WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:03.600 Hi there, thanks for joining us. This is a Q and a edition 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:07.559 of Space Nuts. My name is Andrew Dunkley. Coming up, we're going 3 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:12.599 to be telling Pete he answered his question about space junk. I think we 4 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:18.160 kind of talked about that a bit in the previous episode. Philip wants to 5 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:24.800 know about gravity waves, Gego is asking about matter, and Beverly wants to 6 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.440 talk about seeing an eclipse. That's all coming up on this Q and a 7 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:37.960 edition of Space Nuts. Fifteen seconds in channel ten nine ignition siguench space nuts 8 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:45.960 ny or three two space nuts as when I re bought it. Neil's good 9 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.719 and he's here again. It's like he never left. Professor Fred, what's 10 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:54.399 an astronomer at La Cello? Fred? I do good to not see you 11 00:00:54.439 --> 00:01:00.880 today since we see each other. Yeah, we're flying blind because something's chewing 12 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.799 up bandwidth and we thought, well, if we just turn the cameras off, 13 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:10.480 it might improve. But no, technology isn't it great? Now? 14 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:14.480 Fred? We might as well get stuck straight into this. I've got a 15 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.879 couple of text questions and a couple of audio questions, and being as clever 16 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:23.680 as I am, I have completely lost the questions. As we speak, 17 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.640 which is very unusual for me. So I'm going to switch things around and 18 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:38.239 we will play an audio question first up from Philip Old Fred Nun Philip bape 19 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:42.519 Here originally on Classical to Australia when I was a weird bout air never lost 20 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:47.480 the upset. Two things for your debt, so astly I wanted to give 21 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:51.640 a big show Gilmot, specially agencies who of course to putting old rocket up 22 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.239 the northern end of Australia. They're amazing and I wish them all the best 23 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.359 in their grand quest. Factly, I get the idea that gravity works by 24 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:07.239 masters attracting each other and exerting a pool like magnets do. But what the 25 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.280 heck are gravity waves made of? Then? That can't be made at white 26 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:15.240 book ons but just pushed things around you can they? Is it possible? 27 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:22.800 Despite what Nicholson and morally discovered, that there is indeed some kind of matrix 28 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:29.439 permeating every square micro into the universe that has gravity waves flowing through it, 29 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:34.240 just as waves on the ocean move through water until rising the dump swimmers on 30 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:38.520 the hedge at on thy Beach. If I'm right the I reckon, I 31 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.319 could have my Nobel Prize now I'd be happy to share it with you. 32 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:49.400 Bonny lads Ay, love the show and why not just keep recording extra shows 33 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:55.800 so we can be listening to you both century if I'm new cheers Philip. 34 00:02:55.919 --> 00:03:00.039 I love the accent, by the way, that sounds great, but one 35 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:04.280 hundred years worth of episodes that did take us a little bit of work or 36 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.879 reckon, Fred, that's what it feels like already, and true have to 37 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:15.000 say yes, never mind a great question from Philip, and yes, lovely 38 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.039 accent. I thought I detected a little bit of Highland in there, as 39 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:23.240 well as the Glasgow, but anyway, that's a different story. Be in 40 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:28.199 a better position to pick up on that than me. Ireland. Scottish has 41 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.759 got a very distinctive sound to it, and there's just a few sounds in 42 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.560 Philip's accent there made me wonder anyway. Thank you very much for the question 43 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:42.599 though, And yes, Gilmour Space doing a great job gravitational waves. Philip, 44 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:46.879 you're kind of on the money. Really we accept that, we don't. 45 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:54.080 We no longer think of gravity as being forces between between massive objects. 46 00:03:54.439 --> 00:04:00.560 That's what Newton thought, and it's actually very nearly the truth modeling it that 47 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:05.159 way makes it, you know, makes the calculations fit what we see in 48 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:13.599 space generally very well. But there's difficulties, which are what led Einstein back 49 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:17.480 in nineteen fifteen to propose his general theory of relativity, which says that actually 50 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:26.279 what's happening is a massive object distorts the space around it, and that distortion 51 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.079 is what we feel as gravity. So here's the Earth sitting in space, 52 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:36.120 a massive object. It's bending the space around it so that the space at 53 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:40.720 your feet has a slightly different shape from the space at your head, and 54 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:43.399 the effect of that is that you feel as though you're being pulled down. 55 