
called reverberation mapping uh but we


00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:07.350
usually talk about light echoes uh and


00:17:07.360 --> 00:17:10.069
the the easiest way to envisage it is uh


00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:14.470
the one that I think drew everybody's


00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:16.949
attention to this phenomenon back in the


00:17:16.959 --> 00:17:18.789
1980s


00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:22.470
uh when supernova 1987a


00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.350
the nearest supernova to us since Kepler


00:17:25.360 --> 00:17:29.350
supernova in6004 I think it was um that


00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:31.190
uh became very much the object of


00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.669
attention uh it was in the large melanic


00:17:33.679 --> 00:17:36.630
cloud so 165,000 lighty years away from


00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.990
us as the crow flies uh and what was


00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.510
discovered as time went on was the so


00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:45.669
the the supernova explodes. You've got


00:17:45.679 --> 00:17:47.270
this brilliant flash of light. It was


00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:49.350
easily visible to the naked eye. I


00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:52.630
remember looking at it. Uh and uh then


00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.750
as time goes by the light fades, but


00:17:55.760 --> 00:17:58.789
what you get uh


00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.270
as time goes on is a series of rings


00:18:01.280 --> 00:18:04.630
around the apparently around the the


00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:08.070
site of the explosion. And those rings


00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:12.390
are caused by light being reflected off


00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.110
clouds of dust which are between us and


00:18:15.120 --> 00:18:17.590
the supernova. And you can do all kinds


00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:21.190
of really neat calculations uh to dis


00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.510
discover how thick those clouds of dust


00:18:23.520 --> 00:18:25.029
are, where they are in relation to the


00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.470
supernova. Um uh one of my colleagues


00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:30.630
for now sadly no longer with us, David


00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.150
Allen was a past master about working on


00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:36.870
this and writing about it. And uh that


00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:38.789
those rings are called light echoes


00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.470
because it's the echo of the light of


00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.190
the supernova which has now faded away


00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.870
but you can still see it because it's


00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.510
bouncing off off clouds of dust in


00:18:47.520 --> 00:18:51.990
space. So what this article is about the


00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.669
Virginia Tech work that we've just


00:18:53.679 --> 00:18:56.950
mentioned is we know that black holes


00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.430
super massive black holes are surrounded


00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.669
by swirling discs of matter uh they're


00:19:03.679 --> 00:19:05.270
called the accretion disc. It's the


00:19:05.280 --> 00:19:07.350
stuff that's basically swirling around


00:19:07.360 --> 00:19:10.150
the plug hole uh before it either gets


00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.549
sucked into the black hole or shot out


00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.310
vertically from the poles of the black


00:19:14.320 --> 00:19:17.029
hole, the rotation poles in the form of


00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:18.950
these jets which we hear a lot about.


00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.430
But the accretion disc itself is bright


00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:25.029
and it um in X-rays and radio.


00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:28.950
Uh once in a while um a larger dollop of


00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.390
matter enters the accretion disc and you


00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.710
get this outburst. you get a brilliant


00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:39.190
outburst of of of radiation. Um, and


00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.150
that outburst is relatively short-lived.


00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.630
It might last for a few weeks or even


00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.110
months, but it's short-lived. And so


00:19:47.120 --> 00:19:50.630
what you can look for is a light echo


00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.789
around it because that light radiates


00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:55.590
outwards from the accretion disc. And if


00:19:55.600 --> 00:19:58.549
it hits anything, you know, outside it,


00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.870
it will reflect back to us and we'll see


00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:05.750
it at a later date from when the bright


00:20:05.760 --> 00:20:07.909
event itself happened. So you see the


00:20:07.919 --> 00:20:10.470
bright event in the accretion disc and


00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.590
then at some time later you see an an


00:20:13.600 --> 00:20:15.909
echo of that light which is being


00:20:15.919 --> 00:20:18.789
reflected off usually gas and dust which


00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.430
is surrounding the uh the accretion


00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.830
disc. What this story is all about


00:20:23.840 --> 00:20:27.669
though is that when you do calculations


00:20:27.679 --> 00:20:32.789
about how much material there is in the


00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.029
accretion disc where the echo is taking


