SphereX’s Cosmic Quest, Lunar Triumphs and Trials, and the Universe’s Black Hole Mystery: S04E63

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Language: en

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[Music]


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welcome to astronomy daily I'm Anna and


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you're in for quite a fascinating show


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today we've got a great lineup of


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stories that showcase just how rapidly


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our understanding of the cosmos


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continues to evolve from NASA's


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ambitious new spherex Mission beginning


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its journey to map hundreds of millions


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of galaxies to some dramatic


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developments in lunar exploration and a


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mind-bending discovery from the James


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web Space Telescope that suggests our


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entire universe might be inside a black


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hole yes you heard that right we'll also


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look at a groundbreaking new map of our


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galaxy that's helping astronomers see


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through the cosmic dust that surrounds


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us it's an exciting time in space


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exploration and we've got all the latest


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developments coming right


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up NASA has just confirmed a major


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milestone in space exploration with


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their sphex mission successfully


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establishing contact and beginning its


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groundbreaking science operations this


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extraordinary Observatory is now


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preparing for what promises to be a


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revolution 2-year survey of our Cosmic


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neighborhood spherex which stands for


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spectr photometer for the history of the


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universe epic of reionization and Isis


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Explorer will undertake the ambitious


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task of mapping more than 450 million


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galaxies and over 100 million stars in


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our own Milky Way but this isn't just


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about counting celestial objects the


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mission aims to answer some of the most


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fundamental questions about our universe


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in the coming weeks Mission controllers


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will be fine-tuning the Observatory


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conducting crucial calibrations and


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cooling the telescope to its optimal


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operating temperature once everything is


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properly aligned and configured sphex


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will begin creating what will become the


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most comprehensive 3D map of the entire


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Sky ever attempted one of the mission's


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primary objectives is to investigate a


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phenomenon called Cosmic inflation that


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brief moment just after the big bang


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when the universe expanded faster than


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the speed of light the telescope will


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also measure the collective glow from


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galaxies including those that are too


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faint or distant to be observed


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individually perhaps most intriguingly


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spherex will search our galaxy for


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hidden reservoirs of water carbon


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dioxide and other ingredients essential


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for life this could provide valuable


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insights into how common these


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life-supporting materials are throughout


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the cosmos what makes spherex


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particularly special is its ability to


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complement the work of other space


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telescopes like Hubble and James web


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while those observatories focus on


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specific Targets in great detail sphx


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will scan vast sections of the sky


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quickly creating an unprecedented Cosmic


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census better yet all of this data will


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be freely available to scientists


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worldwide essentially providing a new


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Encyclopedia of hundreds of millions of


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cosmic


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objects the past few weeks have brought


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us a mixed bag of lunar Landing updates


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with some remarkable achievements


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alongside sobering challenges let's


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start with the exciting news from


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Firefly aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission


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which touched down successfully in the


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moon's Mar chissum region on March 2nd


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this Landing gave us something we've


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never seen before unprecedented footage


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of a lunar touchdown captured by special


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cameras designed to study how spacecraft


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interact with the moon's surface the


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scalps camera system aboard Blu ghost


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recorded the entire descent sequence


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starting from about 91 ft above the


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surface these images showed us exact


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what happens when a spacecraft's engine


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plumes first interact with lunar soil at


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around 49 ft up creating a fascinating


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dance of dust and regolith that will


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help Engineers design safer future


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Landings if you'd like to see some of


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the video footage and check out more


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details take a look at our latest blog


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post on our website at astronomy


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daily. however not all recent lunar


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missions have enjoyed such success


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intuitive machines Athena Lander faced


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significant challenges during its land


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attempt last week while the spacecraft


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performed flawlessly during its Journey


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To The Moon a critical altimeter failure


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meant it couldn't determine its exact


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height above the surface during the


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final descent phase this led to a


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dramatic Landing where Athena struck a


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plateau toppled over and actually


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skidded across the lunar surface


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rotating several times before coming to


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rest in a small shadowed crater while


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the spacecraft managed to survive this


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rough Landing the impact kicked up


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regali that covered its solar panels


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severely limiting its power generation


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capabilities in even more challenging


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news NASA's lunar Trailblazer Mission


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has been struggling since shortly after


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its launch on February 26th Mission


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controllers lost contact with the small


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satellite just one day after launch and


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despite continued efforts to reestablish


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Communications through NASA's deep space


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Network and other ground stations the


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situation remains


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uncertain these contrasting outcomes


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highlight the inherent challenges of


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lunar exploration even as we develop


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increasingly sophisticated technology


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each Mission whether successful or not


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provides valuable lessons that will help


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improve future attempts at exploring our


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Celestial


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neighbor all right this next story just


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might blow your mind so to


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speak the James web Space Telescope


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continues to reshape our understanding


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of the cosmos and its latest Discovery


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might be its most mind-bending yet


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recent observations have revealed


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something extraordinary about the


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rotation of galaxies in the early


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Universe a pattern that could suggest


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our entire universe exists within a


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black hole and yes you heard that right


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during the James web Space Telescope


