Cosmic Questions, Solar Mysteries & Lunar Dreams: #492 - The Great Space Q&A | Space Nuts

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:02.590
hi there Andrew Dunley here and you're


00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:06.030
listening to Space Nuts Q&A Edition glad


00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:08.549
to have your company once again uh on


00:00:08.559 --> 00:00:12.310
this episode we will be uh answering an


00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.390
array of questions on very different


00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:18.230
topics uh Jake is asking us about tidal


00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:20.429
lock uh that's not something to hold


00:00:20.439 --> 00:00:23.390
back the water in the temps River no uh


00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:25.630
something completely different uh Clint


00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.390
wants to talk about the heat of the sun


00:00:28.400 --> 00:00:31.550
uh Emily uh sand daughter in Melbourne


00:00:31.560 --> 00:00:33.790
wants to get to the moon and we're going


00:00:33.800 --> 00:00:37.590
to tell her how and Fenton has asked a


00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:39.549
vast array of questions which could


00:00:39.559 --> 00:00:41.830
probably fill an episode on their own


00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.310
about the radiation of Jupiter that's


00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.229
all coming up on this edition of Space


00:00:47.239 --> 00:00:51.590
Nuts 15 seconds guidance is internal 10


00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.630
9 ignition sequence start space Nets 5 4


00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:02.110
3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 Space Nuts asut


00:01:02.120 --> 00:01:04.829
reported feels good and joining me once


00:01:04.839 --> 00:01:06.550
again is not Professor Fred Watson


00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:09.950
because he is overseas looking at the


00:01:09.960 --> 00:01:12.990
sky up in the northern hemisphere uh but


00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:14.870
with us is Professor johy Horner


00:01:14.880 --> 00:01:16.230
professor of astrophysics at the


00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:18.030
University of Southern Queensland jonty


00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.270
hello hey how you going I am well we're


00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:23.429
working on getting you your own intro


00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:25.590
but with we we're we're in a time of


00:01:25.600 --> 00:01:27.910
year where all the radio stations in


00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.190
Australia uh want new jingles and our um


00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.350
Studio producer who does all that work


00:01:34.360 --> 00:01:37.069
is um is flat out at the moment so we've


00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:38.910
been put on the back burner I think but


00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:41.069
you can understand why all the radio


00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.149
stations want to ramp up how they sound


00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.469
so that they can get new audience I


00:01:45.479 --> 00:01:47.270
worked in radio for 40 years I'm pretty


00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.069
sure changing the jingle doesn't


00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.190
actually do much but just my just my


00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.270
observation in proba get it just in time


00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:58.469
for Fred to get back yes yes I think


00:01:58.479 --> 00:01:59.950
that's exactly what I was about to say


00:01:59.960 --> 00:02:03.510
they stole my joke never


00:02:03.520 --> 00:02:06.830
mind but what we'll do right now is uh


00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:09.029
look at some audience questions I love


00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:12.990
this this particular um episode every


00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.229
week because uh it's the audience's


00:02:15.239 --> 00:02:18.390
chance to to get involved and we've got


00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.150
a few audio questions coming up uh but


00:02:21.160 --> 00:02:23.190
our first one comes from Jake who


00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:25.470
actually sent this question via Facebook


00:02:25.480 --> 00:02:27.869
Messenger which we don't often catch


00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.110
because we don't monitor it as much as


00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:31.790
we as we probably should but we just


00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:34.350
haven't got the person power but I just


00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.630
happened to be sort of on my uh iPad the


00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:38.910
other day and went oh hang on a minute


00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:41.149
there's a little one there uh greetings


00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:44.309
from Tennessee USA it's Tennessee home


00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:48.149
of the Titans um I I know that several


00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.869
two body uh systems are in various


00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:53.430
stages of tidal locking I was wondering


00:02:53.440 --> 00:02:55.470
if a star or planet with several


00:02:55.480 --> 00:02:58.390
orbiting bodies can even become tidally


00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.830
locked with a particular one for example


00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.070
can the sun become tidy locked to one of


00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:06.229
our planets likewise can Jupiter become


00:03:06.239 --> 00:03:09.589
tidy locked to one of its moons I assume


00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.630
that if such tidal lock can occur the


00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:15.390
larger body becomes locked with its most


00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:17.750
gravitationally attractive orbiting body


00:03:17.760 --> 00:03:21.070
but if that's the case how are the other


00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:23.910
orbiting bodies affected love the show


00:03:23.920 --> 00:03:26.110
and that was a question from Jake Tyler


00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.910
I got a feeling that he's going to some


00:03:29.920 --> 00:03:32.030
the things he said in the question are


00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:35.030
the reality yes so there's a lot of


00:03:35.040 --> 00:03:36.830
complex to this it's a really really


00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:38.509
good question now we familiar with tidal


00:03:38.519 --> 00:03:41.070
loing anytime we look up at the annoying


00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:42.509
source of light pollution in our sky


00:03:42.519 --> 00:03:44.750
that is the moon you know that keeps one


00:03:44.760 --> 00:03:46.750
face pointed towards us all the time


00:03:46.760 --> 00:03:48.429
with a little bit of rock and roll


00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:49.910
because it's being nudged by everything


00:03:49.920 --> 00:03:51.429
else it's not on a perfectly circular


00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:53.949
orbit but it essentially keeps an a side


00:03:53.959 --> 00:03:55.869
of the moon FES towards it The Far Side


00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.270
FES away it rotates once on its axis and


00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:00.630
exactly the same time it take to go


00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:01.789
around the earth essentially so it's


00:04:01.799 --> 00:04:05.149
turning as it goes the Earth is slowing


00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.429
down in its rotation as the Moon is


00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:09.110
getting nudged away there's this tidal


00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.470
interaction between them that I always


00:04:11.480 --> 00:04:13.589
visualized essentially as being the


00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.589
result of the tidal bugers the moon res


00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.150
on the earth so we get high tide and low


00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.590
tide every day and I view those a bit


00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:21.949
like brake blocks on a wheel they're


00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:23.749
kind of applying friction to the Earth


00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:25.590
because the Earth is turning under them


00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.030
once every 24 hours or so but those


00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.350
tidle buers are doing one la


00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.950
every 27 28 days because they are tied


00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:35.230
to the location of the Moon and the Sun


00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:37.270
so those bulges are dragged Along by the


00:04:37.280 --> 00:04:39.909
friction of the earth they're pulled


00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:42.350
slightly away from that line between the


00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.749
moon and the sun which means that they


00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:47.510
are then pulling a little bit on the


00:04:47.520 --> 00:04:49.270
moon and causing the moon to speed up


00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:51.189
which means it moves away so they've got


00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.469
this transfer of energy and momentum


00:04:53.479 --> 00:04:55.550
between the rotation of the Earth on the


00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:57.950
orbit of the moon so the Earth's spin is


