Lunar Crater Age Revealed, NASA’s PUNCH Mission Launch
SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 39
The Astronomy, Space and Science News Podcast
Moon's Oldest Impact Crater Dated, NASA's Punch Mission Launches, and Europe's First Orbital Rocket Countdown
In this episode of SpaceTime, we reveal groundbreaking findings that pinpoint the age of the Moon's oldest and largest impact crater, the Aitken Basin. Recent analysis of lunar regolith collected by China's Chang'e 6 mission indicates that this massive structure was formed approximately 4.25 billion years ago by a colossal asteroid impact. We discuss how this discovery enhances our understanding of the Moon's geological history and its role in the solar system's evolution.
NASA's Punch Mission
We also cover the successful launch of NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, which is now in orbit and entering its commissioning phase. This innovative mission aims to make 3D observations of the Sun's corona and its transformation into solar wind, providing vital data to improve space weather predictions and protect our technology from solar storms.
Countdown for Europe's First Orbital Rocket Launch
Additionally, we discuss the countdown for mainland Europe's first orbital rocket launch, a significant milestone for the European space economy. The launch of the Spectrum rocket by ISA Aerospace from Norway's Andoya spaceport is poised to mark a new era in European space exploration, especially following recent setbacks due to geopolitical challenges and delays in existing launch systems.
00:00 Space Time Series 28 Episode 39 for broadcast on 31 March 2025
00:49 Dating the Moon's Aitken Basin
06:30 Analysis of lunar samples from Chang'e 6 mission
12:15 Overview of NASA's Punch mission and its objectives
18:00 Implications of solar wind studies for space weather prediction
22:45 Countdown for Europe's first orbital rocket launch
27:00 Summary of recent space exploration developments
30:15 Discussion on the impact of microplastics on photosynthesis
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✍️ Episode References
National Science Review
https://www.nature.com/nsr/ (https://www.nature.com/nsr/)
NASA
https://www.nasa.gov (https://www.nasa.gov/)
ISA Aerospace
https://www.isa-aerospace.com/ (https://www.isa-aerospace.com/)
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/26366822?utm_source=youtube
00:00 - Space Time Series 28 Episode 39 for broadcast on 31 March 2025
00:49 - Dating the Moon’s Aitken Basin
06:30 - Analysis of lunar samples from Chang’e 6 mission
12:15 - Overview of NASA’s Punch mission and its objectives
18:00 - Implications of solar wind studies for space weather prediction
22:45 - Countdown for Europe’s first orbital rocket launch
Kind: captions
Language: en
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this is Spaceime Series 28 episode 39
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for broadcast on the 31st of March
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2025 coming up on Spaceime determining
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the date of the moon's oldest and
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largest impact crater NASA's Punch
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mission safely in orbit and the
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countdown's underway for mainland
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Europe's first orbital rocket launch all
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that and more coming up on Spaceime
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welcome to Spaceime with Stuart Garry
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[Music]
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scientists have finally put a date and
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consequently an age on the moon's oldest
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and largest impact crater the new
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findings reported in the journal
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National Science Review suggested the
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giant lunar south pole akin basin was
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created by a massive asteroid impact
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some 4.25 billion years ago the new
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findings are based on lunar regalith
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collected by China's Changi 6 sample
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return mission which visited the moon's
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far side last year
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astronomers have long sought to
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determine the age of the ancient Atkin
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Basin the largest and oldest known
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impact structure on the lunar surface
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the basin is a vast impact structure
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spanning the moon's south pole far side
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it's roughly 2,000 km wide and up to 8.2
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km deep making it one of the largest
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impact structures in our solar system
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it's believed to have been formed during
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a period of intense asteroid bombardment
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that shaped much of the solar system
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within its first few hundred million
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years despite its significance the exact
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age of the basin has remained elusive
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hindering efforts by astronomers to
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understand its role in lunar and
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planetary history previous estimates of
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the basin's age have varied widely
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highlighting the need for direct
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analysis based on actual geological
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samples the Changi 6 mission's return of
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lunar samples from the basin has allowed
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a scientific research team led by Chen
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Yi from the Chinese Academy of Sciences
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to be given an opportunity to resolve
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this mystery they focused on impact melt
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rocks within the samples which provide
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crucial clues about the basin's
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formation chen says the collision
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generated a massive sheet of impact melt
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to accurately determine the basin's age
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the authors first needed to identify the
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products of this milk within the Changi
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6 samples so Chen and colleagues
