Solar Secrets, Cosmic Siblings & the Quest for Breathable Exoplanets | Space Nuts: Astronomy...

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Language: en

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Hello again. Thank you for joining us on


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Space Nuts. This is our weekly Q&A


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edition where we take questions from the


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audience. We go and find someone who can


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tell us the answer and then we pretend


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we're doing it. Um, my name's Andrew


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Dunley, your host. Fred's Fred's face


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went, "Oh, we don't." [laughter]


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Uh, coming up on this episode, uh, we've


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got a lot of, uh, solar questions. We've


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got a question from Andrew about the


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sun's arc. Ernie wants to know about the


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sun's siblings and Mark wants to know


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about missions to the sun. You go, Mark.


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I'm not setting foot on it. It's hot


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enough here already. And we're going to


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finish off with a question about


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Earthlike planets. That's all coming up


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on this episode of Space Nuts.


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>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9g


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Ignition sequence start.


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>> Space nuts.


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>> 5 4 3 2


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>> 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1


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>> Space Nuts. Astronauts report. It feels


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good.


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>> Back again for more. His name is


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Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


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large. Hello, Fred.


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>> Hello. Hello, Andrew. Um, fancy seeing


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you here.


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>> Yes, it's quite unusual. Quite unusual.


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And we're all decked out in blue today.


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You've got the gun barrel blue. I've got


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the sky blue of New South Wales on.


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>> That's the um official sporting color of


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my state.


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>> I didn't know that.


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>> Yeah. Yeah.


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>> Didn't even know there was


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>> sky blue. Yeah. Oh, look. Um, the the


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the official Australian sporting colors


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are green and gold.


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>> Green and gold. That's right.


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>> But that that wasn't actually uh


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official until the 80s. Before that,


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they just used to wear a pair of thongs


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and a cut off jeans and go to the


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Olympics, I think.


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>> She'll be right.


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>> Yeah, mate. No worries. Yes. Um, we got


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a bunch of questions to deal with, so we


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might as well hit the ground running in


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our thongs. I know there's some people


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laughing at that because thong means


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something else in other countries, but


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it does. That's right.


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>> It's it's a pair of flip-flops or


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jandles or whatever you call them,


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wherever you're from. Uh, first question


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comes from Andrew. It's about the Sun's


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Ark. I'm sitting here in the French Alps


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on Boxing Day. You lucky duck. uh


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slightly hung over thanks to uh an


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excess of a prey ski uh last night and


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watching the sun trace an arc across the


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sky measured from mountain peak to


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mountain peak. But why an arc the shape


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of which varies uh by the time of year


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given the earth itself is rotating uh on


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only one axis. Uh, I know the Earth's uh


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tilted from um from the vertical, but


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how does that explain the arc uh with


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only one axis of rotation? Shouldn't it


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be a straight line? That comes from


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Andrew Jones. Hope you had a nice


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Christmas, Andrew. Sounds like it. What


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a what a horrible place to be. The


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French Alps for Christmas.


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>> Oh, yeah. Sounds great, doesn't it?


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>> Yeah. But he brings up an interesting


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point. Uh sitting there sipping on


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whatever it is he was drinking and uh


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and and watching the sun and going,


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"Hang on a minute. What's going on here?


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There's an arc and it's not Noah's.


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It's not. That's right. Uh it's a


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different sort of arc. Uh because it's


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spelled differently. It's got a C


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instead of a K. [laughter]


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[snorts] Uh it uh and in fact so so uh


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you know Andrew's question is uh with


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only one axis of rotation shouldn't it


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be a straight line? And the answer is it


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is a straight line.


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>> Yeah. Uh but it's a straight line on a


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sphere. Uh because we are our vantage


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point uh from Earth. Uh we look out into


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space. We imagine something called the


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celestial sphere. It's a great way of uh


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you know working out the way things move


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in space and how the motion of the sun


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and planets all fits together. You what


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you imagine is a sphere of infinite


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dimensions and we're sitting at the


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middle of it. We only see half of it


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because the other half is below the


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horizon. It's still there. The celestial


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sphere goes on below the earth, this


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hypothesized sphere. Um but um it's very


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useful uh a useful device for


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understanding how things move in the


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sky. And if you imagine yourself uh


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sitting in the French Alps uh with the


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celestial sphere above you uh you uh


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would certainly in the northern


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hemisphere be able to see uh the thing


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that we call the north pole star polar


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star Polaris. Uh the pole star faint


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star that um I nearly always look for


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whenever I'm in the northern hemisphere


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just to reconnect with it. It's at the


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end of the the little bear's tail. uh if


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you know your northern constellations


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but that


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would come with us sometime.


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>> Yeah, they they're great. The northern


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constellations of they've got great


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charm. Anyway, that's another story. So,


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um that is the point about which the


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whole celestial sphere seems to rotate.