00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:00.110
slowing down and the Moon is moving


00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.990
further away now in theory if we could


00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.510
carry on for long enough that would


00:05:06.520 --> 00:05:08.990
eventually slow the earth rotation down


00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:10.590
such that it matched the orbital period


00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:11.350
of the


00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.469
Moon there is some debate though a that


00:05:14.479 --> 00:05:16.070
will not happen quick enough for it to


00:05:16.080 --> 00:05:17.430
happen within the age of the solar


00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:19.749
system that's left but there's also some


00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:23.110
debate as to whether that would happen


00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.150
before the moon gets far enough away to


00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:26.870
escape the Earth's gravity so in the


00:05:26.880 --> 00:05:28.909
case of the Earth Moon system it's not


00:05:28.919 --> 00:05:30.749
going to happen but illustrates that it


00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:33.710
could so move out further out in the Sol


00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:36.990
system to Pluto the dwarf planet and we


00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.070
talked about Pluto a couple of weeks ago


00:05:39.080 --> 00:05:41.550
having this big companion called karon


00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:43.189
yeah Pluto actually though has about


00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.350
five minutes it's got PL got karon which


00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.510
is huge and then it's got four little


00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:50.150
ones in Kerberos Nick sticks and Hydra I


00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:51.950
think they're called and then smaller


00:05:51.960 --> 00:05:55.350
ones further out now Pluto and Kon are


00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.309
tily locked Kon spins once in the time


00:05:58.319 --> 00:05:59.990
it takes to orbit the center of Mass


00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.029
between Pluto and karon once so it


00:06:02.039 --> 00:06:03.629
always keeps the same side facing


00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:05.909
towards Pluto in just the same way that


00:06:05.919 --> 00:06:08.029
the moon does going around the Earth but


00:06:08.039 --> 00:06:10.990
Pluto has also tily locked with karon so


00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.670
Pluto keeps a same face pointing towards


00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:17.110
karon all the time so that's a prime


00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.830
example of the kind of system Jake was


00:06:18.840 --> 00:06:21.070
asking about a case where the biggest


00:06:21.080 --> 00:06:23.270
body has locked to the second biggest


00:06:23.280 --> 00:06:25.670
body and they're both locked together


00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.390
and there are other things in the system


00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:30.350
when it comes to plant system


00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:32.029
and when it comes to the more generality


00:06:32.039 --> 00:06:34.950
of it it gets a bit more complicated so


00:06:34.960 --> 00:06:36.710
there's a few things going on it's not


00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:38.510
necessarily the most massive body going


00:06:38.520 --> 00:06:40.510
around a star that would be the one that


00:06:40.520 --> 00:06:42.589
it tidally locked to because the


00:06:42.599 --> 00:06:45.550
distance is important as well and tidal


00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.550
forces fall off incredibly rapidly as a


00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.189
function of distance much more quickly


00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:51.710
than the r squ fall off of the


00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.830
gravitational attraction I think it's


00:06:53.840 --> 00:06:56.909
either an R cubed or an R to the power 4


00:06:56.919 --> 00:06:59.029
setup which means that the closer you


00:06:59.039 --> 00:07:01.270
get to the star the much more strongly


00:07:01.280 --> 00:07:03.710
you tidally interact now we see this


00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:05.710
with EXO planets we can see that EXO


00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:07.309
planets that are very close to the stars


00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:09.070
are tidally locked the ones that are


00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:11.230
further away are probably not but we


00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:13.790
also see it in the form of tidal


00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.790
circularization of orbits so you get a


00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.670
planet that is flung onto an elongated


00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:20.550
orbit where the closest point to the


00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:22.790
star is very near the


00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.790
star because of the degree to which


00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:27.749
tidal forces varies a function of


00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.270
distance that means the St will interact


00:07:30.280 --> 00:07:31.990
much more strongly with the planet in a


00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.110
tidal sense when it's near the closest


00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.790
approach and when it's far away that


00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:39.950
means that you will get a you'll get an


00:07:39.960 --> 00:07:42.270
attempt to tily lock the planet so the


00:07:42.280 --> 00:07:44.749
planet's rotation will be getting mged


00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:46.950
into a rotation period that matches the


00:07:46.960 --> 00:07:49.029
orbital period but at the same time you


00:07:49.039 --> 00:07:51.230
get this dissipation of energy that


00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.270
tries to make the orbit more circular


00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:54.749
and that dissipation of energy is


00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:56.990
happening at the per apps of the orbit


00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.070
the point of the orbit where it's


00:07:58.080 --> 00:08:00.550
closest to the South so the result of


00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:02.070
this is that that orbit gets more and


00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:04.270
more circular by bringing the Appo apps


00:08:04.280 --> 00:08:06.830
the furthest point from the Star closer


00:08:06.840 --> 00:08:08.749
to the star so it ends up being


00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:10.830
circularized at that closest approach


00:08:10.840 --> 00:08:13.070
distance and that happens more quickly


00:08:13.080 --> 00:08:15.149
than the tidal locking process and


00:08:15.159 --> 00:08:16.510
that's a result of the fact that the


00:08:16.520 --> 00:08:19.070
tidal forces fall off much more strongly


00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:20.469
as a function of


00:08:20.479 --> 00:08:24.029
distance we haven't yet found any stars


00:08:24.039 --> 00:08:26.749
that we think are definitely tily locked


00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.950
to their planet now part of this is down


00:08:28.960 --> 00:08:32.110
to the m difference so the small thing


00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:34.110
will tidle lock much more quickly than


00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:35.509
its bigger companion that's what we're


00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.469
seeing with the Earth and the moon yeah


00:08:37.479 --> 00:08:38.670
but it's not beyond the bounds of


00:08:38.680 --> 00:08:40.430
possibility and there are suggestions


00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:42.430
that tidal interactions between really


00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:44.430
massive planets planets a lot bigger


00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.030
than Jupiter and stars when the planets


00:08:47.040 --> 00:08:48.910
are really close in can have a


00:08:48.920 --> 00:08:51.150
significant impact on the spin of those


00:08:51.160 --> 00:08:53.030
stars and also the energy dynamics of


00:08:53.040 --> 00:08:55.550
what's going on in their Interiors not


00:08:55.560 --> 00:08:57.350
totally my area of expertise I've got to


00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:59.470
flag that but this is something that


00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:00.910
that people are having to think about


00:09:00.920 --> 00:09:02.509
when they come to looking at ways of


00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.949
measuring the age of stars now there's a


00:09:04.959 --> 00:09:06.190
few ways you can do this I've got


00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.790
colleagues at unq who work on asteros


00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:11.150
seismology they're looking at how Stars


00:09:11.160 --> 00:09:13.389
wobble and Wibble ringing like bells


00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:15.110
that have been struck and you can look


00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:16.590
at the different frequencies at which


00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:18.509
they're wobbling and wibbling to learn a