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meticulously analyzed some 1600
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fragments from two soul samples
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identifying 20 Norite class with
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textures minology and geochemical
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signatures that were consistent with an
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impact origin using a lead dating system
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for sironium bearing minerals within
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these classs they uncovered evidence of
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two distinct impact events dated at 3.87
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87 billion and more importantly 4.25
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billion years ago the older norites
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dated at 4.25 billion years exhibited
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structural and compositional features
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suggesting that they crystallized at
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various depths within a common impact
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melt sheet produced by the Atkin basin
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forming event so the studies provided
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the first direct samplebased evidence
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that the moon's largest impact basin was
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formed just 320 million years after the
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actual birth of our solar system
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consequently it serves as a critical
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anchor point for refining lunar
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cratering chronology and reconstructing
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the timeline of the moon's early
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evolution this is spaceime still to come
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NASA's punch mission safely in orbit and
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the countdown underway for mainland
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Europe's first orbital rocket launch all
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that and more still to come on Spaceime
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[Music]
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now safely in orbit NASA's polarometer
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to unify the corona and heliosphere or
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punch constellation is now undergoing a
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90-day commissioning period undertaking
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a series of in-flight checkouts prior to
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commencing its 2-year mission the force
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spacecraft will make global
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three-dimensional observations of the
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sun's upper atmosphere the corona this
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will allow astronomers to better
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understand how it transforms into the
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constant stream of charged particles
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known as the solar wind which bathes the
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earth and the rest of our solar system a
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key part of punch is the United States
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Naval Research Laboratory's narrow field
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imager a compact externally occulted
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chronograph it blocks direct sunlight
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from entering the main optical aperture
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which views the coroner and starfield
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around the sun using a compound lens
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system by imaging the transition of the
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corona into the solar wind astronomers
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will better understand exactly how the
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sun generates the space plasma
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environment and that will help
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scientists make better predictions about
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space weather events like solar flares
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and coronal mass ejections which can
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fling powerful geomagnetic storms
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towards the earth it's these solar
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storms which trigger the spectacular
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northern and southern lights the Aurora
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Borealis and Aurora Arralis but they can
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also damage and even destroy spacecraft
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by shorting out delicate electronics or
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by causing the Earth's atmosphere to
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wobble and expand like jello that
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increases atmospheric drag on satellites
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resulting in orbital decay and the need
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to use up more fuel in order to maintain
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operational altitude these geomagnetic
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storms also interfere with
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communications and navigation systems
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and they can overload terrestrial
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electricity transmission grids on the
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ground causing blackouts over wide areas
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they also increase radiation exposure
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for crews operating in space and even
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for people on high altitude aircraft so
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this narrow field imager aboard punch
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marks a significant step forward in
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science's ability to understand the
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dynamic processes that drive space
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weather events by imaging the transition
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of the sun's atmosphere into the solar
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wind they can gain crucial insights that
