S27E131: Milky Way's Gamma Ray Mystery, Triple Black Hole Discovery, and NASA's Solar Array Setback

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This is Space Time, Series 27,
Episode 131, for broadcast on

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the 30th of October, 2024.
Coming up on Space Time, record

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energy gamma rays detected in
the Milky Way's core, discovery

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of what could be the first
triple black hole system, and

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problems for NASA as they try to
test a new deployable solar

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array system.

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All that and more coming up on
Space Time.

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Welcome to Space Time with
Stuart Gary.

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Scientists have detected
ultra-high energy gamma rays

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being emitted from the centre of
our galaxy, the Milky Way.

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The findings reported in the
Astrophysical Journal letters

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are giving astronomers a new
look into a violent mystery in

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the galactic core. The
observations were achieved using

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the High Altitude Water
Sheringhov, or HAWK Observatory,

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located 13,000 feet above sea
level on Mexico's Sierra Negra

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volcano.

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Scientists measured the strength
of the newly discovered

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gamma-ray source at more than
100 tera-electron volts. That's

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an order of magnitude higher
than ever seen before.

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The study's principal
investigator, Pat Harding from

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the US Department Of Energy's
Los Alamos National Laboratory,

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says the new research is the
first to confirm the Milky Way's

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galactic centre ridge as an
actual source, named a P-Vatron

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for these high-energy gamma
rays.

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Hawke Observatory has been
gathering data for more than

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seven years, during which time
Harding and colleagues observed

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nearly 100 gamma ray events with
energies of more than 100

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tera-electron volts. The
observations have allowed cosmic

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ray interactions with the
P-Vatron to be directly studied,

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and therefore compared with
other observations, helping to

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pin down the emission process
and location.

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The actual P-Vatron itself
remains a not well understood

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phenomenon, but the fact of its
existence in whatever form it

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takes, points to the violent
regime occurring in the galactic

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centre.

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Now of course this is the same
region of the Milky Way, known

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to contain Sagittarius A star, a
galaxy's central supermassive

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black hole which is surrounded
by neutron stars and white

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dwarfs which are stripping
material from other nearby

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stars.

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Sagittarius A star itself has
about 4.3 million times the mass

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of our Sun and is located some
27,000 light years away.

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It's an area shrouded with dense
gas clouds that can reach

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temperatures of more than a
million degrees and all this

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tends to prevent much direct
optical observation of the

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region.

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So, the detection of gamma rays
is proving to be crucial for

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illuminating the cosmic process
at work in this extreme

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environment.

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Ultra-high energy gamma rays
originate in the presence of a

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p-vattron source, and that
accelerates the particles to a

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million billion electron volts
in energy. That's a quadrillion

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times more powerful than the
photons coming out of your

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average light bulb.

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And the cosmic ray photons
generated by the p-vattron are

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travelling at more than 99% the
speed of light. Interacting with

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dense ambient gas, which results
in the ultra-high energy gamma

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rays. The energies involved
point to some of the most

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violent processes conceivable in
the universe.

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We're talking about things such
as the death of stars in

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supernova explosions, the shocks
and radiation that accompany

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fusion-rich starbirth, or a
black hole swallowing up another

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black hole.

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Hudding says that a lot of these
processes are so rare, one

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wouldn't expect to see them
happening within our galaxy, or

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alternatively, they don't occur
on scales that... Correlate with

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the size of our galaxy.

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Hawk is a unique experiment,
designed to capture the

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relatively few ultra-high energy
gamma rays that can travel

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interstellar distances to reach
the Earth.

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It comprises 300 grain silos
that have been filled with

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water, and the bottom of each
silo is lined with

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photomultiplier detectors.

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When ultra-high energy particles
reach Earth's atmosphere, they

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break up into extensive air
showers or cascades of lower

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energy particles.

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As the charged particles pass
through the tanks of water, at

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speeds outpacing the water's
phase velocity, they produce

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Cherenkov radiation, which gives
off a blue glow. It's an effect

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somewhat similar to an auditory
sonic boom.

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The scientists then analysed the
time distribution of the

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particles detected across the
tanks in order to understand the

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energy regimes involved, finding
the origins of the particles as

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ultra-high energy gamma rays.