00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.070
place, you get a much higher mass than


00:20:38.080 --> 00:20:41.110
what you can see. And that's al always


00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:45.110
the um that's always the uh uh kind of


00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:48.310
telltale signature of dark matter uh


00:20:48.320 --> 00:20:50.789
when you can only see a limited amount


00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.510
of stuff but gravity tells you that


00:20:53.520 --> 00:20:55.029
there's much more there's more there


00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:56.950
>> and that's exactly the basis of this


00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:59.669
story. So, it's just a new way of


00:20:59.679 --> 00:21:03.990
detecting the dark matter uh around


00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.470
black holes. But it looks as though


00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:09.669
black holes, as you'd expect, not only


00:21:09.679 --> 00:21:12.710
are a magnet for regular matter, uh I


00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:14.710
mean a gravitational magnet. I guess


00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.149
it's not magnetic in the sense that


00:21:16.159 --> 00:21:18.390
we've just been talking about uh but a


00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:21.190
gravitational uh pull for normal matter.


00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.230
It's also a gravitational pull for dark


00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:25.830
matter as well. And it looks as though


00:21:25.840 --> 00:21:27.990
the dark matter actually congregates


00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.190
around black holes that we've got these


00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.070
buildups of dark matter in the vicinity


00:21:34.080 --> 00:21:35.830
of of a black hole.


00:21:35.840 --> 00:21:37.270
>> Quite remarkable.


00:21:37.280 --> 00:21:39.909
>> Now the the situation is that they


00:21:39.919 --> 00:21:42.710
haven't absolutely proven it. They've


00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:44.870
just come up with a way of suggesting


00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.990
that this might be the case. But um


00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:49.909
yeah, it's not absolute. It's not it's


00:21:49.919 --> 00:21:51.430
not


00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:54.470
>> fact. It's it it is in the sense that um


00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:57.590
they've looked at this for for 14


00:21:57.600 --> 00:21:59.190
different galaxies


00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.190
>> and and all found cases where uh what


00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.110
what you what you're looking for is the


00:22:05.120 --> 00:22:07.830
way the mass changes with distance from


00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:10.070
the black hole and that mass is


00:22:10.080 --> 00:22:12.149
increasing because you're looking at


00:22:12.159 --> 00:22:14.470
stuff swirling around. But the increase


00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:18.149
in mass is faster than the visible


00:22:18.159 --> 00:22:21.190
matter on its own can explain. Yeah. And


00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.750
that's the it's a kind of smoking gun


00:22:23.760 --> 00:22:24.950
for dark matter really.


00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.950
>> Yeah. I I've I've found the paragraph.


00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:28.950
It says data limitations mean the


00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:31.750
results are a proof of concept, not a


00:22:31.760 --> 00:22:34.789
definitive dete detection, but the study


00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.710
outlines a clear path to confirmation.


00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:37.750
>> That's right. Yeah. So


00:22:37.760 --> 00:22:38.630
>> we're almost there.


00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:40.310
>> We're almost there. That's exactly


00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:41.909
right. We're almost there.


00:22:41.919 --> 00:22:44.230
>> That is very exciting news. And um that


00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.950
will stop probably 75% of the questions


00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.710
we get on our Q&A editions.


00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.590
Well, it it might, but I bet it produces


00:22:53.600 --> 00:22:56.390
another 150% about what it is that we're


00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:58.310
finding. And how do we know? Why isn't


00:22:58.320 --> 00:23:00.070
it Mond and things like that?


00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:02.789
>> Yeah. Yes. Oh gosh. It will just it


00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:03.590
it'll never end.


00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:04.630
>> It will never end.


00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.230
>> I hope it never ends. I think it's


00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:06.630
great.


00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:07.190
>> So do I.


00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.789
>> But if you want to read about it, it's


00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.590
at fizz.org. Uh they publish the paper


00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:14.149
in the physical review D. Does that mean


00:23:14.159 --> 00:23:16.230
there's an A, B, and C that comes?


00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.270
>> Yes, it does.


