Satellite Down, Meteorite Strike, ISS Saved & More

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Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily.


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I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. You've joined us on a


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very eventful day for space fans,


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Tuesday the 10th of March, 2026. And the


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universe is not holding back.


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>> We genuinely mean that. We have a


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satellite falling out of the sky today.


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A meteorite that crashed through


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someone's roof over the weekend.


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Congress picking a fight with the space


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station's retirement plan. The biggest


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image ever taken of our galaxy's core. a


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map of the universe from 10 billion


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years ago and Jupiter doing something a


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bit strange tonight.


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>> So, strap in. This is Astronomy Daily


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Season 5, episode 59, and we are not


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slowing down.


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>> Let's kick things off with breaking news


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that literally cannot wait because it's


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happening today. NASA's Van Allen probe


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A is expected to fall back to Earth


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tonight.


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>> Right. This is genuinely happening as


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our listeners are tuning in. The


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spacecraft, which weighs about 600 kg,


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roughly the same size as a small car,


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launched back in August 2012 and has


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been silently orbiting Earth ever since


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it was switched off in October 2019.


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>> And the US Space Force has been tracking


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it closely. As of yesterday afternoon,


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they were predicting re-entry at around


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7:45 in the evening, Eastern time,


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though there's a plus or minus 24-hour


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window on that, though it could happen


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anytime today or tonight.


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>> Now, before anyone panics, the risk to


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people on the ground is very low. NASA


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says the odds of anyone being harmed are


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roughly 1 in 4,200.


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Most of the spacecraft will burn up


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during re-entry, and any surviving


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fragments are likely to land in the


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ocean, which covers about 70% of the


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Earth's surface.


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>> So, this satellite was originally


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designed for just a 2-year mission,


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studying Earth's Van Allen radiation


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belts, those invisible zones of charged


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particles trapped by our planet's


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magnetic field. But the mission ended up


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running for nearly 7 years before the


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probes ran out of fuel.


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>> And here's the interesting twist. Probe


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A was actually expected to stay up in


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orbit until 2034. So what happened?


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Solar activity. The sun has been


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unusually energetic in recent years, and


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that's caused Earth's upper atmosphere


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to expand slightly. More atmosphere


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means more drag on satellites, and probe


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A got pulled down faster than predicted.


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>> The twin Van Allen probe B is still up


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there and isn't expected to come down


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before 2030. So we'll be going through


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this again in a few years. The data from


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these spacecraft is still being used


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today, helping scientists understand


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space weather, predict solar storms, and


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protect everything from GPS satellites


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to power grids. A proper little


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scientific workhorse.


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>> And now it's coming home. Keep an eye on


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the sky tonight.


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>> And while we're in the theme of things


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falling from space, let's talk about


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this incredible story from Sunday


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evening.


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>> Yes. So, at around 10 to 7 in the


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evening, local time on Sunday, the 8th


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of March, 2026, thousands of people in


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Western Europe looked up and saw an


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absolutely breathtaking fireball


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lighting up the sky. We're talking


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Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg,


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the Netherlands, all these countries


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with people outside going, "What on


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earth is that?" The fireball lasted


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about 6 seconds, leaving a glowing trail


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across the sky before breaking apart.


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People heard multiple loud booms. That's


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the sonic boom from the space rock


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disintegrating in the atmosphere. The


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International Meteor Organization


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received over 3,000 reports of


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sightings. And here's the remarkable


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bit. Some of it survived. Fragments of


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the meteorite, which is what we call it


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once it hits the ground, came down in


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the Rhineland Palatinate region of


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western Germany. and one fragment


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punched straight through the roof of a


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house in the city of Cooblins.


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>> The largest piece left a hole the size


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of a football in the roof and landed in


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an unoccupied bedroom. Nobody was hurt


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thankfully, though the homeowner now has


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a very unusual home insurance claim to


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make.


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>> Fragments have already been recovered


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from the area, the Cobbins district of


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Gouls in particular, which will allow


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researchers to analyze where this rock


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came from and what it's made of. NSA's


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planetary defense team has been working


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to estimate the size of the original


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object and they believe it was just a


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few meters across. What's wonderful


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about this event is how many cameras


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captured it. There's a network called


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All Sky 7. Dedicated fireball watching


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cameras run by private citizens across


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Europe that caught it beautifully. And


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of course, dozens of mobile phone videos


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went viral on social media almost


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immediately. Meteorite impacts in


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populated areas are rare but not unheard


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of. Germany actually had one in 2002


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near the No Schwanstein Castle and


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another in 2023 in Schllesvvic Holstein.


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But this is one of the most


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welldocumented falls in recent European


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history. Quite the Sunday evening.


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>> All right, let's shift from falling


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things to things we want to keep up. Big


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space policy news this week. Congress is


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making moves to extend the life of the


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International Space Station.


