Dec. 7, 2025

Cosmic Questions: Time, Mass, and the Spectacle of Auroras | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights &...

Cosmic Questions: Time, Mass, and the Spectacle of Auroras | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights &...
The player is loading ...
Cosmic Questions: Time, Mass, and the Spectacle of Auroras | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights &...

Sponsor Details:

This episode of Space Nuts is brought to you with the support of NordVPN . To get our special Space Nuts listener discounts and four months free bonus , all with a 30-day money-back guarantee, simply visit www.nordvpn.com/spacenuts (https://nordvpn.com/spacenuts) or use the coupon code SPACENUTS at checkout.


Cosmic Curiosities: Time Dilation, Supernova Remnants, and Aurora Colors

In this engaging Q&A edition of Space Nuts , hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson tackle a series of thought-provoking questions from their curious audience. From the enigmatic nature of time in anti-gravity fields to the vibrant colors of auroras, this episode dives deep into the mysteries of the cosmos.

Episode Highlights:

- Time in Anti-Gravity Fields: Andrew and Fred explore the implications of time dilation in gravitational and anti-gravity environments, discussing how time appears to flow differently depending on the observer's frame of reference.

- Supernova Remnants: The hosts address whether we can still see the star remnants that contributed to the formation of heavy elements in our solar system, revealing the complexities of cosmic recycling.

- The Colors of Aurora: Listener Nate's question about the stunning colors of auroras leads to a fascinating discussion on the atmospheric processes that create different hues, from greens to reds and beyond.

- Relativistic Mass and Spacecraft Acceleration: Lee from Sweden poses an intriguing idea about using relativistic mass ejection to enhance spacecraft propulsion, prompting a conversation about the theoretical limits of current technology and the physics involved.

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

If you’d like to help support Space Nuts and join our growing family of insiders for commercial-free episodes and more, visit spacenutspodcast.com/about (https://www.spacenutspodcast.com/about) .

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


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/30507865?utm_source=youtube

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:02.070
Hi there. Thanks for joining us again.


00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.470
This is Space Nuts, a Q&A edition. My


00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.670
name is Andrew Dunley. Hope you're well.


00:00:07.680 --> 00:00:10.549
Stick around. We have got questions from


00:00:10.559 --> 00:00:13.430
uh our audience. Uh one about time in


00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:17.830
anti-gravity and the speed of time. Uh


00:00:17.840 --> 00:00:21.429
that's always fun to talk about. Uh


00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:22.790
we've got another question about


00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:26.150
supernova remnants. uh the colors of


00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:30.790
Aurora and uh a light speed boost idea.


00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.590
This is a could I would I should I type


00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.910
of with my spaceship do something that


00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:38.869
might give me a light speed boost. We'll


00:00:38.879 --> 00:00:41.430
see if it works on this edition of Space


00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:42.150
Nuts.


00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:47.029
>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9


00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:48.790
ignition sequence start.


00:00:48.800 --> 00:00:52.229
>> Space nuts. 5 4 3 2


00:00:52.239 --> 00:00:54.630
>> 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:55.830
>> space notice


00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.310
>> astronauts reported feels good.


00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.029
>> And he's back uh once again to try and


00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:03.110
solve all your little riddles. Here's


00:01:03.120 --> 00:01:04.869
Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:06.390
large. Hello, Fred.


00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.350
>> Uh hello there, Andrew. It's very good


00:01:09.360 --> 00:01:11.750
to be talking with you. It is. I'm sorry


00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:13.670
I've turned into an Irishman cuz I


00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.109
>> I wonder what was happening there.


00:01:15.119 --> 00:01:17.670
>> Yeah, in my trip to Ireland, which is


00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.270
great. There's nothing wrong with the


00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:21.749
Irish when we were there in would have


00:01:21.759 --> 00:01:25.830
been July. Yeah, July. Uh they really


00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.469
bunged it on for us at um at a place


00:01:28.479 --> 00:01:32.630
called Cove. It used to be called um I


00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:34.469
think Victoria. Was that what it was


00:01:34.479 --> 00:01:38.390
called? Um no no. Uh anyway, that it's


00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.350
where the uh uh Titanic made its last


00:01:41.360 --> 00:01:43.910
stop before getting out to the Atlantic


00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.590
and picked up its last groups of


00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:48.230
passengers and some very sad stories


00:01:48.240 --> 00:01:50.550
>> as well. Uh yeah, the the pier where


00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.590
everybody got on board the the um the


00:01:53.600 --> 00:01:55.429
boats to go out to the Titanic cuz it


00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:58.310
couldn't actually anchor at at Paul had


00:01:58.320 --> 00:02:01.270
to anchor outside the the harbor at u


00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:07.109
>> at Cove. Um it um it's still there parts


00:02:07.119 --> 00:02:07.910
of it.


00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:10.630
>> H so you can still see the remnants of


00:02:10.640 --> 00:02:13.670
that old um and and the White Starline


00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:15.750
office is still there as well which is


00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:17.990
now a museum where you can learn about


00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.589
the Titanic through the Titanic


00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:22.150
experience. I highly recommend that in


00:02:22.160 --> 00:02:24.710
the town of Cove which is near County


00:02:24.720 --> 00:02:28.790
Cork. County Cork it is. Yeah. Uh lovely


00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.790
place and they they had Australian and


00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:32.869
New Zealand flags everywhere and music


00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.190
playing and they know how to party those


00:02:35.200 --> 00:02:38.710
people. Yeah. Terrific. Uh shall we um


00:02:38.720 --> 00:02:41.030
do some questions, Fred?


00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:43.270
>> No, no, I think we should just have a


00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:44.150
cup of tea.


00:02:44.160 --> 00:02:46.390
>> Yeah, we that we'd probably have less


00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.509
trouble. Uh let's firstly get a question


00:02:49.519 --> 00:02:51.589
from Andy.


00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:54.630
>> Hi guys, it's Andy here from the UK.


00:02:54.640 --> 00:02:57.270
First time questioner. two questions


00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:03.990
both time related. Um the first question


00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.470
um as mass and gravity are so closely


00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:12.630
related and the higher a mass is the


00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:15.990
slower time will flow.


00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.309
What would happen to the flow of time in


00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:21.430
an anti-gravity field? So that's the


00:03:21.440 --> 00:03:26.710
first question. Um the second question,


00:03:26.720 --> 00:03:30.550
if a planet had life that was


00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:34.630
intelligent and was evolving and had the


00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:38.710
potential to become space fairing, but


00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:42.229
the planet was high gravity. Is the


00:03:42.239 --> 00:03:45.509
playoff between gravity and the speed of


00:03:45.519 --> 00:03:48.470
time enough that that will make a


00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:51.270
significant difference to the evolution


00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.390
of the planet on galactic scales? Hope


00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.630
that one makes sense. Great program. No


00:03:56.640 --> 00:03:58.390
doubt I'll be back again.


