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Welcome to Astronomy Daily for another episode. I'm Steve Dunkley, your host.

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It's the twenty seventh of November twenty
twenty three podcast. It going to be

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a whole Steve Dunkle, and with
me as always is our digital pal who's

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fun to be with. Here's Hallie. Hello again Steve. How has your

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week been? Oh? Busy,
busy, busy, just doing human stuff

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as usual, Hallie. I see
you had a big lightning storm here last

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night. Yes, we had a
big one. There was lightning and a

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bit of wind and lots of rain
on and off, very odd sort of

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a steam a storm, and I
pulled out all the plugs to protect the

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hardware here in the studio. I
didn't want you to come back to a

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shambles. That would have been uncomfortable, but very sensible to physically unplug the

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equipment too, right, Halle.
Many people don't realize that lightning can cause

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a power surge to jump the contacts
in a PowerPoint even when it is turned

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off. Yes, there's nothing better
than complete disconnection. But I'm glad we've

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got those back so you can be
with us. And again, Helly,

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did you manage to scan the newsletter
for some stories to share. I did

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find a couple of quick ones.
How about the next generation telescope using deformable

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mirrors. That sounds pretty awesome.
Yes, I saw that one. It's

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a great story. And how about
Ariane six had a huge engine test that

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looks like it was a great success. They are happy campers, all right,

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Yes, we love a big engine
test. NASA has moved the Pace

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spacecraft to Florida already, and it's
apparently ready to fly. Oh. Pace,

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that's the one that reports on carbon
dioxide exchanges in the ocean and atmosphere,

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isn't it, Helly? You read
that straight out of the story,

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didn't you. Oh yeah, I
out of Hey what else you got,

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Helen? I think you've got a
piece about an Indian telescope's first discovery and

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your favorite little helicopter on Mars Ah
Yes, intrepid little ingenuity go you good

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thing. What a great little machine. If there were real Martians, I

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think they'd be a little bit impressed. Yeah maybe, Helly maybe. All

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right, now it's time for your
bit, Helly. Why did you take

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over the show? Okay? Here
are some short takes from the Astronomy Daily

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newsletter. Observing distant objects is no
easy task thanks to our planet's thick and

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fluffy atmosphere. As light passes through
the upper reaches of our atmosphere, it

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is refracted and distorted, making it
much harder to discern objects at cosmological distances

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like billions of light years away and
small objects in adjacent star systems like exoplanets.

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For astronomers, there are only two
ways to overcome this problem. Send

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telescopes to space, or equip telescopes
with mirrors that can adjust to compensate for

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atmospheric distortion. Since nineteen seventy,
NASA and the EESA have launched more than

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ninety space telescopes into orbit, and
twenty nine of these are still active,

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so it's safe to say we've got
that covered. But in the coming year,

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a growing number of ground based telescopes
will incorporate adaptive optics that will allow

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them to perform cutting edge astronomy.
This includes the study of exoplanets, which

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next generation telescopes will be able to
observe directly using coronagraphs and self adjusting mirrors.

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This will allow astronomers to obtain spectra
directly from their atmospheres and characterize them

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to see if they are habitable.
NASA is pursuing the development of adaptive optics

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through its Deformable Mirror Technology project,
which is carried out at the Jet Propulsion

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Laboratory at Caltech. The field of
exoplanet studies has exploded in recent years,

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with five thousand, five hundred and
thirty nine confirmed candidates in four thousand,

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one hundred and twenty nine systems and
over ten thousand more awaiting conformation. Finding

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habitable planets among these many candidates is
crucial to addressing one of the greatest mysteries

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of all time, are we alone
in the universe. To do this effectively,

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scientists need to be able to observe
exoplanets directly. This is known as

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the direct imaging method, where astronomer's
study light reflected directly from an exoplanet atmosphere

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and or surface. Unfortunately, it
is very difficult to resolve smaller, rocky

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planets that orbit closer to their parent
stars, which is where Earth like planets

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are expected to be found, due
to the overpowering glare from their stars.

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This is likely to change with cutting
edge telescopes like James Web, as well

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as next generation arrays like the extremely
large telescope, the giant Magellan telescope,

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and the thirty meter telescope. These
ground based arrays will combine thirty meter primary

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mirrors, advanced spectrometers, and coronagraphs, which are instruments that block out starlight.

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Deformable mirrors are an essential component of
a chronograph, as they can correct

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for the tiniest of imperfections in the
telescope and remove any remaining starlight contamination.