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.279 It's an extraordinarily different way of looking at things from Newtont's but actually worked very 56 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.480 well, and in fact, we've never managed to find a flaw in the 57 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:57.720 theory of general relativity. And it's because of that distortion of space that you 58 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:02.879 can have gravity wave or gravitational wave, because space can distort. So it's 59 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:09.160 not entirely rigid. It's billions of times more rigid than steel. That's actually 60 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:15.120 incredibly rigid, but it's still malleable. It's still bendable by mass, and 61 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:20.040 hence its ability to transmit waves. And so in that regard, what you're 62 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:26.279 saying, Philip is it's not too far from the truth. Yes, because 63 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:31.000 and Marley experiment did show that there was no ether that would transmit light, 64 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:39.279 because that would have shown up. Had the space been permeated by an ether, 65 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.199 then you would have been able to see changes in the speed of light 66 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:47.240 depending on which way the Earth was going, you know, in regard to 67 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.759 which way the light is going, and those changes were never detected because they 68 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:57.480 don't exist. And that's because the speed of light is an absolute constant that 69 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.920 you know, doesn't need an ether to transmit. So the old idea of 70 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:05.680 an ether has now become what we would perhaps refer to as the fabric of 71 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:12.240 space, something which can actually bend. It is a matrix, as you 72 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:16.800 put it, that doesn't fill space. It's not something in space. It 73 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:24.480 just is space, and through that gravitational waves can travel. It's quite esoteric 74 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.600 stuff, and I think you're touching on some really deep questions here in terms 75 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.319 of the physics that are involved. But suffice it to say that space does 76 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:36.000 have a structure and that it can change if you put mass in it. 77 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:43.879 A few weeks ago we did discuss gravitational wave background in the universe. Is 78 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:48.480 that akin to what Philip was talking about or is that a completely different concept. 79 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:53.360 No, it's a consequence of what we're talking about. Yeah, that 80 00:06:54.079 --> 00:07:00.839 you've got the gravitational wave background is exactly as you described it in that lovely 81 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:05.000 analogue that you presented of throwing a handful of pebbles into a pond. So 82 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:10.199 you've got waves. You know, every pebble has its own splash, and 83 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:15.360 you've got all these waves, you know, basically traveling across the surface of 84 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.319 the pond, and that would be a background to you know, if you 85 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:21.199 threw a rock in after that, there'd be a very big splash and lots 86 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:27.160 of big waves which will be kind of superimposed on that background of lower level 87 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:31.319 gravitational waves. And that's what the gravitational wave background is about. Okay, 88 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:35.639 Yeah, I love Phillip's question, not only for the accent, but he's 89 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:44.240 obviously been thinking hard about this particular situation and it's spawned some ideas that yeah, 90 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:47.240 he didn't miss the mark at all, really did he, Philip? 91 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:54.040 Your Nobel prizes in the post. It's we're happy to be happy to share 92 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:57.480 it with you. Too, thank you. Yes, absolutely, your name 93 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:01.319 can go first. Philip was your idea. I'm great to hear from you 94 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:07.839 and keep sending your questions into us. So I've got a text question Fred, 95 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.639 Hi, Fred, and Andrew. As with all questions submitters, I'm 96 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.920 a great fan of the podcast. In recent weeks, there's been multiple mentions 97 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:22.639 of space debris and dealing with it is by burning it up through attempted re 98 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:28.199 entry to Earth's atmosphere. This may well deal with most of the larger physical 99 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:33.879 pieces that could cause damage. However, presumably at least some of the component 100 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:37.759 elements of the junk don't suddenly cease to exist. I'm wondering if burning up 101 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:43.960 is really just another example of what I've heard Karl Krishlnitski say he was told 102 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:50.480 in his early steel meal days. The solution to pollution is dilution. As 103 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.519 you often say, space, even just our atmosphere, is really big. 104 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.159 But are we kidding ourselves to call burning up the final solution. That's Pete 105 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:03.360 from marmong point. I think Pete's sent questions in before. It is an 106 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:11.840 interesting problem. It is a subject to a lot of discussion globally how we 107 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.440 deal with space