Uncharted Discoveries, Comet C/2026 A1 & Elon’s Solar Pergola | SN604 Q&A | Space Nuts:...

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Language: en

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Hi there. Thanks for joining us. This is


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a Q&A edition of Space Nuts. It's where


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we take questions from the audience, we


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tear them up, throw them in the bin, and


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just make up something else. Today, we


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are going to answer questions about


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things yet to be discovered. That'll be


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a short conversation. Uh, finding


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planets closer to Earth versus distant


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discoveries. Somebody's a bit confused


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about that. Uh, we spoke about comets in


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the last episode. But we're going to


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look at one specifically because we've


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got a question about comet 2026A1,


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a very very recent discovery. And uh


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remember when Rusty from Donny Brooks so


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long ago suggested that we could cool


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the planet with a solar poll? Well, he


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thinks Elon Musk has the answer and he's


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going to ask us a question about it on


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this episode of Space Nuts.


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>> 15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 10 9


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ignition sequence start. Space Nuts.


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>> 5 4 3 2


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>> 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1


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>> Space Nuts.


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>> Astronauts report. It feels good.


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>> Joining us again to try and sort all of


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that out is Professor Fred Watson,


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astronomer at large. I know he lo loses


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sleep over the audience questions


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because he just wants to get them all so


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right. Hello, Fred.


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>> Hi, Andrew. Yeah, I do like to get them


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right. You know, it's why people ask


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>> sometimes we get challenged or sometimes


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we have somebody look something up and


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say,


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"I think you needed to tell us a bit


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more." But, you know, we do our


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homework. Sometimes we we get back to


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people. Um, sometimes takes us a year or


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two, but we do we do do it.


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>> We're always always aiming for adequacy.


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>> Adequacy is is key when we talk about


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space nuts.


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Shall we get into some questions, Fred?


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>> Let's do that. I'm just going to turn


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the light on. Just hang out on a moment


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so I can hear what I'm doing here.


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>> All right. Well, I'll just sit here and


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and peruse the question. There it is.


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>> There we are.


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>> Okay.


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>> I don't know whether that made any


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difference, but I can actually see what


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I'm doing now.


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>> It helps.


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>> Yes. Um, let's start. Uh, hi Fred and


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Andrew. Do you think there are things in


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the universe that we haven't imagined


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existing? Uh, we didn't see exoplanets


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until the 1990s, but we assumed they


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were there and we were right. But what


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about things we haven't considered like


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an undiscovered element or a planet


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bigger than its parent star? What else


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could be out there? That comes from uh


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South Africa. Actually, Bailey in


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Durban. I visited Durban last year. It's


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um it's a fascinating place. Uh,


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beautiful beaches. Lovely.


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>> On the on the western Indian Ocean, I


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think you'd say. Yeah, the west coast of


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the Indian Ocean.


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>> Oh, it is. That's right. Um Um


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>> or the east coast of Africa, whichever


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way.


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>> Yeah, that's right. That's what I was


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struggling with.


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>> Yeah, I was doing the ocean coast rather


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than the


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>> Yeah. Well, that's because I live over


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here and I was thinking in terms of


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where it is in proximity. That's on the


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western side of the Indian Ocean.


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>> That's that's correct. But


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>> sorry Bailey


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>> getting very confusing.


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>> Uh but it's a great question and I mean


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the the answer is yes really.


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>> Um it has to be


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>> um you know even just within the last


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few months we've got things that people


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have not considered before. Little red


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dots.


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>> Yes. uh galaxies in the early universe


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that look as though they're too massive


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for um you know for um uh their age,


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their young age because they're can't be


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more than a couple of hundred million


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years old and yet they're they've got


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very high mass and are very concentrated


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and that didn't really fit the theory.


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So these sorts of objects um especially


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as our telescopes get bigger are going


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to take us by surprise. Uh and I think


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um you know the James Webb telescope has


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certainly done that par excalance we've


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come across so many um things that were


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unexpected


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uh and had to re almost rewrite the


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textbooks uh in many cases and the next


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big thing in that regard as I've said


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many many times before on space nuts


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will be the ELT the extremely large


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telescope um with an aperture much


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bigger than the James Web telescope uh


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at 39 m compared of the 6 and a half


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meters of the web. So, we're going to


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learn stuff from that that will I think


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blow our minds uh could be exactly the


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kinds of things that um um you know that


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uh Bailey's mentioning exoplanets bigger


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than their parent stars and things like


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that. An undiscovered element is less


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likely because we know kind of what's


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going on in the elemental world from the


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periodic table. Uh which doesn't have


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>> the periodic table does purposely have


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gaps in it for future discovery, doesn't


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it?


