From Lunar Power Plants to Wobbling Comets: Your Daily Space Update

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast


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that brings you the universe, one story


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at a time. I'm Avery.


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


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today. We're covering everything from


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ambitious plans for lunar colonization


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to fascinating new discoveries about


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visitors from beyond our solar system.


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>> That's right. We'll be talking about a


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nuclearpowered future on the moon, a


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sci-fi concept for artificial gravity


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that's getting closer to reality, and a


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record-breaking satellite launch. We've


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also got news of a major setback for One


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Nation space program and a wobbly


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interstellar comet.


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>> So, let's get right to it. Our first


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story takes us to the moon where Russia


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has announced some truly monumental


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plans.


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>> You can say that again,


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>> Avery. This isn't just about setting up


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a temporary outpost. Russia's space


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agency has stated its intention to build


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a full-fledged nuclear power plant on


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the lunar surface within the next decade


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or so.


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>> A nuclear power plant on the moon.


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That's a huge undertaking. And they're


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not doing it alone. Right.


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>> Exactly. This is part of a joint effort


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with China. The goal is to have the


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plant constructed and operational by


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2036. The purpose is to provide a


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consistent and powerful energy source


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for a planned joint Russian Chinese


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research station.


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>> That makes sense. Solar power is great,


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but a lunar night lasts for about 14


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Earth days. If you want a permanently


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functioning scientific station, you need


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a power source that doesn't depend on


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sunlight.


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>> Right? This really signals a shift in


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lunar exploration from temporary visits


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to establishing a long-term sustainable


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human presence. It's a foundational step


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for what could become a true lunar


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settlement one day.


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>> It's fascinating. And speaking of


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ambitious Russian plans for the future


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of space travel, our next story sounds


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like it was pulled directly from a


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science fiction movie.


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>> Sounds intriguing. The details, please.


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>> The state-owned Eneria rocket company


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has just secured a patent for a new


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spacecraft design, and its main feature


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is something astronauts have dreamed of


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for decades, artificial gravity. This is


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a critical piece of the puzzle for long


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duration space missions. We know that


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extended time in zerog has serious


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negative effects on the human body.


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>> Mhm. Serious effects. Things like muscle


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atrophy and significant bone density


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loss. It's one of the biggest hurdles


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for say a man's mission to Mars.


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>> So, how does this new design work? The


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concept of a rotating system to create


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centrifugal force isn't new, but what


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are the specifics here? Well, the patent


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describes a rotating system designed to


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generate a gravitational force of about


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0.5g.


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So half of Earth's gravity. While not a


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full 1g, it's believed that even this


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level could profoundly mitigate the


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health problems astronauts face.


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>> Half a G would make a world of


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difference. It means crews could arrive


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at Mars or return to Earth in much


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better physical condition. This could be


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a genuine gamecher for the future of


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human space flight.


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>> Absolutely. From future tech to current


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accomplishments, let's shift our focus


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to a remarkable satellite that's now in


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orbit. Anna, tell us about Bluebird 6.


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>> This is a story about connectivity. An


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Indian rocket recently launched the


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Bluebird 6 satellite, and it's a


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record-breaker. It was built by a


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Texas-based company, AS Space Mobile,


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and its mission is to provide broadband


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internet service directly to standard


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off-the-shelf smartphones on the ground.


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>> Directly to phones. So, no special


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equipment needed. That's the key. But


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what makes it a record breaker?


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>> It's size. To talk to a small device


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like a cell phone from orbit, you need a


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very, very large antenna. Bluebird 6


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features a communication array of nearly


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2400 square feet.


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>> Wow. 2400 square f feet. That's massive.


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>> It is. In fact, it's the largest


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communication array ever deployed in low


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Earth orbit. The potential impact here


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is enormous, offering a way to connect


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the unconnected in the most remote parts


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of the globe.


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>> That's an incredible piece of


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engineering with a very noble goal. But


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as we know, getting these complex


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machines into orbit is the hardest part.


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Which brings us to our next story.


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Unfortunately, not all recent launches


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have been successful.


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>> That's right, Avery. Japan's ambitions


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for an independent satellite navigation


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system suffered a significant blow after


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the second major failure of its flagship


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H3 rocket.


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>> This is a tough one for the Japanese


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space program. The rocket was supposed


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to deliver the Michibiki 5 satellite


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into orbit, but it failed during its


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flight.


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>> And this satellite was a crucial


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component of their Quasi Zenith


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satellite system or QZSS.


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>> Mhm. The qzs is designed to augment GPS


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signals, providing much more accurate


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and reliable positioning for Japan and


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the rest of East Asia. This failure


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represents a major delay to the


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expansion and improvement of that


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system. It's a stark reminder that even


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for established space fairing nations,


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rocket science is incredibly


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challenging. There's just no room for


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error. We certainly hope they can


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identify and fix the issue for future


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flights.


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>> Indeed, it's a reminder of the high


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stakes in space exploration.


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>> It truly is. And for our final story,


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we're venturing far from Earth to look


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at one from another solar system that's


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been paying us a bit of a visit.


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Astronomers have been studying the


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interstellar comet 3i/Atlas


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which has begun leaving our solar system


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and they've observed some very unusual


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behavior. First, it has a rare


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sun-facing anti-tail.


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>> An anti-tail. So, a tail of dust and gas


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pointing towards the sun instead of away


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from it.


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>> It's an optical illusion caused by our


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viewing angle of the comet's dust trail.


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But what's truly remarkable is what's


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happening within that tail. As the comet


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approached the sun, scientists observed


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jets of outgassing material that appear


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to be wobbling.


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>> Wobbling jets. That's new.


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>> Completely. This is the first time such


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an outgassing pattern has ever been


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observed from an interstellar comet. The


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jets were seen to wobble on a very


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specific cycle every 7 hours and 45


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minutes.


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>> And that tells us something fundamental


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about the comet itself, doesn't it?


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>> It does. This wobble implies a


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rotational period for the comet's solid


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nucleus. Based on the data, scientists


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have calculated that the nucleus is


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spinning on its axis once every 15 and a


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half hours.


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>> That is so cool to be able to determine


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the length of a day on an object that


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came from an entirely different solar


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system just by watching its jets wobble.


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It's an amazing piece of cosmic


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detective work.


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>> It certainly is. And that's all the time


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we have for today's top stories. From


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ambitious plans for nuclear power on the


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moon to the rotation of an interstellar


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comet, the cosmos never fails to


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inspire.


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>> A big thank you to all of you for tuning


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in. We hope you'll join us again next


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time for another dose of Astronomy


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Daily. Until then, you can find us on


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all major podcast platforms and on


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social media. Just search for astroaily


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pod. Full details on our website at


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astronomyaily.io.


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>> From both of us here, keep looking up.


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Astronomy day.


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Stories be told.


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Stories told.