Lightning on Mars, New Cosmic Objects, and the Future of European Spaceflight

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,


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the podcast that brings you the


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universe, one story at a time. I'm


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Avery.


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


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with us. We've got news stretching from


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the rusty soil of Mars all the way to


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the deepest reaches of cosmic time.


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


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possible lightning on Mars, a new crew


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arriving at the space station, Europe's


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nextgen reusable spacecraft, a potential


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new kind of cosmic monster, and we'll


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finally get an answer to what drives the


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furious winds of Venus.


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>> So, let's get started. Our first story


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takes us to the red planet, where an old


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question might have a shocking new


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answer.


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>> Do tell. Avery, for decades, scientists


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have wondered if lightning could occur


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on Mars. Well, it seems NASA's


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Perseverance rover may have finally


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captured the first direct evidence.


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>> Wow, really? After all this time, how


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did it detect it? Was it a flash of


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light?


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>> Not visually, but audibly. The rover's


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super sensitive microphone, part of the


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Super Cam instrument, recorded crackling


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sounds, faint pops and crackles that are


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distinct from the usual Martian wind. It


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heard lightning. That's incredible. So,


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what's causing these electrical


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discharges?


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>> Scientists believe the primary suspect


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is the planet's infamous dust storms.


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The friction between dust particles as


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they're whipped around by the wind can


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build up a significant static charge,


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just like shuffling your feet on a


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carpet.


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>> Right. And eventually, that charge has


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to go somewhere, resulting in a spark.


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>> Exactly. A miniature Martian lightning


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bolt. While the energy is likely much


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lower than a typical terrestrial


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thunderstorm, it proves that Mars'


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atmosphere is more electrically active


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than we ever knew. So, Mars has more


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dynamic and complex weather than we


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previously thought. This just makes me


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even more excited for future crude


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missions. There's still so much to


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discover.


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>> I think you'll find you're not the only


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one waiting for that step.


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>> Speaking of space travel, let's turn our


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attention a little closer to home. On


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Thanksgiving Day, a crew of three


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successfully launched to the


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International Space Station aboard a


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Soyuse rocket.


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>> That's right. The crew consists of one


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NASA astronaut and two Russian


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cosminauts. It's a powerful symbol of


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continued international cooperation in


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space, even during complicated times


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here on Earth.


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>> Absolutely. The space station has always


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been a beacon for that kind of


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partnership. What's on the agenda for


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their mission?


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>> It's going to be a busy stay. They're


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scheduled for an eight-month mission


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during which they'll oversee a whole


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range of scientific experiments. These


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experiments cover everything from human


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biology and microgravity to material


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science and Earth observation.


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>> Mhm. And I imagine a lot of maintenance


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work too, keeping the 20 plus year old


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station in good shape.


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>> Of course, there's always something to


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fix or upgrade. They'll also be


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preparing the station for the arrival of


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new commercial modules and supporting


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spacew walks for hardware installation.


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It's a critical job to keep our outpost


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in orbit running smoothly.


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>> Well, we wish them a safe and productive


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mission up there.


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>> From the present of space flight to its


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future. The European Space Agency or


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issa has just announced a target date


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for a very exciting project. The


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inaugural flight of its space rider


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vehicle is now set for 2028.


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>> Space rider, that's reusable space


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plane, right? What makes it different


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from other spacecraft out there?


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>> Think of it as an uncrrewed robotic


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space laboratory. It's designed to


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launch on a Vega C rocket, deploy a


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multi-purpose cargo bay into orbit, and


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stay there for up to two months


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conducting experiments automatically.


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So, it's essentially a freeflying


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science platform.


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>> Exactly. And here's the key part. After


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its mission is complete, it will


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re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and land


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on a runway just like an airplane. The


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vehicle and its payloads can then be


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recovered, refurbished, and flown again.


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That's a huge step for Europe.


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Reusability is the name of the game for


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making access to space more affordable


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and sustainable. Having their own


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reusable vehicle opens up a lot of


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possibilities for science and technology


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development.


