The Cosmic Origins of Uranium, Vesta’s Surprising Identity, and Mars’ Ancient Climate

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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This is Spacetime series 28 episode 55


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for broadcast on the 7th of May 2025.


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Coming up on Spaceime, how giant


00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:12.230
exploding stars make uranium, shattering


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long-held beliefs about the main belt


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asteroid Vesta, and a new study


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resolving the question of whether it


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rained or snowed on ancient Mars. All


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that and more coming up on Spaceime.


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Welcome to Spaceime with Stuart Garry.


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[Music]




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A new study has provided fresh clues


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explaining how exploding stars produce


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uranium and other heavy elements by


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quite literally dissolving into


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neutrons. Understanding the origin of


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heavy elements on the periodic table is


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one of the most challenging open


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problems in all of physics. We know that


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all the elements other than hydrogen and


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helium and small amounts of lithium and


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burillium which were created in the big


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bang 13.8 billion years ago are created


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in stars either during their lifetimes


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as they evolve or through spectacular


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supernova as they die. In the search for


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understanding the conditions suitable


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for creating these elements through


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nuclear synthesis, scientists are now


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going where no researchers have gone


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before. They're looking at gammaray


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burst jets in the surrounding cocoon


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emerging from collapsed stars. A report


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in the astrophysical journal suggests


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that high energy photons produced deep


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inside gammaray burst jets could


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dissolve the outer layers of a star into


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neutrons causing a series of processes


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that may will result in the formation of


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heavy elements. One of the study's


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authors, Matthew Mumpower from the Los


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Alamos National Laboratory says the


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creation of heavy elements such as


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uranium plutonium necessitates extreme


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conditions. The thing is there are only


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a few viable yet very rare scenarios in


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which these elements can form and all of


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these hypotheses require the need for


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copious amounts of neutrons. So Mau and


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colleagues are proposing a new


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phenomenon whereby those neutrons don't


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pre-exist but are produced dramatically


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by the star itself. Freeflying neutrons


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have a short half-life of just 15


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minutes. That limits the sort of


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scenarios in which they're available in


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the abundances needed to form heavy


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elements. Now the key to producing the


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heaviest elements on the periodic table


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is known as the rapid neutron capture


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process and it's thought to be


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responsible for the production of all


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the naturally occurring thorium, uranium


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and plutonium in the universe. The


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author's framework takes on the


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challenging physics of this process and


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then resolves it by proposing reactions


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around the stars collapse which could


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result in heavy element formation.


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In addition to understanding the


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formation of heavy elements, the


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proposed framework also helps address


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critical questions around neutron


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transport, multifysics simulations and


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the observations of rare events. Now in


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this scenario Mau proposes a massive


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star begins to die as its nuclear fuel


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runs out. Eventually the balancing act


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between the outward push of nuclear


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energy as the star burns fuel and the


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inward pull of gravity comes to an end


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and gravity wins. no longer able to push


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up against its own gravity, the star


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collapses, forming a black hole at its


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center. Now, if the black hole is


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spinning fast enough, frame dragging


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effects from the extremely strong


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gravitational field near the black hole,


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wind up the magnetic field, and launch


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powerful jets. Now, through subsequent


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reactions, a broad spectrum of photons


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are created, some of which are at very


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high energies. That includes gamma rays.


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Mau says, "These photon jets blast


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through the star ahead of it, creating a


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hot cocoon of material around the jet,


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sort of like a freight train plowing


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through snow. At the interface between


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the jet and the stellar material, high


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energy photons can interact with atomic


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nuclei, transmuting the photons into


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neutrons, literally turning energy into


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matter. Now, existing atomic nuclei may


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also be dissolved into individual


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nucleons, creating more free neutrons to


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power the process. The calculations


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suggest interaction with light and


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matter can create neutrons incredibly


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quickly on the order of a nancond. Now


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because they're charged, protons get


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trapped in the jet by the strong


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magnetic fields. But neutrons which are


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chargeless are plowed out of the jet


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into the cocoon. Having experienced a


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relativistic shock, the neutrons are


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extremely dense compared to the


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surrounding stellar material and


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therefore a rapid neutron capture


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process could occur with heavy elements


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and isotopes being forged then expelled


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out into space as the stars ripped


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apart. The process of protons converting


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into neutrons along with free neutrons


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escaping into the surrounding cocoon to


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form heavy elements involves a broad


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range of physics principles and


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encompasses all four fundamental forces


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of nature. a true multifysics problem


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combining areas of atomic and nuclear


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physics with hydrodnamics and general


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relativity. But more challenges remain


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as the heavy isotopes created during


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this rapid neutron capture process have


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never been produced on Earth.