00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:20.910
lot about their interior and that kind


00:09:20.920 --> 00:09:22.509
of study can give you an estimate of the


00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:24.870
ages that's really quite accurate but


00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:26.710
it's really resource intensive you need


00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:29.150
to stare at us s for a long time doing a


00:09:29.160 --> 00:09:29.910
lot of


00:09:29.920 --> 00:09:31.630
observations if you're trying to just


00:09:31.640 --> 00:09:33.230
get the age of stars in general there's


00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:35.630
a technique called gyro chronology or


00:09:35.640 --> 00:09:38.150
Gyro chronology which is essentially


00:09:38.160 --> 00:09:40.949
measuring the rotation speed of the star


00:09:40.959 --> 00:09:42.910
and using that to get a first estimate


00:09:42.920 --> 00:09:44.430
of its age which will have quite big


00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:45.829
uncertainties but seems to do a


00:09:45.839 --> 00:09:48.350
reasonably good job and the idea here is


00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:49.829
that when Stars Are Born they're born


00:09:49.839 --> 00:09:52.150
from Material collapsing in which spins


00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:54.069
faster and faster so typically a newly


00:09:54.079 --> 00:09:56.350
born star will spin quite quickly every


00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:58.829
day or two but over billions of years


00:09:58.839 --> 00:10:00.310
all the m it's losing through the


00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.389
Stellar Wind will kind of act as a break


00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:05.550
on the St rotation taking away that


00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:07.630
angular momentum causing it spin to slow


00:10:07.640 --> 00:10:10.069
down over time so if you know the degree


00:10:10.079 --> 00:10:12.630
to which stars slow down as a function


00:10:12.640 --> 00:10:14.190
of time and you measure how quick a


00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:15.670
Stars spinning it gives you an estimate


00:10:15.680 --> 00:10:17.870
of its age because an old star will spin


00:10:17.880 --> 00:10:20.509
slower than a young star but if that


00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:22.069
star's got a really close in Planet


00:10:22.079 --> 00:10:23.550
that's interfering with it tily that


00:10:23.560 --> 00:10:26.430
will impact that process yeah so there's


00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:28.069
a lot of aspects to this I'm I


00:10:28.079 --> 00:10:29.470
appreciate I'm going a little bit off


00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.870
topic from Jake's question but it shows


00:10:31.880 --> 00:10:33.389
you the complexity of it and it's why


00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:35.030
it's such a good question because it's


00:10:35.040 --> 00:10:37.430
something that we don't know the final


00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:39.269
answer to it's going to depend very much


00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.790
on each individual system for the Earth


00:10:41.800 --> 00:10:43.949
and the moon we're probably not never


00:10:43.959 --> 00:10:45.870
going to get fully Tiddly locked to the


00:10:45.880 --> 00:10:48.110
moon but we know that when the dinosaurs


00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:49.590
walked the Earth the Earth was spinning


00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.069
quicker and we've had independent


00:10:52.079 --> 00:10:53.870
verification of that not only do we know


00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:55.389
that from the tidal motion of the Moon


00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:57.550
moving away we can measure the speed of


00:10:57.560 --> 00:11:00.150
the moon's moving away but also


00:11:00.160 --> 00:11:01.310
measurements that have been made of


00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.389
Fossil Beds that show that they were


00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.230
about 380 390 days a year back in the


00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.509
crous now the Earth orbital period


00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.310
hasn't changed as measured in the number


00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:13.550
of seconds so how do you get more days


00:11:13.560 --> 00:11:15.509
in a year you get more days in a year by


00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.389
making the day shorter so that's the


00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:21.829
direct outcome of that tidal reaction


00:11:21.839 --> 00:11:23.990
between the Earth and the Moon Pluto is


00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.949
a stage further along that's full opta


00:11:26.959 --> 00:11:28.269
you've got an interesting case in our


00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:30.150
soul system of Merc which is trapped in


00:11:30.160 --> 00:11:32.870
a 3 to2 spin orbit resonance so it's


00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:34.430
tidally locked but it's not locked in


00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:37.069
one: one and the only reason that works


00:11:37.079 --> 00:11:39.069
is that mercury is on an elongated orbit


00:11:39.079 --> 00:11:41.030
and is also not a perfectly spherical


00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:44.389
object gets quite complicated yeah but


00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.150
this gets orderer than while you study


00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:47.629
it basically and there's a lot of depth


00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.030
to it so it makes it a fabulous question


00:11:50.040 --> 00:11:53.110
yeah certainly is uh thank you Jake um a


00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:54.430
question popped into my head while you


00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:56.030
were talking you talk about the uh the


00:11:56.040 --> 00:11:58.990
effect of the moon on Earth's oceans the


00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:03.710
you the tides uh would it be too an


00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:06.550
extreme too extreme a thought to suggest


00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:09.269
that the um the tides are actually just


00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.870
a slow motion tidal


00:12:11.880 --> 00:12:14.110
wave you could possibly think of it that


00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:15.990
way I never have done before but it it's


00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.590
an interesting one because the the


00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:20.509
phrase tidal wave in itself is quite


00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.430
misleading because they're not really


00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.110
waves in the same sense as the waves we


00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.310
see on the beach so this is where when


00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:29.430
you see disaster movies and you get this


00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.910
toll breaking wave that's not really


00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:33.790
what a tidal wave is like a tidal wave


00:12:33.800 --> 00:12:36.310
is a a huge body of water rising and


00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:37.790
falling so it's more like the surface of


00:12:37.800 --> 00:12:40.030
the ocean getting higher or lower and


00:12:40.040 --> 00:12:41.389
it's only when it gets really close to


00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.670
the coast that that then breaks I know


00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:45.870
people who are into geophysics and ocean


00:12:45.880 --> 00:12:48.590
Dynamics who get grumpy at disaster


00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:50.350
movies for getting title Wars totally


00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.470
totally wrong but in that sense our


00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:55.870
tides are very much like that it's the


00:12:55.880 --> 00:12:57.829
same kind of process of water rising and


00:12:57.839 --> 00:13:00.470
falling and huge body of water doing


00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.269
that means it slushes around a bit as


00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:04.870
well a very similar thing and tied into


00:13:04.880 --> 00:13:06.389
this of course when the moon was closer


00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.230
to us which it had to be in the past


00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.150
when the days were shorter the tides


00:13:11.160 --> 00:13:12.790
were higher and more extreme and that's


00:13:12.800 --> 00:13:15.150
tied into arguments people have had


00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:17.670
about the origin of Life suggesting that


00:13:17.680 --> 00:13:19.430
the origin of Life happened in the inter


00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.990
tidal region on the Cur which would have


00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.590
been larger when the tides were higher


00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:24.750
but the tides were happening more


00:13:24.760 --> 00:13:26.910
quickly as well so the inundation and


00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:28.629
drying out happened on a quicker time


00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:29.629
scale


00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.150
so the move yeah it's quite yeah it's


