Ring of Fire, Farewell Comet, and the Smell of Rotten Eggs in Space

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Kind: captions
Language: en

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Good day, stargazers, and welcome to


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Astronomy Daily, episode 41 of season 5.


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I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. And what a day to be


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alive and looking up, Anna. It's


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Tuesday, February the 17th, 2026, and we


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have not one but two celestial events


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happening today.


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>> That's right. The sun is about to be


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turned into a ring of fire over


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Antarctica. And a comet that may never


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return is making its closest pass to


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Earth as we speak. Plus, we've got JWST


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solving an identity crisis for some


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massive exoplanets. NASA doing CT scans


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on the northern lights and a startup


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that wants to fuel rockets with water.


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And a preview of why 2026 might just be


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the greatest year of eclipses in a


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generation.


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>> Let's not waste a single second. Let's


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dive right in.


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>> So Avery, we've been building up to this


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for weeks, and today is finally the day.


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Right now, as many of our listeners are


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tuning in, an annular solar eclipse is


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tracing its path across Antarctica.


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>> And I know some of our listeners might


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be thinking, "Didn't we just cover


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this?" And yes, we've talked about it in


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recent episodes, but today is the day,


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and there's something truly special


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happening down at the bottom of the


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world. Let's recap the essentials. An


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annular eclipse happens when the moon


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passes directly between the Earth and


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the Sun. But because the moon is at a


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more distant point in its orbit, it


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doesn't completely cover the Sun's disc.


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Instead, you get this breathtaking ring


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of brilliant sunlight surrounding the


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dark silhouette of the moon,


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>> the Ring of Fire. And today's ring will


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last up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds for


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anyone lucky enough to be standing in


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the path of annularity. At the moment of


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greatest eclipse, which occurs at 1212


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UTC, the moon will cover approximately


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96% of the sun's surface.


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>> Now, 96% sounds like almost everything,


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but here's the important thing. It's not


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a total eclipse. The sky won't go dark.


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You absolutely must keep your solar


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eclipse glasses on for the entire event.


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There's no moment where it's safe to


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look at the sun with the naked eye.


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>> The path of annularity itself is


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actually quite wide for eclipse


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standards, about 616 km across, but it's


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crossing some of the most remote


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territory on Earth. We're talking about


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the Antarctic mainland and the


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surrounding southern ocean. So


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realistically, the only people seeing


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the full ring of fire today are


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researchers at a handful of Antarctic


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stations. However, the partial phases of


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the eclipse are visible from a much


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wider area. Observers in southern


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Argentina, southern Chile, southeastern


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Africa, Madagascar, and Maitius will all


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see the moon take a bite out of the sun


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to varying degrees.


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>> And here's something that I think really


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elevates today's event. This eclipse


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kicks off the first eclipse season of


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2026. Eclipse seasons are these brief


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windows, typically about 34 days long,


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when the geometry of the sun, Earth, and


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Moon align just right for eclipses to


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occur. And they usually come in pairs.


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>> Exactly. So, less than 2 weeks from now,


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on March the 3rd, we get a total lunar


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eclipse, a blood moon visible from North


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America. And that's just the beginning


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for 2026, which we'll come back to later


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in the show.


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>> For anyone wanting to follow along


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today, there are several live streams


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available, and we'll have links in our


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show notes. Even if you can't see it


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from where you are, this is a wonderful


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moment to appreciate the clockwork


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precision of our solar system. And


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sticking with things happening literally


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today, let's talk about comet C2024E1,


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better known as comet Wir, which is


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making its closest approach to Earth


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right now. This is one of those stories


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where the science and the poetry really


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come together beautifully. This comet


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was discovered back in March 2024 by


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Polish astronomer Casper Werto using the


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Mount Lemon survey in Arizona. And today


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it passes within about 151 million km


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from Earth, roughly the same distance as


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Earth is from the Sun.


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>> So it's not exactly a close shave, but


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it's still a significant astronomical


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moment. What makes this comet truly


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special is that it's on a hyperbolic


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orbit. For our listeners who aren't


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familiar with that term, it means the


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comet's trajectory isn't a closed loop.


