Feb. 26, 2026

”Jupiter’s not quite as big as we thought.” | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries

”Jupiter’s not quite as big as we thought.” | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries
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”Jupiter’s not quite as big as we thought.” | Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries
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Tiny Jupiter, Unusual Comet Behavior, and Gravitational Lensing

In this exciting episode of Space Nuts , hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson delve into some intriguing astronomical discoveries. They discuss the surprising news about Jupiter's size, the strange rotation of Comet 41P, and the fascinating concept of utilizing solar gravitational lensing for deep space exploration.

Episode Highlights:

- Jupiter's Revised Size: The duo explores new measurements from NASA's Juno mission that indicate Jupiter is slightly smaller than previously thought. They discuss the implications of these findings on our understanding of the gas giant's internal structure and atmospheric dynamics.

- The Mystery of Comet 41P: Andrew and Fred reveal the unusual behavior of Comet 41P, which has experienced a significant slowdown in its rotation, potentially reversing its spin direction. They analyze the possible causes of this phenomenon and what it could mean for the comet's future.

- Solar Gravitational Lensing: The hosts dive into the concept of using the Sun's gravitational field as a lens to observe distant exoplanets. They discuss the challenges of reaching the solar gravitational lens focal point and the technologies that might one day make such missions feasible.


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, Instagram, and more. 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.


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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/31901861?utm_source=youtube

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.990
Hello there. Thanks for joining us yet


00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:04.070
again. This is Space Nuts. My name is


00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:05.990
Andrew Dunley. Uh we're here to talk


00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.470
astronomy and space science. And on


00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:10.390
today's program, we're going to look at


00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.430
a tiny weeny itsybitsy Jupiter. Yes,


00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:15.749
it's not nearly as big as they thought


00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.670
it was. In fact, it could lose status as


00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:21.349
a consequence of this. Maybe not, but


00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:23.029
we'll talk about that. We're also going


00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.990
to look at a flipping interesting comet


00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.349
and uh solar gravitational lens focal


00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.589
points. Could we visit them and what


00:00:31.599 --> 00:00:33.990
will that mean? We'll find out on this


00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.150
episode of Space Nuts.


00:00:36.160 --> 00:00:40.950
>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9


00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:42.709
Ignition sequence start.


00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:43.670
>> Space Nuts.


00:00:43.680 --> 00:00:48.549
>> 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 2 1


00:00:48.559 --> 00:00:49.750
>> Space nuts.


00:00:49.760 --> 00:00:52.310
>> Astronauts report. It feels good.


00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:54.470
>> And joining us again to talk about all


00:00:54.480 --> 00:00:56.709
of that stuff and probably a lot more is


00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.310
Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:59.750
large. Hello, Fred.


00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:03.510
>> Hello, Andrew. Good to see you again.


00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:04.549
>> Yep. As always,


00:01:04.559 --> 00:01:06.469
>> love the hoopy shirt.


00:01:06.479 --> 00:01:09.510
>> Oh, yeah. Sorry. It's a very tatty old


00:01:09.520 --> 00:01:11.030
one. This shirt should be buttoning it


00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:12.310
up. This one's tatty.


00:01:12.320 --> 00:01:14.469
>> Tatty, but it's white and it's got more


00:01:14.479 --> 00:01:15.990
food on it than I've ever put in his


00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:16.630
stomach. So,


00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:18.149
>> has it got the Has it got the Space


00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:19.190
Notes logo on it?


00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.230
>> Uh, hang on. I'm I've got one here


00:01:22.240 --> 00:01:24.550
somewhere. A Space Nuts logo.


00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:25.350
>> Oh, yeah.


00:01:25.360 --> 00:01:27.190
>> No, I have It's not on It's not not on


00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.950
this shirt. It's on the other wide


00:01:28.960 --> 00:01:30.149
shirt.


00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:33.350
>> But um Where did that logo go?


00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:35.990
>> I've lost me logo. Anyway, we'll we'll


00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.950
find out better than losing your mojo.


00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:42.390
>> That's true, too. Yes, indeed. Uh let's


00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.149
begin because we got a lot to talk


00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:47.270
about. This uh first story uh looks at


00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.350
Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar


00:01:49.360 --> 00:01:53.990
system until we find planet 9. And this


00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.310
is a story that's suggesting that


00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:58.950
Jupiter's not quite as big as we thought


00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:00.389
it was.


00:02:00.399 --> 00:02:04.389
>> Yeah. It's it shrunk by well 8


00:02:04.399 --> 00:02:05.429
kilometers.


00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:06.709
>> Yeah.


00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.109
>> At the equator and 24 kilometers at the


00:02:09.119 --> 00:02:11.830
poles. So what this is all about and and


00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.350
I should just give you the numbers. Uh


00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:19.190
so the revised radius of Jupiter at its


00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:22.229
equator is 71,488


00:02:22.239 --> 00:02:23.510
kilometers


00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:27.030
>> which is actually um I think 4


00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:30.710
kilometers less than we thought before.


00:02:30.720 --> 00:02:33.589
Uh which doubles up to up to uh 8


00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:34.790
kilometers when you're talking about


00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.670
diameter. uh but its polar radius uh


00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.509
which is


00:02:39.519 --> 00:02:43.110
um 66,842


00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:44.309
and those two numbers are quite


00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:46.229
different which is why Jupiter's


00:02:46.239 --> 00:02:48.309
flattened but at its poles just as


00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.509
Saturn is uh but that's actually 24


00:02:51.519 --> 00:02:54.550
kilometers less than the previous


00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.550
estimations so for the diameter. So, um,


00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:02.149
it's not a huge amount, but it's


00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:03.509
>> not not when you not when you're talking


00:03:03.519 --> 00:03:05.270
about the size of the planet. That's


00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:06.630
>> exactly that's what I mean. Yeah.


00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.030
71,0004. So, it's what 140,000


00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:13.589
kilometers or thereabouts in diameter,


00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:17.110
which is um Yep. 11 Earth diameters,


00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:18.949
which is what we always say.