00:23:17.280 --> 00:23:19.669
>> I assume so. Yes. But um that's a


00:23:19.679 --> 00:23:21.350
high-profile journal though, Physical


00:23:21.360 --> 00:23:24.310
Review. It's uh definitely uh


00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:27.110
>> you know it's it's ranks with nature and


00:23:27.120 --> 00:23:28.870
science and these very high-profile


00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:31.909
journals. So it's it's not work that is


00:23:31.919 --> 00:23:34.230
in any way secondary. It's not like


00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.870
Space Nuts where it's adequate. This is


00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:41.190
top top top running stuff. Indeed it is.


00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:43.029
Uh yes. So read about it at physical


00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:45.669
review or at fizz.org. This is Space


00:23:45.679 --> 00:23:47.270
Nuts. Andrew Dunley here with Professor


00:23:47.280 --> 00:23:51.510
Fred Watson.


00:23:51.520 --> 00:23:54.390
>> Okay, we checked all four systems and


00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:56.070
>> Space Nets.


00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:59.270
>> Our final story, Fred, uh takes us into


00:23:59.280 --> 00:24:02.950
the realm of um publicly offering your


00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.909
company up on the stock exchange.


00:24:05.919 --> 00:24:07.350
>> I wonder why we're going to talk about


00:24:07.360 --> 00:24:07.750
that.


00:24:07.760 --> 00:24:09.669
>> I wonder why. Uh the world's first


00:24:09.679 --> 00:24:12.470
trillionaire has just done that in um in


00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:14.390
a very interesting way. And to coincide


00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:17.190
with the launch, he's um he's selling


00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.750
stuff like we do on on the Space Nuts


00:24:19.760 --> 00:24:22.789
shop. All sorts of little bits and bobs


00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:24.549
if you want a piece of the action.


00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.070
>> Yes, the IPO merch.


00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:28.710
>> It is it really is a remarkable story


00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:31.669
though uh Elon Musk and SpaceX because


00:24:31.679 --> 00:24:34.549
uh as as this article um briefly


00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:36.870
mentions, he didn't think the company


00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:39.430
would survive. He didn't expect it to to


00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:41.750
actually be a success. He gave it a very


00:24:41.760 --> 00:24:44.549
low chance of lasting and look at him


00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:46.070
now.


00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:48.390
>> Quite so. The world's first


00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:49.990
trillionaire.


00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:50.470
>> Yeah.


00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:54.310
>> It's um I mean I don't honestly I know


00:24:54.320 --> 00:24:55.830
virtually nothing about the world of


00:24:55.840 --> 00:24:57.190
high finance.


00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:58.149
>> Um


00:24:58.159 --> 00:25:00.950
>> well, you know more than me then.


00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:02.870
>> When I see numbers like millions and


00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:04.390
billions, I always expect there to be


00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.750
light years after them rather than


00:25:05.760 --> 00:25:09.990
dollars. Uh but yeah, it's uh the the


00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.430
public the IPO initial public offering


00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.990
um has valued this company at something


00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:17.909
absolutely huge compared with all the


00:25:17.919 --> 00:25:19.830
other tech companies that that are being


00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:22.630
floated or are likely to be floated into


00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:25.029
public ownership. It's enormous.


00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:28.149
>> Um is it 170 billion? Am I thinking of


00:25:28.159 --> 00:25:29.750
the right number there? Or is that light


00:25:29.760 --> 00:25:31.430
years? That could be light years.


00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.350
>> I don't know.


00:25:33.360 --> 00:25:35.990
Uh anyway, the bottom line, so yes, that


00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.470
was um uh over the weekend that um that


00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.710
offering IPO uh happened and it was very


00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.510
successful. Um I heard people on Friday


00:25:47.520 --> 00:25:49.510
saying, "Oh no, the it'll probably just


00:25:49.520 --> 00:25:51.029
fail because nobody will actually


00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.430
believe what Elon Musk's saying."


00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:54.870
>> Well, they might not have believed what


00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:56.230
he was saying, but they put their money


00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:58.230
where they where their mouths were. And


00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:01.029
um yeah, so it's done very very well.