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It's not coming back


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>> ever, or at least not for over 200,000


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years. And even that's optimistic.


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Scientists believe it originated in the


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Orort cloud, that vast icy shell at the


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outer edges of our solar system, and


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it's now getting a gravitational


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slingshot that will send it out into


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interstellar space. This is genuinely a


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once- in a civilization event.


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>> NASA's astronomy picture of the day


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featured comet Woso today with a 30inut


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exposure taken from Chile showing a


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gorgeous 5°ree long ion tail and three


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separate dust tails. The comet also has


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a vivid green coma which scientists


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believe is linked to carbon bearing


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compounds likely diatomic carbon


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fluoresing under ultraviolet sunlight.


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The James Webb telescope actually


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observed this comet last year when it


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was still far out at about seven


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astronomical units from the sun. They


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found its activity is primarily driven


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by carbon dioxide rather than carbon


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monoxide, which is interesting because


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it suggests the comet may have lost its


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near surface CO early in its evolution.


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Now, in terms of actually seeing it, at


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magnitude 7.8 to 8.2, you're going to


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need binoculars at minimum. Ideally, a


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small telescope. It's currently in the


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constellation sculptor, quite low in the


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southwestern sky after sunset. Southern


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Hemisphere observers have the far better


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view today.


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>> Northern Hemisphere observers don't


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despair. Over the coming days, the comet


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will climb a bit higher and by around


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February 23rd, it should be a more


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accessible target as it passes near some


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galaxies in Cedus. But it will be fading


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by then. If you can get out tonight with


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some optics, it's worth the effort.


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You're quite literally saying goodbye to


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something the human race will never see


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again. All right, let's travel 133


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lighty years away to the constellation


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Pegasus, where the James Webb telescope


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has just settled one of exoplanet


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science's most persistent mysteries.


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>> And the key to solving it, hydrogen


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sulfide, the molecule that gives rotten


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eggs their delightful aroma. Published


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in Nature Astronomy, a team from UCLA


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and UC San Diego use JWST to study


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HR8799


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system, which hosts four enormous gas


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giant planets, each between 5 and 10


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times the mass of Jupiter. Now, these


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planets have been known since 2008, and


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they're actually directly visible


00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:20.790
through telescopes, which is remarkable


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in itself. Most exoplanets are detected


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indirectly, but because they're so


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massive and because they're so far from


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their star, between 15 and 70 times


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Earth's distance from the sun,


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scientists have long debated if they're


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truly planets, or something else


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entirely.


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>> Specifically, are they planets or brown


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dwarfs? Brown dwarfs are sometimes


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called failed stars, objects that formed


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through gravitational collapse of a gas


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cloud like a star, but never got massive


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enough to sustain hydrogen fusion. The


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traditional mass boundary is around 13


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Jupiter masses, but that's a bit


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arbitrary.


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>> What really matters is how they formed.


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Did they form like planets through core


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accretion, building up a solid core from


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dust and rock that then attracted gas?


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or did they form like stars through the


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rapid collapse of a dense pocket of gas?


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>> And this is where the rotten eggs come


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in. The team detected hydrogen sulfide


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in the atmospheres of these three


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worlds, HR8799


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C, D, and E. Now, why is sulfur the key?


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Because at the vast distances these


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planets orbit their star, sulfur can


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only exist in solid form within the


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protolanetary disc. It cannot be in the


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gas phase. So if there's sulfur in these


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planets atmospheres, it had to have been


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gobbled up as solid material during the


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planet's formation.


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>> That's the smoking gun for core


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accretion. These worlds, massive as they


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are, formed the same way Jupiter did,


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just on a much grander scale. Previous


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studies looking at carbon and oxygen,


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couldn't distinguish between the two


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formation pathways because those


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elements can come from either gas or


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solids. The researchers also found that


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these planets are enriched in heavy


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elements compared to their host star by


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factors of roughly 2 to 9 times. They


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estimate the four planets together


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contain around 600 Earth masses of heavy


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material. That's an extraordinary amount


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of solid material.