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Advanced deep extragalactic survey


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scientists observed 263 distant galaxies


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and found a striking pattern rather than


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seeing random rotation directions as


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expected approximately 2/3 of these


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galaxies are spinning clockwise while


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the remaining third rotates


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counterclockwise in a universe governed


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by random chance we'd expect to see an


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even split between rotation


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directions this coordinated Cosmic dance


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raises profound questions about the


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nature of our universe according to Dr


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leor Shamir who led the research team


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there are two possible explanations for


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this


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phenomenon the first and most intriguing


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suggestion is that our universe was born


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rotating an idea that aligns with


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theories of black hole cosmology this


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theory proposes that what we observe as


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our universe might actually be the


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interior of a black hole within a larger


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parent Universe even more fascinating is


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the possibility that every black hole in


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our universe could be a gateway to


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another Universe though we could never


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observe these other Realms directly due


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to the nature of black holes event


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Horizons polish physicist nicodem


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palowski suggests that when black holes


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form from collapsing Stars the extreme


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conditions prevent matter from


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compressing indefinitely into a


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singularity instead the matter reaches a


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state of incredible density before


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bouncing back like a compressed spring


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potentially creating a new expanding


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Universe much like what we observe as


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our big bang if our universe did indeed


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form inside a rotating black hole it


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would inherit that rotation which could


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explain the preferred direction of


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Galaxy rotation we're now observing this


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axis of rotation would be passed down


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from the parent universe's black hole


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influencing the formation and movement


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of galaxies throughout our Cosmic


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neighborhood


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however scientists are also considering


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a more mundane explanation that our own


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Galaxy's rotation might be affecting


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these observations though previously


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this was thought to be too slight to


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matter if this turns out to be the case


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it could require a significant


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recalibration of how we measure


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distances in the Deep Universe


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potentially resolving several other


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cosmological puzzles in the


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process in other astronomy news today in


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a remarkable breakthrough for


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astronomical research scientists at the


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max plank Institute for astronomy have


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created the most detailed


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three-dimensional map ever made of


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cosmic dust in our Milky Way galaxy this


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groundbreaking achievement utilized data


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from an astounding 130 million Stellar


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Spectra combining information from both


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the European space agency's Gaia Mission


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and the lamos spectral survey think of


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cosmic dust as Nature's Cosmic filter it


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affects how we see everything in space


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making distant objects appear both


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redder and dimmer than they actually are


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it's like trying to look through a


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slightly dirty window into the vast


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expanse of space until now astronomers


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have had to make do with relatively


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limited information about how this dust


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is distributed throughout our galaxy the


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new map was created using Innovative


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machine learning techniques to analyze


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the way Starlight interacts with dust


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particles by studying how dust affects


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light at different wavelengths


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researchers can determine not just where


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the dust is but also its composition and


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properties this level of detail far


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surpasses previous efforts which only


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included about a million measurements


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but the study revealed something


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unexpected conventional wisdom suggested


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that in regions with higher dust density


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the dust's effects on light should


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become more uniform across different


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wavelengths instead the team found that


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in areas of medium density shorter


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wavelengths of light are actually


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absorbed much more effectively than


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longer ones a finding that challenges


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our current understanding of how Cosmic


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dust behaves this discovery has led


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researchers to propose an intriguing


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possibility the unusual absorption


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patterns might be caused by complex


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molecules called polycyclic aromatic


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hydrocarbons or PHS these molecules are


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the most common type of hydrocarbon in


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interstellar space and may have played a


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crucial role in the development of life


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itself this new dust map isn't just an


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academic achievement it's a practical


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tool that will help astronomers make


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more accurate observations of distant


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objects by knowing exactly how much dust


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lies between us and our astronomical


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targets we can better understand what


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we're actually seeing when we look out


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into the cosmos it's like finally having


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a clear understanding of how dirty that


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window really is allowing us to see the


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universe more clearly than ever


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before that's a wrap for today's episode


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of astronomy daily I want to thank you


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for joining me on this Cosmic journey


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through some of the most fascinating


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developments in space science and


00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:32.310
exploration from breakthrough


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discoveries about our universe's


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possible connection to black holes to


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New Missions exploring the moon and


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groundbreaking maps of our Galaxy's


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Cosmic dust it's been an exciting lineup


00:10:42.839 --> 00:10:44.990
of stories if you're hungry for more


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space news and want to stay up to dat


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with the latest developments I've got


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you covered head over to astronomy


00:10:51.160 --> 00:10:53.629
daily. where you'll find our latest blog


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posts and a constantly updating Newsfeed


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of space and astronomy news it's your


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One-Stop destination for everything


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happening in the cosmos and don't forget


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to join our growing community on social


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follow us to get your daily dose of


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space news and join the conversation


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about our fascinating Universe this is


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Anna signing off until our next Cosmic


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Adventure keep looking up and remember


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the universe is full of Wonders just


00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:30.150
waiting to be discovered


00:11:30.160 --> 00:11:37.870
see you next time on astronomy daily


00:11:37.880 --> 00:11:52.239
[Music]