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will ultimately improve their ability to
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predict and mitigate the impacts of
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these powerful events especially now as
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the sun reaches solar max the climax of
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its 11-year solar cycle a time when the
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star is especially violent in fact just
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over the past week another geomagnetic
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storm hit the Earth and a massive
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coronal hole has opened up in the Sun's
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atmosphere sending even more streams of
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charged particles towards Earth noah
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America's National Oceanographic and
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Atmospheric Administration issued a G2
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geomagnetic storm warning for the event
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just like tropical cyclones geomagnetic
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storms follow a fivepoint severity scale
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it's a logarithmic scale with G2 class
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storms considered moderate in strength
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but they could cause minor technological
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disruptions such as radio blackouts GPS
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malfunctions and an increased chance of
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aurora at lower latitudes and those are
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exactly what has
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happened g2 strength geomagnetic storms
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hit planet Earth on around 360 days over
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each 11-year solar cycle and the space
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weather prediction center issued an
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extended storm warning because of the
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detection of this coronal hole facing
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the earth coronal holes are cooler
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darker regions of the corona that are
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less dense than normal allowing
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high-speed charged particles to gush
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outwards into space and currently one of
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these escaped high-speed streams is
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pointing directly at the Earth
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astronomers now think the sun reached
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Solar Max in October last year that's
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because since then there's been some
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evidence of polarity reversal in
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magnetic filaments extending out from
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sunspots it's a process that will
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continue for several more months as the
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sun's magnetic poles continue to flip
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and just to further underline the point
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a massive 1.1 class solar flare and
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simultaneous coronal mass ejection
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erupted out of the sun's southeastern
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quadrant on Saturday sending a gigantic
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blast of plasma and solar particles deep
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into space in fact the events been
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described by spaceweather.com as one of
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the most beautiful and significant
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eruptions in recent memory but the
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website also points out that Earth
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dodged an extreme geomagnetic storm
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nevertheless a strong R3 radio blackout
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centered on the Caribbean did develop
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from the blast if the eruption had been
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directed directly towards the Earth a
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Carrington level geomagnetic storm could
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well have developed within 30 hours
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luckily the explosion was directed
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towards Jupiter but the sunspots which
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triggered the blast remain active and
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are now rotating towards facing the
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Earth in the next week or so ultimately
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if this magnetic filament channel
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refills again over the next week it's
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possible that we could see a big solar
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storm launched and this time crossing
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through the Earth's strike zone region
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to put it simply if all the power from
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this one eruption could be harnessed it
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would probably power our entire planet
00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.230
for over 100 billion years far exceeding
00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.829
the remaining lifespan of the sun
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predicting the impact of space weather
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from minor fluctuations to major coronal
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mass ejections requires a comprehensive
00:09:14.160 --> 00:09:16.470
understanding of the solar wind and
00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.310
while originating at the sun these
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events nevertheless evolve significantly
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during their journey towards the earth
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especially within the sparsely imaged
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region between the solar corona and the
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inner heliosphere posing a significant
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scientific challenge by capturing the