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The Hawke Observatory was built
on the groundbreaking Millegro

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experiment. That's a gamma-ray
observatory with a 5 million

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gallon water pond and 700 light
detectors built just outside of

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Los Alamos.

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Milagro took data through 2008,
and then the researchers moved

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south to the HAWK Observatory to
be able to capture particles

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closer to the galactic centre.
The researchers now plan to

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extend the Hawke Observatory's
findings, narrowing down the

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specific site of the Pei Vatron
source with a new piece of

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equipment, the Southern Wide
Field Gamma-Ray Observatory.

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That's a facility being built in
the Atacama High Deserts of

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Chile.

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With that wider window of view
to the centre of the Milky Way,

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scientists may eventually come
close to viewing the mystery at

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the very heart of our Milky Way
galaxy.

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This is Space Time.

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Still to come, discovery of the
first triple black hole system,

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and problems for NASA's new
deployable solar array

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demonstration flight. All that
and more still to come on Space

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Time.

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Astronomers have discovered what
may be the first triple black

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hole system.

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The newly discovered system,
located some 8,000 light years

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away, may be the first direct
evidence of what astronomers

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refer to as gentle black hole
formation.

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Many solar mass black holes
detected so far appear to be

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binary systems, made up of two
black holes, or a black hole and

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another star, circling each
other.

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These spiral around each other,
drawn together by the black hole

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's intense gravity, to form a
tight orbital pair. But now a

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surprising discovery is
expanding the picture of black

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holes, the objects they can host
and the way they form. The new

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findings reported in the Journal
Nature involve what could be a

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black hole triple system, the
first ever such discovery.

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Now this new system consists of
a central stellar mass black

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hole in the act of consuming
what could be a small star that

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's spiralling very close to the
black hole roughly every 6.5

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Earth days. Now that's a
configuration similar to most

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binary systems. But
surprisingly, a second star

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appears to be circling the black
hole, although at a much greater

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distance.

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The study's authors estimate the
far-off companions orbiting the

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black hole every 70,000 Earth
years. Observations suggesting

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that the primary black hole
seems to have a gravitational

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hold on an object so far away is
raising questions about the

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origins of the black hole
itself.

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See, stellar-mass black holes
are thought to have formed

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through the violent explosion of
a dying star in a process known

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as a core collapse supernova.
During this process, the star

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releases huge amounts of energy
and light in a final burst

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before suddenly collapsing into
an invisible black hole.

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This team's discovery, however,
suggests that if the newly

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observed black hole resulted
from a typical supernova event,

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the energy it would have
released before it collapsed

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would have kicked away any
loosely bound objects on its

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outskirts.

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So the second outer star
shouldn't be hanging around.

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Now, we've seen examples of this
before, where a star... About to

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go supernova, suddenly simply
disappears.

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And it's disappeared because
instead of exploding as a

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supernova, it's collapsed
directly into itself, forming a

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black hole. And that's what
scientists believe may have

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happened with this black hole in
this three-part system. The

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black hole formed through a more
gentle process of direct

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collapse, in which the star
simply caves in on itself,

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forming a black hole without the
dramatic last-minute flash.

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Such a gentle origin wouldn't
disturb any loosely bound

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faraway objects. Because the new
triple system includes a very

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far-off star, it suggests the
system's primary black hole was

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born through this gentler direct
collapse. The discovery of this

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triple black hole system has
come almost by chance. The

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authors had been looking within
the Milky Way galaxy for signs

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of new black holes.

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Out of curiosity, they reviewed
an image of V404 Cygni. That's a

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black hole about 8,000
light-years away. That was one

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of the very first objects ever
confirmed to be a stellar mass

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black hole. That was back in
1992. Since then, V404 Cygni has

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become one of the most
well-studied black holes in

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astronomy. It's been documented
in over 1,300 scientific papers.

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However, as this team studied
images of V404 Cygni, they

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noticed what appeared to be two
blobs of light, surprisingly

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close to each other. Now, the
first blob was what others had

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already determined to be the
black hole and an inner closely

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orbiting star.

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The star is so close that it's
shedding some of its material

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onto the black hole, giving off
light. The second blob of light,

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however, was something
scientists didn't investigate

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closely until now.