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>> Well, yes, but they're all at the the I


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think um you're kind of beyond the


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elements that would exist in nature,


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>> right? Um,


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>> something we we might accidentally


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invent in the kitchen to make.


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>> Yes.


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>> Yeah. I'll try to make kitchen s nuclear


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reactor somewhere.


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>> If you're s Yeah. If your sodo produces


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new elements, so I think you're probably


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burning it a bit.


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>> Probably.


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>> And you you might need to watch for the


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radiation that's coming from it as well.


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>> Yes. Yes, indeed. I I'll be just sort of


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doing some AI searches on things that


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>> Okay, good.


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>> may one day discover. Um, gravitons.


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We've talked about gravitons several


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times. Um, we don't know if they exist,


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but they might. We've never found one,


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but it seems to be a plausible way of,


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you know, justifying the existence of


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gravity.


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>> Um, new states of matter, just a


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generalization, new states of matter.


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That's a good that's actually a good one


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because there are you know the there are


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subtleties in the states of matter uh


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that are still that are still being


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discovered. That might be physics that


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does that though rather than astronomy.


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>> Yeah, maybe maybe uh black hole stars


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there's another one people have often


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asked us questions about. Um


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they haven't actually found one, but


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they're starting to find evidence that


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could lead to the possibility of one. Is


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that a fair point?


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>> That's That's right.


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>> Yep.


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>> And the other one that comes up a lot,


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white holes, wormholes, cosmic strings,


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other dimensions, multiple universes.


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>> In a sense, they're


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things that um if they were discovered,


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they wouldn't surprise us because


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there's already a theoretical


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>> background for them. Um, but the things


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that I guess that perhaps Bailey is


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thinking of are things like the the


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little red dots which we now know are


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very unusual aggregations of stars in


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the early universe which we didn't think


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existed.


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>> It might have been what prompted the


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question because it's been big in the


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news lately and I actually saw another


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story about it the other day. It it


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it's continuing to


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>> hold it. That's right. Yes.


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>> Yeah. We we we still don't really know


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what they are. Yeah.


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>> Um you know the um the the latest theory


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is slowly spinning dark matter halos.


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They are I think the latest theory for


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what comp what actually makes these


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compact red galaxies that the web


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telescope has been finding in the early


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universe. That's I think the current


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theory. That was uh October last year


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that I saw a paper on that. So yes, it's


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still still still a work in progress.


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There you go, Bailey. Uh, there's still


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a lot yet to be discovered and some of


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it will definitely surprise us down the


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track. Um, like even in the last


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episode, we were talking about a comet


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that reversed its spin. We Yep. You


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know,


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>> no one's ever seen that before.


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>> No, that's right.


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>> So, that's uh that's sort of thing we're


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talking about. Great to hear from you.


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Hope all is well in uh Durban. They've


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got a great water park there, too, by


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the way. uh to our next question. Uh if


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we can find planets orbiting stars in


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other solar systems hundreds or


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thousands of light years away, why can't


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we find planet 9 in our own solar


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system? I believe that we're not even


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sure about how many planets are in the


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Alpha Centuri system, which is our


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closest neighbor. I don't understand how


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we can't find things uh close by when we


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can find things eons away. Please


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enlighten me. That's uh from Sarah in


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Townsville in North Queensland.


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>> A great question too, Sarah. Thank you


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for asking that and sending it in. Um


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and it dep look it depends on the


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technology and the techniques that we're


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using to make these measurements. Um


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planet planet 9 is a peculiarly


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difficult thing to try and observe uh


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because it's going to be faint. It's


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going to be for all intents and purposes


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just an ordinary star uh until you


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observe it over a fairly lengthy period


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of time when you might detect its


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movement. Um it's so far away if it if


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it exists. Um whereas and and turning to


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Alpha Centuri, that's another good


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point. We do know that there are planets


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in the Alpha Centuri system, but there


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might be more than we think there are.


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And um


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>> so


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>> I think that I think they've found


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um gas giants at this point, but they


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>> Yes,


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>> they believe there are probably rocky


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planets, but we haven't found them.


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>> Yeah, that that's right. And that's


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there's a couple of things going on


00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.350
here. Uh one is that the smaller the


00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.230
planet going around a star, the harder


00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.470
it is to find it. Um, and also it might


00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:18.230
take a lot longer to find it because if


00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:19.829
you've got a planet like the Earth going


00:10:19.839 --> 00:10:21.829
around a star, uh, and you're looking


00:10:21.839 --> 00:10:24.310
for its signature on the either the


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light or the velocity of the star, it's


00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.990
got this, you know, 365 year period. So,


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it's something you need to observe over


00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.389
a long period of time. Uh but the other


00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:36.949
thing I was going to say is that the two


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main methods for finding planets around


00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.509
other stars uh first of all that what we


00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.430
call the Doppler wobble technique. fact


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that as a planet goes around a star, it


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the the planet pulls the star slightly


00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.630
out of out of place and um you can


00:10:54.640 --> 00:10:56.870
actually measure that displacement of


00:10:56.880 --> 00:10:59.590
the stars light. Uh because it turns out


00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.550
that you're looking for velocities in


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the region of a meter/s.