00:13:33.160 --> 00:13:36.430
intriguing it's it's amazing site uh


00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.350
thank you again Jake great question glad


00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:40.750
I um happened to cross it the other day


00:13:40.760 --> 00:13:42.629
this is Space Nuts Andrew Dunley here


00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.670
with Professor johy


00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:48.350
hoer okay we checked all four systems


00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.550
and It Go Space Nuts uh let's go to our


00:13:51.560 --> 00:13:55.150
next question uh which comes from Clint


00:13:55.160 --> 00:13:58.509
hi Fred hi Andrew this is Clint from


00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:02.389
Rome Georgia USA love the show Happy New


00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.030
Year my question though comes from uh


00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:07.550
the sun uh we know the surface of the


00:14:07.560 --> 00:14:10.670
Sun is around 6,000 de C but the corona


00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:13.310
is much hotter millions of degrees I


00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:14.910
know scientists are still puzzled with


00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:17.629
this phenomena but my question is could


00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:19.269
this be due to the gravitational


00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.189
pullback towards the Sun that is causing


00:14:22.199 --> 00:14:24.069
some kind of friction on leaving matter


00:14:24.079 --> 00:14:26.590
that the sun is losing or projecting


00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:28.110
just a thought I have when reading how


00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.470
the Parker solar probe came its closest


00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:34.629
to the Sun earlier uh last year or this


00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.870
year depending on when you're listening


00:14:36.880 --> 00:14:40.749
to this um and use they use its own


00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.230
gravity to uh Power it quickly through


00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.389
uh the surface of that Corona just a


00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.310
quick question I had while exploring


00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.990
that thank you okay uh thanks Clint uh


00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.550
love the accent um now I know the sun


00:14:54.560 --> 00:14:58.670
isn't your main area but uh I'm I'm


00:14:58.680 --> 00:14:59.990
guessing you've done your homework on


00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.030
this question a little bit it's it's


00:15:02.040 --> 00:15:03.389
actually a real head scratcher because


00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:04.870
it's pushing the boundaries of what we


00:15:04.880 --> 00:15:06.310
know and that's what I really love so


00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:08.110
you know the first thing for me to say


00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:09.389
here and I think it's always important


00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:10.829
to acknowledge this is that I don't know


00:15:10.839 --> 00:15:13.389
the answer here fully um I'm not an


00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:16.069
expert but part of the be of science is


00:15:16.079 --> 00:15:17.470
asking questions we don't know the


00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:18.629
answer to that's what makes the


00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.110
scientists if we already knew the answer


00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:21.550
to everything it'd be really really


00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:24.269
boring and the the Suns coron room by


00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.389
extension the coroni of all the stars


00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:29.990
that we see is a so problem so exactly


00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.509
as you say the Photosphere the visible


00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:35.230
surface of the Sun that area of the sun


00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:39.350
is about 5,8 6,000 degrees C Centigrade


00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.790
Celsius roughly not precise but it's


00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:45.790
high density so that's


00:15:45.800 --> 00:15:48.069
essentially the final surface you can


00:15:48.079 --> 00:15:49.749
see before light gets scattered so the


00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:51.550
analogy I often use here is like looking


00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:54.230
at a fog Bank a fog bank is not solid


00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.189
but when you on a foggy or a misty day


00:15:56.199 --> 00:15:57.829
people measure the distance that you can


00:15:57.839 --> 00:16:00.949
see and the the fog is the shorter that


00:16:00.959 --> 00:16:03.110
distance is of course you're looking at


00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.189
particles and essentially the


00:16:04.199 --> 00:16:05.870
Photosphere of the sun is the last


00:16:05.880 --> 00:16:08.829
surface of which your average Photon of


00:16:08.839 --> 00:16:10.350
light would hit a particle and be


00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:12.550
scattered so once it reaches this point


00:16:12.560 --> 00:16:14.350
it can escape space and so that gives us


00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:16.749
this illusion of a solid surface when in


00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:18.230
fact you're just get into a denser piece


00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.350
of gas so the gas in the Photosphere is


00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:23.509
quite dense on a huge amount of


00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.629
radiation comes out from it so when


00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:27.069
people look at the sun in the sky and


00:16:27.079 --> 00:16:28.629
there's always the usual caveat hair of


00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.629
pleas don't do that because it's a very


00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:31.910
good way of damaging your eyes


00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:34.110
permanently yeah but when you see the


00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.710
sun when you see a photograph of the Sun


00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.110
that surface you're seeing is because


00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:39.829
there's a high density so there's a huge


00:16:39.839 --> 00:16:42.189
amount of radiation coming in coming out


00:16:42.199 --> 00:16:43.670
of it when we get in the total eclipse


00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:45.389
of the sun we suddenly see this


00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:48.910
beautiful diaphanous very variable area


00:16:48.920 --> 00:16:51.590
around us and we call the Corona and


00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.389
that's a much whiter Bluer light when


00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:56.629
you get color photos which is indicative


00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.189
of a much higher temperature


00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:00.430
and you think well it's a higher


00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:02.590
temperature the amount of energy that


00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:04.870
you get from a photon is related to the


00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.470
temperature to the power four really


00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:09.870
incredible more energy so shouldn't the


00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:11.390
corona be brighter than the surface of


00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.829
the Sun why don't we see it and the


00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:15.870
answer is because the individual photons


00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.390
are much more energetic but there's far


00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.270
far far far less gas there so there's


00:17:21.280 --> 00:17:22.829
much less


00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:25.829
flux you've got higher energy photons


00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:27.590
but a lot less of them so you can only


00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:29.830
see it when the sun's blocked out out


00:17:29.840 --> 00:17:31.310
but the corona is incredibly hot it's


00:17:31.320 --> 00:17:33.630
like a million 2 million degrees this


00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:36.029
incredibly tenuous gas hot enough that


00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:39.549
the individual atoms the individual


00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:41.350
nuclei are traveling quick enough that


00:17:41.360 --> 00:17:42.630
they'll escape the Sun's gravity and


00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.909
flood out into the space so Corona links


00:17:45.919 --> 00:17:47.750
in with the solar wind they're


00:17:47.760 --> 00:17:50.470
connected and it's been an outstanding


00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.870
really long-term question of how on the


00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:54.990
Corona is heated to those temperatures


00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.430
what on Earth's going on now the gravity


00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:02.070
idea the idea of friction there will be


00:18:02.080 --> 00:18:03.590
a little bit of friction so any


00:18:03.600 --> 00:18:05.909
particles entering into the corona that


00:18:05.919 --> 00:18:08.110
are colliding with things will transfer


00:18:08.120 --> 00:18:10.590
energy to the to the atoms and nuclei


00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:12.950
that they're impacting and you can get


00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:14.470
some degree of frictional heating there


00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.430
but that's going to be a very very very


00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:18.430
small amount it's not going to be