junk and the people who sends material into space are responsible for 108 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:24.039 it. These days, Jordi knows that, yes, and I yeah. 109 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.360 And there are times where space junk comes back to Earth it doesn't get burnt 110 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.240 up completely. There was a famous case in the last year or so where 111 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:35.320 a farmer down in the southern Highlands of New South Wales found a piece of 112 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:41.440 a SpaceX rocket. I think it was on his property. There's been all 113 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:43.519 sorts of bits and pieces popping up from time to time. It is a 114 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:48.600 problem, that's right. I think that was if I remember rightly, it 115 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.480 was parts of the service module of a Dragon capsule. If I remember rightly, 116 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.480 Oh yeah, m yes, but there was, you know, not 117 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.480 but roughly at the same time there was it's a huge fuel tan washed up 118 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:09.000 on the beach in Wa which came from an Indian space launch, so that's 119 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.200 where it was eventually traced back to. So, yes, you're right, 120 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:18.080 Andrew that. For the bigger objects that you know, maybe way more than 121 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:24.200 a few one hundred kilograms, they often will not burn up completely in the 122 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.039 atmosphere until you get debris falling to Earth, and most of it, most 123 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:33.480 of that is controlled. You can sort of control where the spacecraft is going 124 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.960 to hit the atmosphere, where the burn up will take place, and where 125 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:41.679 any debris might fall. And there is a particular spot in the Pacific Ocean, 126 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:45.639 the South Pacific Ocean, which it's got a name which I can't remember 127 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.679 at the moment, but it's the furthest point from land anywhere on the planet, 128 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.279 and at the bottom of that ocean, it's a very deep part of 129 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:56.480 the Pacific Ocean. There's a lot of space debris because that's where you know, 130 00:10:56.519 --> 00:11:01.399 you try and if you've got something that you gonna is massive and there 131 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:05.000 is a risk that it will not all burn up in the atmosphere, that's 132 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.759 where you want to put it, so that you're far away as possible from 133 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:15.120 any likely damage. But so that's one part of the problem. But I 134 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:20.840 think what Pete's question is really aimed at is the stuff that does burn up, 135 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.879 you know, and for a small satellite's like a Starling satellite, which 136 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:31.559 is yes, it's a quarter of aton, but it's still relatively small that 137 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:35.639 will burn up completely in the atmosphere. And what happens is the materials of 138 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:41.000 which it's made are vaporized and they do hang around, and I think we 139 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:45.639 covered a story probably a few weeks ago, maybe a few months ago, 140 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:54.759 that basically amounted to the fact that atomic species have been detected in the upper 141 00:11:54.799 --> 00:12:01.600 atmosphere which can only have come from the material of spacecraft. What it's saying 142 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.919 is that, yes, the solution to pollution is dilution, but that dilution 143 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:11.320 of the debris by being burned up and turned into vapor, that's not a 144 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.679 process that means it disappears. There's still evidence of stuff being around up there 145 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:20.080 in the upper atmosphere, and it's now in an atomic form rather than you 146 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:24.440 know, solid, solid objects, but we can still detect it. So 147 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:31.679 it's a good question that Pete raises. Yep, we are to some extent 148 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:37.759 polluting the upper atmosphere by the amount of re entering debris. Well, the 149 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.639 alternative is to just shoot it off into oblivion, I suppose. But yeah, 150 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:46.120 that's probably not as easy as it sounds, that's right, because then 151 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.960 you've got to, you know, reach the escape velocity of the Earth that's 152 00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:56.799 eleven kilometers per second. What they do at geostationary orbits, So these are 153 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:01.200 the orbits of the geostationary satellites thirty six one thousand kilometers above the surface. 154 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:09.519 When they are no longer being used and regarded as a potential danger to other 155 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:15.039 geestationary satellites, they put them into what are called graveyard orbits. So these 156 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.000 are orbits that are pretty stable but a long way out of the way. 157 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:22.639 So it's doing exactly what you just suggested, shooting them off into oblivion. 