00:03:18.959 --> 00:03:22.550
>> Um, so uh why well, first of all, how


00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.550
have these measurements been made? Uh


00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:25.750
and the answer is that the old


00:03:25.760 --> 00:03:27.350
measurements actually go back a long


00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.470
way. They come from the Voyager and


00:03:30.480 --> 00:03:34.070
Pioneer era of the exploration of the


00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:36.149
outer planets and that goes back to the


00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:37.750
70s and 80s. Oh, it does.


00:03:37.760 --> 00:03:42.149
>> Um they uh so what what led to the


00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:43.990
diameter or the size of Jupiter that


00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.670
we've been using since then uh is a is


00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:49.509
what's called a radio occultation. So


00:03:49.519 --> 00:03:53.589
the spacecraft is behind as it passes


00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.869
behind Jupiter uh its signals get


00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.589
refracted actually by uh the atmosphere


00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:01.190
of the planet probably scattered as


00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:03.270
well. Uh but you can time it very


00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.070
accurately. Uh you time when the the


00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.750
spacecraft disappears behind the planet


00:04:07.760 --> 00:04:10.550
and you know its trajectory. uh you can


00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:12.869
then time when it reappears and from


00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:14.949
that you can calculate the and knowing


00:04:14.959 --> 00:04:16.229
about Jupiter's motion and the


00:04:16.239 --> 00:04:17.749
spacecraft's motion you can calculate


00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.990
what the diameter is. Uh so those are


00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.069
the values that we've been using ever


00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:22.790
since.


00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:24.870
>> Ah you know I think I know where all of


00:04:24.880 --> 00:04:26.870
this went wrong. They didn't allow for


00:04:26.880 --> 00:04:29.110
it stopping for gas.


00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.430
>> Um the the planet or the spacecraft?


00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:32.950
>> The spacecraft.


00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:34.950
>> Well, it's a gas giant. That's right.


00:04:34.960 --> 00:04:37.189
The planet's a gas giant. So yes, that's


00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:38.629
a good point. Yeah.


00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.830
>> Um anyway, I let that one pass. Um so,


00:04:41.840 --> 00:04:45.030
moving on. Wasn't very good. It was It


00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:46.469
was all right for the start of the show.


00:04:46.479 --> 00:04:49.030
They usually get better as we go along.


00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.230
Um it's uh the new measurements come of


00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:53.990
course from the spacecraft that is


00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.390
currently in orbit and working away very


00:04:56.400 --> 00:04:59.430
hard uh at at Jupiter in orbit around


00:04:59.440 --> 00:05:01.990
the planet and that is Juno. NASA's Juno


00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.030
mission which has been orbiting Jupiter


00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.070
since 2016 uh and doing pretty well.


00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:10.230
It's Yes. It's a decade since we've had


00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.469
Juno which gosh it time flies doesn't


00:05:12.479 --> 00:05:13.189
it? Sure does.


00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:16.230
>> Anyway, um so that's allowed much more


00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.629
accurate measurements because the space


00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:20.629
that Juno spacecraft its orbit is very


00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.029
well understood. It's fairly close to


00:05:23.039 --> 00:05:26.710
Jupiter. Um, but you might think, you


00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.710
know, well, why are we so keen to know


00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.189
the diameter of the planet to such a


00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.790
high degree of accuracy? Uh, and the the


00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:41.270
answer is um to do with our model


00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:44.310
because it is. Yeah, that's right. It's


00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:46.469
to do with our modeling of the planet's


00:05:46.479 --> 00:05:49.670
interior. Um because a small difference


00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.629
like that can make a big difference to


00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.909
what we imagine the in interior of the


00:05:55.919 --> 00:05:57.749
planet is like and remember of course


00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.150
everybody that Jupiter all we see is its


00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.070
cloud belts when we look at the planet


00:06:02.080 --> 00:06:05.350
we don't see any surface or any hint of


00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.189
a surface so the internal structure of


00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:09.189
Jupiter is something we have to deduce


00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.950
from other measurements and the the an


00:06:12.960 --> 00:06:14.550
accurate measurement of the diameter of


00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.189
the planet comes into that um so That's


00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.309
that's the reason it also uh you know


00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:21.430
one of the other things that's of


00:06:21.440 --> 00:06:23.990
interest in Jupiter is the the behavior


00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:25.909
of the atmosphere itself and the winds


00:06:25.919 --> 00:06:28.390
that blow in Jupiter's atmosphere and


00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:30.710
that also needs an accurate


00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.590
understanding of the diameter of the


00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.070
planet. Yeah, I actually I was just


00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:38.629
looking at that diagram uh that shows


00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:42.390
the different potential diameter


00:06:42.400 --> 00:06:45.029
situations based on the behavior of the


00:06:45.039 --> 00:06:47.590
planet. And yeah, without wind it loses


00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.870
another what 14 kilometers in.


00:06:50.880 --> 00:06:53.430
>> Yes, that's right. It does. Um if you if


00:06:53.440 --> 00:06:55.590
you uh if you imagine the winds aren't


00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:57.909
there, it does. It shrinks. So So the


00:06:57.919 --> 00:07:00.230
And by 14 kilometers exactly, that's the


00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.909
radius, not the not the diameter. Um so


00:07:03.919 --> 00:07:10.309
um we we have um you know a tiny figure


00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:12.790
that looks minuscule compared with the


00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:14.629
diameter of the planet itself but it is


00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.950
important in understanding the upper


00:07:16.960 --> 00:07:19.189
atmosphere. It's uh if there were no


00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:21.990
winds uh then what we will be seeing


00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.430
will be 14 kilometers smaller. I I'm


00:07:25.440 --> 00:07:27.749
surprised that it's taken us a decade to


00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.309
figure it out. And Juno is there been


00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.990
there nearly 10 years.