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uh that's very a very low velocity for


00:11:08.959 --> 00:11:10.630
you know trying to measure the these


00:11:10.640 --> 00:11:12.470
things by the radial velocity method


00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:15.190
spectroscopy the Doppler Doppler effect.


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So the Doppler wobble technique is


00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:21.110
really sensitive to massive uh planets


00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:25.190
that pull the star slightly off center


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more than a smaller planet would. uh and


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it's also sensitive to massive planets


00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:32.310
which are close to the star because that


00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.150
they have the biggest impact on the


00:11:34.160 --> 00:11:37.269
star. So you've got this combination


00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:41.110
that means that you you really need um a


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lot of light to make these measurements.


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So for the Doppler wobble technique you


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you you've got to have stars that are


00:11:47.839 --> 00:11:49.829
relatively nearby i.e. they're


00:11:49.839 --> 00:11:53.509
relatively bright in our skies. Um, and


00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.910
but then you might find that we know


00:11:55.920 --> 00:11:57.910
much more about some systems that are


00:11:57.920 --> 00:11:59.990
further away because you're measuring


00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:01.590
those by what we call the transit


00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:03.590
technique where the light of the star


00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.590
dims slightly when the planet passes in


00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:07.829
front of it. Uh, and that actually is


00:12:07.839 --> 00:12:09.590
more sensitive first of all, it's more


00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.310
sensitive to things further out in a in


00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.389
a solar system, further away from their


00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:17.829
parent star. Um, it's sensitive to


00:12:17.839 --> 00:12:19.590
smaller objects as well because we can


00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.350
measure brightness much more accurately


00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.509
than we can these tiny radial


00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:25.990
velocities, these tiny speeds along the


00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:27.269
line of size.


00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:29.509
>> There is there is a downside to that


00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.190
process though, isn't it? The transit


00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.269
method because I think to confirm an


00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.829
exoplanet, you got to see it twice, is


00:12:35.839 --> 00:12:36.550
it? Or


00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:39.030
>> yes, has to be seen twice.


00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:41.670
>> If it's orbiting a star at like once in


00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:43.670
a thousand years,


00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:45.990
>> don't come back next week.


00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.829
That's right. In fact, you really want


00:12:47.839 --> 00:12:50.389
to see it three times because um that


00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.590
way you know that it's the same period


00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.550
um of the of the the planet going around


00:12:56.560 --> 00:12:59.110
the star. Um you'd really like to see it


00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:00.870
three times so that you can measure the


00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:03.509
distance between the first two transits


00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:05.430
and the second two transits and they


00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.350
should be the same uh because you're


00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:08.870
looking at something in orbit around the


00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:12.069
star. But but two is uh is acceptable as


00:13:12.079 --> 00:13:14.150
well. Um, and so what what I was going


00:13:14.160 --> 00:13:15.990
to say was you can you can look at that


00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:17.590
you can make that measurement for


00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.389
objects much much further away. Uh, now


00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.230
the Alpha Centuri system doesn't lend


00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.870
itself to the transit technique. Uh, and


00:13:24.880 --> 00:13:27.190
so that's why we're not sure about how


00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.550
many planets there are. It doesn't lend


00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.870
itself to to very lightweight rocky


00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:33.350
planets either. So, um, it's a great


00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:35.350
question and it's got some fairly


00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:37.750
sensible answers and really they depend


00:13:37.760 --> 00:13:40.550
on our abilities to discover different


00:13:40.560 --> 00:13:43.350
things under different classifications


00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.670
of of observing, for example.


00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:48.870
>> Yeah. And and it's an interesting quirk,


00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:50.550
isn't it, that the closer something is,


00:13:50.560 --> 00:13:53.590
the less likely we are to find it in


00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.110
certain circumstances. So,


00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:56.710
>> under some circumstances, that's right.


00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.069
Yeah. That's most mostly being nearer


00:14:00.079 --> 00:14:01.829
makes generally speaking something


00:14:01.839 --> 00:14:04.310
that's nearer is easier to to make


00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:05.750
discoveries from just because you've got


00:14:05.760 --> 00:14:06.949
more light to play with.