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And so, uh, the height of the pole star


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above your horizon, uh, is the same as


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your latitude. So, if you're at latitude


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French Alps is probably 45 or


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thereabouts, maybe a bit more than that,


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45, uh, it means your pole star is going


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to be 45 degrees above the horizon. And


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this entire sphere rotates around that


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point. And so uh that's why on on a


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sphere the sun's motion is a straight


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line. It goes from the east eastern side


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of the sky depends on the time of year


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as to exactly where it rises and sets.


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Uh but it sets on the western side. And


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so um uh what looks like an arc to you


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is really a straight line bent by the


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celestial sphere. this apparent uh you


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know it's it's a just a great way of


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imagining the sky because it doesn't you


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don't have to worry about the distances


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of anything. You're just imagining


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everything projected onto this infinite


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sphere. And when you do that as the


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earth's rotating the sun rises in


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towards the east and sets towards the


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west. Um and uh it follows basically an


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arc as we see it from our position. But


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in terms of the sphere itself, it's just


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going from one side to the other in a


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straight line.


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>> There you go. Sounds like putting in


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golf. Like every putt they say every


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putt's a straight putt except


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that the um the green isn't dead flat


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and straight, so the ball will move


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accordingly.


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>> Yes, that's right. Yeah. In fact, that's


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um that's that almost puts you into a


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different uh regime because that's


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effectively what geodessics are, which


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are


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>> uh the way light behaves uh in general


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relativity. Uh so light travels what it


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in what it thinks is a straight line,


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but it's going through different


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gravitational fields and gravitational


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wells. And so like you know like your


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your golf ball when you're put putting


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it uh it it's it it's moving around.


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It's wandering around.


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>> Yeah. Uh we we have a quirk at um do


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golf club where um if you want to figure


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out where the putt goes work out which


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direction the river is.


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>> Yes.


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>> They they always fall towards the river.


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>> Always remember Andrew that five irons


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don't flow.


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>> They do not. It's a good book that I


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don't know who wrote it, but it's a


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ripper.


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>> I should read this.


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>> It's a ripper.


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>> Well, it's got swearing in it. Don't


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know how that happened.


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>> Yeah. Gosh. Disgraceful. Disgraceful.


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And by the way, the French Alps are at


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45.8345


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degrees north.


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>> So, you did very well.


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>> Yeah.


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>> And 6.85


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uh 6.8655 degrees east.


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>> That's right.


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>> Yeah. Uh, thank you for the question,


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Andrew. Great to hear from you. Hope you


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survived the u the French Alps um


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adventure. Uh our next question comes


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from a a new contributor. Hello Ernie.


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>> Hello Andrew and Fred. My name is Ernie


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and I'm reaching out to you from a small


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town near Buffalo, New York. I'm a


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longtime listener and this is the first


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time I'm submitting a question. In a


00:08:21.919 --> 00:08:23.990
recent episode, a listener asked if


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astronomers have ever identified the


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star or stars that went supernova,


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seating the nebula our sun formed in


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with heavy elements. This got me to


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thinking, stars typically form in


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clusters. And I assume our sun isn't any


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different. Has there ever been or is


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there any active research that is


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looking for any of the son's siblings?


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Thank you so much um for doing this


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podcast. Really enjoy it. Always look


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forward when new episodes drop. Wishing


00:08:59.680 --> 00:09:02.070
you the best for the holidays. Thank


00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.990
you, Ernie. Great to hear from you, a


00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.870
first time callerina. And uh great


00:09:06.880 --> 00:09:08.790
question, too. Great question. Sorry to


00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:10.389
hear about the Buffalo Bills. I don't


00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.310
know if you're into the uh American


00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:16.470
football um Ernie, but um we visited


00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:19.030
Buffalo um late last year and they were


00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:21.670
very very hopeful that the the Bills


00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:23.430
would come through, but they've been


00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:25.750
knocked out in the playoffs. So, um very


00:09:25.760 --> 00:09:27.910
unfortunate, but maybe maybe next year.


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They're certainly starting to look like


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a pretty solid outfit. So, um yeah, any


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work going into finding the Sun's


00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:36.870
siblings? Now, I remember us talking


00:09:36.880 --> 00:09:40.150
some time back about the possibility


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that the son had a twin [clears throat]


00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.350
>> and they got separated at birth and they


00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:46.710
can't find each other, but they're


00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:48.470
they're going through the archives to


00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:50.710
see if there's any family history that


00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:55.030
can connect them. Um that Yeah, but the


00:09:55.040 --> 00:09:57.910
the sun would have been part of um I I


00:09:57.920 --> 00:10:00.470
imagine a whole bunch of stars that were


00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:04.230
born in that um that um supernova


00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:05.670
situation. Is that what he was talking


00:10:05.680 --> 00:10:06.790
about?