158 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.320 You're putting them in an orbit that where it's in orbit around the Earth, 159 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:31.399 but it's not not going to do any damage down the track. And I 160 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:37.320 think that place in the Pacific that you were referring to is Point Nemo Okay, 161 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.519 which is twenty six hundred and eighty eight kilometers from the nearest land, 162 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:48.879 and it's the furthest point from anywhere in the world in terms of solid land. 163 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:54.039 It's at forty eight forty eight degrees fifty two point six minutes south one 164 00:13:54.080 --> 00:14:00.720 hundred and twenty three degrees twenty three point six minutes west. If you want 165 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.679 to pinpoint it. Nearest land is Dulcey Island, which is part of the 166 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:09.200 Pitcan Group. Apparently there you go. Yeah, so if you need to 167 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:15.600 go looking for space junk, that's the spot. It is all right, 168 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.240 thank you, Pete. Love the question, and yes, the problem with 169 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:24.240 space junk continues. This is Space Nuts, not Space Junks. With Andrew 170 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:30.120 Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson. Let's take a quick break from the show to 171 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:35.240 tell you about our sponsor, nord VPN. 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Have a look today and get the deal. 214 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:11.119 Now back to the show. Okay, we take a space Nuts now, 215 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:17.200 Fred another text question, Hello Fred and Andrew. This is Geargo from 216 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:21.799 Slovakia. My question is about the matter we have in our universe. If 217 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:26.240 I understand it correctly. All the matter we have is with us since the 218 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.519 Big Bang, but energy can be converted to matter, and with the expansion 219 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.400 of the universe, new energy, vacuum energy is being added to our universe. 220 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.599 Could this vacuum energy be converted into matter, thus creating matter that has 221 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.680 not been with us from the very beginning? Thank you in advance for your 222 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:51.079 longer version of no love your show ge goo. Oh, I love that 223 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:59.640 at least is confident. Maybe let's let's modify it slightly and make it perhaps 224 00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:07.680 or perhaps not. H So we we have talked before about the process of 225 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:17.279 converting energy into matter. Ah we we we commonly convert matter into energy. 226 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:22.839 That's what happens in nuclear reactors. You're you know, you're turning the mass 227 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:29.000 of your uranium fuel or whatever it is, directly into energy, without needing 228 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:33.359 it to go through other processes chemical processes, for example. And so that's 229 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:40.279 that's where that equivalence come. Excuse me, it comes from equals mc squared 230 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:48.000 the tour are equivalent. There are only a few natural processes and we did 231 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.799 talk about them, and I can't remember what they were that work the other 232 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:59.799 way, and I think they only occur in very high intensity energy situations by 233 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:03.720 working the other way, I mean, converting energy directly into matter. There 234 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:08.640 are a few examples of it, but I can't remember what they are. 235 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:12.599 We did cover it, and I remember reading up about it. So you 236 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:18.359 know, the idea of the vacuum energy, the dark energy as we also 237 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:26.759 call it, turning into something solid. It's quite frightening. Actually, you 238 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:30.559 know, space is getting more and more rarefied, and so the vacuum energy 239 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:36.759 is not in any sense in a high energy situation where you might get this 240 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:41.279 process of energy being directly converted into matter. But it is an interesting question, 241 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:48.880 So I hope that's a long enough version of no go. I think 242 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:52.640 back in the sixties thread they looked into this problem of dark energy turning into 243 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:59.319 matter and decided that the only thing that dark energy could turn into was a 244 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:06.599 rolling pin, so usually in a domestic environment. Well, that's really that's 245 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:14.680 black energy. Isn't it very dangerous topic too? That one? It is. 246 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:23.400 Yeah, Sogo, the answer is no ish. No great question. 247 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:27.559 Thank you for it. It was a good question, and one more quick 248 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.079 one to finish off. This is a little bit behind the times, but 249 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:36.799 only because of me having to find files that got ditched by my computer without 250 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:42.400 my permission. It happens. This is Beverly. Hello, spetsnuts. This 251 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:48.200 is Beverly from College Station, Texas. I hope to be seeing my first 252 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:52.400 Total Selary clips very soon, and I'm beyond excited. I was wondering if 253 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:56.359 either or both of you had seen a Total Sulery clips. I would mind 254 00:21:56.359 --> 00:22:03.759 sharing your experiences and maybe your thoughts, your feelings about seeing Natty clips, 255 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:10.480 