00:14:06.959 --> 00:14:09.509
>> Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough. Thank you,


00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.750
Sarah. Lovely to hear from you. I' I've


00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:13.430
actually never been to Townsville, but


00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:18.150
I'm going to get there one day. I um I I


00:14:18.160 --> 00:14:19.750
think furthest north I've ever made it


00:14:19.760 --> 00:14:21.670
is uh or if you don't count being on a


00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:24.870
cruise ship is um with Sundays. about as


00:14:24.880 --> 00:14:27.430
far north as I've ever been able to get.


00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.509
This is Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley


00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:33.269
and Professor Fred Watson.


00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.269
>> I believe that this nation should commit


00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:38.870
itself to achieving the goal before this


00:14:38.880 --> 00:14:41.509
decade is out of landing a man on the


00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.590
moon and returning him safely to the


00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:44.069
Earth.


00:14:44.079 --> 00:14:45.990
>> These nuts.


00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.670
Last episode, Fred, we were talking


00:14:47.680 --> 00:14:50.710
about comet P41, which was doing that


00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.949
weird re-spinning thingy thingy. It did.


00:14:54.959 --> 00:14:57.430
Uh, it's it stopped spinning one way and


00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:59.350
started spinning the other way and very


00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:01.750
confusing. Uh, what we're talking about


00:15:01.760 --> 00:15:03.990
now is a question from Anchorage,


00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.990
Alaska. Woohoo. Uh, Eli has um messaged


00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.189
us. I've heard that there has been yet


00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:13.829
another once-in-a-lifetime comet being


00:15:13.839 --> 00:15:17.030
discovered and will be visible in April.


00:15:17.040 --> 00:15:19.269
Um, they're even saying we might be able


00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.790
to see this one in daylight. Um, it's


00:15:22.800 --> 00:15:26.310
called uh C 2026A1


00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.350
and is referred to as a sunrazer. What


00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:32.069
makes this one so special? Where will it


00:15:32.079 --> 00:15:34.550
be visible? Thanks, Eli. Great question.


00:15:34.560 --> 00:15:36.150
I did read about this one. I meant to


00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:38.550
bring it up with you, but Eli's done it


00:15:38.560 --> 00:15:39.350
for me.


00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:40.870
>> Yeah, that's nice when when that


00:15:40.880 --> 00:15:41.910
happens.


00:15:41.920 --> 00:15:45.350
>> Um, well, it's it it is a sungrazer, uh,


00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.230
which means it, as its name implies,


00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:51.430
passes very close to the sun. Uh, often


00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:53.990
sungrazers fall to pieces because the


00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.310
gravitational forces that they feel as


00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.829
they pass the sun, the what we call the


00:15:57.839 --> 00:15:59.990
tidal effects tend to want to pull them


00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.310
apart. Uh and so sometimes they just


00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:03.829
disintegrate and you get lots of little


00:16:03.839 --> 00:16:05.590
comets that aren't really that


00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:09.990
interesting. Um so but uh yes, comet C2


00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:12.150
26A1


00:16:12.160 --> 00:16:17.110
uh it will it will pass something like


00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:20.389
160,000 kilometers from the sun's


00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:26.710
surface. Um, and it may be that uh the


00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.550
way the the the light is being um


00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.629
released from the comet, the what we


00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:34.710
call forward scattering, it could make


00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:37.030
the comet look quite a lot brighter,


00:16:37.040 --> 00:16:38.550
which is one reason why people are


00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:41.189
talking about it being a daylight comet.


00:16:41.199 --> 00:16:44.230
I am very always very skeptical when


00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:46.470
people talk about that because there's


00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.110
that old story, uh, comets are like


00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.350
cats. They have tails and do anything


00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.189
they like.


00:16:53.199 --> 00:16:55.910
>> And uh yes, great. And it's perfectly


00:16:55.920 --> 00:16:58.389
true as well uh that you never quite


00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:00.710
know what a comet is going to do, but


00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.710
some of these sun grazers have turned


00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:06.470
out to be uh to be quite bright. So, it


00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.630
gets nearest the sun in April. Um, and


00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.789
it's probably


00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:18.949
uh going to be one that uh is is not


00:17:18.959 --> 00:17:22.789
that um that that won't give us that


00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.470
much time to observe it. And I'm saying


00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.750
that because it's got a um it's got a


00:17:27.760 --> 00:17:30.549
long long period uh of probably


00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.270
something like 6,000


00:17:33.280 --> 00:17:37.750
years. Sorry, Big B. No, not not 6,000.


00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:40.630
about 800 years, something of that sort.


00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:43.990
Um, and in fact, I've got a figure here


00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:45.750
that is double that. I'm probably


00:17:45.760 --> 00:17:47.990
looking at the the wrong numbers there.