00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.309
>> Yeah. Um but maybe um you know the the


00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:38.710
accuracy that we're getting with this


00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.550
relies on many uh passages of Juno


00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:46.070
around Jupiter. um there will and


00:07:46.080 --> 00:07:48.790
because you're always you know that the


00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.990
chord that um of the Jupiter's disc that


00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.309
the planet that the spacecraft flies


00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.430
behind is different every time. And so


00:07:57.440 --> 00:08:01.909
we you probably need to um build up a


00:08:01.919 --> 00:08:04.390
statistically significant sample of


00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:06.869
entry and egress times when you're


00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:08.550
looking at you know the object


00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:10.469
disappearing by behind the planet.


00:08:10.479 --> 00:08:13.510
Occultation is what we call it. um uh an


00:08:13.520 --> 00:08:15.830
occultation is when one object hides


00:08:15.840 --> 00:08:17.830
another and that's how you're measuring


00:08:17.840 --> 00:08:19.350
uh these diameters. So yeah, it's


00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.469
probably it's probably taken 10 years


00:08:22.479 --> 00:08:24.710
partly to amass the data to give us this


00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.390
kind of level of accuracy.


00:08:26.400 --> 00:08:29.110
>> So okay, how accurate do you think it is


00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.630
now compared to those early um flybys


00:08:32.640 --> 00:08:35.430
with Voyager and Pioneer?


00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.190
>> That's a really good question actually.


00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:41.350
I haven't seen any error estimates on


00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.230
and um as you know in physics and


00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.550
certainly in astronomy too you always


00:08:46.560 --> 00:08:48.949
need a plus or minus an error estimate


00:08:48.959 --> 00:08:51.910
as to you know what the likelihood of


00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:55.990
your measurement um being that number is


00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.389
uh and I haven't seen it for these so I


00:08:58.399 --> 00:08:59.910
don't know the answer to that but my


00:08:59.920 --> 00:09:01.990
guess is that we're talking about in the


00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.110
region of a kilometer which is um pretty


00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:07.990
impressive for something that diameter


00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:09.990
uh and something that's that far away,


00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.990
half a billion kilometers away.


00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:12.389
>> Yeah.


00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:15.350
>> So, does this mean that our estimations


00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:17.350
of other planets in the solar system are


00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.590
probably a bit off as well? Uh when you


00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.070
consider that uh like Neptune, for


00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:23.590
example, I think we've only visited


00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:25.269
once. Would that be right?


00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.030
>> Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Uh so, yes, I


00:09:29.040 --> 00:09:31.750
I I think you're right. you know, you


00:09:31.760 --> 00:09:34.790
certainly the the um estimates of


00:09:34.800 --> 00:09:37.350
planets beyond Jupiter and Saturn in


00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.910
terms of their diameter and physical


00:09:39.920 --> 00:09:42.310
characteristics will have much bigger


00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:44.389
error limits on them just because we


00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:45.590
can't make the measurements as


00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:47.910
accurately as you can when you've got a


00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:50.630
spacecraft in orbit around one of them.


00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:53.430
>> Okay. So, um that's that's a work in


00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.430
progress. Whenever we go back, we might


00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:56.310
be able to


00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.870
>> fix that. But, uh I don't know. Have


00:09:58.880 --> 00:10:00.550
they got any missions planned for


00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:02.550
Neptune and Uranus or anything?


00:10:02.560 --> 00:10:04.389
>> There's there's always calls for them


00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:06.310
because they're such interesting worlds.


00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:06.630
>> Yeah.


00:10:06.640 --> 00:10:08.949
>> Um but I don't think I mean I think


00:10:08.959 --> 00:10:11.990
there are uh there are lots of proposals


00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.110
but I don't think there's anything


00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:14.949
funded. Might be wrong about that.


00:10:14.959 --> 00:10:16.470
>> Maybe our listeners can tell me if I'm


00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:18.630
wrong about that. They they may well cuz


00:10:18.640 --> 00:10:20.470
a lot of the actually we've got one


00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:23.190
fellow on Facebook who regularly uh


00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:24.949
researches some of the things we talk


00:10:24.959 --> 00:10:26.790
about and he publishes his findings on


00:10:26.800 --> 00:10:28.790
on the Facebook podcast group.


00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:29.829
>> Good on


00:10:29.839 --> 00:10:32.150
>> um yeah and I I think it's great. I've


00:10:32.160 --> 00:10:34.230
read a few of his um explanations and


00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.310
they're they're very good. Um so we're


00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.790
probably going to get sacked but uh it's


00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:40.870
um


00:10:40.880 --> 00:10:44.150
surprised them sacked us all.


00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:46.310
>> Well they they can afford us. that's why


00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:47.670
we're still here. Um,


00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:50.310
>> well, that's true. Yes, true. Very true.


00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:51.910
>> No, it's it's it's a really good


00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:53.590
discussion point. So, it sort of keeps


00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.590
the momentum going when when we discuss


00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.190
these things. So, I'm sure it'll work on


00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.630
our uh our tiny Jupiter story. Uh, which


00:11:00.640 --> 00:11:00.949
um


00:11:00.959 --> 00:11:01.509
>> Good.


00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:03.670
>> Yes. Which you can read about at the


00:11:03.680 --> 00:11:05.910
daily galaxy.com website or you can read


00:11:05.920 --> 00:11:09.430
the paper at Nature Astronomy. This is


00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.350
Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and


00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:17.670
Professor Fred Watson.


00:11:17.680 --> 00:11:20.150
That's agre that's agreement. He's at


00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:25.430
for goodness sake. I'm really sorry.


00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:26.389
>> Okay.


00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.870
>> He gets very enthusiastic. Hang on. Hang


00:11:28.880 --> 00:11:31.750
on.


00:11:31.760 --> 00:11:33.430
>> Space nuts.


00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.430
>> I I couldn't help but turn that into a


00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:36.310
link.


00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.310
>> It's It's Yeah. Brilliant. I'll tell


00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:39.030
him.


00:11:39.040 --> 00:11:41.430
>> Oh gosh. It's just too good. It's just


00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.949
too good. But he was going off his nut


00:11:42.959 --> 00:11:44.230
that day, wasn't he?


00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:45.990
>> He was.


00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.069
He was. He does. Yes. He's very highly


00:11:48.079 --> 00:11:48.790
strung nut, though.


