Exploding Rockets, Cosmic Rays, and the Secrets of Asteroid Bennu

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast that brings you the universe


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one story at a time. I'm Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. It's great to have you


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with us. Today we're covering everything


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from exploding rockets and sugars on


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asteroids to a cosmic ray that might


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have sent an airplane into a dive.


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>> It's going to be a wild ride. Let's get


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started with our first story which takes


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us to the rapidly evolving world of


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commercial space flight in China.


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>> There is so much going on with space


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technology in China at the moment, isn't


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there? What's the latest?


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>> So Anna, there's big news from a company


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called Landspace. They just launched


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their Zui3 rocket and it's a major step


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forward in the reusable rocket race.


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>> That's right, Avery. This is a


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methane-powered rocket similar in


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concept to SpaceX's Starship designed


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for reusability. And the big news is


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that the first launch was in large part


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a success. The rocket successfully


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reached orbit.


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>> Reaching orbit on a brand new rocket is


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the single biggest hurdle. So that's


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fantastic news for them. But I hear the


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second half of the test didn't go quite


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so smoothly.


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>> Yes, the reusable part of the test hit a


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snag. The first stage booster, which is


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supposed to fly back and land itself for


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reuse, experienced what the company


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calls a mishap.


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>> A mishap is putting it mildly. It


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exploded during the landing attempt.


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Right.


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>> It did. But Landspace is still framing


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the overall mission as a success. And in


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the world of rocket development, they


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have a point. Proving your design can


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reach orbital velocity is a massive


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achievement.


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>> That makes sense. It's an iterative


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process. They've nailed the hardest part


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and now they can use the data from the


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failed landing to figure out how to


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stick it next time.


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>> Precisely. It shows that the global


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competition for reusable rockets is


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heating up and it's not just limited to


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a few big players anymore. This is a


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significant milestone for China's


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commercial space industry.


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>> And of course, we'll be keeping an eye


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on all their developments in the coming


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months.


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>> From rockets soaring up, we turn to a


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planet that is falling apart. The James


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Webb Space Telescope has given us an


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extraordinary view of an exoplanet that


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is actively losing its atmosphere.


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>> I love a good JWST story. Which planet


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are we talking about? And what does that


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even look like? A planet shedding its


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atmosphere.


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>> The planet is WASP 107b. It's a gas


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giant, but it's unusually puffy. It's


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very large for its mass. Because it


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orbits extremely close to its star, the


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intense radiation is boiling its


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atmosphere away into space.


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>> Wow. So, it's just venting gas out into


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the void.


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>> Exactly. And WEB's instruments were able


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to detect a massive cloud of helium


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being stripped from the planet. This


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cloud is so large that it actually forms


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a giant tail that travels ahead of the


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planet in its orbit.


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>> It travels ahead of the planet. How does


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that work? It's due to the complex


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interaction between the stellar wind and


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the planet's own orbital motion. It's a


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bit like a boat's wake appearing in


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front of it in a strong current.


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>> That's incredible. So, this gives us a


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real time look at how planets can die or


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at least transform over billions of


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years.


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>> Yes, it's a vital piece of the puzzle


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for understanding planetary evolution.


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By studying planets like WASP 107b, we


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can learn more about how our own solar


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system may have formed and changed over


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time.


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>> All right, from the ingredients of


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planets being stripped away, let's talk


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about the ingredients for life being


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found in a very exciting place. The


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samples from asteroid Bennu are back,


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and they did not disappoint.


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>> They certainly did not. After years of


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travel, NASA's Osiris Rex mission


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returned pristine samples from the


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asteroid, and the initial findings are


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groundbreaking. Scientists have


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confirmed the presence of essential


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sugars within the asteroid material.


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>> And we're not talking about table sugar


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here. We're talking about the


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fundamental building blocks of life.


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Right.


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>> Precisely. They have positively


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identified sugars like ribos, which is a


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critical component of RNA, the molecule


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that may have preceded DNA in the


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earliest forms of life. They also found


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other vital sugars like glucose.


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>> So, this adds huge weight to the theory


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that asteroids and comets could have


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delivered these prebiotic ingredients to


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the early Earth, kickstarting life here.


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>> Mhm. It's some of the strongest evidence


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to date. It tells us that these


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fundamental building blocks were likely


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common in the early solar system,


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available to planets like ours.


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>> Okay, I have to ask about my favorite


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part of this story, the space gum. What


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on earth is that?