00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.870
Uh, orbital period something like um


00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.990
depends on on what part of the orbit you


00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:58.470
look at 1687 years inbound. So, yes,


00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:02.150
it's um it is um an object that's pretty


00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:05.669
interesting. Uh, I think if it gets


00:18:05.679 --> 00:18:08.789
bright and actually starts showing signs


00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.669
of being a very very um brightly visible


00:18:11.679 --> 00:18:14.310
planet, we'll talk about it again. But


00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:16.070
for the moment, I'm always, as I said,


00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:17.990
I'm always skeptical. Uh, because you


00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:19.669
never know what a comet is going to do.


00:18:19.679 --> 00:18:21.110
And usually they don't do what you want


00:18:21.120 --> 00:18:22.470
them to do. So,


00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:24.230
>> just like cats. Just like cats.


00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.590
>> Just like cats. Yes. Um, remind us again


00:18:27.600 --> 00:18:29.590
how they name them because I'm gathering


00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:32.310
from C 20226A1.


00:18:32.320 --> 00:18:33.830
This is the first one they've spotted


00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:35.510
this year.


00:18:35.520 --> 00:18:38.789
>> Uh it's um it's also got a temporary


00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.830
designation 6ac4721.


00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:42.230
Oh.


00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.590
>> Uh which I think is probably the


00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:47.990
designation for the object category when


00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.630
it was actually uh discovered. But but


00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.029
you're you're right. Um


00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:58.150
now um the the P uh prefix on a comet is


00:18:58.160 --> 00:18:59.750
when it's periodic and that usually


00:18:59.760 --> 00:19:01.590
means it's got a period of less than 200


00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:05.029
years. This is not a P. This is a C. Uh


00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:07.110
and it tells you that it's sort of


00:19:07.120 --> 00:19:08.630
classification


00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.110
is uh I can't remember what C stands for


00:19:11.120 --> 00:19:11.590
actually.


00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:13.029
>> Oh, I know. I know. It means we're all


00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:17.350
cactus next time it turns up.


00:19:17.360 --> 00:19:19.590
>> That'll be it. Yeah, that'll be it. I


00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:21.190
think you're right there. Yeah. just


00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:23.270
takes a long long time to come back and


00:19:23.280 --> 00:19:25.190
say hello.


00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.190
>> Yeah, it may be. Um I mean it's a it's


00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:29.110
sometimes called a CR group comet, but


00:19:29.120 --> 00:19:30.950
that would make it a K rather than a C,


00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.549
so that can't be what it is.


00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.990
>> No, no, I could try and look it up, but


00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.310
um


00:19:36.320 --> 00:19:37.270
>> why don't you do that?


00:19:37.280 --> 00:19:40.310
>> Yeah. All right. Why don't I uh What


00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:42.630
does the C


00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:45.750
stand for? I got to type fast in the


00:19:45.760 --> 00:19:47.590
naming of a comet.


00:19:47.600 --> 00:19:49.510
>> Yep, that's the right question.


00:19:49.520 --> 00:19:52.950
>> That's an AI. We'll see.


00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:53.669
>> Cactus.


00:19:53.679 --> 00:19:55.909
>> Cactus. No, it says, you're not going to


00:19:55.919 --> 00:19:59.510
believe this. C stands for non-periodic.


00:19:59.520 --> 00:20:02.549
>> Yeah, that was what I thought. But I


00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:05.990
couldn't work out where the P maybe


00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.789
maybe you take the last letter of the


00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:10.789
word non-periodic.


00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:12.630
>> On the other hand, if you did that, a


00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.870
periodic comment would also be a C. So,


00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:16.310
we're not getting any.


00:20:16.320 --> 00:20:17.990
>> Well, see, they've got they've painted


00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.430
themselves into a corner, haven't they?


00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.630
AB: Absolutely. Yeah.


00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:23.669
>> So much for the International


00:20:23.679 --> 00:20:24.789
Astronomical Union.


00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.390
>> Yep. Yep. Yeah. That's what happens when


00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:28.789
you put bureaucrats in charge. Um, no,


00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.950
they're good people. Um,


00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:32.789
>> so it may


00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:33.590
>> Look out for it.


00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:35.750
>> Yeah, look out for it. It may be good to


00:20:35.760 --> 00:20:38.149
observe. Whether or not it's a visible


00:20:38.159 --> 00:20:41.430
comet in daylight, debatable.


00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:43.830
>> Um, but it's definitely on its way. And,


00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:46.070
uh, yeah, April is the month to keep an


00:20:46.080 --> 00:20:48.789
eye out for it. Where would be the best


00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:51.669
place to sit to to have a look at it?


00:20:51.679 --> 00:20:53.909
>> Uh somewhere dark.


00:20:53.919 --> 00:20:55.590
>> Anywhere on the planet?


00:20:55.600 --> 00:20:57.669
>> I don't know.