00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:00.710
>> Wow, Andy, where gee whiz, you've been


00:04:00.720 --> 00:04:02.390
pondering that for a while. There's some


00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.070
great questions there. We'll um we'll


00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:05.750
tackle the first one first, unless you


00:04:05.760 --> 00:04:07.110
want to do the first one second and the


00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.350
second. No, I don't know. uh time, the


00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:13.910
effect of um uh the effect on time


00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:16.469
um if it passes through an anti-gravity


00:04:16.479 --> 00:04:18.789
field or just the effect on time in an


00:04:18.799 --> 00:04:21.349
anti-gravity field.


00:04:21.359 --> 00:04:25.510
Yes. So um so Andy's right actually uh


00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:27.990
if you so what you've got is this


00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.710
phenomenon called time dilation. Appears


00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.110
that clocks slow down when you're in a


00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.629
gravitational field. um they only appear


00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.990
to be slowed down to outside observers.


00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:41.990
To you as the person in the gravity


00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.430
field, it makes no difference. The


00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:44.870
clock's just ticking at the same speed


00:04:44.880 --> 00:04:47.030
as it always did. But to an outside


00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:48.790
observer, your clocks are ticking more


00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.110
slowly. uh if there was such a thing as


00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:54.070
an anti-gravity field, and we have no


00:04:54.080 --> 00:04:56.310
knowledge of anything like that at the


00:04:56.320 --> 00:04:58.070
moment, although people have worked very


00:04:58.080 --> 00:04:59.749
hard to try and demonstrate


00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:01.270
anti-gravity,


00:05:01.280 --> 00:05:02.790
uh as you can imagine, it would be a


00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.350
very useful thing to be able to harness.


00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.870
Um uh if if you could have anti-gravity,


00:05:08.880 --> 00:05:12.629
in other words, something that um uh


00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:14.310
actually repelled rather than attracted.


00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:18.310
Yes. The the um or or at least No, let


00:05:18.320 --> 00:05:19.830
me put it another way. It's not repel


00:05:19.840 --> 00:05:22.710
repulsion. It's reducing the effect of


00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.270
gravity. I think anti-gravity might


00:05:25.280 --> 00:05:27.990
might reduce the effect of gravity.


00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:29.830
>> And it could if you reduce it beyond


00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:32.469
zero, it could produce a repulsion. But


00:05:32.479 --> 00:05:35.029
that is not that doesn't really matter


00:05:35.039 --> 00:05:37.350
for this argument because what happens


00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.710
is um yes, relativity says that time


00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.830
would actually speed up. uh time as I


00:05:43.840 --> 00:05:45.430
said to the person in the anti-gravity


00:05:45.440 --> 00:05:47.110
field would keep on ticking away as


00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:49.749
normal but to the outside observer uh


00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:51.510
the time would appear to be passing more


00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:52.070
quickly.


00:05:52.080 --> 00:05:53.749
>> Isn't it the same effect if you're


00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.230
falling into a black hole? What you're


00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.070
seeing is happening in real time because


00:05:58.080 --> 00:06:00.950
you're living your life like you do


00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:04.230
anywhere, but to the observer


00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:06.309
you would be,


00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:08.870
>> you know, completely different bucket of


00:06:08.880 --> 00:06:09.830
fish.


00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:12.309
>> That's right. Time slows down. You're


00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.309
everything appears more slowly and when


00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:15.830
you cross the event horizon you're sort


00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:17.350
of frozen on it.


00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:18.309
>> Yeah. Which means that


00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:19.830
>> weird, isn't it? Event horizons are


00:06:19.840 --> 00:06:22.070
always all splattered with things that


00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:24.870
are falling into the maybe.


00:06:24.880 --> 00:06:25.350
>> Yeah.


00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.189
>> Hard to imagine. It's like the front of


00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.150
a car.


00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:32.230
>> Well, in summer white hot. Yes.


00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.590
>> Um Yep. I think this was portrayed quite


00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:37.430
well in the movie Interstellar where


00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:39.189
they had to go down onto a planet that


00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:41.909
was under the effect of a a black hole


00:06:41.919 --> 00:06:44.390
and every hour on the planet surface


00:06:44.400 --> 00:06:46.629
equated to 7 years back on the


00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.990
spaceship. Um they they did portray that


00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.150
quite well,


00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:53.189
that effect.


00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:54.950
>> Yeah.


00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:56.550
>> Okay. So, there's no such thing really


00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:59.909
as an anti-gravity field, but um he he'd


00:06:59.919 --> 00:07:01.430
be right. The effect would be


00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:03.909
>> Yeah, that's right. But the second part


00:07:03.919 --> 00:07:05.110
of Andy's question,


00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:08.150
>> yes, high levels of gravity and its


00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.710
effect on the speed of time.


00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.430
>> Well, what he's saying is if you had a a


00:07:13.440 --> 00:07:14.870
planet


00:07:14.880 --> 00:07:17.270
>> or if you had if you had a civilization


00:07:17.280 --> 00:07:19.029
working in a very high gravitational


00:07:19.039 --> 00:07:19.830
field.


00:07:19.840 --> 00:07:20.150
>> Yeah.


00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.070
>> Uh would that mean that they would


00:07:22.080 --> 00:07:23.749
evolve more quickly and things would


00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.270
develop more quickly?


00:07:25.280 --> 00:07:27.510
>> Um and I suppose the answer is yes, but


00:07:27.520 --> 00:07:30.469
only to an outside observer. uh to to


00:07:30.479 --> 00:07:32.390
the people doing it, it would be just


00:07:32.400 --> 00:07:36.150
the same. Um so yes, maybe if our planet


00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.110
had a hugely different gravitational


00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.990
field from what it does have. Uh seen


00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:43.589
from the outside, we might look as


00:07:43.599 --> 00:07:45.589
though we're evolving more quickly and


00:07:45.599 --> 00:07:48.309
developing technology more quickly. But


00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.710
to the to to us, it would be just the


00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:52.870
same as if we had, you know, a lower


00:07:52.880 --> 00:07:55.270
gravitational field. It


00:07:55.280 --> 00:07:57.029
>> this would complicate the search for


00:07:57.039 --> 00:07:59.430
intelligent life, wouldn't it? Uh I mean


00:07:59.440 --> 00:08:02.790
you might find a a planet um and go hey


00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.589
something's going on there. Um but it's


00:08:05.599 --> 00:08:08.309
in it's in a you know high gravity


00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.909
environment and um maybe it was


00:08:11.919 --> 00:08:13.670
happening


00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:15.589
some time ago but it's all over Red


00:08:15.599 --> 00:08:18.710
Rover. I mean I don't know. It's it's a


00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:20.869
headscratcher.