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Researchers know little about their


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properties such as their atomic weight


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and half-life. Still, the high energy


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jet framework produced by the authors


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may help explain the origins of


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kilanova, a glow of optical and infrared


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electromagnetic radiation associated


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with longduration gammaray bursts.


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Kilanovas have been primarily associated


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with the collision of two neutron stars


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or through the merger of a neutron star


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and a black hole. Now, these intense


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collisions are one possible method for


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confirming with observations the cosmic


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factories of heavy element formation.


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But star dissolution through high energy


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photon jets offer an alternative origin


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for the production of heavy elements and


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the killer nerve they may manufacture. A


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possibility not previously thought to be


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associated with collapsing stars. As a


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side note, it's worth remembering that


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scientists have observed iron and


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plutonium in deep sea sediments. These


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deposits are known to come from


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extraterrestrial sources. Though as with


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the phenomena producing killer, the


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specific location or cosmic event


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remains elusive.


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So the collapser high energy jet


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scenario represents an intriguing


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possibility as the source for these


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heavy elements found deep under the sea.


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This is


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spaceime still to come. Shattering some


00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.430
long-held beliefs about the asteroid


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Vesta and a new study supported the


00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.749
long-held scientific view that


00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.749
geological formations seen on the red


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planet Mars were formed by water and


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snow billions of years ago. All that and


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more still to come on


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Spaceime. This episode of Spacetime is


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[Music]


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A new study suggests that the mysterious


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word of Vesta is really just a big


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asteroid. The findings reported in the


00:08:38.479 --> 00:08:40.230
journal Nature Astronomy show that


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Vesta's interior structure is far more


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uniform than previously thought. The


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discovery has shocked many researchers


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who until now assumed Vesta was a


00:08:49.839 --> 00:08:52.190
protolanet that never grew to its full


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potential. For decades, scientists


00:08:54.640 --> 00:08:56.550
believed that Vesta, one of the largest


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objects in the main asteroid belt


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between Mars and Jupiter, wasn't just


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another asteroid. They concluded that


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Vesta had a crust, a mantle, and a core,


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and they're the fundamental properties


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of celestial bodies like planets. So


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astronomers have been studying Vesta for


00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:15.030
clues as to how early planets grew and


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what the Earth might have looked like in


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its infancy. One of the studies authors,


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Seth Jacobson from Michigan State


00:09:20.959 --> 00:09:23.030
University, says the lack of a core


00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:26.470
investor was really quite surprising. So


00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:29.110
what was Vesta's true identity? Well,


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the authors have come up with two


00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:31.990
hypotheses that need further


00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.949
exploration. The first is that Vesta


00:09:34.959 --> 00:09:36.190
went through an incomplete


00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:38.230
differentiation, meaning it started the


00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.990
melting process needed to give the


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asteroid distinct layers like a core,


00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:43.910
mantle, and crust, but it never finished


00:09:43.920 --> 00:09:46.150
them. The second, which Jacobson first


00:09:46.160 --> 00:09:47.829
floated an astronomy conference years


00:09:47.839 --> 00:09:49.829
ago, is that Vesta is really just a


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broken chunk off a growing planet.


