Ruby Rains, Scientific Skepticism & Space Surprises: #483 | Space Nuts

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Language: en

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while the world takes a little bit of a


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rest over the Christmas New Year period


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we thought we would too but we're not


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going to leave you hanging we've dug


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into the archives and found a few of the


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biggest episodes of recent times so sit


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back and enjoy those and we'll be back


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with new episodes of Space Nuts probably


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in the middle of January see you then


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Space Nuts hello and thank you for


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joining us on Space Nuts where we talk


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astronomy and space science great to


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have you all company once again and


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coming up on this particular episode


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we're going to talk about an exoplanet


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that has unusual rain it's raining


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gemstones and ruby slippers well maybe


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not the ruby slippers but definitely


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gemstones which is very unusual we'll


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also be answering some audience


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questions Bob wants to talk about


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research papers and how accurate or


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otherwise they might be that's all to


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come on this edition of Space Nuts 15


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seconds guidance is internal


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10 9 ignition sequence start Space Nuts


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5 4 3


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2 Space Nuts report it feels good my


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name is Andrew Dunley I am your host


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thank you for joining us and with us


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again this week because we can't get rid


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of him really uh it is Professor Fred


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Watson astronomer at large hello Fred


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hello Andrew how are you you are the


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Space Nuts barnicle you are that's yeah


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I know just just a barnacle on the back


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side of


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[Laughter]


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space right we got a lot to talk about


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today so let's get straight to our first


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topic and this is uh really interesting


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one we've talked about exoplanets and uh


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and even planets and moons in our own


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solar system that have unusual kind of


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rain like sulfur rain and acid rain and


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I think we talked about a planet that


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rained


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diamonds now there's an exoplanet that


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Reigns gemstones what's what's this all


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about well yeah the it's gemstones among


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other things um and it's you know that


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there's a there's a lot going on on this


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exoplanet uh it's uh what is it well it


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is uh I think it's a wasp yeah wasp


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121b wasp is a is a a project that um


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that develop that detects ex of planets


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the transit method the fact that their


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brightness drops when they pass in front


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of their parent star um wasp 121 is


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actually a star which is about 850 light


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years from here um it has a planet which


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is uh very close to it it's a hot


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Jupiter that's the excuse me the


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official description because it's a big


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planet um and it orbits its parent star


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once every 30 hours so you know its year


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is 30 hours long Andrew it just begas


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belief doesn't it but that's what's


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happening um now that


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means one of the things that means is


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that uh W with a you know with a period


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that short and the distance between the


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parent star and the planet that that


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small this planet will be tidally locked


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to its parent star and that is the I


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guess the key to understanding What's um


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you know what's going on here it is uh


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it it's day side


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always is is permanently facing the


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parent sty well that that's a bit of a


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torty really isn't it uh because the day


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side is always facing the parent star


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but the bottom line is uh geez this is a


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good start this morning you're going the


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the bottom line see how I bailed you out


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of that yes oh well done thank you


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yes the uh this the planet is rotating


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at the same rate at which it revolves


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around its start like the Moon is


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rotating at the same rate as it revolves


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around the earth and so uh you've got


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this one side of it that permanently


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faces the heat source and that means one


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side is hot and the other side is cold


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um now given that we can't see these


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planets directly you may well ask Andrew


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how can you study the day and night


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sides of a world like this in detail


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that's a good question glad I thought of


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it I'm glad you thought of it it too the


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and the answer is it's really clever


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stuff and needs um you know it needs


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really quite significant astronomical


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infrastructure uh in order to make these


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observations I should I should mention


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that um uh the authors of this uh work


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come from MIT Massachusetts Institute of


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Technology Johns Hopkin God John's


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Hopkins University Caltech and other us


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universities it is a mouthful but it is


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Massachusetts


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M Massachusetts is what I tried to say


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that's


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right I didn't really anyway never mind


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I didn't do well with it but so what


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what um how do you how do you detect um


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what's going on on the day and night


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sides of a world like this and what you


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do is You observe the planet and all you


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can see is the star that's the only


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thing that is visible in your telescope


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yeah but you observe the Stars light