and any insight you have. I really appreciate your podcasts and I listened to 256 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:14.279 it in the mornings when I walk. Thank you so much, have a 257 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:18.359 great day. Thank you, Beverly. A lovely question. I threw that 258 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:22.559 one in, Fred because I wanted to see if you could figure out how 259 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:27.319 many you've actually witnessed, because I know you've seen a few. I haven't 260 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:33.880 in person ever witnessed one. Never. Well, you should come with us 261 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.519 on one of our clips to us. Actually, you are you are going 262 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:41.920 to you are going to see one in twenty twenty eight. So yes, 263 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:47.480 yes, yes, indeed exactly. I don't have to go anywhere, I 264 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:51.759 just have to wait. But how many of you, saying Fred, I 265 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:55.880 think the April eighth eclipse, which is the one Beverly's talking about. She 266 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.839 was before April eight when she recorded that. I think that was the sixth. 267 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:03.319 In fact, I'm sure it was the sixth. One of them, 268 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.680 just one was clouded out, and that was the one in the Faroe Islands 269 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:12.079 where they get two hundred days of rain per year, and so we weren't 270 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:18.480 expecting big events. I did see just a little bit of the eclipse phenomena. 271 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.640 I saw something called Bailey's beads, which is where the Sun's discs shines 272 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:26.519 through the valleys between the mountains of the Moon. So I did see that 273 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:32.680 through binoculars, but it wasn't a crystal clear experience the one in Texas, 274 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.920 and we were probably not that far from Beverly. We were in a little 275 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:41.799 village called I think it was Bristol and British name, but it's not very 276 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:52.119 far from Fort Worth and Dallas. So we had a cloudy morning there and 277 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:55.799 the eclipse was sort of round about the middle of the day and Marley had 278 00:23:55.839 --> 00:24:00.200 forecast she'd looked at all the best forecasts that said the sky will clear in 279 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:07.240 tanthony clips and during the period when you're leading up to the total eclipse, 280 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:11.279 which is as the Moon's disc gradually covers the disc of the Sun. It's 281 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:15.400 an extraordinary times sort of building tension and it's just like you know, it's 282 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:22.200 like a live show, Andrew done by the very best impresarios, where you 283 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.599 build up people's excitement and then there's a climax of a few minutes of the 284 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.960 Sun being blacked out completely. During that period when the Moon was gradually crossing 285 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.759 the disc of the Sun, we were seeing quite a lot of it through 286 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:40.359 holes in the cloud, but it was still basically cloudy. And then seconds 287 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:47.240 before totality, the sky completely cleared. It just cleared totally and we had 288 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:51.319 the most perfect view of the total eclipse that you could expect. And then 289 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:56.319 throughout the afternoon it was clear. It was sensational and just turning to what 290 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:02.759 bever Is asked about the you know, the emotional it is almost a spiritual 291 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.519 experience, if I can put it that way, Andrew, where you recognize 292 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:12.799 that something deep and profound is happening. You've got this exact alignment between your 293 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.759 spot on the Earth, and it's not there for everybody. It's only where 294 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:23.680 the Moon's shadow crosses passes across the Earth and the moonshadow is only typically one 295 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:29.039 hundred kilometers or so wide. You've got that alignment between your spot on the 296 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.319 Earth, the moon itself, and the Sun, and it's the geometry of 297 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:37.599 that that it just somehow breathtaking, that it gives you this unique experience of 298 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:42.400 a black disk surrounded by the corona of the Sun and sometimes, as we 299 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:48.200 saw on the eighth of April, Prominence's pink dots around the edge of the 300 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:52.359 Sun which are clouds of glowing hydrogen. So it is, Yes, it's 301 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:56.599 quite all inspiring. People burst into tears, you know, there's so much 302 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:02.200 emotion tied to it. Of that is just the build up as the you 303 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.319 know, as the thing gradually takes place, and you see all these interesting 304 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.920 phenomena as the sky gets darker. You see things called shadow buns, which 305 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:14.400 are little bunds of shade that race across the surface of the Earth caused by 306 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:18.799 turbulence in the upper atmosphere. It's the whole excuse me, a whole array 307 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:26.680 of different phenomena that's well worth watching for so, yes, very very rare. 308 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:32.400 