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evolution of coronal mass ejections and
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solar flares Punch will provide
00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:36.790
scientists with new data on their
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formation and
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propagation this report from NASA TV
00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:44.470
punch is an acronym it stands for
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.509
polarimeter to unify the corona and
00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.910
heliosphere the corona is the outer
00:09:49.920 --> 00:09:52.070
atmosphere of the sun it's the part that
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.070
is no longer gravitationally bound to
00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.470
the sun and it has so much energy that
00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:59.030
it flows outwards filling our solar
00:09:59.040 --> 00:10:00.870
system and pushes against the
00:10:00.880 --> 00:10:03.269
interstellar medium making a bubble and
00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:05.990
that is the heliosphere and this system
00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.230
of how the corona turns into the
00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.230
heliosphere is what punch is trying to
00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.670
study so punch is fundamentally four
00:10:13.680 --> 00:10:16.389
cameras that work together to make
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:19.910
composite movies we have a narrow field
00:10:19.920 --> 00:10:22.150
imager that views the space close to the
00:10:22.160 --> 00:10:24.470
sun and then we have three separate wide
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.710
field imagers each of which has a large
00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.030
squareish field of view that looks way
00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:31.670
off to the side out to 45° away from the
00:10:31.680 --> 00:10:34.630
sun that allows us to do something that
00:10:34.640 --> 00:10:36.230
no other mission has been able to do
00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.949
which is routinely track coronal mass
00:10:38.959 --> 00:10:41.509
ejections space storms all the way
00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.350
across the solar system as they approach
00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.310
the Earth by better understanding these
00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.550
storms and better understanding how they
00:10:48.560 --> 00:10:50.310
propagate on their way to the Earth
00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:53.110
we'll be able to inform our partners on
00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.509
how to better forecast these events in
00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.190
the future and that's really important
00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.750
for protecting our astronauts our
00:10:59.760 --> 00:11:02.949
satellites and our power grids once we
00:11:02.959 --> 00:11:04.790
start producing images you'll be able to
00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:07.590
look at punch data directly and see the
00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.590
kind of science we're engaged in you'll
00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.110
be able to see things that are present
00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.230
in the sky right now and you just you're
00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:15.990
not aware of them because they're washed
00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.829
out by the the brightness of the sky
00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:21.350
itself we are poised to do tremendous
00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:23.430
science with punch because it provides
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.910
this global context of what is happening
00:11:25.920 --> 00:11:27.990
in the corona and what is happening
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.230
throughout the inner solar system so
00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:32.230
that we can connect the details to the
00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:34.710
bigger picture you might say that punch
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.790
is the next chapter in the study of
00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:39.790
helopysics as we bring imaging and
00:11:39.800 --> 00:11:42.870
crosscale understanding out so that we
00:11:42.880 --> 00:11:45.750
can develop a coherent understanding of
00:11:45.760 --> 00:11:48.069
the entire system that starts at the
00:11:48.079 --> 00:11:50.630
corona and extends out to envelop the
00:11:50.640 --> 00:11:52.269
planets
00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.710
themselves and in that report from NASA
00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.190
TV we heard from Punch mission scientist
00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.750
Nicolen Vol from NASA as well as Punch
00:11:59.760 --> 00:12:01.750
principal investigator Craig DeForest
00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:03.990
from the Southwest Research Institute in
00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.230
San Antonio Texas this is Spacetime
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.550
still to come the countdown underway for
00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:12.310
the first orbital rocket launch from
00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.550
mainland Europe and later in the science
00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:16.670
report a new study warns that
00:12:16.680 --> 00:12:18.790
microlastics are now affecting the
00:12:18.800 --> 00:12:20.870
ability of plants to carry out
00:12:20.880 --> 00:12:23.430
photosynthesis all that and more still
00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:30.290
to come on
00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:37.980
[Music]
00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:42.870
Spaceime high winds and bad weather as
00:12:42.880 --> 00:12:44.870
Force mission manages to scrub what
00:12:44.880 --> 00:12:46.710
should have been the first ever orbital
00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.430
rocket launch from mainland Europe the
00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:51.910
launch by Munich based ISA aerospace
00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.230
involves its new spectrum rocket which
00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.150
will launch from Norway's Andoya
00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:59.030
spaceport on the Arctic Circle the test
00:12:59.040 --> 00:13:01.269
flight is seen as a key step in the new
00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.389
European space economy until now all
00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:05.990
European orbital rockets have been
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:07.829
launched from the European Space Ay's
00:13:07.839 --> 00:13:11.590
Crew Spaceport in French Gana and until
00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.509
recently there have been ongoing delays
00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:15.430
in the development of the new Aran 6
00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:17.829
heavy lift rocket and the Vega E light