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throughout the orbital period of the


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planet and given that that's only 30


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hours you don't have to wait very long


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uh if you are looking from outside the


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solar system and trying to do this with


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Jupiter you'd be waiting what is it 12


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years or something like that it's much


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longer um uh no I think it's five years


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sorry I should do that calculation again


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uh anyway um 30 hours gives you time to


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um you know to to actually work out uh


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exactly what's going on through the


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different phases of the planet because


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that's what it's all about it's like the


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phases of the moon we watch the moon


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going around uh because it's lit up by


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the Sun and we can see you know it


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progressing from New Moon to first


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quarter to Full Moon and all the rest of


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it and you can do the same thing with an


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exoplanet but you what you do what all


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you're able to measure is the total


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light from the planet plus the star but


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as you'd imagine that varies throughout


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the


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the revolution period of the planet um


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when you when you've got just when when


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the planet is behind the star all you've


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got is the light of the star uh and I


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should add that you you you're not just


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observing how bright it is you're also


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observing the spectrum of this thing so


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you're looking in detail at the chemical


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constituents that is is revealed by the


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light that is coming to you yeah so when


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when the planet is behind the star all


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he seeing is the light of the star when


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the Planet shifts slightly in its path


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around the star so you can see both what


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you've got is effectively you're looking


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at the full Planet like equivalent of a


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full moon it's almost completely


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illuminated right and that light adds to


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the light of the star uh and so um you


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can then look at how the Spectrum has


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changed and that is telling you about


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the atmosphere of the planet itself


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rather than uh the you know the um the


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atmosphere of the style you in fact what


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you can do is subtract the star Spectrum


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from the spectrum of the combined Planet


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plus star and you get the planet


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Spectrum uh that's that's how this works


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and then that changes throughout the


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throughout the planet's year 30 day of


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30 hours um and and eventually you're


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looking at the backside of the planet


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and and in fact uh you you have a point


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where that is superimposed on the star


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once again you can uh you can do some


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clever work because you can look at


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the the you can look at the combined


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spectrum of the of the The Backs side of


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the planet superimposed on the star


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itself that combined Spectrum uh if you


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subtract out the spectrum of the star


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itself it it shows you what chemical


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constituents again are in the atmosphere


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of the planet because the light of the


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star is passing through the atmosphere


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of the planet around the edge of it and


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coming back to Earth so that that's the


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technique uh and what's been found is


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that this object is quite extraordinary


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so it's got um a day side that is


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extremely hot more than 3,000 degrees


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Kelvin uh so uh what that does is the


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it's known that there is water vapor in


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the atmosphere of this planet well


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there's water vapor on the night side


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but on the day side uh the water


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molecules are just torn apart because of


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the high temperatures uh so you've got


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uh hydrogen and oxygen atoms that are


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that are you know they're they're


00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.389
independent within the atmosphere um and


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then it turns out that because of the


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heat that generates high pressure in the


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day side which causes winds that blow


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things around to the night side and on


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the night side it's cool enough yeah for


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these things to form back to water um


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and so you get water vapor falling


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forming in the atmosphere of the of the


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dark side of the planet um that the


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estimate that these these winds are 5


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kilometers per second so this is


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11,000 miles per hour it's um it's a


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it's you know 16 16 to 17,000 kilometers


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per our sounds like um that's the same


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as it was in Sydney yesterday uh yeah we


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didn't get the wind but we got the rain


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so we got the we got the water vapor


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huge huge quantities of of rain oh gosh


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bucket loads of it um


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H2O suitably combined back into water


00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:06.470
vapor yes so that that's what they get


00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.470
on the on the dark side of the of this


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um was one21 being um but uh there but


00:10:13.920 --> 00:10:17.069
wait there's more because it's not just


00:10:17.079 --> 00:10:20.230
water uh that's that's circulating like


00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:24.670
this um they find it on the night side


00:10:24.680 --> 00:10:28.230
um that the temperature is right to have


00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.630
quite um I guess the best word is exotic


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CL or clouds of exotic materials and


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iron is one of them and a mineral a


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mineral that actually is a constituent