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This is essential since a misalignment between
mirrors or a change in the mirror's shape

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ie, which leads to instability in
the telescope's optics, can result in glare

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that obscures the detection of smaller,
rocky exoplanets. Moreover, detecting an Earth

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like planet demands an extremely precise optical
quality of tens of pikometers, which is

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about the size of a hydrogen atom. Eesa's new Aryan six rocket passed a

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major full scale rehearsal on November twenty
three in preparation for its first flight,

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when teams on the ground went through
a complete launch countdown followed by a seven

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minute full firing of the core stage's
engine as it would fire on a launch

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into space. For this rehearsal,
the boosters were not ignited, so Arian

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six stayed firmly on the launch pad
at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana as planned.

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The engine fire trial re enacts how
the Aryan six core stage will fire

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during a normal flight into space.
Once complete, the main engine would shut

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down and the core stage would separate
from the upper stage, which would then

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take over propulsion and complete its mission. The trial, conducted with a time

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test model on the launch pad at
europe Spaceport in French Guiana, was the

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longest a full stack run yet for
Arian the Saxcess lower liquid propulsion module with

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a Vulcane two point one engine.
Eesa's director General Joseph Aschbacher believes that KNES

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and EESA are back on track towards
resecuring Europe's autonomous access to space after years

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of designing, planning, preparing,
building and hard work from some of the

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finest engineers in Europe. The Volcane
two point one engine burnt through almost one

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hundred and fifty tons of propellant in
the Arian six core stage tanks liquid oxygen

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and liquid hydrogen, the latter supercooled
to temperatures below minus two hundred fifty degrees

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celsius. Vulcane two point one is
an evolution of the Volcane two engine,

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which made Arian five Europe's most successful
launch system to date. The upgrade has

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a simplified and cheaper design and new
technology in the engine nozzle and ignition system

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has been moved from the engine to
the launch pad structure to make the stage

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perform better and cost less. It
took just over two hours and required teams

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of people and delicate operations to load
the rocket's central core with fuel. The

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filling operations were performed during a long
countdown that included other qualification tests similar to

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the previous rehearsals this year. For
fidelity and to guarantee launcher stability, the

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upper stage tanks were also fueled,
even though the upper stage engine only kicks

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in once in orbit after separation from
the main stage and so was not fired

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during this ground test. The launch
pad, operated by France's Space Agency Needs

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used its water deluge system to temper
the heat from the engine. A last

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hot fire test of the upper stage
is being prepared and planned for December twenty

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twenty three at the German Aerospace Center
DLR Lampol Schausen Test Center. NASA's PACE

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spacecraft arrived in Florida for its twenty
twenty four launch on a SpaceX Falcon nine

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rocket. Managed by the Goddard Space
Flight Center, the mission will study OA

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ocean atmosphere interactions and continue crucial climate
and air quality measurements. Engineers and technicians

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arrived ahead of the spacecraft to prepare
ground equipment for offloading and processing before fueling

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and final encapsulation. PACE, which
stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud and

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Ocean Ecosystem, is targeted to launch
aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket in early

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twenty twenty four from Space Launch Complex
forty at Cape Canaveral Space four station in

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Florida. The mission will help clarify
how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide,

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improve upon NASA's twenty plus years of
global satellite observations of ocean biology and

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atmospheric aerosols, and continue key measurements
related to air quality and climate. The

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PACE project is managed by NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center. The agency's Launch Services

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Program at the Kennedy Space Center is
responsible for managing the PACE mission. Launch

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Service Astronomy the podcast with Steve Dougley
and Hali So this is very interesting.

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A newly built International liquid mirror telescope
in India has identified its first supernova,

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designated s N twenty twenty three AF. The finding proves that ILMT may be

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capable of detected hundreds of super and
ova in the coming years. Super and

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ova are powerful and luminous stellar explosions
that could help us better understand the evolution

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of stars and galaxies. Astronomers divide
super and ova into two groups, Type

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one and type two, those that
lack hydrogen in their spectra, while those

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that showcase spectral lines of hydrogen.
ILMT is a four meter diameter zenith pointing

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telescope located at Devonsyl Observatory and Nanotl, India. It is entirely dedicated to

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conduct photometric astrometric direct imaging surveys.
Astronomers hope that IMLT will help them detect

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many new transient objects, such as
supernova of gamma ray bursts. The telescope

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saw the first light on April twenty
nine, twenty twenty two, and is

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currently in the advanced stage of commissioning. Now a team of astronomers led by