00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:19.950
anywhere near enough to do this but


00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:22.110
you're right it will probably contribute


00:18:22.120 --> 00:18:23.909
a bit of energy to this and we know for


00:18:23.919 --> 00:18:26.750
well that there is continually dust a


00:18:26.760 --> 00:18:29.230
material falling into the Sun the must


00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:30.669
spectacular example of that are the


00:18:30.679 --> 00:18:32.669
sungrazing Comets that go in and fall


00:18:32.679 --> 00:18:35.270
apart and fragment dumping hu a huge


00:18:35.280 --> 00:18:37.029
amount of dust and gas into that coroner


00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.230
in a localized event now the thing that


00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:43.310
to me from a Science Education


00:18:43.320 --> 00:18:45.390
background from the way I've been


00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.630
trained to think about problems to say


00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.190
that Clint's idea doesn't quite work


00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.950
would be to look at the distribution of


00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.669
temperature in the corona so the bulk of


00:18:55.679 --> 00:18:57.430
the mass entry into the corona would be


00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:59.390
the rarer events like the cover for sun


00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.750
gring comic you get a 100 meter sized


00:19:01.760 --> 00:19:03.310
object breaking into dust and that would


00:19:03.320 --> 00:19:04.950
inject a lot of material in one


00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:06.990
particular place yeah so if the


00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.230
mechanism Clint was suggesting was the


00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.470
main one you'd expect that one bit of


00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:13.190
the corona to then become much hotter


00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.190
and much brighter than the rest and we


00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.789
don't observe that so that to me is a


00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:19.710
very big Telltale that it's not in


00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:21.830
Falling material heating it up because


00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:23.750
INF falling material will be episodic


00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:26.110
and localized and so you get one bit of


00:19:26.120 --> 00:19:27.710
the corona bright then another bit then


00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:29.430
another bit and and instead the corona


00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:32.110
seems to be uniformly hot it shape and


00:19:32.120 --> 00:19:33.870
structure changes are through the solar


00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:35.470
cycle and that's tied to the magnetic


00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:37.990
fields and that seems to be a hint at


00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.390
what's actually going on now it's


00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.230
absolutely right we don't know the final


00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.590
answer but I've been looking around and


00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:45.630
there was a bit of work came out back in


00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:49.350
2023 I think it was that has come up


00:19:49.360 --> 00:19:51.830
with a potential part of the


00:19:51.840 --> 00:19:55.310
answer so the answer here is linked to


00:19:55.320 --> 00:19:57.630
what researchers have called low


00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:01.190
amplitude careless King


00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.590
cations right again we're really good at


00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:06.789
naming things um lad I guess if you


00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:10.190
really wanted an Acron acronym there so


00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.950
the corona is tied in with the magnetic


00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.110
field of the Sun and as the solar cycle


00:20:15.120 --> 00:20:17.510
goes on the magnetic field gets more and


00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:19.590
more tangled up and you get loops and


00:20:19.600 --> 00:20:21.950
Kinks happening near the surface of the


00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.230
Sun often tied with sun spots and this


00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.029
is all tied in with flares and coronal


00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:29.029
mass injections things like this what


00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.430
this is saying I think is that you get


00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.430
oscillations in those magnetic field


00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.990
lines and the oscillations carry energy


00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.350
from the surface into the coron room can


00:20:38.360 --> 00:20:40.470
deposit it there now normally those


00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:41.909
oscillations would be shortlived so


00:20:41.919 --> 00:20:43.310
you'd only have a short period of time


00:20:43.320 --> 00:20:44.950
to deposit energy so they wouldn't be


00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.110
very efficient but these studies these


00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:49.750
observations found a kind of oscillation


00:20:49.760 --> 00:20:51.549
on those magnetic field lines that is of


00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.029
low frequency so not carrying much


00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.230
energy per second but can be long lived


00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.230
because they are became pess they're not


00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:00.870
decaying so you get these oscillations


00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.029
that set up that keep going for minutes


00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.630
or hours and that gives them a long time


00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:07.390
to put energy into the corona so the


00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:10.549
authors of this work are talking about


00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.909
the fact that such oscillations which


00:21:12.919 --> 00:21:15.269
seem to be really common from their


00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.630
observations could act to deposit a


00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:19.789
large amount of energy in the corona so


00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:21.350
it's a way of transferring energy from


00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:23.029
the magnetic field of the sun into the


00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.029
corona which then carries that energy


00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.630
away into space which ties into what we


00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:28.870
were talking about before actually in


00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.390
the gyro chronology because it's that


00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:32.830
energy that has been lost that is


00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:34.549
transferring angular momentum away into


00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:36.390
space as well and causing the to slow


00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:39.669
down so it is all linked together now


00:21:39.679 --> 00:21:42.110
that study used data from European Space


00:21:42.120 --> 00:21:45.590
Agency solar Orbiter NASA's Sol Dynamics


00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:47.909
Observatory and they found one of these


00:21:47.919 --> 00:21:49.470
oscillations that lasted for four


00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.470
minutes now four minutes doesn't sound


00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:54.070
long but a kink a wobble weing off four


00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:55.630
minutes has a lot of time to deposit


00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.269
energy into space yeah um read more


00:21:58.279 --> 00:21:59.750
about this you can have a look online it


00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:02.149
was published I think September 12


00:22:02.159 --> 00:22:04.830
2023 in nature Communications with the


00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:07.549
lead author being and and apologies for


00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.190
the pronunciation there it's a solop


00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.190
physicist at the University of war in


00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.830
the UK and it's Valerie nakariakov n a k


00:22:15.840 --> 00:22:19.510
a r i a k RV um you can find the


00:22:19.520 --> 00:22:21.950
findings online in n Communications


00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.990
their paper will do an infinitely better


00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:25.710
job of explaining what's going on than I


00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.070
just did because they're the experts but


00:22:28.080 --> 00:22:31.390
that seems to be the latest entry in our


00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.029
attempt to answer the question of um WTF


00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:35.510
essentially what on Earth is going on


00:22:35.520 --> 00:22:38.750
with the corona how does it work and


00:22:38.760 --> 00:22:40.190
that's how science progresses you know


00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:41.549
we don't know all the answers yet and


00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:42.990
that's why this is such a fabulous


00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.149
question and what Clint has done in


00:22:45.159 --> 00:22:47.750
coming up with a potential hypothesis


00:22:47.760 --> 00:22:49.190
for what happens is how scientists


00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:50.870
actually work so we do just what Clint


00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.230
did we come up with an idea this I think


00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:54.990
is something that could contribute this


00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:57.149
is how it could work and then what


00:22:57.159 --> 00:23:00.070
happens is that we make predi from that


00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:02.029
which is how I extrapolated it which is


00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:03.909
that if it's linked to INF falling


00:23:03.919 --> 00:23:05.870
material and that's a man driver what


00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.630
would we see well we'd see the places