00:11:48.800 --> 00:11:50.310
>> Yes. He is. Well, that that's how he


00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.230
that's how he greeted us when we visited


00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.310
you late last year. He came tearing down


00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.069
the stairs.


00:11:56.079 --> 00:11:58.389
>> Yeah. Doing his rooster impersonation.


00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.870
>> No one could ever rob you, Fred. No one.


00:12:00.880 --> 00:12:03.750
>> That's the one good thing about it. Yes,


00:12:03.760 --> 00:12:04.790
that is the one good thing.


00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:06.230
>> They don't have to be big aggressive


00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.190
dogs. They they just have to be loud.


00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.030
>> Or or even, you know, a brush turkey


00:12:11.040 --> 00:12:12.389
going past the window in the middle of


00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:15.350
the night. That's enough as well.


00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:17.190
>> Yes, that's uh that's all it takes


00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.150
sometimes. Now, let's move on to our


00:12:20.160 --> 00:12:22.629
next story. And this this is a story


00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:25.350
that's got scientists uh really well,


00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:27.750
the headline says scientists stunned.


00:12:27.760 --> 00:12:30.949
We're talking about uh a comet that has


00:12:30.959 --> 00:12:34.069
done something really really unusual.


00:12:34.079 --> 00:12:37.670
Unusual. We're talking about comet 41P.


00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:39.990
What's it done this time?


00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.310
>> Cuz it keeps making the news this one.


00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:46.230
>> Yes, it does. Tuttle Jacobini Cresac is


00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.269
its full name. Uh comet better known as


00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:53.030
41P. Uh it's an object uh probably a


00:12:53.040 --> 00:12:56.310
kilometer across. A flying iceberg like


00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.350
basically like comets are. Um and it


00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.430
orbits the sun I think about every 5 and


00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:03.590
a half years. So it's in a what we will


00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:07.750
call a short period comet orbit. Um and


00:13:07.760 --> 00:13:10.150
it's uh when it passes near the sun, of


00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:12.310
course it does what comets do. It uh out


00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:17.030
gases uh produces um u basically plumes


00:13:17.040 --> 00:13:20.629
of of gas leaving its surface. Um it's


00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.269
usually water ice being converted


00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:26.470
directly to water vapor by the process


00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:30.230
known as sublimation. Um uh but what has


00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:36.629
been recorded uh in uh uh in fact in


00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:38.150
quite a while ago actually I think this


00:13:38.160 --> 00:13:40.550
is eight years ago by a NASA spacecraft


00:13:40.560 --> 00:13:42.790
observations made by NASA Swift


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:47.910
spacecraft um measuring its rotation and


00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:51.670
basically over 60 days what's that sort


00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:54.470
of nine weeks or something like that


00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.710
>> um it slowed down from rotating once


00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:03.110
every 20 hours to once every 53 hours.


00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:05.269
Uh so that is a you know it's almost a


00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:09.590
three factor of three uh in this the um


00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:12.069
level of spin that this comet has got.


00:14:12.079 --> 00:14:12.470
>> Yeah.


00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:16.949
>> Uh and it's there's suggestion


00:14:16.959 --> 00:14:20.470
that maybe it's now rotating in the


00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.150
other direction uh from what it was


00:14:24.160 --> 00:14:26.150
before that there's been some sort of


00:14:26.160 --> 00:14:28.470
reverse. It hasn't slowed down to about


00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:31.910
1/3. It's It's reversed. So, it's it's


00:14:31.920 --> 00:14:34.629
slowed down five times


00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.389
>> cuz it's going back the other way.


00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:39.189
>> It could be I mean, part of it could be


00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:41.750
due to how you measure the rotation


00:14:41.760 --> 00:14:43.590
because it could be tumbling as well.


00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.030
So, you might be seeing it going the


00:14:45.040 --> 00:14:46.310
other way around. But, it does seem to


00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:48.230
be I think you're right. It's I think


00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:49.670
what you've just said is correct that


00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:51.990
it's a it's a reversal, a genuine


00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.750
reversal of its rotation direction. Um,


00:14:55.760 --> 00:14:58.069
so yes, it's it's got much more than a


00:14:58.079 --> 00:14:59.430
factor of three. That's right.


00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.590
>> That kills my theory because my first


00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.350
thought was, well, this must just be an


00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:05.990
observational error. But an


00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.750
observational error wouldn't get it the


00:15:07.760 --> 00:15:10.069
wrong way round, unless of course you


00:15:10.079 --> 00:15:11.269
you're talking about the color of the


00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.030
universe, but we won't go there. But um,


00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:18.389
>> wasn't my fault.


00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:21.670
>> Um, so yeah. Uh, what else could be


00:15:21.680 --> 00:15:24.550
causing this change of behavior? it. I


00:15:24.560 --> 00:15:26.790
think if if it was anything other than a


00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:29.110
comet, you know, if it was an asteroid


00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:33.430
doing this or a planetisimal or or a a


00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.430
distant one of the distant Kyper belt


00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.269
objects or something like that, it was


00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:40.069
if it was any of those, we would be


00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:42.550
utterly gobsmacked. Uh because there's


00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:44.870
no physical mechanism to do that other


00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:47.509
than an interaction with another body.


00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.350
You know, if you had two bodies


00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.990
gravitating close together, it could


00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.310
have an effect on the rotation.