00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:09.590
>> Well, that's part of the issue. The the


00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:12.230
fact that the you know the the gas cloud


00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.269
in which the sun and the rest of the


00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.110
cluster that was formed at the same time


00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:21.750
as the sun um that that was uh seeded by


00:10:21.760 --> 00:10:24.230
gases from a supernova explosion which


00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.710
we have no knowledge of but we you know


00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:28.710
it's just the background interstellar


00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:31.509
medium is enriched by the elements that


00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.750
come from a supernova explosion. But um


00:10:33.760 --> 00:10:35.990
no Ernie's question is on the money and


00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.389
the answer is yes. Uh that's um


00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:43.190
to try and find the sun's siblings is


00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.150
actually uh ongoing research and it's


00:10:46.160 --> 00:10:48.710
part of the subject that we usually call


00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:50.790
galactic archaeology. is looking at the


00:10:50.800 --> 00:10:54.470
way our galaxy has evolved uh by


00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.269
studying in detail the chemical


00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.630
composition of the stars within uh the


00:11:00.640 --> 00:11:02.310
sun's neighborhood within a few thousand


00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:03.990
light years. I was involved with all


00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:05.829
that with the rave project a few years


00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:09.030
ago. And so one of the uh not the holy


00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:10.550
grails of that but certainly one of the


00:11:10.560 --> 00:11:13.829
interesting aspects is to find stars


00:11:13.839 --> 00:11:17.829
that have identical chemical mixes to


00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:21.910
the sun. Uh and um if you can do that,


00:11:21.920 --> 00:11:24.310
if you can find them, uh there's a good


00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.630
chance that they were born from the same


00:11:26.640 --> 00:11:29.829
dust cloud as the sun was. Uh and so


00:11:29.839 --> 00:11:32.630
they might very well be solar siblings.


00:11:32.640 --> 00:11:35.590
Um it may even be possible that, you


00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.350
know, we know that the sun's four four


00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:39.590
and a half billion years old, about 4.6


00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:43.590
4.7 billion years old. Um if you could


00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.230
look at the motion of stars that have


00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:49.910
the identical uh constituents to the sun


00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:51.590
and you will be able to certainly me


00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:54.069
measure their velocities quite easily


00:11:54.079 --> 00:11:57.030
then you might be able to almost rewind


00:11:57.040 --> 00:11:59.829
back to a time uh when you could prove


00:11:59.839 --> 00:12:01.350
that they were all in the same place at


00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.230
the same time.


00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.310
>> Okay. Yeah. All right. Um


00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.509
>> so so the answer is yes. We are there is


00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.269
interest there is certainly research on


00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:13.110
all that and yes I had a couple of weeks


00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.030
in Buffalo once I was a guest lecturer


00:12:15.040 --> 00:12:17.430
at the Canius College there and it's


00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.670
very cold


00:12:19.680 --> 00:12:21.509
>> uh wasn't cold while we were there I


00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:23.110
mean it's it's a stones throw from


00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.190
Niagara Falls which is


00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:27.269
>> yeah like you could almost walk it


00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:29.350
>> they were pretty icy when we were there.


00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.990
>> Yeah. Um, but I I really enjoyed


00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:33.590
spending some time there and and


00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.350
learning like they they they had a big


00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.350
big exhibition on while we were there


00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:40.870
about the um one of the great canals


00:12:40.880 --> 00:12:44.870
that was built 150 odd years ago now I


00:12:44.880 --> 00:12:47.990
think. Um and and how it changed the


00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.509
entire region


00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.910
>> forever um in terms of trade and


00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:55.430
movement of materials and uh fascinating


00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.870
place really quite fascinating. Um,


00:12:58.880 --> 00:13:01.030
yeah. I suppose the the the problem with


00:13:01.040 --> 00:13:03.670
trying to find the sun's siblings is is


00:13:03.680 --> 00:13:05.750
the amount of time that's passed. It's


00:13:05.760 --> 00:13:06.949
not like you're looking back through


00:13:06.959 --> 00:13:08.629
your family tree a couple of


00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:10.629
generations, which we're talking


00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:13.110
billions of years of movement.


00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.269
>> That's right. Yes. But but as I said,


00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:17.910
you you know, the way you identify them


00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:20.550
is not because they're close or anything


00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:22.310
like that. It's by their chemical


00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:23.829
composition.