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Jacobson wanted other researchers to


00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.070
consider the possibility that some


00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.750
meteorites could be debris from


00:09:57.760 --> 00:09:59.269
collisions that took place during the


00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:01.750
planetary formation era 4.6 billion


00:10:01.760 --> 00:10:04.630
years ago. He says that idea went from a


00:10:04.640 --> 00:10:06.230
somewhat silly suggestion to a


00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:07.910
hypothesis that astronomers are now


00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:10.310
taking seriously due to a reanalysis of


00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:13.190
data from NASA's dawn mission. See, most


00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.269
asteroids are made of very ancient


00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.750
condritic material appearing like cosmic


00:10:17.760 --> 00:10:20.310
sedimentary gravel. Now, in contrast,


00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:22.389
Vesta's surface is covered in volcanic


00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:25.110
basaltic rocks. And these rocks


00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.350
indicated to scientists that Vista went


00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:28.710
through a melting process called


00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:30.470
planetary differentiation where the


00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:32.750
metal sinks to the center and forms a


00:10:32.760 --> 00:10:35.430
core. NASA launched the Dawn spacecraft


00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.790
in 2007 to study Veester and series, the


00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:40.710
two largest objects in the main asteroid


00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:43.509
belt. The goal was to better understand


00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.550
how planets formed. Dawn spent many


00:10:46.560 --> 00:10:49.829
months in 2011 and 2012 orbiting Vesta,


00:10:49.839 --> 00:10:51.670
measuring its gravitational field,


00:10:51.680 --> 00:10:53.590
taking highresolution images, and


00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.430
creating a very detailed map of its


00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.990
surface. It then performed similar tasks


00:10:58.000 --> 00:10:59.990
around the dwarf planet series. The


00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:02.269
mission finally reaching an end in


00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:04.949
2018. Jacobson says the more they use


00:11:04.959 --> 00:11:06.550
the data, the better they got at


00:11:06.560 --> 00:11:08.470
processing it, and they found ways to


00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.150
more accurately calibrate measurements,


00:11:10.160 --> 00:11:12.389
yielding an improved picture of Vesta's


00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.790
makeup. Eventually, they decided to


00:11:14.800 --> 00:11:17.670
reprocess Vesta's measurements. But for


00:11:17.680 --> 00:11:19.590
years, conflicting gravity data from


00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.790
Dawn's observations of Vesta created


00:11:21.800 --> 00:11:24.310
puzzles. After nearly a decade of


00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:25.750
refining their calibration and


00:11:25.760 --> 00:11:27.430
processing techniques, they finally


00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:29.430
achieved a remarkable alignment between


00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:31.910
Dorne's deep space network radiometric


00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:34.790
data and onboard imaging data. The


00:11:34.800 --> 00:11:36.310
authors were eventually able to show


00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.470
that Vesta's history is far more complex


00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.150
than previously thought and it was


00:11:40.160 --> 00:11:42.230
shaped by unique processes like


00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:44.150
interrupted planetary differentiation


00:11:44.160 --> 00:11:46.870
and late stage collisions. Planetary


00:11:46.880 --> 00:11:48.470
scientists can estimate the size of


00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.310
celestial body's core by measuring


00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.710
what's called the moment of inertia. It


00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:54.710
describes how difficult it is to change


00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.910
the rotation of an object around its


00:11:56.920 --> 00:11:59.910
axis. Jacobson compared the concept to a


00:11:59.920 --> 00:12:02.630
figure skater spinning on ice. They


00:12:02.640 --> 00:12:04.710
change their speed by pulling their arms


00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.790
in to speed up and moving them outwards


00:12:06.800 --> 00:12:09.269
again to slow down. So their moment of


00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.350
inertia is changed by changing the


00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.990
position of their arms. Now in a similar


00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:15.910
way, an object in space with a larger


00:12:15.920 --> 00:12:17.750
core is a bit like a ballerina with her


00:12:17.760 --> 00:12:19.990
arms pulled in. Celestial bodies with a


00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:21.750
dense core move differently through


00:12:21.760 --> 00:12:24.870
space than ones with no core at all. And


00:12:24.880 --> 00:12:26.150
with this knowledge, the authors


00:12:26.160 --> 00:12:27.910
measured the rotation and gravitational


00:12:27.920 --> 00:12:30.550
field of Vesta. The results showed that


00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:32.470
Vesta didn't behave like an object with


00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.790
a core, challenging prior ideas about


00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:36.870
how it formed. Of course, neither


00:12:36.880 --> 00:12:38.550
hypothesis has been fully explored


00:12:38.560 --> 00:12:41.190
enough to rule either out, and both have


00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:42.710
problems that still require a lot more


00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.110
research to explain. Now, while


00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.190
incomplete differentiation is possible,


00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:48.870
it doesn't line up with the meteorites


00:12:48.880 --> 00:12:51.110
researchers have collected over time.