00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.270
Or here's one. If you do find a


00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:25.990
civilization living in a in a on a


00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.469
planet and you land to say hello and


00:08:28.479 --> 00:08:30.070
then you take off again and find out


00:08:30.080 --> 00:08:31.749
that everyone at home's dead because


00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.909
you've been gone 500 years but you were


00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:35.190
only gone a week.


00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.430
>> Yeah. Well, there's that too. That's


00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:38.630
right.


00:08:38.640 --> 00:08:41.190
>> Yeah. That's um special relativity.


00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.230
That's the one


00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:44.389
>> the relativistic difference in time


00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:46.150
because you're traveling at speeds near


00:08:46.160 --> 00:08:47.430
the speed of light.


00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:49.829
>> Yeah. I mean it happens happens on


00:08:49.839 --> 00:08:51.990
Earth. They've done those tests with um


00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.389
highly sensitive clocks and and tested


00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.350
them at different altitudes and you know


00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:59.110
they they've come back and went well


00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:00.790
look there's a thousandth of a second


00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:03.190
difference in their performance. So you


00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.750
know that we we moved through time. I


00:09:05.760 --> 00:09:07.910
read a story the other day Fred which I


00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:11.509
wish I'd kept it. um about a cosmonort,


00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:13.509
I think it was, who'd spent so much time


00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:17.030
in space that they estimated that he was


00:09:17.040 --> 00:09:20.870
um he was actually slightly ahead of


00:09:20.880 --> 00:09:23.430
time than everybody else,


00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:25.590
and I can't remember the details, but uh


00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:29.750
it was really fascinating. Um I they've


00:09:29.760 --> 00:09:31.190
done a they've released a paper about


00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.269
it. I'll see if I can find it.


00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:34.230
>> Interesting.


00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.230
>> I might do that while while you answer


00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.230
this next question. Thank you, Andy. I


00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.990
love that idea though. Um, keep them


00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.829
coming.


00:09:41.839 --> 00:09:43.350
>> Now, let's take a break from the show to


00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:45.990
tell you about our sponsor, NordVPN.


00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.910
Now, I think we'll all agree that


00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:50.630
exploring the universe is thrilling, but


00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:52.150
exploring the internet without


00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:54.630
protection, that's a black hole you


00:09:54.640 --> 00:09:57.829
don't want to fall into. Sorry. Uh, as a


00:09:57.839 --> 00:09:59.509
Space Nuts listener, we have an


00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:01.590
exclusive deal for you so you can stay


00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:05.190
protected. And that is NordVPN. It's the


00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:07.910
fastest, most secure way to browse the


00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:11.509
web. With NordVPN, you get next level


00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.030
encryption,


00:10:13.040 --> 00:10:15.509
blazingly fast servers around the world,


00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.150
and zero tracking, so you can stream,


00:10:18.160 --> 00:10:22.150
shop, or scroll safely. Uh, it's the


00:10:22.160 --> 00:10:25.269
tool I personally trust when we're


00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:27.829
diving into the internet. And um, we


00:10:27.839 --> 00:10:30.630
want to give you peace of mind. Uh, I've


00:10:30.640 --> 00:10:32.630
used it overseas several times. I've


00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:35.509
used it at home. It works and it is


00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:37.430
seamless. Uh, head to


00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.069
nordvpn.com/spacenuts


00:10:40.079 --> 00:10:42.550
for an exclusive deal just for Spacenuts


00:10:42.560 --> 00:10:45.990
listeners. Big savings plus 4 months


00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:49.110
extra absolutely free. Don't surf the


00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.310
cosmos unshielded. Uh, secure your


00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:54.150
digital universe today with


00:10:54.160 --> 00:10:57.269
nordvpn.com/spacenuts.


00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:59.430
And don't forget their 30-day money back


00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:06.630
guarantee. Go to nordvpn.com/spacenuts.


00:11:06.640 --> 00:11:09.509
>> 3 2 1


00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.269
>> Spacenuts.


00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:13.990
Uh, this question comes from Mark. Hi


00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.630
Andrew and Fred and team. My name is


00:11:16.640 --> 00:11:18.630
Mark Turner and I live in the south of


00:11:18.640 --> 00:11:20.310
England. I'm sorry about that. About


00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.790
five about five minutes from Patrick


00:11:22.800 --> 00:11:25.030
Moore's house as a point of interest.


00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:28.230
Wow. Um, I've been listening now for


00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:30.069
just over three years and always look


00:11:30.079 --> 00:11:32.150
forward to Thursday lunchtime when I sit


00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:34.389
down and listen to you guys. Sorry, we


00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:35.910
were talking about toilet stuff earlier.


00:11:35.920 --> 00:11:38.069
I hope that didn't mess you up. Uh, my


00:11:38.079 --> 00:11:40.470
question is, it's generally accepted


00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.710
that all of the heavy elements were


00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.670
produced in an even larger star than


00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:48.230
ours that went supernova, which leads me


00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.030
to uh to this. Can we still see the


00:11:51.040 --> 00:11:54.470
remains of the star that made us in the


00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.670
night sky? Or do we know uh at what


00:11:57.680 --> 00:11:59.590
point in the night sky the star would


00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:02.069
have been by turning back the cosmic


00:12:02.079 --> 00:12:04.550
time clock? Keep up the great work,


00:12:04.560 --> 00:12:06.949
Mark.


00:12:06.959 --> 00:12:08.389
>> What do you reckon about that one?


00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:13.829
>> Um so the answer is no. Um because


00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:18.230
the so yes um uh the what we call the


00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:19.990
interstellar medium the gas between the


00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.870
stars is enriched in its chemical


00:12:24.880 --> 00:12:27.030
um abundance. The amount of heavier


00:12:27.040 --> 00:12:29.350
elements that are in it is enriched over


00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.629
time because of supernova explosions.


00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.829
stars that have that have detonated and


00:12:35.839 --> 00:12:37.269
gone through this high temperature


00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.269
process where you get heavier elements


00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.590
created and some of the some of the


00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:43.430
heavy elements are we now know are


00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.710
created in neutron star collisions. Um


00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.350
but that doesn't matter which which it


00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:53.269
is. The bottom line is that it's the


00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.750
general interstellar medium that is


00:12:55.760 --> 00:12:57.829
enriched. So you've got an explosion


00:12:57.839 --> 00:13:00.949
that takes place and over millions of


00:13:00.959 --> 00:13:03.910
years the debris from that explosion


00:13:03.920 --> 00:13:06.710
just gets absorbed into the clouds of


00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:08.949
gas and dust that are then going to form


00:13:08.959 --> 00:13:12.310
uh later generations of stars. So


00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:15.110
there's really no way that the remnants


00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:19.350
of the star that gave us uh the uh the


00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.389
you know the heavier elements um there's


00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.230
no way that we can pinpoint that. It it


00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:29.110
may be that some of the supernova


00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.110
remnants that we see and we see many


00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:35.509
around the sky that some of those were


00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:40.470
responsible for some of the stuff


00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.069
they were probably responsible for


00:13:42.079 --> 00:13:45.030
enriching the interstellar medium closer


00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:47.430
to them than we are. That's kind of the


00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:50.150
point I I guess I want to make. the the


00:13:50.160 --> 00:13:52.629
debris that gave us our enriched


00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:55.509
interstellar medium is probably long


00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:59.350
dissipated and we could not identify it


00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:01.829
with any of the known supernova remnants


00:14:01.839 --> 00:14:04.389
because they are they're still enriching


00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.230
their local environment if I can put it


00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.550
that way because they're still intact


00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:10.389
structures. They're expanding and


00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.389
dissipating but we see them as intact


00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.590
structures. And so the the debris that


00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.230
made us 4.6 six billion years ago is uh


00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.870
basically is not is nowhere near you


00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:25.590
know it's not nothing to do with them.