00:13:23.839 --> 00:13:28.550
uh which we can do out to many several


00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.389
thousands light years depending how how


00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.030
precise you want it to be. Um in fact


00:13:33.040 --> 00:13:34.150
there's an instrument on the Anglo


00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:35.750
Australian telescope which is called


00:13:35.760 --> 00:13:38.870
Hermes uh which is designed exactly for


00:13:38.880 --> 00:13:41.269
doing that job. It looks at very limited


00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.550
areas uh regions of the spectrum of


00:13:44.560 --> 00:13:47.269
stars uh to look for [clears throat]


00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:49.030
exactly the amount of chemicals that


00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:51.110
that are in those atmospheres of those


00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.350
stars. And that's the kind of instrument


00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.509
that you use to try and find the sun


00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:57.430
siblings. What I haven't said is whether


00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:59.590
there's been any success on that.


00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.710
>> I was bad to ask.


00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:01.670
>> Yeah. [laughter]


00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:04.230
And um uh I can't remember the answer. I


00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.230
I mean there are certainly stars which


00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.230
have got very similar chemical


00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:12.069
composition and ages to the sun. Uh, I'm


00:14:12.079 --> 00:14:14.150
not sure just how near we are to to


00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:15.829
being able to identify them as


00:14:15.839 --> 00:14:17.990
definitely coming from the same gas


00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.150
cloud and being born in the same cluster


00:14:20.160 --> 00:14:21.829
as the sun was.


00:14:21.839 --> 00:14:24.629
>> Well, according to a quick search I've


00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:28.069
just done, and this is an AI response,


00:14:28.079 --> 00:14:29.910
uh, yes, astronomers have identified


00:14:29.920 --> 00:14:31.590
several candidates. Yeah.


00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:33.509
>> The solar siblings, stars formed from


00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.790
the same gas cloud as our sun 4.5


00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:38.870
billion years ago, but none are


00:14:38.880 --> 00:14:42.710
definitely confirmed. There you go.


00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.269
>> Um they maybe they don't want to be


00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.990
found. Maybe maybe our our son was, you


00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.670
know, the black sheep of the family and


00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:51.509
they all went, "No, we're out of here.


00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:52.790
We know what's going to happen around


00:14:52.800 --> 00:14:55.189
this place. It's going to fall planets


00:14:55.199 --> 00:14:56.870
and then where will we be?" And then


00:14:56.880 --> 00:14:58.230
there'll be humans and then


00:14:58.240 --> 00:14:59.350
>> Yes, that's right. Exactly.


00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:01.509
>> You know, they'll want us they'll want


00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.350
us to pay them money or something. Yeah.


00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:05.590
I don't know. Um but it was a great


00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:06.949
question, Ernie. Thanks for sending it


00:15:06.959 --> 00:15:09.829
in and please do so again. This is Space


00:15:09.839 --> 00:15:12.310
Nuts with Andrew Dunley and Professor


00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:15.189
Fred Watson.


00:15:15.199 --> 00:15:17.110
>> Hey, that's one of the better sims.


00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.949
Believe me, we've had a couple of


00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:20.389
cardiac [music] arrest down here too,


00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:20.870
Pete.


00:15:20.880 --> 00:15:23.030
>> There weren't any time for that up here.


00:15:23.040 --> 00:15:24.949
>> Space nuts.


00:15:24.959 --> 00:15:27.590
>> I love that one. No time for a cardiac


00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:32.389
arrest. Uh let's uh carry on to our next


00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.230
question that comes from Mark. It's


00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:36.389
another story about this uh question


00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.150
about the sun. Hi Andrew and Fred. Are


00:15:38.160 --> 00:15:40.310
there any plans to send a spacecraft to


00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.389
the sun? And I mean up close and


00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:45.030
personal. Uh the data they could get


00:15:45.040 --> 00:15:47.430
would be invaluable and could really


00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.150
tighten up uh some loose ends on what we


00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:52.550
think we know. Uh keep up the great


00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:56.230
work. Uh that's Mark from Sussex. Sussex


00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.710
in England. I assume England. Uh I'm


00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:00.389
pretty sure that'd be right.


00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:02.389
>> So you s I used to live in Sussex as


00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:03.189
well.


00:16:03.199 --> 00:16:04.790
>> Yes. Yeah. I think we mentioned that a


00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:06.389
week or two ago. So we've had a few


00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.389
>> where the royals from Sussex of late


00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:10.710
>> the the Royal Greenwich Observatory used


00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.986
to be a place called Hmansu. Yeah.


00:16:13.996 --> 00:16:15.269
[clears throat and cough] Not far from


00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.189
where William the Conqueror landed in


00:16:17.199 --> 00:16:18.710
1066.


00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:19.110
>> Okay.


00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:22.069
>> It was all very historic place. Um and


00:16:22.079 --> 00:16:23.430
the Royal Observatory was actually


00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.910
>> he defeated he did he defeated King


00:16:25.920 --> 00:16:27.189
>> Henry was it?


00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:28.629
>> Harold. Harold. I knew it started with


00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:29.430
an H.