00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.110
Jacobson says he's very confident these


00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.190
meteorites came from Vesta and they


00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:57.030
don't show any obvious evidence of


00:12:57.040 --> 00:12:59.430
incomplete differentiation. The


00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.750
alternative explanation is based on the


00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:03.670
idea that as the terrestrial planets


00:13:03.680 --> 00:13:06.150
formed large collisions occurred mostly


00:13:06.160 --> 00:13:07.990
growing the planets but also generating


00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:10.710
impact debris. Ejected materials from


00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.310
these collisions would include rocks


00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:14.470
resulting from melting and like Vesta


00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:17.030
they wouldn't have a core. Jacobson's


00:13:17.040 --> 00:13:18.790
lab's already exploring the consequences


00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:20.550
of giant impacts during the planetary


00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:23.030
formation era. He's now working on the


00:13:23.040 --> 00:13:24.870
idea that some asteroids in the main


00:13:24.880 --> 00:13:27.389
belt are pieces ejected from the growing


00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.949
planets. But the idea is still far from


00:13:29.959 --> 00:13:32.389
proven. More models need to be created


00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:34.870
and fine-tuned to prove that Vista is an


00:13:34.880 --> 00:13:37.269
ancient chunk of a forming planet.


00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.190
Jacobson says the paper's really only


00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:40.790
the beginning of a new direction of


00:13:40.800 --> 00:13:42.790
study that could forever change how


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:44.470
scientists look at differentiated


00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:47.590
worlds. No longer is the Vesta meteorite


00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:49.750
collection simply a sample of a body in


00:13:49.760 --> 00:13:51.790
space that failed to make it into a


00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:54.150
planet. Instead, they could be pieces of


00:13:54.160 --> 00:13:56.590
an ancient planet before it grew to full


00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:58.710
completion. Scientists just don't know


00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:01.509
which planet yet. The answers may be


00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.870
contained in the Dawn data. This report


00:14:04.880 --> 00:14:07.870
from NASA


00:14:07.880 --> 00:14:10.629
TV. You know, when you work on a mission


00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:14.230
this long, it feels like a part of you.


00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.150
I've been a space enthusiast since I was


00:14:16.160 --> 00:14:17.550
four years


00:14:17.560 --> 00:14:19.990
old. Getting to work on a mission like


00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.230
this is it's a dream come


00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:26.910
true. To me, Dawn is truly Earth's first


00:14:26.920 --> 00:14:30.150
interplanetary spaceship.


00:14:30.160 --> 00:14:32.710
No other spacecraft has gone to a


00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.910
distant body, gone into orbit around it,


00:14:35.920 --> 00:14:38.629
maneuvered there, then broken out of


00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.030
orbit, traveled elsewhere in the solar


00:14:41.040 --> 00:14:43.590
system to another alien world and gone


00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.550
into orbit around it. And it does that


00:14:46.560 --> 00:14:48.389
with ion propulsion, which I first heard


00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.030
of in a Star Trek


00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:52.550
episode. We've turned ion propulsion


00:14:52.560 --> 00:14:55.990
from science fiction into science fact.


00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.550
The Dawn mission really is a journey


00:14:58.560 --> 00:14:59.910
back to the beginning of the solar


00:14:59.920 --> 00:15:02.269
system and that's why we call it


00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:05.590
Dawn. We chose two time capsules from


00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:07.829
the beginning of the solar system, Vesta


00:15:07.839 --> 00:15:09.910
and Series, which are the most massive


00:15:09.920 --> 00:15:12.189
and largest bodies in the main asteroid


00:15:12.199 --> 00:15:14.870
belt. They both formed very early when


00:15:14.880 --> 00:15:16.710
the solar system was forming out of the


00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.269
protolanetary disc. And yet they ended


00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.470
up in these two very different states.