00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.230
>> But, uh, in fact, more especially a


00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.550
collision, that would do it as well. Um,


00:15:58.560 --> 00:16:00.389
but with a comet, you've got this


00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:02.710
process that it outgasses. what I was


00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.430
saying earlier as it gets near the sun


00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:09.030
um the there basically the ices start to


00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:12.470
vaporize and you get a thrust from the


00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.230
from the outgassing material uh which is


00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.829
what we call a non-gravitational


00:16:17.839 --> 00:16:21.030
perturbation. It's when uh when you know


00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:23.030
the the outgassing material is acting


00:16:23.040 --> 00:16:25.990
like a rocket engine and it's changing


00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.269
the dynamics of the object as it's


00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.910
orbiting the sun. Um, and you can


00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:35.590
imagine that if there was um a formation


00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.710
of ice on the on the surface of the


00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:41.350
comet that essentially tilted the blast


00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:46.069
of the of the um escaping material uh as


00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:49.910
it as it sublimated as the as the um the


00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:52.470
material the water mostly went straight


00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.030
from a solid to a gas. Um it's like


00:16:55.040 --> 00:16:57.670
having a you know a sort of verier


00:16:57.680 --> 00:16:59.829
thruster. It's like where you've got a a


00:16:59.839 --> 00:17:01.910
thrust that is changing the rotation of


00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:04.949
a spacecraft because it's not going um


00:17:04.959 --> 00:17:07.590
the line of of the of the thrust is not


00:17:07.600 --> 00:17:09.510
going through the center of gravity of


00:17:09.520 --> 00:17:11.270
the comet. If it's off the center of


00:17:11.280 --> 00:17:12.789
gravity, then it's going to impart a


00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.390
rotation on it. And if it's strong


00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.309
enough, then it might be enough to slow


00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.549
it down and perhaps even reverse its uh


00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.189
reverse its rotation. So that's what the


00:17:21.199 --> 00:17:22.710
thinking is, but it's never been seen


00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:23.429
before.


00:17:23.439 --> 00:17:26.949
>> No. Well, like retro rockets.


00:17:26.959 --> 00:17:29.270
>> Yeah, that's right. is a retro rocket,


00:17:29.280 --> 00:17:32.070
but one that that's not slowing it down


00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:34.230
in its orbit. It's changing its rotation


00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.830
because of the angle that the the


00:17:35.840 --> 00:17:37.990
rocket, if you want to call it that, the


00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.470
rocket exhaust is coming out.


00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.510
>> Yeah. At the moment, it's 774 million


00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:47.510
kilometers from Earth, 5.18 astronomical


00:17:47.520 --> 00:17:51.110
units. And uh as you mentioned, this


00:17:51.120 --> 00:17:54.710
unusual behavior was checked back in


00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:59.190
2017 and they've only just sort of put a


00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.669
paper together to try and explain it. Um


00:18:01.679 --> 00:18:04.390
it's got a 5.4 year orbit, so it comes


00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.830
back quite often.


00:18:05.840 --> 00:18:08.549
>> Yeah, that's right. It's um it it's it's


00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.190
capt basically captured by Jupiter.


00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.590
>> So its orbit is dictated. It would have


00:18:13.600 --> 00:18:15.590
been in its early history, it would have


00:18:15.600 --> 00:18:17.990
been a comet coming into the inner solar


00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.310
system from the or cloud, this spherical


00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:22.950
sort of reservoir of comets. Um, but


00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:25.190
would have had its orbit modified maybe


00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:26.870
several times by the influence of


00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.430
Jupiter, which is why it's now in this


00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.430
really short um short period orbit, 5.4


00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:34.310
years. Yeah.


00:18:34.320 --> 00:18:37.990
>> Um there has been a suggestion that if


00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:39.510
you've got these sort of oblique


00:18:39.520 --> 00:18:41.190
outgassing that we've just been talking


00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.590
about that would change the rotation of


00:18:43.600 --> 00:18:47.029
the object that that might also signal


00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.789
that there might be weaknesses in the


00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.350
comet structure and it may even be a


00:18:51.360 --> 00:18:53.430
precursor to it breaking up which is


00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.909
something that I think will be observed


00:18:55.919 --> 00:18:58.230
with great interest as to how it uh how


00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:01.190
it progresses uh since since this change


00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:01.830
of spin.


00:19:01.840 --> 00:19:03.750
>> Yeah, maybe. And we we'll find we could


00:19:03.760 --> 00:19:06.710
find out as late as or as soon as late


00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.230
2028


00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:11.750
I think is its next appearance near the


00:19:11.760 --> 00:19:14.310
sun or near us or whatever you like. So


00:19:14.320 --> 00:19:15.110
um


00:19:15.120 --> 00:19:19.110
>> yeah we'll keep an eye on 41p I guess


00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:21.830
>> 41p that's right. Um there was a


00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:26.310
proposal long long ago uh to send a


00:19:26.320 --> 00:19:28.549
spacecraft to it because it's a short


00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:30.470
period comet. So it's always in the


00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.789
inner solar system and that was what was


00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.430
then called Ezro European Space Research


00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:38.390
Organization the the precursor of the


00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.950
European Space Agency. Uh this is in the


00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.190
1960s. They looked at sending a probe to


00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.430
that comet but they changed their mind


00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:47.350
so it never went.


00:19:47.360 --> 00:19:51.190
>> A yes. I'm sure that happens a lot in in


00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.070
astronomy. I mean, it's not an easy not


00:19:54.080 --> 00:19:58.070
an easy thing to um to do to to, you


00:19:58.080 --> 00:20:00.390
know, set up a mission and actually


00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:01.909
execute it. You got to come up with the


00:20:01.919 --> 00:20:05.190
dollars and Yeah. You know, it's only


00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.029
only so many 10-centent pieces can fit


00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:10.310
on a jar on the mantle piece. So,


00:20:10.320 --> 00:20:12.950
>> yeah. Yeah, that's right.


00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.830
>> Yeah. All right. Um, you can read all


00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:19.350
about uh comet 41P


00:20:19.360 --> 00:20:22.310
uh at um it's at the daily galaxy.com


00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:23.909
website, but you can also read the


00:20:23.919 --> 00:20:26.070
paper. I think it's just uh been


00:20:26.080 --> 00:20:29.110
pre-published or pre there's a pre-print


00:20:29.120 --> 00:20:32.789
available uh on the archive. Uh this is


00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.710
Space Nuts. Andrew Dunley here with


00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.630
Professor Fred. What's that?


00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:42.549
>> I'm going to step off the limb now.


00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:47.830
That's one small step for man,


00:20:47.840 --> 00:20:50.789
one leap for mankind.


00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:52.549
>> Space nuts.