00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:03.029
Um, I think the number I'm thinking of


00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:05.269
is $160.95,


00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:07.190
which is the share price.


00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.789
>> Well, I've just looked it up now, and I


00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:10.630
know this is being recorded, so by the


00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:12.710
time people hear this, the number will


00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:14.870
change. But at the moment, at this very


00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:15.990
moment,


00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.909
>> $19,250


00:26:17.919 --> 00:26:19.029
in US.


00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.029
>> All right. So, they've already gone up


00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:21.430
then.


00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:24.070
>> They've gone up 19.6%.


00:26:24.080 --> 00:26:24.710
>> Yeah.


00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:27.110
>> In fact, they're up 31.55%


00:26:27.120 --> 00:26:29.190
today. So, not a bad investment really


00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:30.870
if you're into that kind of thing.


00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:31.430
>> Yeah.


00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:32.789
>> Well, we're not into that kind of thing,


00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.430
but we're definitely into merch. Uh, and


00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.310
that's what this story is about, right?


00:26:38.320 --> 00:26:41.669
>> Because, um, uh, I I I guess the one


00:26:41.679 --> 00:26:45.669
thing you can not accuse Elon Musk of is


00:26:45.679 --> 00:26:48.549
lacking flare. um because he's done this


00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:50.470
very nicely that you can buy a mission


00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:51.510
patch


00:26:51.520 --> 00:26:56.070
>> for the uh for the IPO uh which says the


00:26:56.080 --> 00:26:58.390
future is public. There's a lovely


00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.110
embroidered uh Starship in the


00:27:01.120 --> 00:27:03.190
background. Uh in the middle it says


00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:06.710
SPCX which is SpaceX liftoff underneath


00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:11.269
it and uh SpaceX 2026. Uh and it's also


00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:13.110
got a four-leaf clover on it which I


00:27:13.120 --> 00:27:15.750
think is present on all Elon Musk


00:27:15.760 --> 00:27:17.830
SpaceX. I think that's been his logo


00:27:17.840 --> 00:27:19.110
since day one.


00:27:19.120 --> 00:27:22.230
>> Yes. Yeah. A sign of good luck. Maybe


00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.590
that's what's done it.


00:27:23.600 --> 00:27:28.149
>> But the thing I liked was um you can you


00:27:28.159 --> 00:27:32.950
can have a souvenir bell. And I guess I


00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:34.470
don't know whether bells are normally


00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:36.230
associated. I know they're certainly


00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:37.990
associated with the stock exchange, but


00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.549
whether whether with public offerings


00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:42.149
they're associated, but they certainly


00:27:42.159 --> 00:27:44.149
are in this case. And what he's chosen


00:27:44.159 --> 00:27:45.750
for the shape of his bell is something


00:27:45.760 --> 00:27:49.750
absolutely perfect. It's the bell um of


00:27:49.760 --> 00:27:52.870
a Raptor engine. Uh these rocket motors


00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:55.750
have a very strongly bell-shaped uh


00:27:55.760 --> 00:27:57.830
thrust chamber. I guess it's the it's


00:27:57.840 --> 00:28:00.789
the um opening uh that lets all the gas


00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:03.590
out uh after it's been ignited in the


00:28:03.600 --> 00:28:05.669
the combustion chamber above it. And so


00:28:05.679 --> 00:28:07.510
it's a scale replica of the Raptor


00:28:07.520 --> 00:28:11.029
engines that actually power the Falcon


00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:12.710
Heavy. Um, I beg you pardon the


00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:13.990
superheavy


00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.789
>> booster which is the basis of Starship.


00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:19.269
It's got 33 of these.


00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:22.950
>> And um they uh the this one's got a


00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:24.470
little clapper in the middle that lets


00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.269
you ring it as well as all the work. And


00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:28.870
apparently it rings. Yes. Cuz there's a


00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:30.549
video on the website that shows you


00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:31.430
that.