00:13:17.839 --> 00:13:19.750
launcher had been suspended from flight
00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:21.550
following an upper stage component
00:13:21.560 --> 00:13:24.150
failure while both now have flight
00:13:24.160 --> 00:13:26.670
status the delays have been long and
00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:29.190
costly compounding the problem is the
00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:30.949
fact that Europe also lacked access to
00:13:30.959 --> 00:13:32.870
Russian spaceports and launches since
00:13:32.880 --> 00:13:35.190
2022 following the West's embargo of
00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.030
Moscow in relation to the Kremlin's
00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:40.470
invasion of Ukraine isa Aerospace's new
00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.350
28 m tall two-stage spectrum rocket is
00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.030
designed to carry payloads of around
00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:48.790
1,000 kg into low Earth orbit and 700 kg
00:13:48.800 --> 00:13:51.670
into suns synchronous orbits its first
00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:54.230
stage is powered by nine Aquilla propane
00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:56.790
and liquid oxygen rocket engines
00:13:56.800 --> 00:13:58.550
spectrum's upper stage is equipped with
00:13:58.560 --> 00:14:00.230
a single Aquilla propane and liquid
00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:02.150
oxygen engine designed for multiple
00:14:02.160 --> 00:14:04.389
ignitions thereby allowing it to be shut
00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.470
down and reignited on numerous occasions
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.550
as needed eliminating the need for an
00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:10.949
additional kickstage spectrum will
00:14:10.959 --> 00:14:12.550
become the first privately financed
00:14:12.560 --> 00:14:15.110
European launch system to reach orbit of
00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:16.949
course Britain's Richard Branson and his
00:14:16.959 --> 00:14:18.790
Virgin Orbit have done it from the
00:14:18.800 --> 00:14:21.189
United States using air launched rockets
00:14:21.199 --> 00:14:23.750
fired from a modified Boeing 747
00:14:23.760 --> 00:14:25.590
airliner that had taken off from a
00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:27.829
conventional runway but they appear to
00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:29.670
have shut down operations following a
00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:31.910
failed 2023 attempt to air launch a
00:14:31.920 --> 00:14:34.470
rocket from the 747 which had taken off
00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.590
earlier from Cornwell norway's Andoya
00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.670
and Swalban rocket ranges together with
00:14:39.680 --> 00:14:41.590
the Estrange Spaceport in neighboring
00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:43.750
Sweden have already undertaken over a
00:14:43.760 --> 00:14:46.069
thousand suborbital launches flying
00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:48.509
sounding rockets on primarily scientific
00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.030
missions and this new launch is being
00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:52.710
seen as an extension of those
00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.389
capabilities
00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:56.000
this is
00:14:56.010 --> 00:15:02.350
[Music]
00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:05.189
spacetime and in the late update to that
00:15:05.199 --> 00:15:07.269
story Spectrum finally launched late
00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.750
yesterday however shortly after liftoff
00:15:09.760 --> 00:15:11.750
it began veering off course during its
00:15:11.760 --> 00:15:13.829
planned rollover maneuver 18 seconds
00:15:13.839 --> 00:15:15.670
into the flight resulting in a
00:15:15.680 --> 00:15:18.470
catastrophic failure we'll have a full
00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.350
report in next week's show this is
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.390
Spaceime
00:15:24.400 --> 00:15:37.829
[Music]
00:15:37.839 --> 00:15:39.509
and time now to take a brief look at
00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.110
some of the other stories making news in
00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.150
science this week with a science report
00:15:44.160 --> 00:15:46.550
a new study has found that microlastics
00:15:46.560 --> 00:15:48.629
are now affecting the ability of plants
00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:50.949
to carry out photosynthesis
00:15:50.959 --> 00:15:52.949
the findings reported in the journal the
00:15:52.959 --> 00:15:54.310
proceedings of the National Academy of
00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.870
Sciences PNAS demonstrates the critical
00:15:56.880 --> 00:15:59.030
threat these pollutants cause to Earth's
00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:01.550
primary production and food security
00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:03.749
microlastics are defined as plastic
00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.949
debris smaller than 5 mm it's now found
00:16:06.959 --> 00:16:08.870
to be contaminating environments from
00:16:08.880 --> 00:16:10.949
deep sea sediments up to tall mountain
00:16:10.959 --> 00:16:13.670
glaciers the study's authors evaluated
00:16:13.680 --> 00:16:15.590
the relationship between microplastic
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:17.670
exposure and photosynthesis across
00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:19.949
terrestrial marine and freshwater
00:16:19.959 --> 00:16:22.230
ecosystems despite the growing awareness
00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:23.509
of this hazard the effects of
00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.670
microlastics on photosynthesis in the
00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:27.829
ecosystem have remained unclear until
00:16:27.839 --> 00:16:30.189
now by analyzing
00:16:30.199 --> 00:16:33.030
3,286 records using metadata analysis
00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:34.710
and machine learning techniques the
00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:36.550
authors have shown that microlastics
00:16:36.560 --> 00:16:38.550
have decreased photosynthetic efficiency
00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:42.470
by 7.05 05 to 12.12% across terrestrial
00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.590
plants marine algae and freshwater algae
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:47.749
these reductions translate to estimate
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:51.870
annual global losses of between 4.11 and
00:16:51.880 --> 00:16:55.509
13.52% for key staple crops such as rice
00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.710
wheat and maze in aquatic ecosystems
00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:00.790
microlastic induced photosynthesis
00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:02.870
inhibition is projected to cause net
00:17:02.880 --> 00:17:05.069
primary productivity losses of between
00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:06.909
0.31 and
00:17:06.919 --> 00:17:10.230
7.24% annually
00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:11.990
a new study has found that ditching
00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:13.669