00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:27.590
Um and partly because those explosions


00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.670
took place more recently than the 4.6


00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:31.990
billion years ago origin of our own


00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:33.910
solar system.


00:14:33.920 --> 00:14:37.430
So uh the


00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.629
basically uh yes the the answer is no.


00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.110
We can't we can't identify those


00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.670
remains. uh and turning back the cosmic


00:14:45.680 --> 00:14:48.230
time clock. We can do that but but we


00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:49.910
can't do it in the sort of detail. I


00:14:49.920 --> 00:14:51.829
mean we can do it in a physical phys


00:14:51.839 --> 00:14:53.430
physical modeling sense. We're not


00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.269
looking at anything unless we're looking


00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.030
at things at great distances where we


00:14:57.040 --> 00:15:00.230
are looking back in time. Uh but for the


00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.710
the physics that you we use to model the


00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:06.150
universe um we we can't wind back the


00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:09.269
clock in enough detail to see where


00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.470
these objects exploded. uh they may be


00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.710
you know many many thousands of tens of


00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.870
thousands of light years away uh from


00:15:16.880 --> 00:15:19.110
where we are now. Uh all they did was


00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.949
enrich the medium around them and that's


00:15:20.959 --> 00:15:23.750
where we found our own uh solar system


00:15:23.760 --> 00:15:26.069
being formed. So we can't we can't look


00:15:26.079 --> 00:15:28.389
back in time in that regard.


00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.670
>> Okay. Thank you Mark. Uh by the way I


00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:33.590
was a pretty regular visitor to Patrick


00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.829
Moore while he was still alive. So I


00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:37.750
know that house well at Celi it was


00:15:37.760 --> 00:15:40.310
called Farings. uh is a lovely house


00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:43.110
actually uh and um when I used to visit


00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.230
him he was always very welcoming uh and


00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.710
um always glad to show me around.


00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.189
>> Wonderful. Wow. Lucky you. Yeah.


00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:51.829
>> Yeah.


00:15:51.839 --> 00:15:55.110
>> Now um just to sort of draw on Mark's


00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.990
question um so he's right about a


00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.790
supernova creating the heavy elements.


00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:01.189
>> Yes.


00:16:01.199 --> 00:16:04.389
>> So how do they end up being a part of


00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.230
our planet? Is is that because the


00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.910
supernovas created the the the spawning


00:16:09.920 --> 00:16:13.189
ground or being you know run through it?


00:16:13.199 --> 00:16:14.550
What how does that work?


00:16:14.560 --> 00:16:16.629
>> Yeah, I mean it's what I was saying


00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.470
basically the you know you get a


00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.069
supernova explosion which um sends shock


00:16:22.079 --> 00:16:25.990
waves out. Uh it sends enriched gas out


00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.990
and that gas gradually diffuses into the


00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.509
background


00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.990
uh what we call the interstellar medium.


00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.470
the the gas between the stars. It's very


00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.110
very rarified, but that's where that


00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.910
stuff ends up. And as you then get


00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:44.629
concentrations of that gas into clouds


00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.269
of hydrogen, mostly hydrogen, but other


00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:48.629
elements as well because it's been


00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.430
enriched, then that is what would form


00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.470
the next solar system. uh and so that


00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.990
you know that gradual process of uh


00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.910
stars forming exploding enriching the uh


00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:04.150
interstellar medium then interstellar


00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.029
medium creates other star systems which


00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.350
do the same thing. It's why as the


00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:11.669
universe ages, you're going to get an


00:17:11.679 --> 00:17:14.710
enrichment of the number of of heavy of,


00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.470
you know, quantities of heavier elements


00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.150
that there are within the universe. And


00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.390
that's actually one way that we can


00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.549
measure the ages of stars by how much of


00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:24.949
this stuff they've got in them. Because


00:17:24.959 --> 00:17:26.470
when they were formed, the universe


00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.829
would have been at a certain point of


00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:29.350
enrichment.


00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:32.549
uh and you know that for that point is


00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.710
fossilized if I can put it that way in


00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.110
the star itself by the chemical


00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:39.590
composition that it demonstrates.


00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:42.549
>> Okay, very good. Um it's it's a law of


00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:44.070
diminishing returns though, isn't it?


00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:46.070
Eventually all of this is going to stop


00:17:46.080 --> 00:17:46.710
happening.


00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.310
>> Yes, that's right. Eventually the


00:17:48.320 --> 00:17:49.990
universe will die because of that


00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.070
because there won't be any more any


00:17:52.080 --> 00:17:54.150
there won't be any gas in which to


00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.390
create supernova explosions which is the


00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:58.470
raw material of stars. intelligen gas


00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:00.630
that will all be used up eventually


00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:02.470
>> and we'll have what used to be called


00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:05.029
the heat death of the universe unless it


00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:07.029
starts collapsing on itself with you.


00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:08.789
>> Well, yeah. I mean there's there's all


00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.350
these terrible perilous things that are


00:18:11.360 --> 00:18:14.070
going to happen but um


00:18:14.080 --> 00:18:15.350
you know it's not going to happen next


00:18:15.360 --> 00:18:17.830
week. The week after maybe cuz we're on


00:18:17.840 --> 00:18:18.310
holidays


00:18:18.320 --> 00:18:19.909
>> if we're lucky or the week after. Yeah,


00:18:19.919 --> 00:18:21.590
that's right.


00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:23.510
>> Yeah. Uh thank you Mark. Great question.


00:18:23.520 --> 00:18:25.110
Uh, now that thing I was trying to look


00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:28.390
up, I can't find the exact story, but um


00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:30.870
I I found something that that kind of


00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:33.190
explains the concept. Um, apparently for


00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.190
a six-month mission on the International


00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:39.909
Space Station, an astronaut ages 0.005


00:18:39.919 --> 00:18:42.789
seconds less than they would on Earth.


