Galactic Maps, Colour-Changing Spacesuits, and the Moon’s Hidden Resources

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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your source for the latest news from


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across the cosmos. 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 a


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new galactic map to the future of space


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suits.


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>> That's right. We'll be looking at how


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Earth might be making the moon more


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habitable, checking in on a very busy


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month for the International Space


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Station, and even touching on SpaceX's


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plans to go public. So, let's get


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started. Our first story takes us to the


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very heart of our own galaxy. NASA has


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announced a groundbreaking new survey


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using its Nancy Grace Roman Space


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Telescope. The goal is to create an


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unprecedented map of the Milky Way.


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>> And this isn't just any map. The Roman


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telescope will be surveying the galaxy


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in infrared light. For our listeners,


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that means it can peer through the dense


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clouds of cosmic dust that normally


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block our view of the galactic center.


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Exactly. It's like having a new pair of


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glasses that can see through fog.


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Scientists expect to reveal tens of


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billions of stars and uncover hidden


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galactic structures we've never seen


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before.


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>> Tens of billions. The scale is just


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staggering. What are they hoping to


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learn from all this new data?


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>> The applications are vast. They'll be


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able to study star formation and


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evolution in incredible detail. But what


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I find really exciting is the potential


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to find stellar embers, things like


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white dwarfs and neutron stars through a


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technique called microlensing, right?


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Where the gravity of a closer object


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magnifies the light from a more distant


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one. This new survey covering nearly 700


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square degrees of the sky is going to be


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a treasure trove for decades to come.


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>> It certainly will be. Now, from the


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galactic scale to the very personal, our


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next story is about protecting the


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astronauts who venture into space.


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Avery, tell us about these colorchanging


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space suits.


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>> This sounds like something straight out


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of science fiction. Scientists in


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Scotland are developing a fabric treated


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with a special kind of bacteria. The


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amazing part is that these bacteria


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actually change color when they're


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exposed to radiation.


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>> So, the space suit itself would act as a


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radiation detector. Precisely.


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The project is called pigmented space


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pioneers and the idea is to provide a


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clear visual indicator of an astronaut's


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radiation exposure in real time.


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>> That's incredibly important. We know


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that long-term radiation exposure is a


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major health risk for astronauts,


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increasing the chances of developing


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cancer. This could be a simple but


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effective way to help them monitor and


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mitigate that risk.


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>> Mhm. And it's not just a lab concept


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anymore. They're actually preparing a


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sample of this fabric to be tested in


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space. It will be flown on a small


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satellite to see how it holds up in the


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real environment. A very creative


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solution to a serious problem.


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>> Absolutely. Speaking of environments in


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space, our next piece of news questions


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our long-held assumptions about the


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moon. A new study suggests it might be


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more habitable than we thought, thanks


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to a surprising source, our own planet.


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>> How is that possible? Is Earth somehow


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seeding the moon?


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>> In a way, yes. The study from the


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University of Rochester proposes that


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Earth's magnetosphere has been enriching


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the lunar soil with life sustaining


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substances for billions of years.


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>> Okay, I'm intrigued. What's the


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mechanism here?


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>> It's all about our planet's magnetic


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field. As particles escape the upper


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layers of our atmosphere, the


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magnetosphere guides them. When the moon


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passes through Earth's magneto tail, the


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part of the magnetic field stretched out


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by the solar wind, these particles can


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rain down onto the lunar surface.


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>> And we're talking about important


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particles, right? Like water and


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nitrogen.


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>> That's right. These are crucial


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volatiles. The study suggests that the


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lunar poles in particular could have


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accumulated significant amounts of these


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substances over eons. This could mean


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the moon has far more resources for


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things like water and air than we


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previously estimated,


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>> which would be a massive boost for any


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plans for long-term human missions or


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even a permanent base. Less to carry,


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more to find when you get there. A


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fascinating connection between Earth and


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its satellite.