00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:08.990
where you get a big fa in Fall of


00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:10.750
material you get a bright Outburst of


00:23:10.760 --> 00:23:12.909
energy and they would Dominate and we


00:23:12.919 --> 00:23:15.149
don't see that so that theory doesn't


00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:16.750
work we make testable predictions and


00:23:16.760 --> 00:23:19.149
test them and this is just another step


00:23:19.159 --> 00:23:20.630
in the way to working to that answer so


00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.149
I think it's a wonderful question it is


00:23:23.159 --> 00:23:24.590
approaching something that we don't have


00:23:24.600 --> 00:23:26.149
all the answers for yet but hopefully my


00:23:26.159 --> 00:23:27.549
answer helps a little bit in


00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:29.190
understanding just what's going on and


00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.710
what isn't happening yeah it also shows


00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:35.070
how how complex these these things are I


00:23:35.080 --> 00:23:37.470
mean the sun is the most studied star in


00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:39.269
the universe as far as we're concerned


00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.230
and we still haven't figured it out so


00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:43.830
and and there's so many different kinds


00:23:43.840 --> 00:23:46.669
of stars uh and they might not all be


00:23:46.679 --> 00:23:48.470
doing the same thing so yeah there's


00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:50.269
much to learn Clint great question


00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:52.590
thanks for sending it in this is Space


00:23:52.600 --> 00:23:54.470
Nuts Andrew Dunley here with Professor


00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:59.029
johy HOA


00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.390
2 one Space Nuts uh johy our next


00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:06.149
question comes from one of our younger


00:24:06.159 --> 00:24:09.549
audience members and I will hand it over


00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:12.590
to Sandy and Emily good day friend


00:24:12.600 --> 00:24:15.549
Andrew it's Sandy from again thank you


00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:17.710
for answering my last question um they


00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:20.909
gag about the asteroids um pretty funny


00:24:20.919 --> 00:24:24.230
um now today um my four-year-old


00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.909
daughter Emily wants to ask a question


00:24:26.919 --> 00:24:28.909
um so I'm going to pass it on to her how


00:24:28.919 --> 00:24:32.190
do we go to the mo good job Emy thank


00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:34.230
you um thank you for Andrew hopefully


00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:36.029
you can answer this question for us


00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:39.149
cheers well it won't be Fred um nor


00:24:39.159 --> 00:24:42.149
Andrew it will be jonty um and hi Emily


00:24:42.159 --> 00:24:44.430
and sy's one of our regular contributors


00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.870
but great to hear from Emily um a giant


00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.310
ladder probably not probably not it's an


00:24:51.320 --> 00:24:52.950
awesome question and a really good one


00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.470
Emily so thank you very much for that


00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:58.350
it's difficult is the very short things


00:24:58.360 --> 00:25:00.789
so traveling into space is challenging


00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.149
and this is why we never managed it


00:25:03.159 --> 00:25:06.029
until 1957 when they launched Sputnik 1


00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.310
which was the first thing that went into


00:25:07.320 --> 00:25:09.669
orbit around the Earth the moon's


00:25:09.679 --> 00:25:11.710
further away the Moon on average is


00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:16.590
about 384,000 km away um what that means


00:25:16.600 --> 00:25:18.110
is if you want to get there in a


00:25:18.120 --> 00:25:19.430
reasonable amount of time you need to


00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.110
travel really really quickly if you were


00:25:22.120 --> 00:25:24.470
to travel on the highway you're going at


00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.269
100 km an hour it would take you


00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:29.990
something like 3,000 800 hours to drive


00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.070
there driving at that speed and I think


00:25:32.080 --> 00:25:33.669
we've all got better things to do than


00:25:33.679 --> 00:25:35.549
that so obviously we can't drive to them


00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:37.310
and even if we had a road or we had a


00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:40.190
ladder what we need to do instead is


00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:42.269
find a way to get to go very very


00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:44.789
quickly and then travel there more


00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.070
rapidly and put that in perspective when


00:25:47.080 --> 00:25:49.149
the first people walked on the moon back


00:25:49.159 --> 00:25:51.990
in the late 1960s took them about three


00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.110
days to get there so they were traveling


00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:55.549
a lot quicker than you go when you're


00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:57.950
driving to school or driving to work


00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:01.590
andless you got P plates on your car yes


00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:03.230
even with the p plates it's a push I


00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:05.149
mean I wish I could do my commute at


00:26:05.159 --> 00:26:06.630
this kind of speed because it will make


00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.590
life a lot easier yes so there's a few


00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:11.470
problems with that you've got to get to


00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:14.470
a very high speed which our cars just


00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.310
can't do but you don't want to just get


00:26:16.320 --> 00:26:18.870
to that speed instantaneously because


00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.029
the acceleration would be really really


00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.350
violent and really really painful and


00:26:23.360 --> 00:26:25.149
you feel this when you feel you know


00:26:25.159 --> 00:26:26.990
somebody driving maybe Sand's driving


00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.470
Emily um and they Accelerate from the


00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:31.269
traffic lights the harder they


00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:32.750
accelerate the more you're pushed back


00:26:32.760 --> 00:26:35.149
into your seat and so the more you're


00:26:35.159 --> 00:26:37.870
changing speed the more you feel that


00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:39.510
and this is something fighter pilots


00:26:39.520 --> 00:26:41.630
need to train to practice with because


00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.389
when a fighter jet does a really sharp


00:26:44.399 --> 00:26:48.110
turn the pilot can pass out because the


00:26:48.120 --> 00:26:50.070
G forces are so extreme that all the


00:26:50.080 --> 00:26:52.149
blood is pushed out of their brain and


00:26:52.159 --> 00:26:53.830
they kind of fall asleep and that's not


00:26:53.840 --> 00:26:55.389
good so they have special clothes to


00:26:55.399 --> 00:26:57.789
deal with this so what that means is we


00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:00.149
can't accelerate too quickly


00:27:00.159 --> 00:27:01.789
instantaneously because that would be


00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:04.789
bad for the people going in addition


00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:07.029
we've got to get out of the atmosphere


00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:08.510
and the faster you travel through the


00:27:08.520 --> 00:27:11.110
earth's air the air pushes back at you


00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:13.710
so it's really hard to speed up and you


00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:15.230
can see this if you get a sheet of paper


00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:16.590
in your hand and try and push it through


00:27:16.600 --> 00:27:18.269
the air face onto the air if you go


00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:20.430
gently it's not too bad but the harder


00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:22.190
you push it the more the paper will bend


00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:23.510
back against your hand as it's pushed


00:27:23.520 --> 00:27:26.190
back by the air resistance so a big part


00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:27.630
of getting to space is actually getting


00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:30.070
out of the that much feir and the way we