00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:25.829
Vesta is a dry, rocky body that looks a


00:15:25.839 --> 00:15:27.710
lot like our


00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:30.230
moon, whereas seriesir had a lot of


00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.310
water and it looks much more like the


00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:34.670
icy moons of the outer solar


00:15:34.680 --> 00:15:37.110
system. And it seems like what


00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.069
determined their eventual fate was the


00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:43.189
location where they started. And we now


00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:45.509
believe that series formed much farther


00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:49.269
from the sun than it is now. When Dawn


00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:52.069
found the bright material in series,


00:15:52.079 --> 00:15:54.350
what we saw was completely


00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:57.389
mind-blowing, it was made of sodium


00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.069
carbonate. Sodium carbonate is not


00:16:00.079 --> 00:16:03.030
common in the solar system, but we see


00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:05.230
it coming out of the plumes of


00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:09.430
Enceladus. We see it in lakes on Earth.


00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.030
And here it was on the surface of


00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:13.509
series. Dawn serves as a lasting


00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.629
reminder that the passion for bold


00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:20.790
adventures and our noble aspirations to


00:16:20.800 --> 00:16:24.230
reach out into the cosmos take us far


00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.870
far beyond the confines of our humble


00:16:26.880 --> 00:16:29.590
home here on planet Earth. In that


00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.990
report from NASA TV, we heard from Dawn


00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.910
chief engineer and mission director Mark


00:16:33.920 --> 00:16:36.389
Raymond and Dawn principal investigator


00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.389
Carol Raymond. This is spaceime still to


00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.550
come. Did it rain or snow on the red


00:16:42.560 --> 00:16:44.870
planet Mars? And later in the science


00:16:44.880 --> 00:16:47.189
report, a new study has found that


00:16:47.199 --> 00:16:49.910
spruce trees not only respond to solar


00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:52.470
eclipses, but they actively anticipate


00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:54.389
when they're about to happen. All that


00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:58.590
and more still to come on


00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:00.550
Spaceime. Hey there, Spacetime


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[Music]


00:18:47.360 --> 00:18:49.270
A new study has supported the long-held


00:18:49.280 --> 00:18:50.950
scientific view that geological


00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.350
formations seen on the red planet Mars


00:18:53.360 --> 00:18:55.590
suggests that heavy precipitation likely


00:18:55.600 --> 00:18:57.590
fed many networks of valleys and


00:18:57.600 --> 00:18:59.750
channels that shaped the Martian surface


00:18:59.760 --> 00:19:02.470
billions of years ago. The findings


00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.150
reported in the Journal of Geophysical


00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.230
Research Planets paints a picture of a


00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.470
world that was relatively warm and wet,


00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.549
very different from the frigid wasteland


00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.270
we know today. The study's lead author


00:19:13.280 --> 00:19:15.029
Amanda Steckle from the University of


00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:16.950
Colorado Boulder says you can pull up


00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.029
Google Earth images of places like Utah


00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.789
and then zoom out and you'd see


00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:23.750
similarities to the red planet Mars.


00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:26.070
Now, most scientists today agree that at


00:19:26.080 --> 00:19:27.990
least some water existed on the surface


00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.230
of Mars during the Noin epoch roughly


00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:33.830
between 4.1 and 3.7 billion years ago.


00:19:33.840 --> 00:19:35.909
But exactly where that water came from


00:19:35.919 --> 00:19:37.909
has long been a mystery. Other


00:19:37.919 --> 00:19:40.230
researchers say ancient Mars wasn't ever


00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:42.310
warm and wet. It was always a cold and


00:19:42.320 --> 00:19:45.110
dry desert. Now during the no chin, the


00:19:45.120 --> 00:19:47.510
solar systems then young sun was only


00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:51.110
about 75% as bright as it is today.


00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:53.029
Sprawling ice caps may therefore have


00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.710
covered the highlands around the Martian


00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:56.789
equator, occasionally melting for short


00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.590
periods of time. So Stel and colleagues


00:19:59.600 --> 00:20:01.510
set out to investigate the warm wet


00:20:01.520 --> 00:20:03.909
versus cold dry hypotheses of the past


00:20:03.919 --> 00:20:06.630
Martian climate. They drew on computer


00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.710
simulations to explore how water may


00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.630
have shaped the surface of Mars.