00:20:57.679 --> 00:21:00.470
>> Um um I don't know what it's you what


00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.590
the exact details of its orbit are. So


00:21:03.600 --> 00:21:07.029
it it may well be one that is best seen


00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:11.590
before dawn uh or after after sunset,


00:21:11.600 --> 00:21:13.590
but it would depend a little bit on what


00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:15.270
your latitude and longitude are as to


00:21:15.280 --> 00:21:17.190
>> Okay. Best places, best regions,


00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.430
midsouthern latitudes, Chile, South


00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.350
Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.


00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:23.029
>> Well, I think best opportunities. There


00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:23.590
you are.


00:21:23.600 --> 00:21:26.310
>> Thanks. So, yeah, I I I think we should


00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:29.350
just stop Space Nuts and go to AI.


00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:34.070
>> No, no, they've got funny voices.


00:21:34.080 --> 00:21:35.750
>> Yeah, I don't think so.


00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:37.430
>> We've got funny voices as well.


00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:39.590
>> And the jokes are terrible. Oh, hang on.


00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:43.990
That's the same.


00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.630
Oh, dear. All right. Uh, Eli, thanks for


00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.789
the question and hope all is well in


00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.149
Anchorage. Uh, a very interesting,


00:21:52.159 --> 00:21:57.350
remote, cold place, but um, much


00:21:57.360 --> 00:22:00.149
visited. Lots of tourists go there uh,


00:22:00.159 --> 00:22:02.070
for obvious reasons. It's just such a


00:22:02.080 --> 00:22:07.669
unique destination. Thanks, Eli.


00:22:07.679 --> 00:22:11.590
I'm going to step off the limb now.


00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:16.950
That's one small step for man.


00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.710
one


00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:19.909
for mankind.


00:22:19.919 --> 00:22:21.909
>> Space nuts.


00:22:21.919 --> 00:22:24.390
>> Our final question comes from a regular.


00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.230
Um, I don't like to give him too many


00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:27.909
bites of the cherry, but he's just come


00:22:27.919 --> 00:22:29.750
up with something that I could not avoid


00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:32.950
based on previous uh theories that he's


00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:34.710
come up with. Rusty from Donny Brook, he


00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.190
says Elon's 1 million satellite power


00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:39.590
station. Hi Fred and Andrew. Just


00:22:39.600 --> 00:22:41.590
looking at the environmental impacts of


00:22:41.600 --> 00:22:44.070
these power stations, about a quarter of


00:22:44.080 --> 00:22:46.070
these will shade the earth at any one


00:22:46.080 --> 00:22:49.350
time. Each will have about uh an acre,


00:22:49.360 --> 00:22:52.789
4,000 square meters of solar collectors.


00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:54.630
I don't know what the next bit means. Uh


00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.190
or the ISS is 2 a half th000 square


00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:57.990
meters. That's right.


00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.590
>> Uh he will use about 20% efficient cells


00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:03.830
and there will be about 10% loss in


00:23:03.840 --> 00:23:06.710
conversion of light energy. If the


00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.950
unders sides are black for astronomical


00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.230
purposes, then we have an 800 square


00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.950
kilometer array of solar uh for our


00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.830
solar pagola. Elon will kill two birds


00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:21.270
with one or 1 million stones. Uh data


00:23:21.280 --> 00:23:24.470
center power and global warming. I


00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:26.470
caution that if he doubles the size, it


00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.230
will create a cooler environment than we


00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.549
want. Cheers, Rusty from Donny Brook. Uh


00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:33.270
he he won't give up on his solar pa. He


00:23:33.280 --> 00:23:34.870
came up with the idea, I don't know, a


00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:36.870
couple of years ago and pitched it and


00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:41.510
we we we basically koshed it. But now,


00:23:41.520 --> 00:23:43.590
could Elon have accidentally created


00:23:43.600 --> 00:23:45.110
one?


00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:47.830
I don't know. I um I checked what um


00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:50.549
what's available about the spacecraft


00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:53.510
design for these proposed 1 million


00:23:53.520 --> 00:23:56.950
satellites that uh that SpaceX is


00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:01.590
proposing to um act as an orbiting data


00:24:01.600 --> 00:24:04.149
center. and I couldn't find any


00:24:04.159 --> 00:24:07.430
dimensions for the solar panels. Um, an


00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.310
acre or 4,000 square meters sounds very


00:24:10.320 --> 00:24:15.909
big to me. Uh, and uh, a large a large


00:24:15.919 --> 00:24:21.190
amount of real estate that I am not sure


00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.710
is I I mean I I suspect Donnie sorry


00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:26.230
Rusty's


00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:28.310
not not Donnie of Rusty Brookke but


00:24:28.320 --> 00:24:29.430
Rusty of Donny Brook.


00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:29.990
>> I like that.


00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:32.070
>> Um, yeah.