butter in your diet and replacing it
00:17:13.679 --> 00:17:15.590
with plant-based oils could help protect
00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:18.230
you from cancer and heart disease a
00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:19.590
report in the Journal of the American
00:17:19.600 --> 00:17:21.590
Medical Association looked into the
00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:24.230
diets of over 220,000 people finding
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:25.750
that those who ate a larger amount of
00:17:25.760 --> 00:17:27.909
butter were far more likely to die of
00:17:27.919 --> 00:17:29.990
cancer compared to those who consumed
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.150
little or none they also found that
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.669
people who consumed higher levels of
00:17:33.679 --> 00:17:36.789
safflower soybean corn canola and olive
00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:39.110
oils were less likely to die from cancer
00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:41.590
or heart disease now while this kind of
00:17:41.600 --> 00:17:43.510
study can't prove that butter directly
00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:45.350
affects your chances of survival the
00:17:45.360 --> 00:17:47.029
authors say the study adds to a growing
00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:48.870
body of evidence that you really should
00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:50.870
be swapping out animal fats for
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:52.710
plant-based ones that's if you want to
00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.070
live a longer healthier
00:17:55.080 --> 00:17:57.830
life sharks have been recorded actively
00:17:57.840 --> 00:18:00.789
producing sounds for the first time the
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:02.470
findings reported in the journal of the
00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.870
Royal Society Open Science involved
00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:06.789
recordings of New Zealand rig sharks
00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:08.390
which showed that they were deliberately
00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.390
making short sharp clicks when they were
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.789
handled underwater the authors suggest
00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.230
that based on the clicks acoustic
00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:15.830
characteristics they're being created by
00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:17.830
the sharks by forcibly snapping their
00:18:17.840 --> 00:18:20.310
flattened teeth together they believe
00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:22.070
the sharks are doing this in response to
00:18:22.080 --> 00:18:24.710
a disturbance or distress but further
00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.549
research is needed to determine other
00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:30.390
uses and their biological significance
00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.150
well transport for London have been kept
00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:33.830
busy they've been asked to search their
00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:36.230
records for sightings of ghosts spirits
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.310
schools poltergeists and banshees on the
00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:40.950
London Underground and as Tim Mum from
00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.430
Australian Skeptics explains despite an
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:45.909
intensive search they found only one
00:18:45.919 --> 00:18:48.390
single solitary case this is a very
00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:50.150
interesting story actually it it starts
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.830
off being sort of totally trivial but
00:18:51.840 --> 00:18:53.909
actually becomes implications someone
00:18:53.919 --> 00:18:56.390
put in a freedom of information request
00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:57.830
to the people who run the London
00:18:57.840 --> 00:18:59.430
Underground which is Transport for
00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.510
London and what they wanted to know was
00:19:01.520 --> 00:19:03.029
if there was any evidence of the
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.950
paranormal that was sort of in in their
00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:06.710
record so the Transport of London
00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:07.990
thought that was interesting they
00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:09.110
probably never been asked that question
00:19:09.120 --> 00:19:11.350
before so they did a word search into
00:19:11.360 --> 00:19:13.590
all the reports they had and what the
00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:15.110
words they searched for were ghost
00:19:15.120 --> 00:19:17.510
spirits ghouls poltergeists and banshee
00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:18.710
which is what the people were asking for
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.150
they're only looking for information for
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:21.750
about the last two or so years so they
00:19:21.760 --> 00:19:23.990
weren't going back to the 1800s that
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.350
might be a bit hard to search anyway
00:19:25.360 --> 00:19:26.789
those documents but never mind transport
00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:27.909
for London came back to them and said
00:19:27.919 --> 00:19:29.510
"Yep we've done this word search and
00:19:29.520 --> 00:19:30.950
this is what it is." And what we found
00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.750
was that there was so many references to
00:19:33.760 --> 00:19:36.070
spirits and ghosts and the only one that
00:19:36.080 --> 00:19:37.830
actually wasn't saying I'm in good
00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:40.310
spirits or I'm intoxicated by drinking
00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:43.110
spirits was a 15-year-old boy who was
00:19:43.120 --> 00:19:45.510
distressed possibly lost in King's Cross
00:19:45.520 --> 00:19:48.070
station in December 2023 who mentioned
00:19:48.080 --> 00:19:50.310
that he had seen ghosts now this search
00:19:50.320 --> 00:19:51.990
or this request was partially inspired
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.909
by someone trying to find out if there's
00:19:53.919 --> 00:19:56.630
any activity near Oldgate East station
00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.430
because Old Gate East station is where
00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.870
Jack the Ripper not the station itself
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:02.470
but the area is where Jack the Ripper
00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:05.430
had his way back in the late 1800s yes
00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:07.350
so he killed at least five people
00:20:07.360 --> 00:20:08.950
possibly more but anyway they wanted to
00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:10.310
see if therefore the ghosts of these
00:20:10.320 --> 00:20:11.830
people were haunting the underground
00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:13.909
stations uh or the railways generally i
00:20:13.919 --> 00:20:15.430
don't know why surely there are other