00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.029
billions of years ago and they found


00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:14.950
that it was precipitation from either


00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.029
snow or rain which likely formed the


00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.029
patterns of valleys and headwaters that


00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:22.230
are still visible on Mars today. Stickle


00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.230
says these valleys began in a large


00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.310
range of elevations and it's hard to


00:20:26.320 --> 00:20:28.789
explain that with just ice. Now


00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.549
satellite images of Mars today still


00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.390
reveal the fingerprints of water on the


00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:34.470
red planet. Around the equator, for


00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:36.549
example, vast networks of channels


00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:38.390
spread from the Martian highlands,


00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.549
branching like trees and emptying into


00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:43.029
lakes and even possibly a Martian


00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.510
northern ocean. In fact, NASA's Mars


00:20:45.520 --> 00:20:47.270
Perseverance rover, which landed on the


00:20:47.280 --> 00:20:49.510
red planet in 2021, is currently


00:20:49.520 --> 00:20:51.990
exploring Jezro Crater, the site of one


00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.990
of these ancient lakes. During the


00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.990
Nurin, a powerful river emptied into


00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:57.909
this region, depositing a delta of


00:20:57.919 --> 00:21:00.630
sediment on top of the crater floor. To


00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.630
study that ancient past, Steel and


00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:04.710
colleagues essentially created a digital


00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.669
version of a portion of Mars. They drew


00:21:07.679 --> 00:21:09.110
computer simulations originally


00:21:09.120 --> 00:21:11.190
developed for Earth studies and then


00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:13.190
used software to model the evolution of


00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.350
the landscape on synthetic terrain that


00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:18.070
resembles Mars close to its equator. In


00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:20.149
some cases, the authors added water to


00:21:20.159 --> 00:21:22.549
that terrain from falling precipitation.


00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:24.149
And in other cases, they included


00:21:24.159 --> 00:21:26.710
melting ice caps. Then in the simulation


00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:28.710
they let the water flow for tens to


00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:30.950
hundreds of thousands of years. The


00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:32.470
authors then examine the patterns that


00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.630
formed as a result and specifically


00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.549
where the headwaters feeding Mars's


00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.270
branching valleys emerged. The scenarios


00:21:39.280 --> 00:21:41.909
produced very different planets. In the


00:21:41.919 --> 00:21:43.750
case of melting ice caps, those valley


00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:46.149
heads formed largely at high elevations


00:21:46.159 --> 00:21:47.590
roughly around the edge of where the


00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:49.510
ancient ice sat. But in the


00:21:49.520 --> 00:21:51.350
precipitation examples, Martian


00:21:51.360 --> 00:21:53.750
headwaters were much more widespread,


00:21:53.760 --> 00:21:55.990
forming at elevations ranging from below


00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:57.669
the planet's average surface to


00:21:57.679 --> 00:22:00.870
altitudes of more than 11,000 ft high.


00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.870
STE says water from these ice caps


00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.029
starts to form valleys only around a


00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.270
very narrow band of elevations. Whereas,


00:22:07.280 --> 00:22:08.950
if you had distributed precipitation,


00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:10.390
you can have valley heads forming


00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:12.789
everywhere. The authors then compared


00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.789
these predictions with actual data from


00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:17.270
the Martian surface taken by NASA's Mars


00:22:17.280 --> 00:22:19.310
Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey


00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:21.510
spacecraft. And the simulations that


00:22:21.520 --> 00:22:23.669
included precipitation lined up more


00:22:23.679 --> 00:22:26.070
closely with the real red planet surface


00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:27.990
data. Now, the authors are quick to


00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.590
point out that these results are not the


00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:32.470
final word on Mars's ancient climate. In


00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:34.230
particular, how the planet managed to


00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:35.990
stay warm enough to support snow and


00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.870
rain still isn't clear, but that's for


00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:42.000
another paper. This is


00:22:42.010 --> 00:22:56.430
[Music]


00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:58.710
spaceime. And time now to take another


00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:00.070
brief look at some of the other stories


00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:02.070
making news in science this week with a


00:23:02.080 --> 00:23:05.190
science report. A new study warns that


00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.070
microlastic pollution is now everywhere.