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>> And this raises a really fascinating


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question. How big can a planet get? If


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objects 10 times Jupiter's mass can form


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through core accretion, where exactly is


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the line between the biggest planets and


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the smallest brown dwarfs? Lead


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researcher Jerry Swan from UCLA put it


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beautifully. He said the technique they


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used to separate the light from these


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incredibly faint planets, 10,000 times


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fainter than their star, will eventually


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be applicable to studying Earthlike


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worlds. He said, "Finding an Earth


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analog is the holy grail, and we might


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be 20 to 30 years away from getting the


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first spectrum of an Earthlike planet


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and searching for bio signatures."


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>> The future of exoplanet science built on


00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.269
the foundation of smelly gas. Who would


00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:19.590
have thought? Staying closer to home


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now, well, relatively speaking, NASA


00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.630
launched two groundbreaking sounding


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rocket missions from Alaska earlier this


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month, and the results are already


00:10:28.880 --> 00:10:30.710
exciting to science community.


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>> These launched from the Poker Flat


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Research Range near Fairbanks, and they


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had two of the best mission acronyms


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I've ever encountered. The first is


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badass, the black and diffuse auroral


00:10:43.040 --> 00:10:45.509
science surveyor. And yes, that's the


00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:48.710
real name. Launched February 9th, Badass


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reached an altitude of about 360 km and


00:10:52.640 --> 00:10:54.550
was specifically designed to study a


00:10:54.560 --> 00:10:57.350
phenomenon called black auroras. These


00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.430
are these strange dark structures that


00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.069
appear as gaps or voids drifting within


00:11:02.079 --> 00:11:04.470
the brighter diffuse aurora. Like


00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.550
someone has taken an eraser to parts of


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the northern lights. What's happening


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physically is that electrons, instead of


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streaming down into Earth's atmosphere


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the way they do in normal auroras, are


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shooting upward into space. Scientists


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don't fully understand why this reversal


00:11:21.920 --> 00:11:24.389
happens. And Badass was designed to


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gather data on exactly that. Then on


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February 10th, NASA launched the GNISS


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mission. That's the geoysical


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non-equilibrium ionosphere science


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system. This one used two rockets


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launched just 30 seconds apart, flying


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side by side through the same aurora


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along different slices. And here's the


00:11:46.079 --> 00:11:48.949
clever bit. Each rocket ejected four


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subpayloads, giving them multiple


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measurement points inside the aurora


00:11:53.839 --> 00:11:56.790
simultaneously. The rockets also sent


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radio signals through the surrounding


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plasma to a network of 11 ground


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receivers. The way the plasma altered


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those radio waves allowed scientists to


00:12:06.880 --> 00:12:09.750
map the plasma density, revealing where


00:12:09.760 --> 00:12:12.310
electrical currents can flow. Principal


00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.150
investigator Christina Lynch from


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Dartmouth College described it as


00:12:16.160 --> 00:12:18.230
essentially doing a CT scan of the


00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.629
plasma beneath the aurora. In the same


00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:23.269
way a medical CT scan uses X-rays


00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.110
passing through different body tissues


00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:28.310
to reconstruct the 3D image, NICE uses


00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.310
radio waves passing through auroral


00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:32.629
plasma to reconstruct the electrical


00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.190
environment in three dimensions. Both


00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.350
missions reported that all instruments


00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.590
performed as expected and returned


00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.550
highquality data. This is particularly


00:12:42.560 --> 00:12:44.949
satisfying for the badass team because


00:12:44.959 --> 00:12:47.350
the same mission was on the launchpad at


00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:49.670
Poker Flat last year, but the required


00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:52.150
auroral conditions never materialized


00:12:52.160 --> 00:12:54.389
before the launch window closed.


00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:56.870
Understanding how auroral currents work


00:12:56.880 --> 00:12:59.590
isn't just pure physics. Those currents


00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:01.750
shape how energy from space spreads


00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:04.069
through Earth's upper atmosphere. Where


00:13:04.079 --> 00:13:06.150
the current fans out, the atmosphere


00:13:06.160 --> 00:13:08.069
heats up, which can affect satellite


00:13:08.079 --> 00:13:10.470
drag, GPS accuracy, and radio


00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.629
communications. With our increasing


00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.870
dependence on space-based technology,


00:13:14.880 --> 00:13:16.710
this research has very practical


00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:17.990
implications.