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And that second light is most
likely coming from a far-off

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star. One of the study's
authors, Kevin Burridge, says

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the fact that we can see these
two separate stars over such a

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great distance actually means
that the stars have got to be

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fairly far apart. He calculated
that this newly discovered outer

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star was around 3,500
astronomical units away from the

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black hole.

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That astronomical unit is the
average distance between the

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Earth and the Sun, about 150
million kilometres, or 8.3 light

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minutes.

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So in other words, this outer
star would be around 100 times

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further away from the primary
black hole than what Pluto is

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from the Sun.

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And of course, that raises
another question, whether or not

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this outer star was actually
linked to the black hole in the

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inner star. To find out, the
authors examined data from the

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European Space Agency's Gaia
spacecraft, which tracks the

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motion of stars as they orbit
the galaxy.

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They then analysed the motions
of the inner and outer stars

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over the last 10 years of Gaia
data. And they found that these

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two stars moved exactly in
tandem compared to other

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neighbouring stars.

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That means they're most likely
in the same system.

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So, how exactly could this
system have formed? Well, if the

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black hole arose from a typical
supernova, the violent explosion

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would have kicked away the outer
star long ago.

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However, simulations showed that
the easiest way to make the

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triple system work was through a
direct collapse. In addition to

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giving clues about the black
hole's origins, the outer stars

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also revealed the system's age.

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That's because the star happens
to be in the process of becoming

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a red giant. That's a phase that
occurs at the end of a star's

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life. Now, based on this stellar
transition, the authors

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determined that the outer star
is about 4 billion years old.

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Now, given that neighboring
stars are all born around the

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same time, it suggests the
entire system is also 4 billion

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years old.

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This is space-time.

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Still to come, problems with the
new NASA experimental solar

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array system, and later in the
Science Report... A new study

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shows that standing compared
with sitting doesn't improve

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cardiovascular health after all.
All that and more still to come

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on Space Time.

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NASA has run into problems as it
tries to deploy a new combined

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solar array and antenna system
aboard its Pathfinder technology

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demonstrator for spacecraft. It
seems the array's boom is bent

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and therefore not extending
properly. The 12kg spacecraft is

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a 6-unit CubeSat demonstration
mission.

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It's designed to test the new
Lightweight Integrated Solar

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Array and antenna, a very
high-power, low-volume

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deployable combination antenna
and solar array.

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The Four-Pedal Solar Array
System, or LISA-T, is a

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thin-film solar array that
offers low mass, lower stored

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volume, and three times more
power per mass and volume

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allocation than current solar
arrays. The new technology will

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eventually enable future deep
space missions to acquire and

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communicate data through
improved power generation and

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communications capabilities all
on the same integrated array.

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A spacecraft was launched aboard
a Falcon 9 rocket from the

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Vandenberg Space Force Base in
California as part of SpaceX's

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Transporter 11 mission.

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00:12:36,553 --> 00:12:39,974
Once in orbit, NASA evaluated
initial flight data and imagery,

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00:12:40,134 --> 00:12:42,675
confirming the spacecraft's
systems, including its onboard

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00:12:42,755 --> 00:12:45,956
electronics and payload support
systems, were all operating

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00:12:45,996 --> 00:12:49,357
nominally. The deployable
integrated antenna and solar

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00:12:49,397 --> 00:12:53,578
array comprises four foldable
pedals and an extendable boom,

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00:12:53,778 --> 00:12:56,919
which are all stored for launch,
taking up no more space than a

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00:12:56,939 --> 00:12:57,539
coffee mug.

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00:12:58,191 --> 00:13:00,653
Once in orbit, the spring-loaded
boom is released.

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00:13:01,314 --> 00:13:03,216
It's designed to extend out
about a metre.

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00:13:03,896 --> 00:13:06,819
The four petals, which are
folded and attached to the boom,

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00:13:06,959 --> 00:13:09,702
would then be clear to be
released, expanding out to

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00:13:09,722 --> 00:13:12,965
create a two-metre-wide array
using shape memory alloys.

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00:13:13,625 --> 00:13:16,608
However, on this test flight, it
looks like the central boom has

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00:13:16,688 --> 00:13:19,851
failed to fully extend. That
prevents the petals from

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00:13:19,911 --> 00:13:22,894
unfolding and generating power
or providing communications

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00:13:22,954 --> 00:13:23,695
operations.