00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:34.389
>> Uh they they haven't released those yet


00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:36.549
to the public, but they will be out


00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:37.830
probably I think they're talking


00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:41.830
December. Yeah. And um yeah, there sort


00:28:41.840 --> 00:28:45.510
of an 18 cm or 7 in scale model of the


00:28:45.520 --> 00:28:49.029
um the SpaceX Raptor bell, but this one


00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:50.310
has a


00:28:50.320 --> 00:28:51.990
>> you know clunker in it that makes it


00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.430
ring. I don't know what that thing's


00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:56.230
called inside the bell. The dingy thing.


00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.070
>> It's a clapper. It's a clapper.


00:28:58.080 --> 00:28:58.630
>> Is it?


00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:00.389
>> That's the name. Yeah. For


00:29:00.399 --> 00:29:01.990
>> anyway. So, they're selling those.


00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:05.990
They're selling uh tote bags and um as


00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.630
you said, mission patches, t-shirts,


00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:10.630
caps.


00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.950
Don't let it, you know, he he's um he's


00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:14.230
the sort of bloke that never lets


00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:15.510
opportunity no


00:29:15.520 --> 00:29:17.590
>> get away. No whatsoever.


00:29:17.600 --> 00:29:20.789
>> I I did hear some of the things that he


00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:23.830
said publicly at the launch, which made


00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:28.630
me cringe. Uh because


00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:33.190
you know I can I can just about um


00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:36.710
believe that we might get humans to Mars


00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:38.710
in his lifetime.


00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:41.430
>> It won't be millions and that's because


00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:44.710
that's immoral apart from anything else.


00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:49.510
Um but he was talking about uh the you


00:29:49.520 --> 00:29:51.669
know flying through around the solar


00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:56.310
system and beyond and at the moment that


00:29:56.320 --> 00:29:59.510
is off the agenda. Physics don't doesn't


00:29:59.520 --> 00:30:02.310
let you do that. Uh just actually as a


00:30:02.320 --> 00:30:04.630
as a little footnote to that I read a


00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:06.310
paper yesterday


00:30:06.320 --> 00:30:09.510
>> uh which is about you know the idea of


00:30:09.520 --> 00:30:13.510
using um photonic propulsion or or


00:30:13.520 --> 00:30:16.630
basically uh light energy blasted at a


00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:19.110
light sail. You've got a laser uh you


00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:20.789
fire it at this light sail and the


00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:22.549
spacecraft accelerates because of that.


00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:25.430
That's all fine and dandy and will work


00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:27.110
um if you can make your spacecraft light


00:30:27.120 --> 00:30:29.430
enough. But it turns out that you're not


00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:31.190
ever going to get near the speed of


00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:34.310
light. You beyond about 75% of the speed


00:30:34.320 --> 00:30:37.269
of light. You uh get something called


00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:40.310
relativistic drag. Uh where space itself


00:30:40.320 --> 00:30:42.470
drags on the light sail as well as any


00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:44.149
kind of interstellar matter that you've


00:30:44.159 --> 00:30:47.269
got to plow through at the 75% of the


00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:49.269
speed of light. So that's not going to


00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:51.190
get us touring around the galaxy.


00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.950
>> No, we'll have to find another way.


00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:54.710
>> We need another way. Yes. They need to


00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.590
go to science fiction writers and see


00:30:57.600 --> 00:30:59.669
what they've come up with.


00:30:59.679 --> 00:31:01.750
>> Maybe that's what Elon's thinking of.


00:31:01.760 --> 00:31:03.590
Maybe he was suddenly in the realm of


00:31:03.600 --> 00:31:05.110
science fiction, but he didn't bother to


00:31:05.120 --> 00:31:05.750
tell us.


00:31:05.760 --> 00:31:07.750
>> No, maybe not. No, but there's no


00:31:07.760 --> 00:31:11.430
nothing fictional about his um IP IP.


00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.029
>> Not at all. Not at all.


00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:14.549
>> Initial public offering that is out


00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.630
there and it is going gang busters. It's


00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:19.510
it's burning like a raptor at the


00:31:19.520 --> 00:31:20.230
moment.


00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:22.710
>> Yeah, probably will. I mean, you you


00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:25.029
know, you've got to give the guy credit.


00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.750
Uh two of the biggest breakthroughs of


00:31:27.760 --> 00:31:31.110
our of our generation, uh electric


00:31:31.120 --> 00:31:34.149
vehicles and reusable booster rockets.