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.029
areas other buildings around there they
00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:18.390
could have haunted why just the
00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:19.750
undergrounds i don't know maybe they're
00:20:19.760 --> 00:20:21.270
wide ranging ghosts who knows maybe
00:20:21.280 --> 00:20:23.110
they're gunsels they're what gunzels
00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:24.870
you've never heard the term guns i have
00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:26.390
never heard a term gun the term actually
00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:29.350
comes from the Maltese Falcon movie
00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:31.029
starring Humphrey Bogart directed by
00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.590
John Houston yes in that movie a Gunzel
00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:36.710
was a young thug carrying a gun he was
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:40.070
looking in the film a Gunzel is a a
00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:41.830
young thug carrying a gun but in
00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:45.510
Australian r enthusiast terms a gunel is
00:20:45.520 --> 00:20:47.990
someone who is basically what Brits call
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.310
an anorak who hangs around the end of
00:20:50.320 --> 00:20:52.149
platforms photographing trains train
00:20:52.159 --> 00:20:54.310
spotters train spotter carrying a camera
00:20:54.320 --> 00:20:57.350
instead of a gun yeah that's a gun um
00:20:57.360 --> 00:21:00.230
who who was a bus spotter or a branch of
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:02.549
gunsel I think there yeah I know he he
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.909
photographed the front of the bus with
00:21:03.919 --> 00:21:06.549
the group number anyway back to gate so
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:07.909
reason for this with this study was to
00:21:07.919 --> 00:21:09.750
try and find there examples of ghosts
00:21:09.760 --> 00:21:11.909
etc that had been reported poltergeist
00:21:11.919 --> 00:21:13.430
of any s whatever and the only thing
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.190
they came up with was this 15-year-old
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:16.630
boy and I'm sure the transport for
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.230
London sort of issued this report a
00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.350
little bit tongue and cheek they were
00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:20.549
the ones who mentioned that when they
00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:22.230
said this spirit was half the time it
00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:23.750
was about alcohol spirit that someone
00:21:23.760 --> 00:21:25.510
was intoxicated on the train or whatever
00:21:25.520 --> 00:21:27.190
hopefully not the drivers but anyway so
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.630
there there was one reference to a
00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.630
15-year-old boy that was suddenly picked
00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.470
up everywhere by the saying that the
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.070
transport for London had found an
00:21:34.080 --> 00:21:35.590
example of the paranormal on his
00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:37.510
underground and this 15-year-old boy
00:21:37.520 --> 00:21:39.190
became famous yeah but the case is
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.190
famous even though it was issued as a
00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:42.789
tongue-in-cheek report though there was
00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:44.630
never any actual proof of a ghost that
00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.390
this kid saw he was distressed that's
00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:47.830
really surprising isn't it you think
00:21:47.840 --> 00:21:49.110
there'd be more considering what
00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:51.270
London's got what 10 12 million people
00:21:51.280 --> 00:21:53.029
who used the tube and and the
00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:55.270
underground on a regular basis every day
00:21:55.280 --> 00:21:56.870
some of these some of these tube lines
00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:58.630
of course also ran through uh plague
00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:00.710
pits and cemeteries so they actually had
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.270
to remove bodies to put the tube lines
00:22:03.280 --> 00:22:04.710
through well they had to do that at
00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.669
Central in Sydney as well
00:22:06.679 --> 00:22:08.789
because everywhere apparently it's not a
00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:10.390
nice thing to remove a plague pit
00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:11.590
because if you're talking about bubonic
00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:12.950
plague or something yeah it's quite
00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:15.590
fascinating that a non-story becomes a
00:22:15.600 --> 00:22:17.590
story hey what's new in in the world of
00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:19.590
reporting that's Tim Mendum from
00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:22.470
Australian Skeptics
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:36.310
[Music]
00:22:36.320 --> 00:22:39.350
and that's the show for now spacetime is
00:22:39.360 --> 00:22:41.190
available every Monday Wednesday and
00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:43.830
Friday through Apple Podcasts iTunes
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SoundCloud YouTube your favorite podcast
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download provider and from
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spaceimewithstartgary.com
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spacetime's also broadcast through the
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National Science Foundation on Science
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Zone Radio and on both iHeart Radio and
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TuneIn Radio and you can help to support
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our show by visiting the Spacetime store
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for a range of promotional merchandising
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goodies or by becoming a Spacetime
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patron which gives you access to triple
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episode commercial free versions of the
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show as well as lots of bonus audio
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content which doesn't go to air access
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to our exclusive Facebook group and
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other rewards just go to
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spaceimewithstgarry.com for full details
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you've been listening to Spacetime with
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Stuart Garry this has been another
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quality podcast production from byes.com