00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.069
>> Now, for something that sounds like


00:13:20.079 --> 00:13:22.069
science fiction, but is heading for a


00:13:22.079 --> 00:13:24.710
realworld test later this year. A


00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.269
startup called General Galactic, led by


00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.389
former SpaceX engineer Helen Madison, is


00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:32.790
developing technology to use water as


00:13:32.800 --> 00:13:35.590
rocket fuel. And before anyone thinks


00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:36.870
we're talking about some kind of


00:13:36.880 --> 00:13:39.750
perpetual motion scam, the science here


00:13:39.760 --> 00:13:42.470
is sound. The core concept uses


00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:45.110
electrolysis, splitting water molecules


00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.990
into hydrogen and oxygen, and then using


00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:50.389
those gases in two different propulsion


00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.430
systems.


00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:53.750
>> Right? For chemical propulsion, you burn


00:13:53.760 --> 00:13:56.389
the hydrogen and oxygen together, which


00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.470
produces high pressure thrust, much like


00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:00.710
a conventional rocket engine. For


00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:03.030
electrical propulsion, you ionize the


00:14:03.040 --> 00:14:05.030
oxygen and accelerate it using a


00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:08.230
magnetic field, creating plasma thrust.


00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.629
Madison describes that second type as


00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.590
very, very low thrust. People jokingly


00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.710
like to call it a burp in space. But


00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:19.269
even a burp in space can be useful for


00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:21.750
precise maneuvers and station keeping.


00:14:21.760 --> 00:14:23.750
The real gamecher here isn't the


00:14:23.760 --> 00:14:26.069
propulsion technology itself, but the


00:14:26.079 --> 00:14:28.790
fuel source. Water is one of the most


00:14:28.800 --> 00:14:30.710
abundant resources we found on other


00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.189
worlds. There's water ice on the moon,


00:14:33.199 --> 00:14:36.069
on Mars, on asteroids. If you can turn


00:14:36.079 --> 00:14:38.310
that water into fuel, you've essentially


00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:40.389
created the infrastructure for cosmic


00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:41.990
refueling stations.


00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.389
>> That's exactly Madison's long-term


00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:46.790
vision. He's talking about building a


00:14:46.800 --> 00:14:49.189
refueling network that connects Earth,


00:14:49.199 --> 00:14:51.910
the moon, and Mars. As he puts it,


00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:54.069
everybody wants to go build a moon base


00:14:54.079 --> 00:14:56.310
or a Mars base. Who's going to pay for


00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:58.470
it? How does it actually work? His


00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.870
answer is to make the economics viable


00:15:00.880 --> 00:15:03.910
by using insitue resources.


00:15:03.920 --> 00:15:05.750
>> Now, there are real challenges to


00:15:05.760 --> 00:15:08.470
overcome. Water has to be purified,


00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.949
electrolyed, and stored efficiently. And


00:15:10.959 --> 00:15:12.790
the whole system has to be lightweight


00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:15.030
enough for space applications. There's


00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:17.269
also concerns about ionized oxygen


00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:18.790
potentially affecting satellite


00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:21.110
electronics, but the team is pushing


00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.829
ahead with a proof of concept. And that


00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:26.629
proof of concept is coming soon. General


00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.350
Galactic is planning to launch an 1100


00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:32.710
lb satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket


00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.990
in October 2026. That satellite will


00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.389
test both the chemical and electrical


00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.189
propulsion systems using water as fuel


00:15:41.199 --> 00:15:44.389
in actual space conditions. If it works,


00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.230
it could fundamentally change the


00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.949
economics of space flight. MAT claims


00:15:48.959 --> 00:15:50.470
they're talking about billions of


00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.310
dollars in savings even with current


00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.189
operations and trillions in new economic


00:15:55.199 --> 00:15:57.590
growth as the infrastructure scales up.