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>> It really does. It will give European


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scientists and companies a routine way


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to run experiments in microgravity and


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bring them back to Earth for analysis


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without relying on other launch


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providers. 2028 will be a year to watch.


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>> All right. Now, let's journey from low


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Earth orbit out to the edge of the


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observable universe. The James Webb


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Space Telescope has found something


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peculiar, and it might be a new class of


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object we've never seen before.


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>> This is one of those stories that really


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stretches the imagination. In some of


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its deepest images of the early


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universe, Web spotted a series of tiny,


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extremely red dots.


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>> Okay, tiny red dots in deep space. That


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could be a lot of things. What's the


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theory? Well, after ruling out more


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conventional explanations like distant


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red galaxies, a team of astrophysicists


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has proposed a wild new idea. They think


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these could be a new kind of cosmic


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monster. Wo! They're calling them black


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hole stars. The idea is that at the core


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of each of these objects is a super


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massive black hole, but it's surrounded


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by an incredibly dense massive shell of


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gas that it's feeding on.


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>> So, it would look like a giant puffy


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star from the outside, but it's really a


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black hole in disguise.


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>> That's the essence of it. This shell of


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gas is so thick that it traps the light


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from the accreting material, making the


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object appear as a single reddish point


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of light rather than a blazing quazar,


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which is what we'd normally expect to


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see.


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>> That would be a gamecher for


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understanding how the very first super


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massive black holes grew so big so fast


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in the early universe.


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>> It certainly would. If this hypothesis


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holds up, it means there could be a


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hidden population of these growing black


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holes that we've been completely missing


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until now. It's a testament to how JWST


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isn't just seeing farther. It's seeing


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things in a whole new way.


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>> It really does make you wonder what else


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is out there that we know nothing about.


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But let's hope it's not a case of


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ignorance is bliss.


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>> You betcha. Okay, for our final story,


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we come back to our own solar system, to


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Earth's evil twin sister planet, Venus.


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We're talking about its hellish


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atmosphere and the extreme winds that


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whip around the planet.


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>> Ah, Venusian super rotation. This has


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been a huge puzzle for decades. The


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entire atmosphere rotates around the


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planet 60 times faster than the planet


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itself spins. How is that even possible?


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Exactly. The mechanics have been a


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mystery, but new research is pointing to


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a key driver. A massive atmospheric tide


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fueled by the heat of the sun.


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>> An atmospheric tide like the ocean tides


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on Earth.


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>> Similar in principle, but driven by


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heat, not gravity. The sun intensely


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heats the dense atmosphere on the day


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side of Venus. This creates a huge


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planetwide thermal wave. As Venus slowly


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rotates, this wave of hot expanding gas


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travels around the planet, pushing the


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atmosphere and maintaining those


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incredible wind speeds.


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>> So, the daily cycle of heating and


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cooling from the sun is constantly


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pumping energy into the atmosphere,


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keeping it spinning like a top.


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>> That's a perfect analogy. Previous


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theories focused on other factors, but


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this research suggests this daily


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thermal tide is a major contributor, if


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not the primary one. It's a huge step


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forward in understanding the climate of


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not just Venus, but potentially of


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tidily locked exoplanets around other


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stars.


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>> And that's all the time we have for


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today. From the crackle of Martian


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lightning to the roar of Venusian winds


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and the silent mysteries of the early


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universe, it's been another incredible


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time in astronomy.


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>> It certainly has. Thank you for joining


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us on Astronomy Daily. We hope you'll


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subscribe and join us again next time as


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we continue to explore the cosmos.


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You'll find us on all podcast platforms


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or simply visit our website at


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astronomydaily.io


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io for details. Plus, you can catch up


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on all the latest space news by checking


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out our constantly updating news feed.


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>> Until tomorrow then, this has been Avery


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>> and Anna wishing you clear skies.


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Stories told.


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[Music]