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in gemstones that's that's the point


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that you were making right at the


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beginning yeah um well that's that's


00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.470
that's the journalistic hook isn't it it


00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.190
it is absolutely so um yes to quote the


00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:56.350
physics.org uh report on this on on the


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way around exotic rain might be produced


00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.629
such as liquid gems from the corundum


00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.670
clouds so you know liquid rubies that'


00:11:04.680 --> 00:11:07.069
be quite nice actually


00:11:07.079 --> 00:11:11.110
well anyway um really quite um really


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quite remarkable stuff I should mention


00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:15.350
that these uh these observations were


00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:18.670
made with uh the Hubble Space Telescope


00:11:18.680 --> 00:11:20.350
it was one of the spectroscopic cameras


00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.509
on board the Hubble telescope that were


00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.990
that was used uh and fantastic work uh


00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.550
congratulations to the team and to the


00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:30.389
journalists who writing about this I


00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:32.470
don't suppose they can tell us exactly


00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:35.790
what kind of gemstones these might be or


00:11:35.800 --> 00:11:40.470
Gem Gem blob opponents yeah uh they're


00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:45.470
suggesting um that it could be um uh


00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:47.590
maybe


00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:51.150
um look I had rubies in my mind uh and


00:11:51.160 --> 00:11:53.190
yeah may maybe rubies and sapphires


00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.949
that's that's um that's the possibility


00:11:55.959 --> 00:11:58.590
kandum apparently is a mineral that that


00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.069
you know go goes towards these uh these


00:12:01.079 --> 00:12:03.389
gemstones so I wasn't far wrong with my


00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:05.790
ruby slippers analogy no no it's very


00:12:05.800 --> 00:12:08.710
nice one that I like that very much yes


00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:10.750
interesting all right uh that that's a


00:12:10.760 --> 00:12:12.509
fascinating Discovery and uh if you want


00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.829
to read more about it you um should go


00:12:14.839 --> 00:12:18.629
to the fizz. org website that's not fi Z


00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:20.069
that's


00:12:20.079 --> 00:12:23.310
phys.org website it's a fabulous website


00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.550
if you um want to catch up on that and


00:12:25.560 --> 00:12:29.230
and many other um stories this is space


00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:31.430
nuts with Andrew Dunley and of course


00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.750
Professor Fred


00:12:34.760 --> 00:12:37.550
Watson 3


00:12:37.560 --> 00:12:41.870
2 Space Nuts now uh if you would like to


00:12:41.880 --> 00:12:45.310
do us a favor that would be wonderful uh


00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:47.430
you can send your checks to Fred Watson


00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:49.110
at no


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um of course if you do want to become a


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patron you can do that and that is um


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you know putting a little bit of money


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00:13:20.800 --> 00:13:25.310
um or or if you want to do um something


00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:28.310
that's going to be cost free and just uh


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.150
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00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:34.150
review through whatever podcast platform


00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:37.110
you happen to use so that's very helpful


00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.790
as well so those are some of the options


00:13:39.800 --> 00:13:41.590
uh to help support the Space Nuts


00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.629
podcast and we do appreciate anything


00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:47.550
anybody does toh keep us up and running


00:13:47.560 --> 00:13:50.350
okay Fred let's get into our question


00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:52.470
segment this is where people who listen


00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.710
to space nut send us all sorts of uh


00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.590
hyper intelligent questions that I've


00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:59.350
got no clue about but Fred has an


00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.870
inkling and uh our first one comes from


00:14:03.880 --> 00:14:06.470
Bob this is Bob from Ashville North


00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.990
Carolina in the US I have two questions


00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.670
in 2005 professor John I onitis


00:14:12.680 --> 00:14:14.590
published a highly influential paper in


00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.790
PL medicine titled why most published


00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:20.629
research findings are false he makes the


00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.790
argument and here I'm quoting that for


00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:25.430
most study designs and settings it is


00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.790
more likely for a research claim to be


00:14:27.800 --> 00:14:29.550
false than true


00:14:29.560 --> 00:14:31.189
it's important to note that he was


00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:33.389
focusing on medical studies which have