00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.150
So, this this particular um cosmonort


00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:47.750
that I'm talking about apparently has


00:18:47.760 --> 00:18:50.470
spent so much time in space that he's


00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:54.870
actually I think it's 222


00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:58.710
um minutes younger than he


00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.669
>> would had he not gone into space.


00:19:01.679 --> 00:19:03.350
>> It's like seconds rather than minutes.


00:19:03.360 --> 00:19:03.909
Yeah.


00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:06.630
>> Oh, 222 seconds. Yes, exactly.


00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.150
>> Yeah. Um so I I Yeah, I read it last


00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:11.830
week. I meant to send it to you and I


00:19:11.840 --> 00:19:13.750
completely forgot. So, uh, but that's


00:19:13.760 --> 00:19:15.750
the that's the the the guts of the


00:19:15.760 --> 00:19:18.630
story. Uh, this is Space Nuts. Andrew


00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:21.830
Dunley with Professor Fred Watson.


00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:23.590
>> Space Nuts.


00:19:23.600 --> 00:19:26.710
>> Uh, we have a question from one of our


00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.270
regular contributors. This is Casey.


00:19:29.280 --> 00:19:31.750
>> Hi guys, this is Casey from Colorado.


00:19:31.760 --> 00:19:34.630
Um, I just saw Red Northern Lights and


00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.590
it was it was really incredible. Um, I


00:19:37.600 --> 00:19:39.350
was hoping that you could please explain


00:19:39.360 --> 00:19:41.909
why auroras come in different colors. I


00:19:41.919 --> 00:19:43.830
hope we're both well and thanks for the


00:19:43.840 --> 00:19:44.870
podcast.


00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:46.950
>> Uh, thank you, Casey. Casey sent in a


00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.590
few um questions in recent times and


00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:50.950
we're more than happy to answer. She


00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:52.630
comes up with some interesting ideas.


00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:54.390
Uh, I just thought this was a good


00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:56.630
question to answer. Uh, and I know we've


00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:58.710
talked about it before, but there's been


00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.909
some great auroral activity of late.


00:20:01.919 --> 00:20:05.270
>> And even in parts of Australia where you


00:20:05.280 --> 00:20:07.110
just don't see them, they have been


00:20:07.120 --> 00:20:09.510
absolutely stunning. Even as recently as


00:20:09.520 --> 00:20:11.909
a week or two ago, we had some fabulous


00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:14.789
photographs coming out of uh many, many


00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.950
parts of southeastern Australia. And um


00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.710
you know it prompted a thought in my


00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.470
mind that the one the aurora we see here


00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.990
generally are pink but when you see


00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.990
photos up in the northern hemisphere and


00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.510
when you're practically underneath them


00:20:31.520 --> 00:20:34.789
they're green. Uh and and I'm sure the


00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:40.070
colors can vary into many areas. Fred u


00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:41.669
I mean you've you've taken tours on


00:20:41.679 --> 00:20:43.590
these um to see these things. You've


00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:45.430
you've seen that like this is boring for


00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:46.310
you.


00:20:46.320 --> 00:20:47.590
Uh


00:20:47.600 --> 00:20:49.909
>> it's never boring actually. I didn't


00:20:49.919 --> 00:20:51.590
imagine it would be just always


00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:53.029
spectacular. But you're absolutely


00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.270
right. So when we're up in uh uh Ala,


00:20:57.280 --> 00:21:00.310
which is far northern Norway, or um


00:21:00.320 --> 00:21:02.310
Kirina, which is far northern Sweden, or


00:21:02.320 --> 00:21:03.990
Aiscoco, which is also far northern


00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.230
Sweden, and looking at the aurora,


00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.110
you're basically standing underneath it.


00:21:09.120 --> 00:21:11.430
And so you see the aurora as it really


00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.510
is. Uh, and it you've got lots of colors


00:21:15.520 --> 00:21:20.789
in it. Um, but the the pink and red Aori


00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:24.310
are typically seen when you're a long


00:21:24.320 --> 00:21:27.750
way from the action. Uh, and the green


00:21:27.760 --> 00:21:29.430
the bottom line is the the green is


00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.190
talking shift.


00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:31.750
>> No,


00:21:31.760 --> 00:21:34.630
>> no, no, but we're talking atmospheric.


00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.270
>> We're talking uh we're talking um


00:21:37.280 --> 00:21:38.950
emission line spectroscopy.


00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:40.789
>> Oh, okay. Well, I never would have


00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:41.590
thought of that.


00:21:41.600 --> 00:21:45.029
>> Yeah. So, um, so the the pink and red


00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.669
aurori, uh, you'd see them if you're in


00:21:47.679 --> 00:21:49.110
the northern hemisphere, you'd see them


00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:50.789
on the northern horizon. In the southern


00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:52.710
hemisphere here in Tasmania, you see


00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.870
them very often down in the south.


00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:56.950
Usually, the green part is below the


00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:59.270
horizon. It's, you know, it's too far


00:21:59.280 --> 00:22:01.590
over the Earth's curvature to see, and


00:22:01.600 --> 00:22:03.590
that's why you only see the red and


00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:06.070
that's a clue to what's happening here.


00:22:06.080 --> 00:22:09.029
So, um, what you've got is the


00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:12.630
atmosphere, uh, being excited by


00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:16.390
radiation from the sun. These, uh, these


00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.110
subatomic particles charge out from the


00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:20.789
sun. If you've got a solar flare or


00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.630
something like that, they going at


00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.029
typically a million kilometers an hour.


00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:27.110
Uh so they take a couple of days to get


00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:29.750
here and then they're sort of funneled


00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:32.870
down the earth's magnetic field lines u


00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:34.870
and they're most concentrated near the


00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.630
magnetic poles which is why it's around


00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.230
the magnetic poles that you see most


00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.470
aurori. This is a sort of simplified


00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.710
version of the story, but um what


00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:45.190
happens is they these electrons and you


00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:46.549
know they're accelerated. They're quite


00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:51.029
high energy. They hit atoms of oxygen


00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.350
and nitrogen in the earth's atmosphere


00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:56.789
and they make them glow. And the car the


00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:00.070
important thing here is that those atoms


00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:02.230
of oxygen and nitrogen actually they're


00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:05.750
molecules as well. uh O2 which is a pair


00:23:05.760 --> 00:23:07.909
of oxygen atoms or N2 which is a pair of


00:23:07.919 --> 00:23:10.470
nitrogen atoms. Um they behave


00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.950
differently at different pressures and


00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:14.230
of course as you go up through the


00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:16.149
atmosphere the pressure gets steadily


00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:19.270
lower. So the most common one is the


00:23:19.280 --> 00:23:22.710
green light and that's uh when you've


00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:26.390
got oxygen being excited to emit this


00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.149
green color. It's what we call a


00:23:28.159 --> 00:23:29.590
spectrum line. It's a particular


00:23:29.600 --> 00:23:31.350
wavelength which means it's a particular


00:23:31.360 --> 00:23:35.190
color. Uh but it's green. Uh and that uh


00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:38.390
works for pressures that you see between


00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:41.750
about 100 and 200 kilometers above the


00:23:41.760 --> 00:23:43.590
earth's atmosphere.