00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:34.230
>> Yeah. H um so yeah look I I I I know


00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.670
there are probes that are um gathering


00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:39.110
information about the sun all the time


00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.030
and in fact we had a recent probe that's


00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:43.269
name escapes me that actually touched


00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:45.350
the sun which was uh a pretty


00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.430
extraordinary thing and


00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.829
>> in fact that's the one that um that


00:16:49.839 --> 00:16:52.710
really Mark is asking about uh uh are


00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.629
there any plans to sp send a spacecraft


00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:56.949
to the sun uh and I mean up close and


00:16:56.959 --> 00:16:59.749
personal it is already there Uh it's


00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.629
called the Parker Solar Probe. Uh it's


00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:04.949
um flown through the inner or the outer


00:17:04.959 --> 00:17:08.069
corona of the sun uh experiencing those


00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:09.829
very high temperatures. It's got a heat


00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:12.150
shield. It's in a or an orbit that is


00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:16.211
highly elliptical, very elongated. So


00:17:16.221 --> 00:17:17.669
[clears throat] it it spends some of its


00:17:17.679 --> 00:17:20.230
time close to the sun and some of its


00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:22.549
time quite a long way away. I'm not


00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.990
actually sure whether it is still


00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.510
active. uh but what it's done is it has


00:17:27.520 --> 00:17:31.750
enhanced our understanding of the uh of


00:17:31.760 --> 00:17:34.549
the way the corona is heated. The sun's


00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.750
corona is at so several tens of millions


00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:41.430
of degrees uh and the surface of the sun


00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.350
the photosphere this bit that we see is


00:17:43.360 --> 00:17:45.909
about 5 a half thousand degrees. How


00:17:45.919 --> 00:17:48.150
does the outer atmosphere get so hot


00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:49.669
when you've got something relatively


00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:53.110
cool inside? And the Parker Solar Probe


00:17:53.120 --> 00:17:55.590
has revealed that it's almost certainly


00:17:55.600 --> 00:17:57.110
magnetism that does that, the


00:17:57.120 --> 00:17:59.350
transportation of energy via magnetic


00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:01.350
fields. You're about to tell me whether


00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:02.549
it's still going or not.


00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.990
>> It is. It is actually uh the uh is fully


00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:07.990
active. It's healthy. It's operating


00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.789
normally as at early 2026. It's done 26


00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.549
close approach


00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.150
>> uh approaches to the sun. Um, and that


00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.190
was up to December of of last year. And


00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.350
it uh will continue to orbit the sun.


00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:25.510
It'll set speed records while it's doing


00:18:25.520 --> 00:18:27.270
it. Uh, it's it's been doing some


00:18:27.280 --> 00:18:29.990
extraordinary things. Uh, what I find


00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.909
extraordinary is that it can survive


00:18:31.919 --> 00:18:33.510
temperatures around 2 and a half


00:18:33.520 --> 00:18:36.789
thousand degrees Fahrenheit. That's um


00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:39.510
that's that's mighty warm.


00:18:39.520 --> 00:18:41.590
>> Yep. With a with a clever cleverly


00:18:41.600 --> 00:18:43.350
designed heat shield. I think that's


00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:46.150
whath keeps the spacecraft cool and lets


00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.230
it continue its work. It's a very


00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.150
successful mission.


00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.470
>> Are there any other probes working out


00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:55.029
there? I mean, there are observer


00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.870
probes. I believe they're not designed


00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.270
to go in and out of the sun's corona,


00:18:59.280 --> 00:19:01.029
but they're they're sort of keeping a


00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.029
close eye on it.


00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.190
>> Yeah, that's right. There's uh so so the


00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:08.549
sun's observed from a safer distance uh


00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:10.789
up close and personal uh compared with


00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.470
where we are on Earth. uh there's a


00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.029
there's a flatilla of uh of


00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:17.190
observatories looking at the various


00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.950
aspects of the sun. We also now have um


00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:23.909
a very large groundbased telescope that


00:19:23.919 --> 00:19:26.710
is set providing the most amazing images


00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.870
of the sun's photosphere. That's the the


00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.590
visible sphere of the sun. Uh it's the


00:19:31.600 --> 00:19:34.549
Daniel K. Anui solar telescope. It's on


00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.070
top of Halakala on the island of Maui uh


00:19:38.080 --> 00:19:41.990
in the Hawaiian islands. Money and I got


00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:43.510
married in front of it.


00:19:43.520 --> 00:19:47.029
>> Yeah, I remember. Yeah. Um they have


00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.950
great names for stuff in Hawaii, don't


00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:50.070
they?


00:19:50.080 --> 00:19:51.669
>> Yeah, they do.


00:19:51.679 --> 00:19:52.470
>> They do.