00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.150
less scientific rigor than physics he


00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:37.790
does however conclude that and I'm


00:14:37.800 --> 00:14:40.150
quoting his paper again that for many


00:14:40.160 --> 00:14:42.829
current scientific Fields claimed


00:14:42.839 --> 00:14:45.150
research findings May often be simply


00:14:45.160 --> 00:14:48.590
accurate measures of the prevailing bias


00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:50.710
my first question for Professor Watson


00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.829
is how often does this happen in your


00:14:52.839 --> 00:14:55.350
field meaning how often are published


00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.590
research findings actually false because


00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.550
of bias or statistical


00:14:59.560 --> 00:15:01.990
reasons my second question is


00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.949
hypothetical medicine changes relatively


00:15:04.959 --> 00:15:07.910
quickly for example peptic ulcers were


00:15:07.920 --> 00:15:10.829
treated with surgery until 1984 which is


00:15:10.839 --> 00:15:13.550
when Barry James Marshall an Australian


00:15:13.560 --> 00:15:15.790
physician at Royal Perth Hospital


00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:17.509
reported that peptic ulcers were caused


00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:19.350
by a type of bacteria called


00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:20.470
helicobactor


00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.350
pylori today ulcers are treated with


00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.110
antibiotics Professor Watson suppose you


00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.710
could fast forward 100 or 500 years into


00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:30.550
the future and look back at cosmology


00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:32.470
and Astro and that's where Bob


00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.509
unfortunately got cut off but we think


00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.910
we've got the nuts and bolts of his


00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:39.110
question uh so we're going to take a


00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.629
stab at it for you Bob um but yeah I


00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.150
guess the first part of his question is


00:15:43.160 --> 00:15:46.509
about um um scientific papers research


00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.629
papers uh published works and uh


00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.710
how maybe they could misinform or not be


00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:56.509
quite accurate is that something that


00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.790
happens um


00:15:59.800 --> 00:16:02.230
look it's it's a really interesting


00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.749
question um there


00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.910
are I don't think there in in


00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:12.030
astronomy um there is a


00:16:12.040 --> 00:16:13.590
strong


00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:18.590
uh incentive perhaps or or um reason why


00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:21.670
uh people should intentionally misinform


00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:25.509
um I think that is almost always almost


00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.550
always zero um and what research


00:16:29.560 --> 00:16:32.590
that does bark up the wrong tree what


00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:35.509
research of that kind that there is is


00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:39.030
is honest mistakes um like the color of


00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:41.749
the universe perhaps well that's right


00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.470
that was an honest mistake yeah which


00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:46.670
was um what was it was kind of well they


00:16:46.680 --> 00:16:48.150
originally said it was Aqua but it


00:16:48.160 --> 00:16:50.430
turned out to be beige it was beige yeah


00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:52.189
that's right and and in fact um I


00:16:52.199 --> 00:16:55.430
remember when I read that paper this is


00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:57.309
probably 10 15 years ago and I know the


00:16:57.319 --> 00:16:59.509
guy who wrote it quite well uh I


00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.309
remember when I read that paper thinking


00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:03.910
this cannot be the case you can't have a


00:17:03.920 --> 00:17:06.350
an aqua Universe because it's it's


00:17:06.360 --> 00:17:09.110
expanding and you know you've got


00:17:09.120 --> 00:17:10.829
basically a red shift there and it


00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.110
turned out to be beige which is red


00:17:13.120 --> 00:17:16.110
shifted Aqua anyway look um the kind of


00:17:16.120 --> 00:17:17.870
thing that I was thinking of Andrew and


00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:19.870
it might go to the heart of Bob's


00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:22.710
question is you remember last year there


00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:24.990
was a big fuss when people thought that


00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.470
phosphine had been detected in the upper


00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.750
atmosphere of Venus M um uh and


00:17:30.760 --> 00:17:35.310
phosphine is on Earth is is generally


00:17:35.320 --> 00:17:38.470
produced by biological processes uh and


00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.909
so that I know that the researchers who


00:17:40.919 --> 00:17:42.710
did that work and I know some of them in


00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:44.789
fact I talked to one of them afterwards