00:23:43.600 --> 00:23:47.190
Above 200 kilometers, the pressure is


00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:50.630
lower uh and the green line doesn't form


00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:52.950
or the green light is not formed. uh


00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.430
it's actually quenched and there is a


00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.390
different atomic process that gives rise


00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.470
to red light uh 630 nanometers if I


00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:03.990
remember rightly is the is the


00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.230
wavelength so you get this red light


00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.029
which is still oxygen but it's oxygen at


00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:11.909
a lower pressure than what comes out


00:24:11.919 --> 00:24:14.149
from the green so between 1 and 200


00:24:14.159 --> 00:24:15.430
kilometers you're going to see green


00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:17.430
aori above that you're going to see red


00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:20.070
aurori and that's why we only see the


00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:21.430
red ones if you're looking from


00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:23.350
Australia because the green is way below


00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:27.669
the horizon. Um if you've got a really u


00:24:27.679 --> 00:24:31.350
powerful stream of subatomic particles


00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:33.590
then they will penetrate below 100


00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:37.590
kilometers and that then excites uh not


00:24:37.600 --> 00:24:40.149
the oxygen but the nitrogen. You get um


00:24:40.159 --> 00:24:41.990
what's called molecular exitation.


00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.950
Nitrogen molecules start emitting light


00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:46.710
and they emit in several different


00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.870
colors like per um deep blue. Um there


00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:54.070
is different red, there's sort of greens


00:24:54.080 --> 00:24:55.990
and all those mix together to give you


00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.549
something like a purple. Often in a


00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.149
bright aurora, you've got the green


00:25:00.159 --> 00:25:02.390
auroral curtains and below that there


00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.029
might be a purple layer as well. And


00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:06.870
sometimes the colors are so mixed that


00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.029
it turns white that you actually get a


00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.430
white bottom edge to an aurora. Then you


00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.830
know you've got really high energy


00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:15.269
electrons. And then


00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:16.870
>> so always seen one of those.


00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:19.830
>> Yes, I have. Uh yeah, actually the very


00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:21.430
first time we went up there, I've got


00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.029
photographs taken from a place called


00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.510
Lingan Fjord in northern Norway, a very


00:25:25.520 --> 00:25:27.269
dark site. It was a wonderful place to


00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:29.029
see the aurora from. And yeah, there


00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:31.830
were definitely white white bottoms on


00:25:31.840 --> 00:25:33.909
my auroral curves.


00:25:33.919 --> 00:25:38.149
Um, so, uh, but what I was going to say


00:25:38.159 --> 00:25:41.190
was that's the basic story, but in


00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:43.190
reality, you get these things all mixing


00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:45.110
and so sometimes you do get pinks and


00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:46.710
you get you can actually get some quite


00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:49.190
odd colors, almost browns. Actually, I


00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.269
took some photographs at the beginning


00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:53.669
of this year in uh far again far


00:25:53.679 --> 00:25:55.990
northern Norway uh and later in


00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:57.990
Greenland where the coloring was almost


00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:00.149
like a brown color rather than the the


00:26:00.159 --> 00:26:02.149
reddish that you expect uh from high


00:26:02.159 --> 00:26:04.870
altitude aurora. So, it it's the way the


00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:06.710
colors mix that give you the the


00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:08.630
different effects. Plus, you've got to


00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.630
add to that the color response of your


00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:13.590
camera as well, which can sometimes tell


00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:16.310
you, you know, give you falsehoods


00:26:16.320 --> 00:26:19.029
because the the the camera itself is is


00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.269
basically tuned to to take photographs


00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:23.029
of everyday objects. It's not really


00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:25.029
tuned to take photographs of things that


00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:27.269
are emitting only on one wavelength,


00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.870
which the aurora does.


00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:31.350
>> Yes. Yes, I know. Um although while we


00:26:31.360 --> 00:26:34.950
were uh up there um northern northern


00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:37.430
parts of Europe Norway um Greenland,


00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.830
Iceland um people did try to um take


00:26:41.840 --> 00:26:43.350
photos of Aurora and a couple of them


00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:46.470
were successful. I was not


00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:49.510
>> Yeah, I'll say one. But it was summer.


00:26:49.520 --> 00:26:50.950
>> Yeah, summer's the that's a problem


00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.390
because there's still so much twilight


00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.909
there. Um, I used to cut around a


00:26:55.919 --> 00:26:58.390
digital proper digital camera with me in


00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:00.870
a tripod to do all these long exposure


00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.190
photographs, but to be honest, now with


00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:05.430
a smartphone, they are so sensitive you


00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.029
can handhold them. Yeah.


00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:09.590
>> And get really fantastic auroral


00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:12.549
photographs. Um, which blew me away the


00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.630
first time I did it, which was the


00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.269
beginning of this year. Uh, I tried it a


00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.190
little bit on the previous trip that we


00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:21.029
had up to Northern Palace, which was in


00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:23.510
Canada, actually. Uh but this time at


00:27:23.520 --> 00:27:25.029
the beginning of this year in Norway,


00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.669
Sweden, Iceland, and Greenland, I just


00:27:27.679 --> 00:27:30.390
held the smartphone up and well, I've


00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:32.230
got more photographs than I know what to


00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:33.830
do with, and they're all dramatically


00:27:33.840 --> 00:27:36.789
good. Uh the smartphone is such amazing


00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.750
technology.


00:27:37.760 --> 00:27:39.110
>> It's changed the world,


00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:41.269
>> has in many ways, particularly when it


00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:44.470
comes to photography. It was the old um


00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:46.549
the old Canon snappies and all those


00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:48.470
that we used to have with film in them.


00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:50.149
You got one shot at it and you didn't


00:27:50.159 --> 00:27:51.590
find out if it was any good for a couple


00:27:51.600 --> 00:27:52.310
of weeks.


00:27:52.320 --> 00:27:53.990
>> Yeah. And the odds are that it it


00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:55.990
wouldn't be because this sensitivity of


00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.470
film is so much lower than the the you


00:27:58.480 --> 00:27:59.990
know than the sensors that we now use


00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.750
for images. That's the bottom line.


00:28:01.760 --> 00:28:01.990
>> Yep.


00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.310
>> Yeah. The gear is good now. Makes makes


00:28:04.320 --> 00:28:06.230
everybody a professional. Well, not


00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.269
quite, but you know what I'm saying.