00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:54.789
>> Now, Fred, to our final story on this


00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:57.350
episode, we've talked many times about


00:20:57.360 --> 00:20:59.830
gravitational lensing and some of the


00:20:59.840 --> 00:21:01.590
strange things that it does. You can


00:21:01.600 --> 00:21:03.590
watch something happen two, three, four


00:21:03.600 --> 00:21:06.070
times over the course of many years


00:21:06.080 --> 00:21:07.830
because of gravitational lensing because


00:21:07.840 --> 00:21:11.350
the light is redirected and takes longer


00:21:11.360 --> 00:21:12.789
to get here. And so you can see


00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.789
something and go, "Oh, what was that?


00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.310
Hang on. I'll I'll know again in a


00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:18.470
couple of years." Because


00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.430
yeah, not quite. But um what we're


00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:22.470
talking about in


00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:23.110
>> Yeah.


00:21:23.120 --> 00:21:24.630
>> What we're talking about in this


00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:27.590
particular case though is actually going


00:21:27.600 --> 00:21:31.750
out to a solar gravitational lens focal


00:21:31.760 --> 00:21:33.830
point. Is that the crux of the story?


00:21:33.840 --> 00:21:36.390
>> It it is. That's right. It's a this is a


00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:38.630
really interesting kind of essay really


00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:42.070
on the universe today website by Andy


00:21:42.080 --> 00:21:45.750
Thomas Wick uh about um about the solar


00:21:45.760 --> 00:21:47.510
gravitational lens and about how you'd


00:21:47.520 --> 00:21:49.750
get there. Um but the solar


00:21:49.760 --> 00:21:51.590
gravitational lens itself is really


00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:54.310
interesting. So the idea is exactly as


00:21:54.320 --> 00:21:57.750
you've said if you've got a an object of


00:21:57.760 --> 00:21:59.909
any mass and it happens with planets as


00:21:59.919 --> 00:22:03.590
well as stars uh it's going to bend the


00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:05.350
light passing around it because it's


00:22:05.360 --> 00:22:08.390
distorting space uh under the uh under


00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:12.390
the protocols introduced by um not in


00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:14.390
sorry as we understand it by the


00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:16.870
protocols introduced by Einstein's


00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:18.870
general theory of relativity that's what


00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.789
lets us calc do all the calculations


00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.390
about this sort of So, you've got an


00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.470
object in space. It's bending the light


00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:26.149
around it, which means it acts kind of


00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:28.630
like a lens. It's a very odd sort of


00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.230
lens, though. Um, I've seen a glass kind


00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:34.470
of interpretation of a gravitational


00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:38.230
lens. Um, there's a specialist who uh


00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.230
who works on this stuff in Melbourne who


00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.390
showed me her glass version of a


00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:45.750
gravitational lens. And it it resembles,


00:22:45.760 --> 00:22:47.669
you know, the the bottom of a wine glass


00:22:47.679 --> 00:22:49.510
where the the stalk comes up out of the


00:22:49.520 --> 00:22:51.430
middle of that. I I know them very well,


00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.230
Fred.


00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:54.710
>> Yeah. Yeah. Um well, if you break the


00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:57.669
wine glass off and you're left with that


00:22:57.679 --> 00:22:59.270
sort of flared part at the bottom,


00:22:59.280 --> 00:23:01.270
that's more or less the same as a


00:23:01.280 --> 00:23:02.870
gravitational lens in the way it would


00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:04.710
act on the light going around it.


00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:06.710
>> So, it's not it's not like a magnifying


00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.310
glass, which is what you'd like it to


00:23:08.320 --> 00:23:11.750
be. It's this very peculiar cuspshaped


00:23:11.760 --> 00:23:16.149
lens. And so it gives you um a focus


00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:19.510
that is blurred, but it's because you


00:23:19.520 --> 00:23:21.750
know the properties of the of the object


00:23:21.760 --> 00:23:23.350
that's doing the lensing. And in this


00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:25.830
case, we're talking about the sun. Uh


00:23:25.840 --> 00:23:27.350
because you know the properties of the


00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:29.830
sun, you can calculate what that


00:23:29.840 --> 00:23:32.149
blurring does to the image and you can


00:23:32.159 --> 00:23:34.710
essentially compensate it. So you could


00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.310
recreate


00:23:36.320 --> 00:23:38.789
uh the light coming from a very distant


00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:42.390
object um and recreate the image that


00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.630
the sun is forming as though it was a


00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.950
proper lens rather than a peculiar


00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:49.669
cusped lens. And that's what's sort of


00:23:49.679 --> 00:23:51.350
being proposed. Could we send a


00:23:51.360 --> 00:23:55.350
spacecraft to uh the solar gravitational


00:23:55.360 --> 00:24:00.390
lens focus where you could look directly


00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:03.830
back at a planet on the other side of


00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:07.990
the sun around a distant star? So you're


00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.070
looking into another solar system a long


00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:12.149
way away, but you're using the sun's


00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:15.909
gravity to bend that light by relativity


00:24:15.919 --> 00:24:18.950
and focus it to a point. Uh, and if you


00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.190
put a spacecraft there with a camera and


00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:23.830
a fancy computer, you might be able to


00:24:23.840 --> 00:24:26.950
reveal continents on an exoplanet, for


00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:28.149
example.


00:24:28.159 --> 00:24:30.870
>> Um, or even cities. That's the sort of


00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:33.110
thing that people are thinking of. So,


00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:35.029
here's the snag, though. That's a great


00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.630
idea, but snag.


00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:39.990
>> I think I just read that exact paragraph


00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.909
as you were about to say it, so I might


00:24:41.919 --> 00:24:43.510
blow the whistle.


00:24:43.520 --> 00:24:45.269
>> Yeah. Well, you can.