00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:48.029
uh he's a friend of mine in Hawaii um


00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.630
they were very very careful to tease out


00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.470
the signal of phosphine from the noise


00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.310
it was this was done with quite big


00:17:57.320 --> 00:17:59.190
radio telescopes in fact Alo was one of


00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.470
them they has a car a large millimeter


00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:06.430
array um and uh it uh it was with


00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.590
reluctance that they mentioned the fact


00:18:08.600 --> 00:18:12.470
that phosphine is a a life product um


00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.029
because the popular press jumped all


00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:15.669
over there yeah that's right life on


00:18:15.679 --> 00:18:18.310
Venus there's life on Venus yeah exactly


00:18:18.320 --> 00:18:21.270
what happened and um you know maybe the


00:18:21.280 --> 00:18:23.909
bias that Bob mentions is there because


00:18:23.919 --> 00:18:25.950
it's something that we're all you know


00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:28.149
we're all kind of trigger happy with we


00:18:28.159 --> 00:18:29.310
we uh


00:18:29.320 --> 00:18:32.310
urgently trying to seek any evidence of


00:18:32.320 --> 00:18:35.350
Life anywhere else in the universe um


00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:37.830
now and when you give some elements of


00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:39.950
the media an inch they take a mile


00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:41.270
that's well that's true and that


00:18:41.280 --> 00:18:43.710
certainly happened in that case um my


00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:45.870
recollection is that the the original


00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.110
team still stand by their their


00:18:48.120 --> 00:18:50.630
discovery that it was phos but there was


00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:52.590
another paper published it must have


00:18:52.600 --> 00:18:54.470
been actually the year before last when


00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.909
the phosphine measurement was made


00:18:55.919 --> 00:18:57.710
because I think it was early last year


00:18:57.720 --> 00:18:59.950
that another paper was published showing


00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:03.390
how the phosphine signature could be


00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.070
mistaken um that it might actually I


00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:07.470
think it was something like nitrous


00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:09.470
oxide I can't remember it was something


00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.149
a lot less um suggestive of life


00:19:12.159 --> 00:19:14.630
processes so I think honest mistakes are


00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.190
made but yes there might be a bias there


00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.110
too generally you you'll probably find


00:19:20.120 --> 00:19:23.029
bias in circumstances where somebody's


00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:26.390
trying to sell something yeah you might


00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.430
get those um you know


00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:32.270
studies that are released into certain


00:19:32.280 --> 00:19:34.789
uh products that improve your life and


00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:36.549
the study turned out to be 10 people at


00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:39.310
a festar result for a weekend answering


00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:41.230
a questionnaire yes yes that kind of


00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:43.029
thing so yeah there's a bit of that goes


00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.350
on there is certainly less so in


00:19:45.360 --> 00:19:49.710
astronomy astronomy I think is partly um


00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:51.270
what one thing you're looking for and


00:19:51.280 --> 00:19:53.270
you always check this whenever you make


00:19:53.280 --> 00:19:56.430
a discovery is how consistent it is with


00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:58.789
what we already know about the universe


00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.390
because um often you know our


00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:02.070
discoveries they're highly forensic it's


00:20:02.080 --> 00:20:05.190
all done at distances ranging up to 13


00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:09.390
billion light years um just turning to


00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:11.710
and I'm I'm hypothesizing here as to


00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:13.510
what the second part of Bob's question


00:20:13.520 --> 00:20:15.909
was because he got cut off as you said


00:20:15.919 --> 00:20:17.710
but I think he might have been wanting


00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.669
to ask me what if I fast forwarded 100


00:20:20.679 --> 00:20:24.029
years into the future and then look back


00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:27.430
at 2022 what I would think of as being


00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:29.990
discoveries that maybe were Mis leading


00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.830
and perhaps the one that comes to mind


00:20:31.840 --> 00:20:33.750
and and it's not through any lack of


00:20:33.760 --> 00:20:36.470
honesty this is the best evidence we


00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.990
have so far is that dark matter exists


00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.669
and that it is a subatomic particle of