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>> Yes, the team also discovered a strange


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black viscous organic material that


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they've playfully nicknamed space gum.


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They are still analyzing its exact


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composition, but it appears to be a very


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complex carbonrich substance. Just


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another fascinating piece of this cosmic


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puzzle.


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>> From asteroids to our own celestial


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neighbor, let's bring it closer to home.


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Sky Watchers are in for a special event


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this December. In coming days, in fact.


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>> That's right. The final full moon of


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2025 has a few special things going for


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it. It's known as the cold moon. And


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this year, it will also be a super moon.


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>> Super moon. That means it'll appear


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larger and brighter in the sky because


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it's closer to Earth in its orbit. I


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always love a good super moon.


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>> It does. But there's an even more rare


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event happening at the same time.


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Something called a major lunar


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standstill.


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>> Okay. A major lunar standstill. That


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sounds very official and very dramatic.


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Break that down for us.


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>> It's a point in the moon's 18.6year


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cycle where its orbit is tilted to the


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maximum degree relative to Earth's


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equator. For those of us in the northern


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hemisphere, it means this full moon will


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trace a much higher arc across the


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winter sky than usual.


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>> Right. So, it's not just closer, it's


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also taking the high road across the


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sky. That should make it visible for


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longer and easier to see.


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>> Exactly. It will rise in the northeast


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and set in the northwest, similar to the


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sun's path in the summer. And it will


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stay above the horizon for an extended


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period. It's a perfect combination for a


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beautiful lunar spectacle.


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>> So, make sure you get outside and look


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up as we like to remind you.


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>> And while we're on the subject of our


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moon, we have a beautiful but


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bittersweet story from the Japanese


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lunar lander Hataku Matu R.


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>> Oh, right. This was the private mission


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that attempted to land on the moon last


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year. Sadly, it crashed in the final


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seconds of its descent. It did. But


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before the mission ended, it captured


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some truly breathtaking imagery. And one


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photo in particular has been making the


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rounds. It's a stunning shot of our own


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planet.


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>> I've seen it. It's an image of Earth


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during a total solar eclipse taken from


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space. You can clearly see the round


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shadow of the moon moving across the


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Earth's surface. Australia in


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particular. It's just an incredible


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perspective.


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>> It really is. It's a viewpoint we so


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rarely get to see. It's a powerful


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reminder of the beauty of our world and


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the celestial dance. It's a part of a


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final beautiful piece of data from a


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mission that came so close to achieving


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its goal.


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>> Okay, for our final story, we're coming


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back down to Earth, but it's a story


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with a truly cosmic origin. This sounds


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like pure science fiction, Anna, but an


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expert is suggesting a cosmic ray may


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have been responsible for forcing a


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JetBlue airliner into an emergency


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landing.


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>> It's a fascinating theory. The flight in


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question experienced a sudden unexpected


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drop in altitude. And while there's no


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official cause yet, one plausible,


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though unproven, explanation involves a


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high energy particle from deep space.


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>> A single particle can do that to a


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massive airplane. How is that even


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possible?


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>> Comes down to a phenomenon called a


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single event upset. High energy cosmic


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rays, often accelerated by distant


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supernovas, are constantly bombarding


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our atmosphere. If one of these


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particles traveling at near the speed of


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light happens to strike a microscopic


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transistor in one of the plane's flight


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computers, it can deposit enough energy


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to flip a bit of memory. It can change a


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digital one to a zero or vice versa. In


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a non-critical system, you'd never


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notice, but if it hits a crucial part of


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the processor, it could cause a


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temporary glitch or even a system


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reboot.


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>> So, the plane's electronic brain could


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have a momentary hiccup caused by a


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particle from an exploded star millions


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of light years away. That is


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mind-blowing.


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>> It is. And while it's important to note


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this is just one expert's hypothesis, it


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is scientifically plausible. Modern


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avionics have extensive shielding and


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redundant systems to prevent this. But


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the possibility, however remote, is


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always there. It's a wild reminder that


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we're never truly separate from the


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events of the wider cosmos.


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>> That really is a mind-bending


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connection. And on that cosmic note,


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that's all the time we have for today's


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episode of Astronomy Daily. What a trip


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across the universe it's been.


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>> It certainly has. Thank you all so much


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for joining us. We'll be back again


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tomorrow with another roundup of the


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latest news from around and beyond our


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world.


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>> Until then, clear skies and one more


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reminder, keep looking up.


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The stories told


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stories told


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stories