00:27:30.080 --> 00:27:33.110
solved all of these problems is to build


00:27:33.120 --> 00:27:35.070
really really really big Rockets with


00:27:35.080 --> 00:27:37.789
multiple stes and use those to propel


00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:40.710
objects into space and then when the


00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:42.669
first stage is dealt with it falls away


00:27:42.679 --> 00:27:44.149
you get rid of that mass and you get a


00:27:44.159 --> 00:27:46.950
smaller and smaller spacecraft so when


00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.990
astronauts went to the moon in the 1960s


00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:50.750
they had this enormous rocket called the


00:27:50.760 --> 00:27:53.230
Saturn 5 rocket you can look at things


00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:55.269
of it when I was a kid we went to


00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:58.310
Florida and we went and I stood next to


00:27:58.320 --> 00:28:02.470
the sa five rocket and it's Bonkers big


00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:05.070
ridiculous like it looks big on TV but


00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:07.310
when you're standing next to it you go


00:28:07.320 --> 00:28:10.029
oh my gosh it is so much bigger than you


00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:11.549
think it's going to be yeah it's long


00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:13.029
enough that an Olympic sprinter would


00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:14.830
take about 10 seconds to run the length


00:28:14.840 --> 00:28:16.710
of it something like that ridiculously


00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:19.269
big so that is the giant firework that


00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:21.549
we built to send astronauts to the room


00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:24.789
to the moon and it launches it the


00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:26.669
rocket engine goes off like firework


00:28:26.679 --> 00:28:28.110
pushing them higher and higher into the


00:28:28.120 --> 00:28:31.070
in the sky speeding up at a speed at an


00:28:31.080 --> 00:28:32.950
acceleration that anything in the top


00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:35.750
could manage so it's uncomfortable and


00:28:35.760 --> 00:28:38.190
you've being pushed back into your seats


00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:40.470
but it's not so extreme it makes you own


00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:43.149
well and that big rocket is made of


00:28:43.159 --> 00:28:45.029
multiple parts so when you get quite


00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:46.830
hope in the atmosphere and all the fuel


00:28:46.840 --> 00:28:49.269
is used up in the first part that falls


00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.149
away and you've now got a smaller rocket


00:28:51.159 --> 00:28:52.950
that does the next burn and pushes you


00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:55.549
even faster and faster and eventually


00:28:55.559 --> 00:28:57.269
you get out of the atmosphere and that's


00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.430
good because you no longer to have the


00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:01.430
wind resistance against you and you can


00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:03.350
therefore use less energy to move around


00:29:03.360 --> 00:29:04.669
because you're not pushing against the


00:29:04.679 --> 00:29:05.830
wind so once you're out of the


00:29:05.840 --> 00:29:08.470
atmosphere it gets easier what tends to


00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:10.350
happen then is that the rocket will do


00:29:10.360 --> 00:29:12.470
one final boost to get you to a speed


00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:14.590
where you'll travel towards the moon and


00:29:14.600 --> 00:29:16.509
it will take you two or three days to


00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:19.789
get there and you curs you then go into


00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:22.310
Free Fall flirting there just cruising


00:29:22.320 --> 00:29:23.830
along this is a bit like when you've got


00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:25.190
up to speed on the highway and your


00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.789
car's just going along at the speed


00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:29.029
limit mining


00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:30.549
neutral and then just put it in neutral


00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:32.789
and you just Cruise a lot and at this


00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:34.350
point you've got a couple of days of the


00:29:34.360 --> 00:29:36.430
astronauts feeling weightless because


00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:37.830
they're moving at the same speed as the


00:29:37.840 --> 00:29:39.870
spacecraft around them and they just


00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:41.470
curse along and then when you get near


00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.190
to the Moon you're going too quickly to


00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:45.430
orbit the Moon because you're going at


00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:47.430
the speed you need to do to get there so


00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:49.269
you need to turn around and slow down


00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:51.230
again to slow down enough to get into


00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:53.310
orbit around the moon and so the Rockets


00:29:53.320 --> 00:29:54.830
burn again pushing you in the other


00:29:54.840 --> 00:29:57.269
direction slowing you down until you're


00:29:57.279 --> 00:29:59.230
moving on an orbit around the Moon that


00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:01.549
kind of circular and maybe a few tens of


00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:03.909
kilometers above the moon's surface and


00:30:03.919 --> 00:30:05.470
he sit there for a while and check that


00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:07.669
everything's okay because it's hard work


00:30:07.679 --> 00:30:09.389
and you want to make sure things are


00:30:09.399 --> 00:30:11.710
right but then when the astronuts went


00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:13.509
to the moon the final part was that two


00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:15.590
of the astronauts on the mission climbed


00:30:15.600 --> 00:30:17.950
into this small Landing module and the


00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:20.029
third one stayed piloting the Orbiter


00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:21.549
they stayed above the Moon and didn't go


00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:23.750
down to the surface but the landing


00:30:23.760 --> 00:30:25.669
module separated from the orbitor got


00:30:25.679 --> 00:30:28.230
nudged away and then used its own small


00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:30.430
little Rockets to boost and slow down


00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:32.669
and boost and slow down until it touched


00:30:32.679 --> 00:30:35.110
down landed safely at a specific point


00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:37.269
on the moon and the pilot had to watch


00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:38.549
up what they were doing they were kind


00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.190
of looking out at the ground below to


00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:42.430
pick the best place to land and with the


00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:44.269
very first landing when Neil arong and


00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:46.470
buz Aldren landed on the moon they kept


00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:47.950
going and kept going and nearly run out


00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:49.950
of fuel they only had a few seconds left


00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:51.950
before they would have to abort and


00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:54.029
boost back up because when you land on


00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.190
the moon you've got to get back so they


00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:57.990
land on the moon they do all their fun


00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.470
things they bounce around like kangaroos


00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:02.430
but then to get back to Earth they've


00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:03.950
got to get back in this small Landing


00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:06.190
module which is probably not got much


00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:07.789
more room in it to be honest in the


00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:11.029
interior of your car strap themselves in


00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:13.629
and then the top of the module detaches


00:31:13.639 --> 00:31:15.789
leaving the legs behind and the rocket


00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:18.070
pushes them back up so they can get into


00:31:18.080 --> 00:31:20.950
orbit around the Moon they dock and


00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.990
reconnect with the parent spacecraft


00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.629
that the pilot was sad in Waiting for a


00:31:25.639 --> 00:31:27.509
couple of days on their own then they


00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:29.070
turn on their rockets and they come back


00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:31.669
to the Earth same thing they boost up up


00:31:31.679 --> 00:31:34.029
to a high speed then they Cruise along


00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:35.389
floating there for a couple of days


00:31:35.399 --> 00:31:37.549
until they get near the Earth then they


00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:39.549
boost their Rockets again to slow down


00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:42.389
fall into the atmosphere and land again


00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:44.990
so it's a big long dramatic Journey now


00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.590
we've got better technology now so we