00:20:43.679 --> 00:20:46.830
some kind that is that is pointed to on


00:20:46.840 --> 00:20:48.470
so by through so many different


00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.630
experiments and there's a


00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:51.750
self-consistency about it as well with


00:20:51.760 --> 00:20:53.590
what else we know about the universe


00:20:53.600 --> 00:20:56.830
yeah but um it could well be that it


00:20:56.840 --> 00:20:59.070
turns out that it wasn't that um you


00:20:59.080 --> 00:21:01.029
know that in the end there is something


00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.390
that we don't understand about physics


00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.990
and what I'm thinking of is M modified


00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.110
neonian Dynamics we've got a a friend


00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:11.990
out there in the audience Peter aan


00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.549
who's studying that for his phdd and


00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:17.230
doing a great job you know just maybe uh


00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:20.029
the tide will turn and people will see


00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:22.190
the evidence for modified netian


00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:23.549
Dynamics which means that gravity


00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:25.029
doesn't behave quite the way we thought


00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:28.029
it did on large scales um that that


00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:29.990
might turn out to be the answer that


00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:32.909
would be one I might venture to suggest


00:21:32.919 --> 00:21:34.990
would be something that in 100 years


00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.310
time we might look back on and say we


00:21:37.320 --> 00:21:39.190
all thought it was dark


00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:42.669
matter yeah how foolish were


00:21:42.679 --> 00:21:46.269
we yeah no and and that's not probably


00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:48.990
not an uncommon scenario I mean we we


00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.510
hindsight is 2020 and yes that's right


00:21:51.520 --> 00:21:52.870
don't have hindsight until you go


00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:55.149
forward and look back and go ah okay all


00:21:55.159 --> 00:21:58.870
right that was it that was why yes


00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:00.110
of course we get it right A lot of the


00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:02.350
time too I think we do I think that's


00:22:02.360 --> 00:22:04.350
right all right Bob lovely to hear from


00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:07.750
you thanks for your


00:22:07.760 --> 00:22:13.669
question 3 2 1 Space Nuts hello again


00:22:13.679 --> 00:22:15.470
space Nutters this is Anna from


00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:17.789
astronomy daily the podcast stopping by


00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:19.310
again with a couple of the important


00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:21.070
stories we've been following over the


00:22:21.080 --> 00:22:24.909
past week in an intriguing start to 2025


00:22:24.919 --> 00:22:26.750
residents of muku village in Kenya's


00:22:26.760 --> 00:22:28.510
mcen County were startled by a m


00:22:28.520 --> 00:22:31.110
mysterious arrival from above a massive


00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:34.029
metal object weighing over 1,000 lb


00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:36.029
plummeted from space and landed in their


00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:38.230
Community creating a sound that could be


00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.149
heard up to 30 m


00:22:40.159 --> 00:22:42.950
away the Kenya space agency quickly


00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:44.830
responded to the incident arriving at


00:22:44.840 --> 00:22:47.149
the scene on Tuesday morning working


00:22:47.159 --> 00:22:49.549
alongside local authorities they secured


00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:51.830
the area and retrieved what they later


00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:54.029
identified as a separation ring from a


00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:56.470
rocket launch this impressive piece of


00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.710
space Hardware measures approximately 8


00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:01.549
ft in diameter typically these


00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:03.149
separation rings are designed to either


00:23:03.159 --> 00:23:05.029
burn up during re-entry into Earth's


00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.710
atmosphere or land safely in unpopulated


00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:10.190
areas like oceans this particular


00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:12.390
Landing while unexpected fortunately


00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.230
caused no injuries or significant damage


00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:17.029
the space agency has assured the public


00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:18.710
there is no cause for concern and is


00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:21.269
treating this as an isolated incident


00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:22.710
they're handling the situation under


00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.909
International Space law protocols with


00:23:24.919 --> 00:23:26.510
the object now in their custody for


00:23:26.520 --> 00:23:28.950
further investigation it's a remarkable


00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.750
reminder of how space exploration


00:23:30.760 --> 00:23:32.149
occasionally makes surprising


00:23:32.159 --> 00:23:34.870
appearances in our everyday lives


00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:36.029
scientists have made an exciting