00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:54.549
>> Just rolls off the tongue, that one. Uh


00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.430
there are plenty of probes actually um


00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:59.590
Mark that are that are wandering around


00:19:59.600 --> 00:20:01.270
the sun. There's the Solar Orbiter,


00:20:01.280 --> 00:20:05.750
which is an ISSa NASA mission um taking


00:20:05.760 --> 00:20:07.510
high resolution imagery and and


00:20:07.520 --> 00:20:09.029
gathering data about the sun. There's


00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.990
another one that was launched in 2023


00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.230
uh an Indian mission uh which is


00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.510
dedicated to observing the solar corona


00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:22.150
and it's the Adita L1 mission and


00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:26.230
there's a there's a a whole fleet of uh


00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.549
probes that are that are monitoring the


00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:30.549
solar winds. So the Solar Dynamics


00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.590
Observatory SOHO that's a famous one. Uh


00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:36.070
the STEREO mission because there are


00:20:36.080 --> 00:20:37.909
twin satellites doing that. I think we


00:20:37.919 --> 00:20:40.390
talked about that one. Uh Hinade, which


00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.590
is a a JAXA mission. Uh the GO solar


00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:45.830
ultraviolet imager and the advanced


00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:49.270
composition explorer or ACE uh which is


00:20:49.280 --> 00:20:51.350
looking at the solar winds which have um


00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:54.230
been very busy of late. We've seen some


00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.950
incredible activity. The sun's sort of


00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:59.430
reaching the end of its most active


00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:02.230
phase, isn't it Fred? Yeah, it's it's


00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.070
sort of still at solar maximum, but it


00:21:04.080 --> 00:21:08.070
gradually uh dies away to solar minimum.


00:21:08.080 --> 00:21:10.549
>> Yeah. And from what I understand, you've


00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.310
you've really only got a short period of


00:21:12.320 --> 00:21:15.669
time to enjoy the the the current level


00:21:15.679 --> 00:21:17.830
of activity before things start to ease


00:21:17.840 --> 00:21:23.029
off and um we see less um less


00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:24.549
spectacular


00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:26.230
light shows. Would that be the way to


00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:26.789
describe?


00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:28.390
>> Yeah. And and certainly as the sun's


00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.029
activity declines, the aurora that we


00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.029
see get further and further away from


00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:35.669
the equator, if I put it that way. The


00:21:35.679 --> 00:21:38.470
more active the sun is, the the the


00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.470
lower latitude you can you can see it


00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:41.830
at.


00:21:41.840 --> 00:21:44.310
>> Well, it's um it's certainly uh been


00:21:44.320 --> 00:21:47.029
spectacular lately. Uh thanks for the


00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.950
question, Mark.


00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.390
>> You're here also.


00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.510
>> Space nuts.


00:21:53.520 --> 00:21:55.750
>> Our final question, or is it a sermon?


00:21:55.760 --> 00:21:58.950
comes from Martin. Sit back, relax, grab


00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:00.710
a cup of tea. This is going to take a


00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:05.590
while. Hello, space nuts. Margin Burman


00:22:05.600 --> 00:22:09.029
Gorvine here, writer extraordinaire in


00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:11.110
many genres


00:22:11.120 --> 00:22:16.470
with a question for my work in progress.


00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:21.110
uh my science fiction novel involving a


00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:23.350
certain unpleasant


00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:29.430
very rich dude called Egon Rusk who


00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:32.549
wishes to see the stars with what he


00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:36.549
imagines is the master race and comes to


00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:41.830
a rather unfortunate end. Um,


00:22:41.840 --> 00:22:47.190
as I've been writing this, the uh their


00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:52.070
supposed destination is Trappist 1E.


00:22:52.080 --> 00:22:54.870
Now,


00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.830
Professor John T. Hero mentioned on a


00:22:57.840 --> 00:23:01.270
recent podcast that all the star, all


00:23:01.280 --> 00:23:04.789
the planets in the Trappist one system


00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:07.270
lack an atmosphere.


00:23:07.280 --> 00:23:09.830
So, I was very concerned about that


00:23:09.840 --> 00:23:12.789
because uh I don't want my characters


00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:17.830
all choking and dying. So, I had a look


00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:21.830
and it seems according to NASA that it's


00:23:21.840 --> 00:23:24.950
Trappist 1D


00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:28.470
as in David that has been shown to lack


00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:30.630
an atmosphere. But they're still trying


00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:35.590
to figure out whether Travis 1E has one


00:23:35.600 --> 00:23:40.230
or not. Um, in any case, I was just


00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.149
wondering if there are any other


00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:48.950
uh stars with with exoplanets


00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.029
within say 20, 30, 40 light years of


00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:57.350
Earth that might conceivably be roughly


00:23:57.360 --> 00:24:00.950
the mass of Earth and might conceivably


00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.310
have a breathable atmosphere. I mean,


00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:06.230
this is all


00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.350
kind of off-the-wall satirical se uh


00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:11.750
sci-fi, so it doesn't matter that much,