00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:08.630
>> Talk to a professional photographer and


00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:09.990
they won't actually agree with that.


00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.789
>> No, they would they work hard.


00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:15.350
>> Uh, thank you Casey. Great question and


00:28:15.360 --> 00:28:17.510
good to hear from you again. Okay, we


00:28:17.520 --> 00:28:19.430
checked all four systems and being with


00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:19.909
the girls.


00:28:19.919 --> 00:28:21.029
>> Space nets.


00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.630
>> Our final question today. Uh, hi guys.


00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.029
Love the show, etc., etc. He doesn't


00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:29.269
bandandy around much. He's straight to


00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.590
the point. Uh, an idea just occurred to


00:28:31.600 --> 00:28:34.710
me. Uh, mass increases the faster you


00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:37.190
go, becoming infinite at the speed of


00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:39.830
light. So, if it were possible to


00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:42.389
accelerate particles up to rel


00:28:42.399 --> 00:28:44.470
relativistic, I hate that word,


00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:47.430
relativistic speeds in some compact


00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:49.669
device and then throw them out of the


00:28:49.679 --> 00:28:51.590
back of a spacecraft, would the


00:28:51.600 --> 00:28:54.310
acceleration increase because you're


00:28:54.320 --> 00:28:57.750
throwing more mass out the back? Yeah, I


00:28:57.760 --> 00:28:59.269
did that the other day. It's not


00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:03.669
pleasant. Um, kind of an ion engine on


00:29:03.679 --> 00:29:06.789
on steroids. Uh, I'm envisioning some


00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:08.710
kind of small particle accelerator


00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:10.870
powered by a nuclear power source,


00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.510
preferably fishing. Any thoughts?


00:29:13.520 --> 00:29:15.909
Absolutely. Welcome. Uh, many thanks and


00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:18.070
keep up the great work. Lee in Sweden,


00:29:18.080 --> 00:29:23.029
not to be confused with Swed Leon.


00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:24.310
>> Oh, okay. Really?


00:29:24.320 --> 00:29:27.669
>> Yeah, that's somebody else.


00:29:27.679 --> 00:29:31.590
>> Um, no, Lee in Sweden. So, um, okay.


00:29:31.600 --> 00:29:33.110
Okay. So, he's he's got a particle


00:29:33.120 --> 00:29:35.590
accelerator on his spaceship and he's


00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:38.470
he's accelerating the particles up to


00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:42.070
relativistic speeds and then he's


00:29:42.080 --> 00:29:43.190
shooting them out the back of the


00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.310
spacecraft, bigger mass, whatever. Can


00:29:46.320 --> 00:29:49.909
it accelerate the spacecraft?


00:29:49.919 --> 00:29:52.789
Um, yeah. All right. I'm going to read u


00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.110
what I've just put up brought up on the


00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:58.470
screen in front of me. Um, relativistic


00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:00.950
mass ejection in ion motors is not a


00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.789
current technology but a theoretical


00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.590
concept for future propulsion where ions


00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:07.269
would be accelerated to speeds


00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:08.870
approaching the speed of light. The


00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:11.190
relativistic aspect refers to the effect


00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:13.590
of special relativity where an object's


00:30:13.600 --> 00:30:15.430
mass appears to increase as it


00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:17.510
approaches the speed of light making it


00:30:17.520 --> 00:30:19.750
harder to accelerate it further. This


00:30:19.760 --> 00:30:21.669
would require extremely high energy


00:30:21.679 --> 00:30:24.149
inputs and would involve complex physics


00:30:24.159 --> 00:30:26.310
unlike current ion thrusters that use


00:30:26.320 --> 00:30:29.909
less energetic but still very high ion


00:30:29.919 --> 00:30:33.110
ejection velocities that came from AI.


00:30:33.120 --> 00:30:34.310
So how's that?


00:30:34.320 --> 00:30:37.990
>> Yeah. Well, I mean AI can be very


00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.269
useful.


00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:40.549
>> That's kind of what


00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:42.710
>> steer you up the the wrong path. It kept


00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:44.789
getting Yeah. Like I had to make some


00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.510
pretty significant inquiries


00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:49.510
last uh last year, early this year,


00:30:49.520 --> 00:30:52.630
whatever, uh about a a housing situation


00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:56.789
and it just got it so wrong constantly.


00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:57.190
>> Yeah.


00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:00.389
>> Um but yeah. Um


00:31:00.399 --> 00:31:02.549
>> so what I've just read out is putting


00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:05.029
nicely into words what I was going to


00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:07.830
say, but it's putting it rather more


00:31:07.840 --> 00:31:09.430
nicely than I would have put it. So


00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:10.230
there you go.


00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:15.269
>> Yeah. All right. So the the concept of


00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:19.510
um creating engines that can do these


00:31:19.520 --> 00:31:22.710
kinds of things is real in science but


00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:24.310
only to a certain degree.


00:31:24.320 --> 00:31:27.430
>> Yeah. My only worry about it would be um


00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:29.430
and I guess this is what you know the


00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:33.110
complex physics bit was. You've got um


00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:35.029
you've got different reference frames.


00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:37.190
You've got the reference frame of the of


00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.950
the spacecraft. You've got the reference


00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:42.389
frame of the flow of of charged


00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:43.909
particles coming out the back of it and


00:31:43.919 --> 00:31:45.990
you've got a stationary reference frame


00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:48.149
and and the mass looks different to all


00:31:48.159 --> 00:31:49.350
of those.


00:31:49.360 --> 00:31:53.110
>> Uh so uh that will be my only worry


00:31:53.120 --> 00:31:54.549
about that and it's the thing that I


00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.070
would like to go a bit further into it


00:31:56.080 --> 00:31:59.750
rather than rely on AI. Uh but the but


00:31:59.760 --> 00:32:02.070
the basic principle I think is is quite


00:32:02.080 --> 00:32:06.470
right. Uh but I would be I have a caveat


00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:08.470
about just watch out for your reference


00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.389
frame if I can put it that way.


00:32:10.399 --> 00:32:14.389
>> Yeah. Um I I've been toying with AI just


00:32:14.399 --> 00:32:16.389
to sort of get some concepts in my head


00:32:16.399 --> 00:32:19.110
about you know I mentioned I don't know


00:32:19.120 --> 00:32:20.789
if it was this podcast or the previous


00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:23.269
one where we uh where I'm writing a new


00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:25.590
book but um


00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:28.470
I there's some concepts I wanted to


00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:30.630
include but I my brain wouldn't go


00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:33.990
there. So, um, I did use AI to try and


00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.430
learn what I needed to learn to make the


00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.509
the thing work the way it wanted to in


00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:41.750
the story. Uh, it's very clever when you


00:32:41.760 --> 00:32:43.590
want to do things like that.


00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:44.630
>> Did it help?


00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:45.590
>> Yeah, very much.