00:24:32.080 --> 00:24:34.710
uh that um I mean Rusty might have done


00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:36.789
the calculations as to what's needed but


00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.669
uh but but so far I haven't seen any any


00:24:39.679 --> 00:24:41.830
details of the individual spacecraft. In


00:24:41.840 --> 00:24:44.710
fact, they may not exist. Uh but an acre


00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.269
for each one sounds like a lot of real


00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:49.909
estate for a million satellites and I


00:24:49.919 --> 00:24:51.510
suspect it's not going to be anything


00:24:51.520 --> 00:24:54.149
like as big as that. So I think the


00:24:54.159 --> 00:24:56.950
solar pagola idea will once again be


00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:58.870
shelved as it has done many times


00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:02.630
before. Maybe, maybe. Um, based on


00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:04.950
recent reports regarding SpaceX's


00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.110
proposed orbital data center plans, the


00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:08.870
solar panel infrastructure of these


00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.350
satellites is projected to be massive


00:25:11.360 --> 00:25:14.230
with some proposed structures stretching


00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.630
to 4x4 kilometers in size.


00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.830
>> Well, if you do that, you're you kind of


00:25:21.840 --> 00:25:24.070
this marks the end of astronomy really.


00:25:24.080 --> 00:25:28.310
>> Yeah. It can't be 4x4 kilometers.


00:25:28.320 --> 00:25:30.230
Not maybe not all of them, but some of


00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.870
them it says.


00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:37.990
>> Yeah. Um Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.


00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.390
>> I don't I don't even know that we have


00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:43.029
the the wherewithal to manufacture solar


00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:45.110
collectors of that sort of size.


00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:47.909
>> Yeah. I think I mean you'd have more


00:25:47.919 --> 00:25:51.669
like putting a pie in the sky, I reckon.


00:25:51.679 --> 00:25:55.590
Um the um current state of that uh


00:25:55.600 --> 00:25:58.070
venture is that it's gone to the Federal


00:25:58.080 --> 00:26:02.310
Communications Commission. Uh, and I


00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:04.310
will be interested to see whether they


00:26:04.320 --> 00:26:05.990
approve it because eventually it's got


00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:06.870
to go to the International


00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:08.789
Telecommunications Union


00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:10.870
>> and they will probably freak out a bit


00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:15.430
because they are whilst they are kind of


00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:17.750
mandated to issue launch permits to


00:26:17.760 --> 00:26:19.909
anybody who can demonstrate the


00:26:19.919 --> 00:26:21.590
likelihood of being able to put their


00:26:21.600 --> 00:26:24.070
spacecraft into orbit. Um, I think this


00:26:24.080 --> 00:26:26.870
one might actually cause them to swallow


00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:28.470
a little bit deeply. Although they did


00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:31.190
they did tick off on the 300,000


00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:33.669
spacecraft of uh the Rwanda government's


00:26:33.679 --> 00:26:37.190
proposal back in 2020. Uh I think that I


00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:39.350
think that will lapse next year. I think


00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:41.110
uh it's a seven-year period that you've


00:26:41.120 --> 00:26:43.350
got when you put in a filing to the


00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:45.029
International Telecommunications Union.


00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:46.950
I think you got seven years and if you


00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.909
don't launch anything before that then


00:26:49.919 --> 00:26:52.950
you basically lose the lose the slot.


00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:56.710
>> Yes, I believe so. And it may well be


00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:57.990
that that's what's going to happen in


00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.710
this case. Although Elon tends to have


00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:04.070
um you know the cash to back his ideas


00:27:04.080 --> 00:27:05.750
and he certainly followed through on a


00:27:05.760 --> 00:27:08.070
lot of them and uh they've been very


00:27:08.080 --> 00:27:10.149
very successful.


00:27:10.159 --> 00:27:11.669
So


00:27:11.679 --> 00:27:13.110
>> yeah, one wonders where this will end


00:27:13.120 --> 00:27:15.750
up. Are they really going to approve


00:27:15.760 --> 00:27:17.830
that kind of infrastructure in orbit if


00:27:17.840 --> 00:27:20.310
it's going to cause so many problems for


00:27:20.320 --> 00:27:23.990
so many other people, especially I mean


00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.350
space science.