00:23:08.080 --> 00:23:09.909
A report in the journal Nature says that


00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:11.750
most research on microplastics in the


00:23:11.760 --> 00:23:13.789
ocean is focused on water near the


00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:15.750
surface, but it says that could


00:23:15.760 --> 00:23:17.350
compromise a measurable part of the


00:23:17.360 --> 00:23:19.430
carbon that cycles through the ocean.


00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:21.270
The authors studied microplastic


00:23:21.280 --> 00:23:23.190
distribution recorded in different ocean


00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.909
depths at over 1,800 stations around the


00:23:25.919 --> 00:23:29.190
world between 2014 and 2024.


00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:30.950
They found that although microplastic


00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.190
pieces decreased in number with depth,


00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:35.029
they increased as a percentage of total


00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:38.630
organic carbon particles from 0.1% at 30


00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:42.870
m to 5% at 2,000 m in depth. The authors


00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.190
say a more consistent study method and


00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:46.470
international coordination and


00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:48.310
monitoring would help clarify exactly


00:23:48.320 --> 00:23:52.230
where microplastics end up in the ocean.


00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.390
A new study warns that healthare workers


00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:56.310
who wash their scrubs and uniforms at


00:23:56.320 --> 00:23:58.549
home may unknowingly be contributing to


00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:00.590
the spread of antibioticresistant


00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:03.110
infections. A report in the journal plus


00:24:03.120 --> 00:24:05.190
one looked at how well six models of


00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:07.350
home washing machines decontaminated


00:24:07.360 --> 00:24:09.190
swatches of a contaminated healthcare


00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.510
workers's uniform using hot water and


00:24:11.520 --> 00:24:14.230
either a rapid or normal cycle. They


00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.750
found that half of the machines they


00:24:15.760 --> 00:24:17.750
tested couldn't disinfect the clothes


00:24:17.760 --> 00:24:19.830
during the rapid cycle and a third


00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:21.669
failed to clean the fabric sufficiently


00:24:21.679 --> 00:24:23.990
even during a full cycle. Additionally,


00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:25.909
the authors sampled the insides of 12


00:24:25.919 --> 00:24:27.590
washing machines for any nasties that


00:24:27.600 --> 00:24:29.669
could have built up inside them. Not


00:24:29.679 --> 00:24:31.110
only did they find potentially


00:24:31.120 --> 00:24:33.110
pathogenic bacteria, but they also found


00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:37.510
that some had antibioticresistant genes.


00:24:37.520 --> 00:24:40.549
In an amazing discovery, a new study has


00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:42.789
revealed that spruce trees not only


00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.430
respond to solar eclipses, but actively


00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:47.510
anticipate them by synchronizing their


00:24:47.520 --> 00:24:49.990
biological signals hours in advance into


00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.029
a cohesive forestwide phenomenon. The


00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:54.789
stunning discovery reported in the


00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:56.310
journal of the Royal Society Open


00:24:56.320 --> 00:24:58.549
Science also shows that older trees


00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.110
exhibit a more pronounced early


00:25:00.120 --> 00:25:02.390
response, suggesting that these ancient


00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:04.149
sentinels retain decades of


00:25:04.159 --> 00:25:06.549
environmental memory and may use that to


00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:08.510
inform younger trees of impending


00:25:08.520 --> 00:25:11.430
events. The study adds to the emerging


00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.430
evidence that plants are active


00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.990
community of participants in their


00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.510
ecosystems capable of very complex


00:25:17.520 --> 00:25:19.830
coordinated behaviors akin to those we


00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:22.470
see in animal groups. Makes you wonder


00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.789
whether lettuce really could scream when


00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:26.029
you eat


00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:29.430
it. More than 31,000 passwords belonging


00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:31.990
to Combank, A&Z, Westpack, and NAB


00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.990
customers have been stolen and are now


00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:36.870
being shared online by cyber criminals.