00:31:46.600 --> 00:31:48.549
can do it more effectively and that's


00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:51.070
why NASA are hoping to send people back


00:31:51.080 --> 00:31:53.870
to the moon in the next few years now


00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:55.990
everybody who went to the moon so far


00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:58.070
all 12 people who walked on the moon


00:31:58.080 --> 00:31:59.629
were people who looked a bit like me and


00:31:59.639 --> 00:32:01.789
Andrew and Fred they were older white


00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:05.230
men and that was it that it and you know


00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:06.590
these were all people who trained as


00:32:06.600 --> 00:32:09.110
test pilots and stuff like this with the


00:32:09.120 --> 00:32:10.590
next people landing on the moon they're


00:32:10.600 --> 00:32:13.909
going to be mon you know a wider variety


00:32:13.919 --> 00:32:16.070
of people so the hope is that in a few


00:32:16.080 --> 00:32:17.590
years time we'll see the first woman


00:32:17.600 --> 00:32:19.669
walk on the moon and the third person


00:32:19.679 --> 00:32:21.549
who isn't white to walk on the moon as


00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:23.509
well and that'll be really good because


00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:25.029
it's important to know that this is


00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:27.509
something anybody can do everybody could


00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.070
learn to be an astronaut it's very


00:32:29.080 --> 00:32:31.509
competitive and really hard but if you


00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:33.149
only ever see people who look like me


00:32:33.159 --> 00:32:34.549
and Andrew do it you'll think they're


00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:36.750
the only kind of people who can so it's


00:32:36.760 --> 00:32:39.350
really important to have everybody


00:32:39.360 --> 00:32:40.830
represented in this and I think it's


00:32:40.840 --> 00:32:43.310
really exciting that in a few years time


00:32:43.320 --> 00:32:44.870
we won't just talk about men walking on


00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:46.669
the moon but we'll talk about men and


00:32:46.679 --> 00:32:47.990
women walking on the moon that's going


00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.909
to be really cool yes it is I I grew up


00:32:50.919 --> 00:32:54.990
in the pionering era of uh space flight


00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:57.509
and and going to the moon and I was


00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:00.190
quite Young when Neil Armstrong put his


00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:01.870
foot on the surface and was followed by


00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:04.310
buz Aldren I was so very lucky to meet


00:33:04.320 --> 00:33:07.149
buz Aldren many many years later and I


00:33:07.159 --> 00:33:08.669
got to interview him for the Australian


00:33:08.679 --> 00:33:10.590
Broadcasting Corporation that was


00:33:10.600 --> 00:33:12.509
probably one of the highlights of my


00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:14.509
career to be honest to to meet someone


00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:16.350
so famous one of the most famous people


00:33:16.360 --> 00:33:18.470
in the world because of what he did but


00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.190
it's reached a point now where people


00:33:20.200 --> 00:33:22.190
are going up and down all the time into


00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:24.389
space and we'll never know their names


00:33:24.399 --> 00:33:27.350
because it's become so common but as you


00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:29.590
say emis going back to the moon and


00:33:29.600 --> 00:33:31.590
those people setting foot on the surface


00:33:31.600 --> 00:33:35.789
again men and women of multiple Races


00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:39.029
they will again reignite that Fame that


00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:40.549
goes with doing something so


00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:42.509
extraordinary and and Emily I would


00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:45.590
imagine that in your lifetime uh it will


00:33:45.600 --> 00:33:47.190
reach a point where there will be people


00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:50.549
living on the moon I I expect that will


00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.990
happen might have happen in my lifetime


00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:55.870
but certainly in yours it'll be very


00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:59.230
different maybe even Mars Emily H uh


00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:01.389
thank you for the question thanks Sandy


00:34:01.399 --> 00:34:03.990
um always great to hear from our younger


00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:06.909
listeners um joty I'm going to make an


00:34:06.919 --> 00:34:08.869
executive decision and I'm going to


00:34:08.879 --> 00:34:11.230
pigeon hole Fenton until next week


00:34:11.240 --> 00:34:13.589
because his question is two hours long


00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:15.990
yeah and I imagine the answer will be


00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:18.589
five times that so um I just don't think


00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:20.869
we can fit it in today but it's a great


00:34:20.879 --> 00:34:22.750
question about the radiation of Jupiter


00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:24.990
we will put that at the top of the tree


00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:27.909
for next week's Q&A episode but thanks


00:34:27.919 --> 00:34:29.270
to everyone who contributed and don't


00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:31.069
forget if you've got questions for us


00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:33.270
jump on our website SPAC nuts


00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:37.750
podcast.com and SPAC nuts. our two URLs


00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:40.270
and uh just click on that little AMA


00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:41.950
Link at the top that's where you send


00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:43.829
you text and audio questions if you've


00:34:43.839 --> 00:34:45.430
got a device with a microphone you're


00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:47.510
all set and have a look around while


00:34:47.520 --> 00:34:48.790
you're there and don't forget our social


00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:51.990
media uh very very active the Space Nuts


00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.790
Facebook uh page is our official page


00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:57.230
but we've got the Space Nuts podcast


00:34:57.240 --> 00:35:00.150
group Facebook page where people get


00:35:00.160 --> 00:35:01.829
together and chat and talk and and


00:35:01.839 --> 00:35:04.109
compare photos and notes and yeah it's


00:35:04.119 --> 00:35:06.790
very very active it's a great site and


00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:08.550
thanks to our administrators who look


00:35:08.560 --> 00:35:10.550
after it for us because I haven't got


00:35:10.560 --> 00:35:12.670
time most of the time except when I've


00:35:12.680 --> 00:35:16.710
got time and it's time to go uh thank


00:35:16.720 --> 00:35:19.270
you very much Johnny always great fun


00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:20.990
we'll catch you next week yeah catch you


00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:23.030
later thank you for having me Johnny


00:35:23.040 --> 00:35:25.630
Horner a professor of astrophysics at


00:35:25.640 --> 00:35:29.069
the University of qu Southern Queensland


00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:32.030
uh joining us while Fred is away and


00:35:32.040 --> 00:35:34.870
we'll speak to jonty again next week and


00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:38.109
to here in the studio uh he was awall


00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:40.390
because he's um putting P plates on his


00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:43.550
car so that he can go faster and for me


00:35:43.560 --> 00:35:45.109
Andrew Dunley thanks for your company


00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.190
we'll catch you on the very next episode


00:35:47.200 --> 00:35:50.950
of Space Nuts bye-bye Space Nuts you'll


00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:54.030
be listening to the Space Nuts


00:35:54.040 --> 00:35:57.030
podcast available at Apple podcasts


00:35:57.040 --> 00:36:00.109
Spotify by ihart radio or your favorite


00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:02.349
podcast player you can also stream on


00:36:02.359 --> 00:36:05.069
demand at bites.com this has been


00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:07.470
another quality podcast production from


00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:10.280
bites.com