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00:13:24,307 --> 00:13:27,288
John Carr, the Deputy Chief
Technologist at NASA's Marshall

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Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama, says once

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00:13:29,989 --> 00:13:33,371
the technology is proven, the
new thin-film arrays will vastly

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improve power generation and
communications capabilities for

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00:13:36,812 --> 00:13:38,333
many mission applications.

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Lisa-t stands for the
Lightweight Integrated Solar

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00:13:46,136 --> 00:13:46,916
Array and Antenna.

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00:13:47,897 --> 00:13:51,778
It's a super-compact, stowable,
thin-film solar array that, when

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00:13:51,958 --> 00:13:55,900
fully deployed in space, offers
both a power generation and

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00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,702
communication capability for
small spacecraft.

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00:13:59,142 --> 00:14:02,584
LisaT provides significantly
more electrical power generation

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00:14:02,764 --> 00:14:06,747
per unit mass and per unit
volume to enable higher

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00:14:06,807 --> 00:14:10,729
capability Earth-orbiting small
spacecraft, as well as for small

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00:14:10,789 --> 00:14:14,471
spacecraft to travel deeper into
space than currently possible.

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00:14:14,951 --> 00:14:18,634
LisaT was developed at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in

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00:14:18,694 --> 00:14:20,915
Huntsville, Alabama, and is a
flight...

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00:14:21,015 --> 00:14:23,816
Project with the Pathfinder
Technology Demonstration

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00:14:23,896 --> 00:14:27,457
Program, which is managed out of
the Ames Research Center in

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00:14:27,557 --> 00:14:31,078
Moffett Field, California.
Several commercial partners

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00:14:31,138 --> 00:14:34,980
played a key role in developing
Lisa-T, including Nexol Holding,

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00:14:35,220 --> 00:14:39,541
Terran Orbital, Ascent Solar,
and Microlink Devices. The

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00:14:39,561 --> 00:14:42,182
importance of the LISA-T
technology cannot be

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00:14:42,262 --> 00:14:42,902
understated.

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00:14:43,623 --> 00:14:47,004
Small spacecraft are becoming
increasingly important to NASA's

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00:14:47,144 --> 00:14:49,685
deep space science and
exploration goals.

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00:14:50,446 --> 00:14:54,007
The challenge we often see with
small spacecraft is they tend to

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00:14:54,067 --> 00:14:58,629
have very little mass and volume
to spare. If we want to do more

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00:14:58,989 --> 00:15:02,290
with these missions and send
smaller spacecraft further into

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00:15:02,370 --> 00:15:06,212
space, we need to provide them
with access to more power

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00:15:06,452 --> 00:15:10,474
without requiring a large
amount. Of mass and volume. But

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00:15:10,474 --> 00:15:13,736
how do you do that when space
and mass is at a premium?

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00:15:14,416 --> 00:15:17,939
LisaT meets this challenge with
its thin film solar array which

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00:15:18,019 --> 00:15:21,901
offers 300% more power per mass
and volume than current

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00:15:21,981 --> 00:15:23,942
state-of-the-art thick film
solar arrays.

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00:15:24,683 --> 00:15:28,605
The spacecraft prepares LisaT
for deployment and begins by

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00:15:28,725 --> 00:15:32,948
firing the first burn mechanism
to cut tie-down cords and

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00:15:33,008 --> 00:15:34,929
release the central booms.

287
00:15:35,861 --> 00:15:39,324
These booms passively deploy via
stored kinetic energy.

288
00:15:39,965 --> 00:15:43,408
With this process, the solar
arrays are pushed away from Lisa

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00:15:43,448 --> 00:15:46,471
T's main structure, giving it
room to expand.

290
00:15:47,131 --> 00:15:51,195
A second burn mechanism is then
activated to release each of the

291
00:15:51,275 --> 00:15:54,898
four solar panels, which are
tightly folded atop these

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00:15:54,938 --> 00:15:58,902
central booms. These panels are
then actively unfolded by a

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00:15:58,962 --> 00:16:01,584
shape memory alloy that is
embedded on the back of the

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00:16:01,624 --> 00:16:02,105
panels.

295
00:16:02,897 --> 00:16:05,980
After completely unfolding, the
panels lock themselves into

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00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,424
place and maintain their shape
and structure for the duration

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00:16:09,444 --> 00:16:09,984
of the mission.