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>> Indeed. Now, let's move from a potential


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future outpost to our current one, the


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International Space Station. Avery, it


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seems they had a remarkably busy


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November.


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>> Extremely busy. The ISS hit two major


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milestones last month. First, for the


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first time in its 27-year history, all


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eight of its docking ports were occupied


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simultaneously. Think of it as a


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completely full parking garage and


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orbit.


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>> Wow, that's a lot of traffic. What was


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the other milestone? The station also


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officially celebrated 25 years of


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continuous human presence in space. A


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quarter of a century with people living


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and working in space nonstop. It's an


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incredible achievement for international


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cooperation.


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>> It really is. And it wasn't just about


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anniversaries. The month was packed with


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activity, including crew rotations with


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the arrival of Soyuse MS28 and several


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cargo resupply missions to keep the


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station stocked.


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>> Right. And of course, the science never


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stops. The crew conducted numerous


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experiments focusing on everything from


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cardiovascular health and the effects of


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microgravity on stem cell development to


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testing new life support systems. Just


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another month at the office for the ISS


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crew. a very busy office. Okay, shifting


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gears from public space efforts to the


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private sector. There are some big


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murmurss coming from SpaceX.


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>> That's putting it mildly. According to


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several media reports, SpaceX is


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considering going public with an IPO, an


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initial public offering, possibly as


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early as 2026.


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>> And the numbers being discussed are


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astronomical, even for a space company.


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The potential valuation is pegged at


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around $1.5 trillion.


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>> That would make it one of the most


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valuable companies in the world. The big


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question is why now? What would they use


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that massive influx of capital for?


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>> Well, the speculation points to a truly


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ambitious long-term vision. The funds


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could be aimed at building out a network


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of space-based data centers. The idea is


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to support the rapidly growing


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artificial intelligence industry, which


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requires immense computational power.


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>> Data centers in orbit. That's a new one.


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It ties into an even grander vision


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we've heard about before, right?


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>> Mhm. It seems to be part of a road map


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that could eventually involve building


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factories on the moon. It's a huge leap,


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but it shows the scale of ambition in


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the private space industry right now.


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Definitely one to watch. For our final


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story today, we're going from high


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finance back to pure science with a look


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at an interstellar visitor. Anna, tell


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us about comet 3i-tlas.


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>> This is a really neat observation from


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the European Space Ay's XMM Newton


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Observatory. This telescope doesn't see


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in visible light, but in x-rays, and it


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has managed to capture an image of the


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interstellar comet threeey


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glowing in x-ray light.


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>> How does a comet produce x-rays? I


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thought they just reflected sunlight.


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>> It's a process called charge exchange.


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As the comet gets closer to the sun, it


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releases gases. When particles from the


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solar wind, which are highly charged,


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smash into these neutral gas molecules,


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they exchange electrons and this


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interaction emits an X-ray photon.


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>> Ah, okay. So, observing an X-ray gives


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scientists a different kind of


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information than a regular telescope


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would.


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>> A very useful kind. This technique is


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particularly good at detecting certain


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gases like hydrogen and nitrogen which


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can be very difficult to spot with other


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telescopes. So by analyzing the X-ray


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signature, scientists can get a much


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clearer picture of what the comet is


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made of.


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>> And since this is an interstellar comet,


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that composition tells us something


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about the chemistry of the distant star


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system it came from.


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>> A little postcard from another part of


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the galaxy. And that brings us to the


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end of our space and astronomy news


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roundup for today. From a new map of our


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home galaxy and bacteria infused space


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suits to a more resourceful moon and a


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record-breaking month on the ISS, it's


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been another busy day in space and


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astronomy.


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>> We hope you've enjoyed this episode of


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Astronomy Daily. Thanks so much for


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tuning in.


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>> Be sure to subscribe wherever you get


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your podcast so you don't miss an


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episode and to visit our website at


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astronomydaily.io.


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Until next time, I'm Avery.


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>> And I'm Anna. Clear skies.


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The stories were told.