00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:59.430
Those are bold claims, but the


00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.670
underlying physics is solid. We'll be


00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:03.430
watching that October launch very


00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.150
closely. So, we open the show with


00:16:06.160 --> 00:16:08.230
today's annular eclipse, and we


00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.310
mentioned that it kicks off an eclipse


00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.629
season, but I think it's worth zooming


00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:14.790
out and looking at the bigger picture


00:16:14.800 --> 00:16:17.509
because 2026 is shaping up to be an


00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:19.749
absolutely extraordinary year for


00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:21.110
eclipses.


00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.189
>> It really is. So, let's run through


00:16:23.199 --> 00:16:25.110
what's coming. First up, as we


00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.509
mentioned, on March the 3rd, we get a


00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.150
total lunar eclipse. That's a blood moon


00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:31.990
and it will be visible across North


00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.310
America which is fantastic news for our


00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:36.310
listeners in that part of the world.


00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.269
>> Then we get to August 12th. And this is


00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.550
the big one, a total solar eclipse, not


00:16:42.560 --> 00:16:44.949
annular but total with its path of


00:16:44.959 --> 00:16:47.829
totality crossing the Arctic, Greenland,


00:16:47.839 --> 00:16:50.550
Iceland, and Spain. And observers across


00:16:50.560 --> 00:16:53.110
much of Western Europe and North America


00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:55.189
will see a partial eclipse.


00:16:55.199 --> 00:16:57.030
>> For anyone in the UK, this is


00:16:57.040 --> 00:17:00.069
particularly exciting. The BBC Sky at


00:17:00.079 --> 00:17:02.310
Night magazine and the Royal Observatory


00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.549
Greenwich are both flagging this as the


00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.949
best solar eclipse visible from the UK


00:17:06.959 --> 00:17:08.870
since 1999.


00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.630
Viewers in London will see the moon


00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.829
touch the edge of the sun's disc at 6:17


00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:17.429
p.m. BST. And it doesn't stop there. The


00:17:17.439 --> 00:17:19.669
astronomical community is talking about


00:17:19.679 --> 00:17:22.069
a genuine golden age of eclipses


00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.110
beginning right now. Between 2026 and


00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:28.549
2028, we're looking at three total solar


00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.590
eclipses and three Ring of Fire eclipses


00:17:31.600 --> 00:17:33.750
in just three years. That's an


00:17:33.760 --> 00:17:35.430
extraordinary run.


00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:38.150
>> So, if today's Antarctic Ring of Fire


00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.990
has you feeling a bit left out because


00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.150
you couldn't see it, don't worry. There


00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.470
is so much more to come. Start planning


00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.470
now for August 12th. And make sure


00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:48.390
you're subscribed to Astronomy Daily


00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:50.310
because we'll be covering every single


00:17:50.320 --> 00:17:52.630
one of these events. This is going to be


00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.270
an epic year for Eclipse Tracers.


00:17:55.280 --> 00:17:57.190
>> And that brings us to the end of another


00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.590
packed edition of Astronomy Daily. What


00:17:59.600 --> 00:18:02.070
a day, Anna. An eclipse, a comet


00:18:02.080 --> 00:18:04.950
farewell, rotten eggs solving planetary


00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:08.310
mysteries, CT scans of auroras, water


00:18:08.320 --> 00:18:10.549
powered rockets, and a golden age of


00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.789
eclipses beginning right now.


00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.710
>> If you enjoyed today's episode, please


00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.390
do subscribe wherever you get your


00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.710
podcasts. Leave us a rating and a review


00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:20.549
and share us with anyone you know who


00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.789
loves looking up. You can find us at


00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.710
astronomydaily.io,


00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.029
on YouTube, and across all social media


00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.909
platforms at astroaily pod.


00:18:29.919 --> 00:18:31.430
>> And don't forget, we're part of the


00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.750
byes.com podcast network where you'll


00:18:33.760 --> 00:18:35.669
find plenty of other great shows to keep


00:18:35.679 --> 00:18:37.750
you entertained and informed.


00:18:37.760 --> 00:18:39.909
>> Until next time, keep your eyes on the


00:18:39.919 --> 00:18:40.789
skies.


00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:45.270
>> Clear skies, everyone.


00:18:45.280 --> 00:18:53.270
Stories told


00:18:53.280 --> 00:19:01.190
stories told


00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:03.919
stories