00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:47.669
>> No, no, you do it. It it's the distance,


00:24:47.679 --> 00:24:50.950
isn't it? It's it's Yeah. Um about


00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:53.350
somewhere between 650 and 900


00:24:53.360 --> 00:24:55.510
astronomical units is what's quoted in


00:24:55.520 --> 00:24:57.190
this in this article. And an


00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.669
astronomical unit is 150 million


00:24:59.679 --> 00:25:02.390
kilometers. So it is a number with a lot


00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:07.190
of zeros after it in kilometers. Um and


00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:09.590
you know it's getting your spacecraft


00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:11.909
there that is the issue. Uh we're


00:25:11.919 --> 00:25:13.990
talking about well the estimate here is


00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:15.909
four times further than Voyager 1 has


00:25:15.919 --> 00:25:19.590
traveled and that as we know is 23 light


00:25:19.600 --> 00:25:23.110
hours away. Um they reckon that it would


00:25:23.120 --> 00:25:28.070
be um more than another 130 years to uh


00:25:28.080 --> 00:25:31.669
for Voyager 1 to get to the the sun's


00:25:31.679 --> 00:25:34.230
gravitational lens point. By my


00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.310
calculation, and and this is probably


00:25:36.320 --> 00:25:39.430
way wrong, 97,500


00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.350
million kilometers.


00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:43.430
>> Sounds about right. Sounds like a lot.


00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:43.990
>> Yep.


00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.750
>> I didn't think my calculator could fit


00:25:45.760 --> 00:25:48.390
that many numbers on it.


00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:50.230
>> Remember the old the old calculators


00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:51.669
when they first came out? If you gave it


00:25:51.679 --> 00:25:53.110
too big a problem, it would just give


00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:54.950
you a little E.


00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:55.269
>> Yeah.


00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.590
>> E for error. No, I can't do that. Sorry.


00:25:57.600 --> 00:25:59.669
>> Yep. Yeah. This computer says no,


00:25:59.679 --> 00:26:00.630
really, isn't it?


00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:02.870
>> That's right. Yeah, that's a long way


00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:06.390
away and very difficult to achieve, but


00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.630
I think one day maybe we could do that.


00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.549
>> Yes. So that that's really the thrust of


00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:12.549
this article. How about you know what's


00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:16.549
the way to do it? Can you can you get to


00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:19.830
that point and they um the author's done


00:26:19.840 --> 00:26:21.510
some nice calculations which I haven't


00:26:21.520 --> 00:26:23.590
checked so I hope these are correct. I


00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:27.269
should check them. Anyway, um if you


00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:29.029
were trying to get to that solar


00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.149
gravitational lens point, focal point in


00:26:32.159 --> 00:26:34.870
20 years, then you need your spacecraft


00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:38.789
to travel at about 150 kilometers/s.


00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:43.909
Um uh it's which is very hard uh when


00:26:43.919 --> 00:26:45.750
you're pointing away from the sun. The


00:26:45.760 --> 00:26:47.990
Parker Solar Probe, they point out, and


00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.269
we kind of know this because we've


00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:51.110
talked about it, has actually got to


00:26:51.120 --> 00:26:53.590
nearly 200 kilometers/s,


00:26:53.600 --> 00:26:55.350
but that's only when it's at what we


00:26:55.360 --> 00:26:57.669
call perihelion. It's at its closest


00:26:57.679 --> 00:26:59.669
point to the sun where it's going


00:26:59.679 --> 00:27:02.310
fastest. Um, and what we're talking


00:27:02.320 --> 00:27:03.590
about here is something going in the


00:27:03.600 --> 00:27:05.350
opposite direction, going away from the


00:27:05.360 --> 00:27:07.510
sun. For it to travel at that sort of


00:27:07.520 --> 00:27:09.830
speed, you need an extraordinary amount


00:27:09.840 --> 00:27:12.710
of thrust. Um, I don't think you're


00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.470
talking about chemical rockets to get up


00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:16.549
to 150 kilometers/s.


00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:17.350
>> Light sales.


00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:20.950
>> So, light sails. Yeah, that's uh one of


00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.470
the things that you and I have spoken


00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:24.149
about before. If you can


00:27:24.159 --> 00:27:28.630
>> beam out laser light to a solar sail, a


00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:31.350
gigantic um piece of, you know,


00:27:31.360 --> 00:27:33.190
something very thin like myar that's


00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:35.350
reflective. Uh then the light itself


00:27:35.360 --> 00:27:37.269
pushes it along and you just keep going


00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.830
so that it just keeps up building up


00:27:39.840 --> 00:27:40.789
speed.


00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:42.870
>> Um there are um


00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:44.390
>> the trouble with that is when you get


00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:46.149
there, how do you stop it?


00:27:46.159 --> 00:27:47.750
>> Yeah, you don't. You just keep going.


00:27:47.760 --> 00:27:48.710
That's right.


00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:50.710
>> Unless Unless it had something on board


00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:54.630
to like you turn off the light and


00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:57.029
>> reverse or something. I don't know.


00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.630
>> Yeah. You're never going to slow it down


00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.190
because even if you turn off the light,


00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:03.269
it stops it accelerating, but it's still


00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:05.590
going at that speed. That's right.


00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:11.190
>> Um there's a a possibility that um you


00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.870
know, could you could you do the solar


00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:19.909
sail trick um and and


00:28:19.919 --> 00:28:23.029
basically um make it successful? The


00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.990
problem with solar sales is you you can


00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:28.470
only carry objects that are very light


00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.549
in weight or have low mass. And you


00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:33.029
might remember we've looked at this uh


00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.590
with um what was it the Breakthrough


00:28:35.600 --> 00:28:38.149
Starshot program which I think has now


00:28:38.159 --> 00:28:40.389
ceased. Breakthrough Starshot looked at


00:28:40.399 --> 00:28:42.549
the feasibility of using a solar sail to


00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.430
send a a spacecraft to Proxima Centuri


00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.710
which is only four light years away. Um,


00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.110
and uh, it could be done, but your


00:28:51.120 --> 00:28:54.470
spacecraft would basically consist of


00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:57.750
uh, one um, what's it called? Printed


00:28:57.760 --> 00:29:00.310
circuit board and a detector. Uh,


00:29:00.320 --> 00:29:01.590
there's not really room for anything


00:29:01.600 --> 00:29:03.830
else. It will be so it'd have to be so


00:29:03.840 --> 00:29:05.669
light in weight. It would be measured in


00:29:05.679 --> 00:29:09.110
grams rather than kilograms or tons. Uh,


00:29:09.120 --> 00:29:11.430
so that would be the problem with your,


00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.430
you know, with sending a a spacecraft to