00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:38.630
The passwords were stolen directly from


00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:40.310
users devices infected with


00:25:40.320 --> 00:25:47.269
infrastru.life.


00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.430
Well, there were more than 31,000 of


00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.510
these passwords belonging to customers


00:25:51.520 --> 00:25:53.990
of the big four banks. And not only are


00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.029
these available online and for sale, but


00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.710
they can actually be available free of


00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.029
charge as well because there's seemingly


00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:02.549
they have so many of them. So, while


00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:04.230
some of this information may have been


00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:07.110
leaked in previous password hacks, in


00:26:07.120 --> 00:26:08.870
this case, people using Windows


00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:10.870
computers have been targeted by malware.


00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:12.470
And this can sometimes be from their


00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.789
kids or themselves looking for pirate


00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:17.350
content to unlock various games or apps


00:26:17.360 --> 00:26:19.430
or just pirating digital media and


00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:21.669
somehow they get their computer


00:26:21.679 --> 00:26:23.990
installed, normally a Windows PC, with


00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:25.590
malware. And so, this info stealer


00:26:25.600 --> 00:26:27.029
malware would then give the criminals


00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:28.870
back door access into the user's


00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:30.549
computer. they could use a key logger to


00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.149
see any changes they were making and


00:26:32.159 --> 00:26:34.310
even capture the authentication token


00:26:34.320 --> 00:26:36.470
for when two factor authentication had


00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:39.029
gone through thus you know able to steal


00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:41.430
people's money and cause a lot of havoc.


00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:42.789
You need to make sure that you have


00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:45.269
solid internet security software but


00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:47.190
also and you should do that anyway


00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.350
irrespective of your you know banking


00:26:49.360 --> 00:26:51.110
login details but you can also use a


00:26:51.120 --> 00:26:52.470
different computer device you can use an


00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:55.269
iPhone an iPad an Android tablet a Mac a


00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:56.710
Linux computer something else that


00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:58.630
you've also secured but iPads and


00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.390
iPhones normally and Macs are the


00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:01.909
generally speaking the most secure of


00:27:01.919 --> 00:27:03.990
all so if you use a different device for


00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.310
your sensitive login to superenuation


00:27:06.320 --> 00:27:07.990
which got hacked recently as well and


00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.070
bank websites and other sites that are


00:27:10.080 --> 00:27:12.549
sensitive then your main computer, even


00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.070
if it does get affected, shouldn't


00:27:14.080 --> 00:27:16.149
affect this other device. There's been


00:27:16.159 --> 00:27:17.590
another attack just the other day, too,


00:27:17.600 --> 00:27:19.110
wasn't there? Yes, this just came out


00:27:19.120 --> 00:27:21.350
that cyber criminals have stolen nearly


00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:24.390
100 staff login from Australia's big


00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:26.630
four banks and obviously that puts those


00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:28.390
businesses at risk. These are


00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:30.230
compromised staff credentials now and


00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:32.470
according to reports, this can allow


00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:35.430
hackers to get into initial access of


00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:38.149
the systems from these banks and you can


00:27:38.159 --> 00:27:39.269
be running all the latest software.


00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.110
there are zero day vulnerabilities that


00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:43.430
can be at play that allows sophisticated


00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:45.510
attackers to break into various systems.


00:27:45.520 --> 00:27:46.630
So, you know, you need to make sure your


00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:48.149
data is backed up, that all your devices


00:27:48.159 --> 00:27:49.510
are up to date in case of some


00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:51.269
ransomware or other attack that you've


00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:53.110
got the ability to do quick disaster


00:27:53.120 --> 00:27:55.190
recovery and get going again. Otherwise,


00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.789
this sort of attack can shut businesses


00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.870
down. That's Alex Sahara from


00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:01.150
techadvice.life.


00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:15.830
[Music]


00:28:15.840 --> 00:28:18.710
and that's the show for now. Spacetime


00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:20.549
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00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:22.870
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00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:25.110
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00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.430
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00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.909
SpaceTime with Stuart Garry. This has


00:29:05.919 --> 00:29:08.070
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00:29:08.080 --> 00:29:11.320
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