00:31:34.159 --> 00:31:36.070
And basically, they've come from him.


00:31:36.080 --> 00:31:36.789
>> Yes, certainly.


00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:38.389
>> Tesla. Yes, they have. It's quite


00:31:38.399 --> 00:31:39.669
extraordinary.


00:31:39.679 --> 00:31:41.509
>> You can read about it at


00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:43.509
collectpace.com.


00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:45.750
U we won't tell you all the prices of


00:31:45.760 --> 00:31:47.590
everything he's selling because that's,


00:31:47.600 --> 00:31:51.509
you know, you go and have a look. Um


00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:54.389
Totally your call. Um, but I do like the


00:31:54.399 --> 00:31:56.230
idea of mission patches and I'm pretty


00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:59.029
sure I suggested that to Hugh many years


00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:01.110
ago that we should have mission patches.


00:32:01.120 --> 00:32:01.350
Yes,


00:32:01.360 --> 00:32:02.950
>> we need Yes, we do.


00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:05.430
>> Yes, I thought we should a new one for


00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.350
every episode.


00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:09.110
>> Oh, all right. Okay.


00:32:09.120 --> 00:32:10.389
>> No, that's a bit much.


00:32:10.399 --> 00:32:12.070
>> Well, look, the trouble is the miss


00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:14.310
patches, they would just be adequate and


00:32:14.320 --> 00:32:15.750
if you


00:32:15.760 --> 00:32:17.909
>> Although I think our logo would make a


00:32:17.919 --> 00:32:18.950
great patch


00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:20.389
>> all on it own. Yeah.


00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:21.269
>> Yeah.


00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:24.230
>> Anyway, uh we'll we'll do that one day,


00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:25.509
maybe. I don't know. There's plenty of


00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.870
other stuff in the shop. Just go and


00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:28.389
have a look in our shop. It's on our


00:32:28.399 --> 00:32:30.950
website, spacenutspodcast.com


00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:33.269
or spacenuts.io.


00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:35.350
Uh click on the shop link and buy


00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:37.909
yourself a pair of socks or a notebook


00:32:37.919 --> 00:32:41.669
or a um or a coffee cup or a hat or a


00:32:41.679 --> 00:32:45.269
hoodie. Um stickers. There's just all


00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:47.190
this great stuff there. I've got some of


00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:49.830
it. Look, I've got my cup here. See,


00:32:49.840 --> 00:32:52.470
here's my cup. Oh, that's nice. Space


00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.509
nuts cup.


00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:54.630
>> Yeah, I might have one of those


00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:55.269
somewhere. You


00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:58.149
>> probably do. Yes. And I got the tote bag


00:32:58.159 --> 00:32:59.190
as well.


00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.509
>> So, we thought of that before, Elon.


00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:02.870
He's probably using the same company


00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:03.990
that we do.


00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.149
>> But, um,


00:33:06.159 --> 00:33:08.710
yes. Um, I think that brings us to the


00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:10.230
end. Fred, thank you so much.


00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:12.149
>> A pleasure, Andrew. Good to talk. And


00:33:12.159 --> 00:33:14.389
we'll speak again soon.


00:33:14.399 --> 00:33:16.710
>> We will indeed. Professor Fred Watson,


00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:18.149
astronomer at large, and thanks to Hugh


00:33:18.159 --> 00:33:19.590
in the studio. couldn't be with us today


00:33:19.600 --> 00:33:21.509
because he wants to be the world's


00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:23.830
second trillionaire and he's just put


00:33:23.840 --> 00:33:25.430
down five bucks and he's just watching


00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:27.669
to see what happens. And from me, Andrew


00:33:27.679 --> 00:33:29.110
Dunley, thanks for your company. We'll


00:33:29.120 --> 00:33:30.630
see you on the next episode of Space


00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:32.230
Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:33.190
>> Space Nuts.


00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:35.269
>> You've been listening to the Space Nuts


00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.590
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00:33:37.600 --> 00:33:40.549
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00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:43.190
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00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:45.509
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00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:48.470
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