00:24:11.760 --> 00:24:13.590
but I was just wondering about your


00:24:13.600 --> 00:24:18.470
thoughts, and I don't mean to uh


00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:24.470
disparage Professor her. Um I I I but I


00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:26.950
I you know I just suspect that he did


00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:30.630
see that Trappist one D lacks an


00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:32.549
atmosphere and sort of thought well


00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:35.430
maybe that's all the planets in that


00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.549
system. And also


00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:42.630
um I would like to conclude by reading a


00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.990
poem on that I've just written that is a


00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.830
riff on


00:24:49.840 --> 00:24:53.990
uh Robert Frost's famous uh fire and ice


00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.350
about the back and forth debate over the


00:24:57.360 --> 00:25:00.710
big bang versus the big crunch also


00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:03.510
known as the ganab gibb although I don't


00:25:03.520 --> 00:25:05.750
love that term because it sort of sounds


00:25:05.760 --> 00:25:08.630
like A lost BG.


00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.269
So


00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:14.230
swell or crunch.


00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.070
Some think the cosmos swells for I. Some


00:25:18.080 --> 00:25:22.149
see a crunch of aging bones I know and


00:25:22.159 --> 00:25:26.149
sigh. So might the cold get worse for I.


00:25:26.159 --> 00:25:29.029
But pressure hits you like a punch. You


00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:33.669
feel your skin begin to burn. And so I


00:25:33.679 --> 00:25:37.190
have a dreadful hunch. We may all learn.


00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:40.470
We must all bunch.


00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.950
Burman Gorvine. Over and out.


00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.710
Never leaves you wondering, Martin. Uh,


00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:51.350
thanks for the question. Um, I'm going


00:25:51.360 --> 00:25:53.190
to go first here, Fred, because only


00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:55.510
this morning by coincidence did I read a


00:25:55.520 --> 00:25:57.830
story and it's a little bit of an irony


00:25:57.840 --> 00:25:59.590
in this because it comes from the


00:25:59.600 --> 00:26:01.669
University of Southern Queensland where


00:26:01.679 --> 00:26:05.990
Professor Jonty her works and it's uh


00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.310
this has been published on the ABC uh


00:26:08.320 --> 00:26:11.590
science website. Uh so it it basically


00:26:11.600 --> 00:26:13.510
says that the that astronomers at the


00:26:13.520 --> 00:26:15.990
University of Southern Queensland have


00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.029
discovered a potential candidate for an


00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.269
Earth-sized planet. It's uh planet


00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.950
HD137030B.


00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:26.630
It's a bit further away than Martin


00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.190
would like, 150 light years from Earth,


00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:33.190
but it orbits a sunlike star and they're


00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:36.070
referring to it as a planet candidate.


00:26:36.080 --> 00:26:39.110
Um the p paper needs uh one more


00:26:39.120 --> 00:26:42.390
observation to confirm the uh status of


00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:46.390
planet but this one is only slightly


00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:49.590
bigger than earth if it is uh indeed a


00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:53.750
um a a a planet. They think they think


00:26:53.760 --> 00:26:57.430
so. Uh an earth almost earthsized planet


00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:00.310
orbiting a sunlike star sounds like it's


00:27:00.320 --> 00:27:02.950
got some some potential there coming out


00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.070
of the University of Southern


00:27:04.080 --> 00:27:05.909
Queensland. So that's uh interesting


00:27:05.919 --> 00:27:08.149
news, very interesting timing based on


00:27:08.159 --> 00:27:10.390
um receiving Martin's question.


00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:10.710
>> Yeah.


00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.870
>> Um just before the uh the publication of


00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:14.630
that story.


00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.269
>> Yeah. Um and uh Luke, Martin's as


00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:20.310
capable as I am of looking all these up.


00:27:20.320 --> 00:27:22.630
Uh the Wikipedia list of nearest


00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.549
terrestrial exoplanet candidates is


00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:26.950
probably the the neatest source to go to


00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.789
because it gives references to a lot of


00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:32.310
the original papers of these uh the in


00:27:32.320 --> 00:27:35.990
which the planets are described. Um it's


00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.789
uh uh currently got this is uh uh ones


00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:44.149
within 50 light years. uh I put in when


00:27:44.159 --> 00:27:46.950
I went through this the search 34


00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.909
exoplanets 11 of which probably lie


00:27:49.919 --> 00:27:52.470
inside their stars habitable zone. It's


00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:56.070
a bit more difficult to, as Martin was


00:27:56.080 --> 00:27:58.149
um kind of hinting there, it's a bit


00:27:58.159 --> 00:28:01.830
more difficult to confirm the atmosphere


00:28:01.840 --> 00:28:05.110
uh of a of a an exoplanet because what


00:28:05.120 --> 00:28:08.950
you what you're trying to do is um most


00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:10.630
of these are discovered by the transit