00:27:25.360 --> 00:27:28.710
>> The first Yes, that that that's a good


00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:32.310
question. We we kind of hope that um


00:27:32.320 --> 00:27:34.870
common sense prevails. Another of the


00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:37.029
problems, of course, and this is already


00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:40.070
being noticed by Starlink, more or less


00:27:40.080 --> 00:27:42.149
one at one one Starink spacecraft a day


00:27:42.159 --> 00:27:44.950
that now re-enters uh because they they


00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:48.070
only have a 5year lifetime. Uh and we're


00:27:48.080 --> 00:27:51.430
already starting to see um pollutants in


00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:52.950
the upper atmosphere that come from the


00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:56.630
spacecraft burning up. Uh now I was in a


00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:01.269
meeting last week that uh I heard one of


00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.870
my colleagues, it was a meeting actually


00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:04.789
in Vienna and I was just dialing into


00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:07.029
it, but one of my colleagues uh who's


00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:10.950
based in the UK had a throwaway line um


00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:15.669
which was that Musk is going to put the


00:28:15.679 --> 00:28:21.110
defunct um data center spacecraft into a


00:28:21.120 --> 00:28:24.470
solar system orbit rather than basically


00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.750
bring them back into the Earth's


00:28:25.760 --> 00:28:28.789
atmosphere to avoid that problem. Uh but


00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:30.549
I'm not I don't know whether that's


00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:32.389
true. I haven't found any references to


00:28:32.399 --> 00:28:35.029
that online. And it would mean to do


00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:37.669
that you need um effectively an awful


00:28:37.679 --> 00:28:39.750
lot of rocket power on each spacecraft


00:28:39.760 --> 00:28:41.510
because it takes much more


00:28:41.520 --> 00:28:44.310
>> yeah much more oomph to get to get rid


00:28:44.320 --> 00:28:46.870
of a spacecraft that way uh to put it


00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:48.710
into orbit around the sun than it does


00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.149
to put it back into the Earth's


00:28:50.159 --> 00:28:51.990
atmosphere. So all of these are


00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.789
questions that I think will be raised by


00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:57.110
by you know anybody who's really


00:28:57.120 --> 00:28:58.630
interested in this stuff and that


00:28:58.640 --> 00:28:59.990
includes space nuts.


00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.510
>> Yes. Well Rusty at least and Rusty. Well


00:29:03.520 --> 00:29:04.789
Rusty is a space nut.


00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:06.389
>> He certainly is. Yes.


00:29:06.399 --> 00:29:08.389
>> Good question though. Love it. Um keep


00:29:08.399 --> 00:29:09.909
working on it Rusty. I'm sure you'll


00:29:09.919 --> 00:29:12.149
come up with another solder pagola


00:29:12.159 --> 00:29:14.710
theory in the not too distant future.


00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:16.310
Good to hear from you and good to hear


00:29:16.320 --> 00:29:18.149
from everybody who sent us in questions.


00:29:18.159 --> 00:29:19.750
If you've got questions for us, we'd


00:29:19.760 --> 00:29:21.590
love to get them. Just go to our


00:29:21.600 --> 00:29:23.750
website, spacenutspodcast.com,


00:29:23.760 --> 00:29:25.269
spacenuts.io,


00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:28.310
click on the AMA button at the top, the


00:29:28.320 --> 00:29:30.470
link, uh, that says ask me anything


00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:32.789
basically, and that's what you do. Uh,


00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:34.389
and don't forget to tell us who you are


00:29:34.399 --> 00:29:35.909
or where you're from. Text and audio


00:29:35.919 --> 00:29:37.669
questions most welcome. And have a look


00:29:37.679 --> 00:29:39.350
around while you're there. Don't forget


00:29:39.360 --> 00:29:42.070
to visit our social media pages as well.


00:29:42.080 --> 00:29:44.870
Fred, we're done. Thank you very much.


00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:47.669
>> It's a pleasure, Andrew. Uh we're um uh


00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:51.750
it's always good to be done. Uh and


00:29:51.760 --> 00:29:53.430
sometimes it's good to be undone as


00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:54.070
well.


00:29:54.080 --> 00:29:55.990
>> Yes. Yes. Well, that's you know getting


00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:57.590
a bit too personal. But anyway, we'll


00:29:57.600 --> 00:29:59.669
carry on.


00:29:59.679 --> 00:30:02.070
>> Thanks Fred. We'll see you later.


00:30:02.080 --> 00:30:03.110
>> See you next time.


00:30:03.120 --> 00:30:04.710
>> Professor Fred Watson, astronomer at


00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:06.549
large. And thanks to Hugh in the studio,


00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.789
uh who couldn't be with us today. He was


00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:11.110
looking into Bailey's question about


00:30:11.120 --> 00:30:12.870
things that are yet to be discovered and


00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:17.190
he realized that nobody knew he existed.


00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.110
From me, Andrew and Dunley, thanks for


00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:20.310
your company. We'll see you on the next


00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:22.310
episode of Space Nuts. Bye-bye.


00:30:22.320 --> 00:30:23.350
>> Space Nuts.


00:30:23.360 --> 00:30:25.430
>> You'll be listening to the Space Nuts


00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:27.669
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00:30:27.679 --> 00:30:30.630
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