00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:16.230
the uh, solar gravitational lens using a


00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:18.070
solar sail. So, you're talking then


00:29:18.080 --> 00:29:20.870
about nuclear sources and uh things of


00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:24.470
that sort that this very nice article uh


00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:27.269
goes into some of the uh the nicities of


00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:29.830
nuclear thermal propulsion and things of


00:29:29.840 --> 00:29:33.190
that sort. Even so, it's still a very


00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:37.750
tough ask to send a spacecraft to that


00:29:37.760 --> 00:29:40.389
interesting part of the sun's


00:29:40.399 --> 00:29:43.669
environment where you've got the solar


00:29:43.679 --> 00:29:47.430
the solar um uh gravity forming a focus.


00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.710
Uh even to get there, it's really to get


00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:53.190
there in, you know, 20 years or so, uh


00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:54.470
you're talking about really new


00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:55.990
technologies that we simply don't have


00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:57.029
at the moment.


00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:59.110
>> Yeah. Well, one day it might be a long


00:29:59.120 --> 00:30:02.070
way off, but uh the time may come and uh


00:30:02.080 --> 00:30:03.590
but then again, we might have figured


00:30:03.600 --> 00:30:07.830
everything out by then. So, yeah.


00:30:07.840 --> 00:30:09.830
Yeah. I mean, you you know, the other


00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:12.070
thing is you'd want to choose So, you've


00:30:12.080 --> 00:30:13.830
got to choose the direction that you go


00:30:13.840 --> 00:30:14.310
in.


00:30:14.320 --> 00:30:14.630
>> Yeah.


00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:16.470
>> Uh to be in the opposite direction to


00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:18.310
the planet that you want to observe.


00:30:18.320 --> 00:30:21.430
>> Y the exoplanet. And if you get that


00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:23.350
wrong, if you choose a a planet that's


00:30:23.360 --> 00:30:25.029
completely boring and has no surface


00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:27.190
features whatsoever,


00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:30.070
uh then you uh you don't really


00:30:30.080 --> 00:30:31.590
contribute much to our knowledge,


00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:32.789
particularly our knowledge of whether


00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:34.310
we're alone or not, whether there's life


00:30:34.320 --> 00:30:35.110
anywhere else.


00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:36.789
>> It's sort of like leaving the lens cap


00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:39.830
on the camera when you land on a Venus.


00:30:39.840 --> 00:30:40.870
>> Yes, that's right.


00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:42.230
>> Actually, they didn't leave it on. It


00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:43.269
melted on. I think


00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:46.230
>> it it Yeah. Well, one of them fell off


00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:48.149
as well, didn't it? fall offs on top of


00:30:48.159 --> 00:30:50.310
the on top of the scale that was going


00:30:50.320 --> 00:30:52.870
to give the uh the you know there's a


00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:55.669
ruler that they jettisoned to give the


00:30:55.679 --> 00:30:57.590
camera something to look at so you could


00:30:57.600 --> 00:30:59.110
measure the size of things and the lens


00:30:59.120 --> 00:31:00.630
cap landed right on top of it. I think


00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:02.470
that's what happened. We've had quite a


00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:05.909
few venous disasters over the years, but


00:31:05.919 --> 00:31:07.669
yeah, you're right. This would be very


00:31:07.679 --> 00:31:10.070
very difficult to swallow if you're


00:31:10.080 --> 00:31:12.630
bugging it up cuz you couldn't go and


00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:13.750
fix it. Not like


00:31:13.760 --> 00:31:15.110
>> Yeah. Well, that's right. You can't move


00:31:15.120 --> 00:31:17.510
it in any direction. You You're stuck on


00:31:17.520 --> 00:31:18.789
one planet really.


00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.269
>> Indeed. But it's it's food for thought


00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:23.830
though. Um but one day we'll figure out


00:31:23.840 --> 00:31:26.070
a way. If you'd like to read about that


00:31:26.080 --> 00:31:29.590
story, it is at univertoday.com as Fred


00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:31.430
said. And we're done. Fred, thank you


00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:32.549
very much.


00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.029
>> Oh, uh, yeah, that was that was great to


00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:36.310
talk about all those things. I hope


00:31:36.320 --> 00:31:37.430
we'll do it again sometime.


00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.750
>> Fun topics. I'm sure we will. Uh, if you


00:31:39.760 --> 00:31:42.389
would like to, um, visit us in the


00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:44.710
meantime. Don't forget to visit our


00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:46.789
website, spacenutspodcast.com or


00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:49.269
spacenuts.io IO or visit our social


00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.430
media platforms, the official Space Nuts


00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:54.389
Facebook page or Instagram page or


00:31:54.399 --> 00:31:56.870
YouTube channel or whatever you like. Or


00:31:56.880 --> 00:31:59.830
if you want to talk to likeminded Space


00:31:59.840 --> 00:32:01.990
Nutters, you can do that on the Space


00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.389
Nuts podcast group on Facebook, which is


00:32:04.399 --> 00:32:06.070
always a lot of fun. Thanks, Red. We'll


00:32:06.080 --> 00:32:07.909
see you soon.


00:32:07.919 --> 00:32:09.590
>> Yes, I hope so.


00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:11.269
>> Well, he said that. And uh thanks to


00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:13.509
Hugh in the studio um who couldn't be


00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.990
with us today. He was invited by a


00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.470
friend to see a comet and he couldn't


00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:20.070
wait so he ran over there. It turned out


00:32:20.080 --> 00:32:21.909
to be a goldfish.


00:32:21.919 --> 00:32:24.789
Some people will get that. And from me,


00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:27.190
Andrew Dunley, thanks for your company.


00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:28.710
See you on the next episode of Space


00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:29.909
Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:32:29.919 --> 00:32:30.950
>> Space Nuts.


00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:33.029
>> You've been listening to the Space Nuts


00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:35.350
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00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:38.230
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