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00:16:10,185 --> 00:16:13,028
That's John Carr, the Deputy
Chief Technologist at NASA's

299
00:16:13,088 --> 00:16:15,670
Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama.

300
00:16:16,431 --> 00:16:18,133
And this is Space Time.

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00:16:34,069 --> 00:16:36,090
And time now to take another
brief look at some of the other

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00:16:36,130 --> 00:16:38,732
stories making news in science
this week with the Science

303
00:16:38,772 --> 00:16:39,232
Report.

304
00:16:39,972 --> 00:16:42,654
A new study has shown that
standing more compared to

305
00:16:42,714 --> 00:16:46,136
sitting really doesn't improve
cardiovascular health after all.

306
00:16:46,716 --> 00:16:48,858
The findings reported in the
International Journal Of

307
00:16:48,898 --> 00:16:52,300
Epidemiology come despite the
growing popularity of so-called

308
00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:55,582
standing desks in offices.
They're used by people looking

309
00:16:55,582 --> 00:16:58,603
to offset the harms of a
sedentary lifestyle caused by

310
00:16:58,663 --> 00:17:01,365
spending long days sitting in
front of a computer screen.

311
00:17:01,949 --> 00:17:04,631
However, scientists at the
University Of Sydney have shown

312
00:17:04,671 --> 00:17:07,374
that over the long term,
standing more compared with

313
00:17:07,474 --> 00:17:10,136
sitting doesn't improve
cardiovascular health such as

314
00:17:10,176 --> 00:17:13,639
coronary heart disease, stroke
or heart failure. And in fact,

315
00:17:13,639 --> 00:17:16,422
it could increase the risk of
circulatory issues related to

316
00:17:16,462 --> 00:17:19,965
standing such as varicose veins
and deep vein thrombosis.

317
00:17:21,646 --> 00:17:24,669
Paleontologists have described
the fossilised skull of an

318
00:17:24,689 --> 00:17:27,351
extinct giant elephant
discovered in northern India's

319
00:17:27,391 --> 00:17:31,558
Kashmir Valley in the year 2000.
The new research, reported in

320
00:17:31,578 --> 00:17:34,521
the Journal Vertebrate
Paleontology, sheds fresh light

321
00:17:34,561 --> 00:17:37,663
on a poorly understood episode
of elephant evolutionary

322
00:17:37,743 --> 00:17:38,124
history.

323
00:17:38,824 --> 00:17:42,467
The skull was buried with some
87 stone tools used by

324
00:17:42,547 --> 00:17:43,788
prehistoric humans.

325
00:17:44,709 --> 00:17:47,171
Scientists say that from the
general shape of the skull, the

326
00:17:47,191 --> 00:17:50,034
elephant belonged to
Paleoloxodon, a straight tusk

327
00:17:50,114 --> 00:17:52,856
family of elephants, which are
among the largest land mammals

328
00:17:52,896 --> 00:17:56,590
that ever lived. Fully grown,
adults could easily stand around

329
00:17:56,670 --> 00:17:59,992
4 metres tall at the shoulder
and weighed up to 10 tonnes.

330
00:18:00,632 --> 00:18:03,994
Now by comparison, a modern day
Asian elephant weighs about 6

331
00:18:04,094 --> 00:18:07,776
tonnes and their African
counterparts about 7. However,

332
00:18:07,816 --> 00:18:11,338
this Kashmir skull lacks a thick
and forward projecting crest at

333
00:18:11,318 --> 00:18:15,120
the skull roof which typifies
other Paleo-Loxodon skulls found

334
00:18:15,141 --> 00:18:15,621
in India.

335
00:18:16,341 --> 00:18:19,303
Scientists had speculated that
the skull crest in these extinct

336
00:18:19,383 --> 00:18:22,465
elephants became more prominent
with developmental and sexual

337
00:18:22,485 --> 00:18:23,065
maturity.

338
00:18:23,689 --> 00:18:26,792
But from the size, the wisdom
teeth and a few other telltale

339
00:18:26,832 --> 00:18:29,495
features of the skull, it was
evident that this animal was

340
00:18:29,615 --> 00:18:32,838
already a majestic bull elephant
at the prime of its life.