00:32:45.600 --> 00:32:46.710
>> Oh, that's interesting.


00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:47.669
>> Yeah. Yeah.


00:32:47.679 --> 00:32:50.870
>> Um, in fact, it it sometimes gave me way


00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.110
too many concepts. I only wanted one,


00:32:53.120 --> 00:32:54.710
but it gave me 10. And I'm thinking,


00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:56.870
"Oh, hang on.


00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:58.710
That's all good stuff. I can't use it


00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:02.549
all." So, I had to pick. But um


00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:06.310
I I found it very useful. But um if you


00:33:06.320 --> 00:33:07.909
use it the right way, it's a it's a


00:33:07.919 --> 00:33:09.269
great tool.


00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:13.029
>> But if um yeah, for general information,


00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:16.470
sometimes it can just hit the you


00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:18.389
throwing a dart and hitting that metal


00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:19.669
thing around the edge.


00:33:19.679 --> 00:33:20.870
>> All right. Okay.


00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:22.789
>> Cuz it's it's throwing information back


00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:26.070
at you that's too generic, I suppose.


00:33:26.080 --> 00:33:28.789
>> Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes


00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:31.029
>> I think when it comes to AI, you've got


00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:33.190
to know how to use it to get the best


00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:35.110
out of it. Otherwise,


00:33:35.120 --> 00:33:36.789
>> that's right. Yes.


00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:38.230
>> Otherwise, it's dangerous.


00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:40.310
>> Yeah. The wrong path.


00:33:40.320 --> 00:33:42.870
>> Absolutely true. Yeah. I have found it


00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:45.990
very handy for like I've I've had a few


00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:47.590
photos over the years that I've wanted


00:33:47.600 --> 00:33:49.590
to keep, but they they've not been


00:33:49.600 --> 00:33:52.230
really good photos and it's been really


00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:54.630
good at cleaning them up, taking taking


00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.549
out some of the um there's one


00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:58.630
particular photo that I really love, uh


00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:00.470
but it's it's grainy.


00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:00.950
>> Yeah.


00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:03.509
>> So, I I you just upload the photo and


00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:06.070
say, "Can you um I can't remember the


00:34:06.080 --> 00:34:08.310
terminology I use, but um can you do


00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:11.589
this?" and it takes like a minute or two


00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:15.669
to rec calibrate the photo and then it


00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:19.349
gives you its result. And uh I had a


00:34:19.359 --> 00:34:22.149
couple of big hits with that that well,


00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:24.149
but I've had a couple that didn't.


00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:24.550
>> Yeah.


00:34:24.560 --> 00:34:28.389
>> Um because the um it had to try and fill


00:34:28.399 --> 00:34:31.030
in spaces because of the graininess of


00:34:31.040 --> 00:34:32.069
the photo


00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:34.069
>> and what it filled them in with actually


00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.909
changed the subject too much and I


00:34:35.919 --> 00:34:38.310
didn't like it. that makes any sense at


00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:39.909
all.


00:34:39.919 --> 00:34:42.629
But um yeah, I I do find it useful, but


00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.430
um it it's not a perfect science and you


00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:47.190
got to keep that in mind.


00:34:47.200 --> 00:34:49.190
>> Uh Lee, thanks for your question. Did we


00:34:49.200 --> 00:34:51.109
finish with Lee? I'm pretty sure we did.


00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:53.030
Yeah, good on you, Lee. Hope all is well


00:34:53.040 --> 00:34:55.510
in Sweden and I'm sure you get to see


00:34:55.520 --> 00:34:58.310
lots of Aurora, too, you lucky duck.


00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:01.510
>> Um that's it, Fred. We are finished.


00:35:01.520 --> 00:35:03.510
Thank you.


00:35:03.520 --> 00:35:07.109
>> Uh you're welcome.


00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:10.550
Yeah. Uh I um I've enjoyed uh going


00:35:10.560 --> 00:35:12.310
getting my mind bent around some of


00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:15.190
those issues myself. So, thank you Space


00:35:15.200 --> 00:35:17.750
Nuts listeners. You keep me on my toes.


00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:19.750
>> Yes, they do, don't they? If you would


00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:22.069
like to send us a question, uh you can


00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:23.829
do that through our website,


00:35:23.839 --> 00:35:25.829
spacenutspodcast.com


00:35:25.839 --> 00:35:28.710
or spacenuts.io


00:35:28.720 --> 00:35:31.510
and you click on the AMA link at the top


00:35:31.520 --> 00:35:34.630
of the homepage and uh just fill in the


00:35:34.640 --> 00:35:36.230
blanks. So, you can send us your text


00:35:36.240 --> 00:35:38.710
questions that way, or you can send us


00:35:38.720 --> 00:35:41.109
an audio question if you've got a device


00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:42.950
with a microphone. And just uh remember


00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:44.470
to tell us who you are and where you're


00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:46.790
from. Most people do these days. Uh or


00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:48.950
you can send us questions via YouTube.


00:35:48.960 --> 00:35:50.710
We've been getting a few of those. And


00:35:50.720 --> 00:35:52.390
sometimes they just turn up on social


00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:54.470
media. Uh it doesn't matter. We'll um


00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:56.230
we'll get to them. Although on social


00:35:56.240 --> 00:35:59.030
media, the audience tends to deal with


00:35:59.040 --> 00:36:01.589
them for us. So, um not many of them


00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:03.910
filter through. But, uh, yeah, keep, uh,


00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:06.790
those questions coming. Um, and, uh,


00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:08.630
yeah, that'll all be good. Uh, Fred,


00:36:08.640 --> 00:36:10.310
we'll see you next week. I think it'll


00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:11.910
be our last couple of programs before


00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:13.270
the Christmas break.


00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:15.430
>> May well be. That's right. We'll see.


00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:16.790
>> All right. We'll catch you then. Thanks,


00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:17.670
Fred. Sounds great.


00:36:17.680 --> 00:36:19.510
>> And thanks to Hugh in the studio who


00:36:19.520 --> 00:36:21.750
went supernova on us because he's got a


00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:23.349
lot of heavy elements and he's gone to


00:36:23.359 --> 00:36:25.349
see a dietician. And from me, Andrew


00:36:25.359 --> 00:36:27.349
Dunley, thanks for your company. We'll


00:36:27.359 --> 00:36:28.950
see you on the next episode of Space


00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:30.230
Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:36:30.240 --> 00:36:32.550
>> Space Nuts. You'll be listening to the


00:36:32.560 --> 00:36:35.589
Space Nuts podcast


00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:38.550
>> available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify,


00:36:38.560 --> 00:36:41.190
iHeart Radio, or your favorite podcast


00:36:41.200 --> 00:36:43.589
player. You can also stream on demand at


00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:46.470
byes.com. This has been another quality


00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:51.000
podcast production from byes.com.