Indeed. Yeah. The next total solar eclipse is the twelfth of August 309 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:38.480 twenty twenty six, which will start I would basically up in the northern Arctic 310 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:45.720 region, and then we'll move down across the Atlantic into southern Europe by the 311 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:49.200 look of it, and then the next one is the twenty twenty seven August, 312 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:52.359 and then ours in twenty twenty eight, the twenty second of July. 313 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:57.000 In fact, I'm just looking at the future map for total eclipses for it, 314 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.960 and this is an interesting phenomenon. There'll be two in a row that 315 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:10.079 will cross the will cross continental Australia and they will actually intersect around about southwest 316 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:15.720 Queensland, northwest New South Wales and probably northeast South Australia. So that particular 317 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:19.160 spot will get two in a row in twenty twenty eight and twenty thirty, 318 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:23.960 which will be very exciting. That'd be the place to go. Yeah, 319 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:30.279 there's actually five if you I think there's four more if you include the one 320 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:33.160 on the twenty third of April last year which was off the which just touched 321 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:38.240 the Exmouth, the coast at Exmouth in western Australia. Including that one, 322 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.960 there are five coming up in the next twenty years or so, I think 323 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:47.599 up to twenty thirty five. So quite right. They are really interesting. 324 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:52.279 They passed to across in an unusual way that is related to the sort of 325 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:57.160 cycles that determine how eclipses work, because you know, everything in the in 326 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:02.200 the Solar system is cyclic going round each other, so they do repeat in 327 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:07.119 a sort of complex way. Twenty twenty seven. Sorry, the one in 328 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:11.039 twenty twenty seven will intersect with the one in twenty thirty four, so there'll 329 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:15.519 be another place where you can go to the same place twice. But I 330 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:22.240 found the interesting one that also the twenty twenty seven eclipse will end where the 331 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:26.880 twenty twenty eight clips will begin. Oh that was interesting. Yeah, I 332 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:32.359 think it is a click phenomena. We're going to be in Gibraltar for the 333 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:37.400 twenty twenty six eclipse, I believe. Nice, So the southern tip of 334 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:42.960 southern tip of Spain if you're interested, Yes, yeah, it could be 335 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:48.160 the go. Yeah, I can see that one on the screen here. 336 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:52.039 That one's going to stretch out over the Arctic and then move down through the 337 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:56.720 Atlantic Ocean by the look of it, or that area anyway. But yeah, 338 00:28:56.759 --> 00:28:59.400 a lot of them do start in the ocean. But that's just because 339 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.400 seventy five percent of the surfaces ocean. I suppose it's just the way it 340 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:06.759 works out exactly, but Beverly, yeah, I hope you've got great joy 341 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:10.640 out of witnessing your eclipse. I'm still waiting for my first one, so 342 00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:15.240 one ahead of me. And don't forget to keep sending your questions in. 343 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:18.160 You can do that via our website, space nuts podcast dot com or space 344 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:22.599 nuts dot io. You can send text and audio questions via the AMA tab 345 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:26.039 up the top and on the right hand side you'll see a little green sideways 346 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:30.480 button that says send us your or send us your questions. If you hover 347 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:36.039 over that, it turns purple. Extraordinary. Never seen that before. Exciting. 348 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:40.160 I'm easily amused. But yes, don't forget to tell us who you 349 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:42.279 are aware you're from. If you've got a device with a microphone, you're 350 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:48.079 all set. And don't forget to subscribe to us on YouTube and to send 351 00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:52.240 in your reviews via your favorite podcasting platform. Fred, we are done. 352 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:56.279 Thank you so much, great pleasure, Andrew always good to chat and thanks 353 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:00.960 for all the questions. Everybody wonderful. It's fabulous. We'll talk to you 354 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:04.799 soon. Fred Fred Watson, Astronomer at Large and Hugh in the studio is 355 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:10.880 doing what he does best and I don't know what that is, but thanks 356 00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:12.920 anyway, Hugh, and from me Andrew Dunkley, thanks for your company on 357 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:17.720 this episode. Catch you on the next episode of Space Nuts soon. Bye 358 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:25.599 bye Spacenuts. You'll be listening to the Space Nuts podcast available at Apple Podcasts, 359 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:30.000 Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast player. You can also stream 360 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:36.160 on demand at bites dot com. 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