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>> The NASA Authorization Act of 2026


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passed through the Senate Commerce,


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Science, and Transportation Committee


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last week with bipartisan support, which


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is always good to hear. And one of its


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biggest changes is pushing back the


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retirement of the ISS from 2030 to


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September 2032.


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>> So, the ISS has been continuously


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occupied since November 2000. That's


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over 25 years of humans living in space.


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It was originally set to be


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decommissioned and deliberately


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deorbited in 2030. The plan was to crash


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it into a remote part of the Pacific


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Ocean in a controlled re-entry.


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>> But Congress is saying not so fast. The


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concern is that commercial space


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stations, which are supposed to replace


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the ISS in low Earth orbit, just aren't


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going to be ready in time. Companies


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like Blue Origin, BAST, and Axiom Space


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are all working on successor stations,


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but timelines have slipped.


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>> And there's also a geopolitical


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dimension to this. China's Tandong space


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station is fully operational and will


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keep running well into the 2030s. The


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bill specifically uses the language of


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avoiding a gap in continuous human


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presence in low Earth orbit and


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explicitly mentions not wanting to see


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leadership to China. The bill also does


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something very significant on the


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funding side. It rejects proposed cuts


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to NASA's budget and instead allocates


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substantial funding for fiscal year 2026


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and 2027. Programs like the Chandra


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X-ray Observatory are saved under this


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bill. There is a caveat here though.


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This bill has passed committee but still


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needs a full Senate vote and then the


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House of Representatives and then a


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presidential signature. So, it's not law


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yet,


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>> but it sends a very clear signal about


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where Congress stands on the future of


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American human space flight. The ISS


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isn't going anywhere just yet.


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>> Now, let's move from policy to pure


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science, and this next one is genuinely


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jaw-dropping.


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>> Astronomers have just released the


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largest image ever produced by the ALMA


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telescope, and it's a portrait of the


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heart of our own Milky Way galaxy. ALMA


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stands for Atagama Large Millimeter


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Submillime Array. It's a telescope


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complex in the high altitude desert of


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Chile and it detects radio waves rather


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than visible light which means it can


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see through all the dust and gas that


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hides the galactic center from optical


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telescopes. The new image comes from a


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survey called ACES the ALMA CMZ


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Exploration Survey and it maps a region


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called the central molecular zone.


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That's the area surrounding the super


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massive black hole at the heart of our


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galaxy, Sagittarius, a star, stretching


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across 650 light years.


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>> To put that in perspective, the finished


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mosaic spans an area equivalent to three


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full moons placed side by side in the


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sky. It was assembled from hundreds of


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individual observations stitched


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together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.


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>> And what it reveals is extraordinary.


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The central molecular zone is filled


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with this intricate web of filaments.


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Long, thin threads of cold molecular gas


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snaking through the region feeding into


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dense clumps where new stars are being


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born. It looks almost like a web or a


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circulatory system. The survey also


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mapped the chemistry of the region in


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incredible detail, detecting dozens of


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molecules from relatively simple


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compounds like silicon monoxide all the


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way to complex organic molecules like


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methanol, acetone, and even ethanol.


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There's a cocktail of chemistry going on


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near the center of our galaxy.


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>> The team involved was enormous. over 160


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scientists from more than 70


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institutions around the world. And they


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say this is just the beginning. An


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upcoming upgrade to ALMA, plus the


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eventual arrival of ESO's extremely


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large telescope, will let them push even


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deeper into this region.


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>> One researcher put it beautifully. It's


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a place of extremes, invisible to our


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eyes, but now revealed in extraordinary


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detail. We'll have a link to the image


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in the show notes. It really is


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something to look at.


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>> From the heart of our galaxy to the dawn


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of time, our next story is about a brand


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new map of the early universe.


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>> Researchers have published the largest


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and most detailed 3D map yet of light


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from the universe's early history.


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Specifically, the period between 9 and


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11 billion years ago. That's a time


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astronomers call cosmic noon when the


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universe was producing stars at the


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fastest rate in its entire history.


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>> The map was created using data from the


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Hobby Ely telescope dark energy


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experiment PET decks which operates from


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McDonald Observatory in Texas and the


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technique used is really clever.


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>> Most cosmic maps focus on individual


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bright galaxies. They're essentially


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dotto-dot maps of the universe. But this


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team used a technique called line


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intensity mapping, which instead of


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counting individual galaxies, tracks a


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specific kind of light called lyman


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alpha radiation.


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>> Lyman alpha light is produced when


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hydrogen atoms, the most abundant


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element in the universe, get energized


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by young, hot stars. So, wherever you


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see that glow, you know there's hydrogen


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gas and likely star formation happening


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nearby.