341
00:18:33,479 --> 00:18:36,422
So the lack of a well-developed
skull crest means this must have

342
00:18:36,442 --> 00:18:38,484
been a new and different
species.

343
00:18:40,066 --> 00:18:42,689
A new study has found that
artificial intelligence-assisted

344
00:18:42,709 --> 00:18:46,332
colonoscopies increase polyp and
edema detection in routine

345
00:18:46,412 --> 00:18:49,851
screening. The findings reported
in the Journal of the Annals Of

346
00:18:49,871 --> 00:18:53,013
Internal Medicine follows a
systematic review of randomized

347
00:18:53,033 --> 00:18:56,216
clinical trials comparing
AI-assisted colonoscopies and

348
00:18:56,256 --> 00:18:57,737
conventional examinations.

349
00:18:58,378 --> 00:19:01,740
They found that AI-assisted
colonoscopies found more polyps

350
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,542
and precancerous growths in the
colon than conventional

351
00:19:04,582 --> 00:19:05,463
examinations.

352
00:19:06,124 --> 00:19:09,266
However, the difference was only
marginal, no better than the

353
00:19:09,266 --> 00:19:12,689
conventional method of finding
serious growths per colonoscopy.

354
00:19:14,257 --> 00:19:17,279
Apple have released their first
artificial intelligence update.

355
00:19:17,679 --> 00:19:20,221
With the details, we're joined
by technology editor Alex

356
00:19:20,241 --> 00:19:22,682
Saharov-Royd from
TechAdvice.life.

357
00:19:22,862 --> 00:19:26,825
It will be arriving on iPhones,
iPads and Macs. This will

358
00:19:27,125 --> 00:19:30,587
introduce the first branch of
Apple's intelligence update.

359
00:19:30,687 --> 00:19:33,309
This is the first set of their
features, the personal

360
00:19:33,429 --> 00:19:37,191
intelligence system, protecting
your data, privacy and AI. Apple

361
00:19:37,191 --> 00:19:40,194
has been very strong on privacy
and they'd like to... Ensure

362
00:19:40,194 --> 00:19:42,457
that people think that they're
going to be just as careful with

363
00:19:42,477 --> 00:19:44,700
your data in the world of AI
compared with...

364
00:19:45,172 --> 00:19:48,754
Open AI or Google or Facebook,
where privacy is something they

365
00:19:48,834 --> 00:19:51,356
feel they have access to your
data and they can sell it. So

366
00:19:51,476 --> 00:19:53,618
we're yet to see if that
strategy is going to work for

367
00:19:53,698 --> 00:19:57,440
Apple as it has in the past. I
know that there'll be 18.2, the

368
00:19:57,620 --> 00:20:00,142
next update, the next version of
Apple's intelligence that will

369
00:20:00,182 --> 00:20:01,102
come in December.

370
00:20:01,463 --> 00:20:04,565
And then we will see the image
playground. You'll be able to

371
00:20:05,065 --> 00:20:08,367
create images just by typing in
text or removing people by

372
00:20:08,427 --> 00:20:11,364
drawing a circle around. That
you don't want on a page, which

373
00:20:11,384 --> 00:20:14,545
is copying things we've seen
from Samsung and Google for some

374
00:20:14,585 --> 00:20:17,006
time. So Apple's playing some
catch-up. There's no question

375
00:20:17,046 --> 00:20:18,326
that they're behind the times.

376
00:20:18,746 --> 00:20:22,227
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, did
a big interview in the last week

377
00:20:22,307 --> 00:20:24,888
where he acknowledged that Apple
can be late sometimes, but they

378
00:20:24,928 --> 00:20:28,609
like to think that they get it
right and do it in the most

379
00:20:28,649 --> 00:20:32,990
private and secure way. So the
AI wars have barely just begun.

380
00:20:32,990 --> 00:20:38,332
2025 will see a huge battle for
the hearts, minds, wallets, and

381
00:20:38,432 --> 00:20:42,702
usage. Of everyday people around
the world wanting benefits from

382
00:20:42,902 --> 00:20:43,243
AI.

383
00:20:43,483 --> 00:20:46,765
That's Alex Haravroy from
TechAdvice.life.

384
00:21:02,635 --> 00:21:03,896
That's the show for now.

385
00:21:04,592 --> 00:21:07,593
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