00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:12.630
method. You know, planets that go in


00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:14.070
front of their parent star, they dim the


00:28:14.080 --> 00:28:17.190
light slightly uh as they pass in front


00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.789
of the parent star, and you can measure


00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:22.149
that dimming. Uh but you can also um if


00:28:22.159 --> 00:28:24.789
you're if you've got very topline


00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:27.990
equipment like the web telescope uh you


00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:30.230
can also look at the spectrum uh change


00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:32.310
in the star as the planet passes in


00:28:32.320 --> 00:28:34.149
front of it and if that spectrum changes


00:28:34.159 --> 00:28:37.350
then uh you can be sure that the planet


00:28:37.360 --> 00:28:39.350
has an atmosphere and you can actually


00:28:39.360 --> 00:28:42.070
see what gases are are actually present


00:28:42.080 --> 00:28:44.870
in the atmosphere. So, um, that's a much


00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:46.470
more difficult observation and I think


00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:48.549
that's why, uh, it's a bit of a struggle


00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:51.510
for Martin to find to to identify with


00:28:51.520 --> 00:28:54.630
certainty, uh, which of these exoplanets


00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:56.630
might have an atmosphere. I might leave


00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:58.389
him to that and remind him that since


00:28:58.399 --> 00:28:59.909
he's writing fiction, he can do anything


00:28:59.919 --> 00:29:02.149
like with these planets, anything,


00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:04.149
anything he wants.


00:29:04.159 --> 00:29:06.870
>> I I'm um well into my trilogy, Fred.


00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.110
I've uh written the first book and I'm


00:29:09.120 --> 00:29:12.149
six chapters into the second book and


00:29:12.159 --> 00:29:13.990
>> still the the ideas are still coming.


00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:15.909
I'm I'm wondering when I'll hit the


00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:18.230
brick wall, but um yeah, it's it's going


00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.310
well at the moment. I'm enjoying it. So,


00:29:20.320 --> 00:29:22.149
I'm not going to give anything away, but


00:29:22.159 --> 00:29:22.710
um


00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:25.110
>> you're making it up as you go along.


00:29:25.120 --> 00:29:27.269
>> That's exactly how I'm


00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.710
>> I'll get to the next chapter and go,


00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.230
okay, where do I want this to go? And I


00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.269
just let my imagination run wild. So, um


00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:35.350
that's how I've always written. I don't,


00:29:35.360 --> 00:29:37.430
you know, started at school doing it


00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:38.950
that way when I won a composition


00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:39.909
contest.


00:29:39.919 --> 00:29:40.710
>> Very good.


00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:44.149
>> And that was that. Um, so yeah, we we


00:29:44.159 --> 00:29:45.990
covered Martin's question. Great poetry,


00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:48.470
by the way. The the big crunch. Yeah,


00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:50.230
nice work. Thanks, Martin. Good to hear


00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.149
from you as always. If you'd like to


00:29:52.159 --> 00:29:54.630
send questions into us, you can do so on


00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:56.950
our website, spacenutspodcast.com.


00:29:56.960 --> 00:29:58.789
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00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:01.990
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00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:05.269
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00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:08.230
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00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.590
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00:30:09.600 --> 00:30:10.710
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00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:14.950
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00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.789
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00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:18.950
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00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:20.789
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00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:24.870
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00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.750
leave a review. Uh the more the merrier.


00:30:27.760 --> 00:30:30.710
uh they do help apparently to um find


00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:33.190
more listeners and that's what we'd like


00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:35.110
to do. So if you could leave a review


00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:38.549
for us, we would appreciate it greatly


00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.549
and thank you Fred as always. It's been


00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:41.750
great fun.


00:30:41.760 --> 00:30:43.830
>> Um it's good fun or else we wouldn't do


00:30:43.840 --> 00:30:44.470
it.


00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:46.470
>> That's that's absolutely true. Certainly


00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.269
not doing it for the money. Um


00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:49.669
>> no,


00:30:49.679 --> 00:30:51.029
>> thanks Fred.


00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:53.350
>> We'll see you next week. Uh, Professor


00:30:53.360 --> 00:30:54.870
Fred Watson, astronomer at large. And


00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:56.789
thanks to Hugh in the studio, who


00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:58.630
couldn't be with us today because he's


00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:00.230
actually put his hand up for a mission


00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:02.549
to the sun because it's a lot cooler


00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:04.149
there than it is in Australia at the


00:31:04.159 --> 00:31:06.230
moment. Can't blame him for that. And


00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:07.750
from me, Andrew Dunley, thanks for your


00:31:07.760 --> 00:31:09.190
company. We'll catch you on the next


00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:11.190
episode of Space Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.510
>> Space Nuts. You've been listening to the


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