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>> And by tracking that glow across the sky


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and through time, the researchers were


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able to build a 3D picture of not just


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the bright galaxies, but all the dim


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faint matter in between them, the cosmic


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web of gas that connects galaxies


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together. They called it a sea of light.


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The data set they used was enormous.


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Over 600 million spectra collected by


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Headex. And here is the staggering part.


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The team only used about 5% of those


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spectra for their primary research


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mission. This is the first time anyone


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has gone back and mined that remaining


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data to do this kind of mapping.


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>> What the map lets scientists do is test


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their computer simulations of the early


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universe against reality. As one


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researcher put it, we have simulations


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of this period, but those are just


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simulations, not the real universe. Now


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we have a foundation to check if the


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physics underpinning those simulations


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is correct.


00:11:57.680 --> 00:11:59.990
>> It's like having a map of the world for


00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.389
the first time. You can finally compare


00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:04.550
what you thought was there with what's


00:12:04.560 --> 00:12:05.910
actually there.


00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:07.670
>> And finally, something you can go


00:12:07.680 --> 00:12:10.150
outside and see for yourself tonight.


00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:12.310
Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar


00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.389
system, appears to be doing something a


00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.870
bit odd in the sky. If you've been


00:12:16.880 --> 00:12:19.030
keeping an eye on Jupiter over the past


00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:21.269
few weeks, you may have noticed it's


00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.430
slowly moving across the stars from


00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.590
night to night, which is normal for


00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:27.590
planets as they drift against the


00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.150
background of distant stars due to their


00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:31.590
orbital motion.


00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:33.750
>> But tonight and over the coming nights,


00:12:33.760 --> 00:12:36.389
Jupiter appears to change direction.


00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.870
This is what astronomers call retrograde


00:12:38.880 --> 00:12:40.870
motion. And it's been confusing,


00:12:40.880 --> 00:12:42.870
delighting, and in ancient times,


00:12:42.880 --> 00:12:44.710
mystifying people for thousands of


00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:45.750
years.


00:12:45.760 --> 00:12:48.550
>> So, what's actually happening? Nothing


00:12:48.560 --> 00:12:51.110
is actually going backwards. It's all


00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.670
about perspective. Earth and Jupiter are


00:12:53.680 --> 00:12:56.310
both orbiting the sun, but Earth's orbit


00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.110
is smaller and faster. As Earth catches


00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.590
up to and begins to pass Jupiter on the


00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.470
inside track, Jupiter appears to drift


00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.550
backwards against a star background,


00:13:06.560 --> 00:13:08.790
like how a slower car on the motorway


00:13:08.800 --> 00:13:10.470
seems to move backwards when you


00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.590
overtake it.


00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.509
>> The change is subtle, and it happens


00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:15.750
gradually over many nights. So, don't


00:13:15.760 --> 00:13:17.910
expect to see it in real time, but if


00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:19.750
you compare Jupiter's position tonight


00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:21.750
to where it was a few weeks ago, and


00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:23.590
then check again in a few weeks, you'll


00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.910
see it. Jupiter is high in the evening


00:13:25.920 --> 00:13:28.310
sky right now and easy to find as one of


00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.150
the brightest objects up there.


00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:32.710
>> And tonight there's also a lovely waning


00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.110
gibbus moon in the southern sky sitting


00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:37.190
close to the bright reddish star and


00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.590
tries. So there's plenty to look at if


00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.910
you step outside after dark. No


00:13:41.920 --> 00:13:44.230
telescope needed for Jupiter though one


00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.230
will reveal its four brightest moons,


00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.629
the Galilean moons, which Galileo


00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.670
himself spotted back in 1610. A pair of


00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:55.430
binoculars is perfect. So, go look up.


00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.350
>> And that is it for today's episode of


00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.389
Astronomy Daily. What a day. Satellites


00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.710
falling, meteorites crashing, space


00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.110
stations getting a reprieve, galaxy


00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.750
portraits, cosmic maps, and a planet


00:14:07.760 --> 00:14:10.230
doing loops. The universe never


00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:11.430
disappoints.


00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:13.350
>> If you enjoyed today's show, please


00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.509
subscribe wherever you get your podcasts


00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:17.110
and share us with a friend who loves


00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.509
space. Find all our episodes in show


00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.389
notes at astronomyaily.io IO and come


00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.110
say hello on social media. We're @ Astro


00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.910
Daily Pod on X, Instagram, Tik Tok,


00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:29.590
YouTube, and Facebook.


00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.269
>> We'll be back tomorrow with more from


00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.470
the cosmos. Until then, keep looking up.


00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:38.949
>> Clear skies, everyone. Astronomy day.


00:14:38.959 --> 00:14:46.949
Stories we told.


00:14:46.959 --> 00:14:50.680
Stories told.