00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:37.590
breakthrough in our ability to detect


00:23:37.600 --> 00:23:39.870
gravitational waves those subtle ripples


00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:41.430
in SpaceTime that give us unique


00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.510
insights into Cosmic events researchers


00:23:44.520 --> 00:23:46.350
have developed a new technique called


00:23:46.360 --> 00:23:48.190
Optical spring tracking that could


00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:50.350
dramatically improve how clearly we can


00:23:50.360 --> 00:23:53.310
detect these elusive waves the advanced


00:23:53.320 --> 00:23:55.149
laser interferometer gravitational wave


00:23:55.159 --> 00:23:58.110
Observatory or aligo uses incredibly


00:23:58.120 --> 00:23:59.870
Sensi equipment to measure tiny


00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:01.950
distortions in SpaceTime caused by


00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:04.470
distant Cosmic events while this


00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:06.390
technology has already revolutionized


00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:07.950
our understanding of phenomena like


00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:10.430
black hole mergers it faces limitations


00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:12.990
from what scientists call Quantum noise


00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:14.990
this new Optical spring tracking system


00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:16.669
works by tuning itself to match the


00:24:16.679 --> 00:24:18.590
frequency of incoming gravitational


00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:21.230
waves in tests researchers used a


00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.390
microscopic mirror weighing just 50


00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:25.710
nanog made from carefully layered


00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:27.950
aluminum gallium arsenide and gallium


00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:29.029
arsenide


00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:30.789
when hit with laser light this tiny


00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:32.789
mirror creates an optical spring effect


00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.430
that can be precisely controlled to


00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:36.549
track and enhance gravitational wave


00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:39.470
signals the results have been remarkable


00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:41.710
in their proof of concept experiment the


00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:43.750
team demonstrated that tracking a signal


00:24:43.760 --> 00:24:46.389
with this system improved the signal to


00:24:46.399 --> 00:24:49.310
noise ratio by up to 40 times compared


00:24:49.320 --> 00:24:51.470
to traditional methods this means we


00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:53.310
could potentially detect much fainter


00:24:53.320 --> 00:24:55.070
gravitational waves from even more


00:24:55.080 --> 00:24:57.870
distant Cosmic events while implementing


00:24:57.880 --> 00:24:59.430
this Tech technology in fullscale


00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:01.710
observatories like ligo will require


00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:04.029
overcoming some engineering challenges


00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:06.230
the potential benefits are


00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.909
enormous by enhancing our ability to


00:25:08.919 --> 00:25:11.669
detect gravitational waves we might soon


00:25:11.679 --> 00:25:13.950
be able to observe events from the very


00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:16.389
earliest moments of our universe


00:25:16.399 --> 00:25:18.430
including the mergers of primordial


00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:20.909
black holes formed shortly after the big


00:25:20.919 --> 00:25:23.190
bang this advancement represents a


00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:25.110
significant step forward in our quest to


00:25:25.120 --> 00:25:26.669
understand the universe's most energetic


00:25:26.679 --> 00:25:28.870
events and could help unlock mysteries


00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:30.950
about how our Cosmos formed and evolved


00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:32.389
over billions of


00:25:32.399 --> 00:25:34.549
years and that's it from me for this


00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:37.389
episode of Space Nuts I'm Anna don't


00:25:37.399 --> 00:25:39.750
forget to visit astronomy daily. for


00:25:39.760 --> 00:25:41.590
your daily fix of space and astronomy


00:25:41.600 --> 00:25:44.029
news updates we're constantly updating


00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:45.830
the site with the latest discoveries


00:25:45.840 --> 00:25:48.590
Mission updates and Cosmic wonders until


00:25:48.600 --> 00:25:50.750
our next adventure through the cosmos


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keep looking up and stay curious about


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the Mysteries that surround us in space


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Space Nuts you'll be listening to the


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Space Nuts podcast


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available at Apple podcasts Spotify


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iHeart radio or your favorite podcast


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player you can also stream on demand at


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b.com this has been another quality


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podcast production from b.com