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Brajesh Kumar of the Abriata Research Institute
of Observational Sciences Areas in India reports that

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ILMT has spotted its first supernova on
March nine, twenty twenty three, supernova

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twenty twenty three AF, which was
initially detected two months earlier. The team

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conducted follow up observations of SN twenty
twenty three AF using ILMT as well as

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the three point six meter Deventhal Optical
telescope and the one point three meter Deventhal

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Fast optical telescope. During the commissioning
phase of the ILMT, Supernova twenty twenty

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three AF was identified in the ILMT
field of view. The supernova was further

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monitored with ILMT and DOT facilities that
researchers wrote. The team obtained a light

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curve from Supernova twenty twenty three AF
spanning up to one hundred and ten days

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after its discovery. Initial results from
ILMT show that hydrogen lines are clearly visible

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and metal lines also appear in the
spectra of this supernova. Based on the

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light curve from special features of s
and twenty twenty three AF, the authors

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of the paper suppose that the object
is type two P superova. In general,

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the type two plateau for supernova remain
bright on a plateau for an extended

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period of time after maximum This plateau
in the light curve of a standard supernova

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two P typically lasts about one hundred
days. It's assumed that super and ova

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two P like Supernova twenty twenty three
AF, originate from precursor stars that retain

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a substantial amount of their hydrogen layers
greater than three solar masses before exploding as

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core collapse supernovae. However, the
astronomers added that the complementary observations of Supernova

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twenty twenty three AF are needed in
order to confirm its type two P classification.

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They explained that a definite conclusion about
the plateau length of this supernova is

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not possible at the moment due to
sparse data points. Summing up all the

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results, the researchers noted that future
ILMT observations will provide a unique opportunity to

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discover and study different types of supernova
each year, leading to the detection of

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hundreds of new stellar explosions and now
onto one of my favorite things. Ingenuity

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has been having a rough few months
and a new article on NASA's website entitled

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The Long Wait, posted by Travis
Brown, who is the chief engineer on

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the Ingenuity project, provides a good
amount of detailers to why the problem started.

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When Ingenuity took off for flight number
fifty two on April twenty six.

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When the helicopter landed, it was
out of range of Perseverance, its rover

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companion, and the helicopter radio link
back to its controllers on Earth. This

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was intentional, apparently, but it
meant that Ingenuity's minders didn't know whether the

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flight had been completed successfully. Dr
Brown explains why the team would intentionally choose

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to land the helicopter out of range
of Perseverance, and details the four main

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mission priorities for the helicopter's secondary mission. So unsurprisingly, the number one priority

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is don't mess up perseverance. The
rover is currently collecting interesting samples for the

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now endangered Mars Sample return mission,
which, assuming it still goes ahead,

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we'll see those samples eventually return to
Earth. If Ingenuity accidentally interferes with that

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process, needless to say, the
NASA brass would probably be upset. The

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helicopter's handlers have decided that the best
way for it is to stay well ahead

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of the rover and let it catch
up to them, which is what it's

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been trying to do with flight fifty
two. Unfortunately, part of Perseverance's mission

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is flexibility, and its own project
team can make the call as to where

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they want the rover to go next. After Ingenuity's flight, the rover team

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decided not to stick to the plan
path that would take it near the helicopter

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in a few days, but instead
take the long way round to do some

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exciting science elsewhere. When Perseverance did
move back into range, sixty one days

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had passed where the helicopter had been
patiently waiting for it. When Ingenuity could

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finally transmit back images, the science
team was excited as it had landed on

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a group of pebbles that I had
never before been seen on the Martian surface.

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Another flight was planned immediately, and
this one intended to scout the immediate

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area for any other interesting geological features
for Perseverance to look at. And that's

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where the second problem came up.
During Ingenuity's flight fifty three, and never

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before seen error forced the helicopter to
land unexpectedly what Dr Brown describes as a

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time desynchronization between a camera that tracks
the ground features and other senses tied to

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its inertial guidance system. Any engineer
who has worked with multiple systems can tell

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you how difficult timing synchronization can be, or anybody who dances for that matter.

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Yours truly included. So the guidance
system was right to shut the system

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down for machine safety or in my
case, the safety of others. Still,

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it means that Ingenuity was once again
grounded without being able to fulfill a

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potentially interesting mission objective. While Ingenuity
was recovering from its unexpected landing, Perseverance

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caught up to the helicopter, making
it redundant to provide scientific data since the

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superior instruments on the rover were now
on station. Luckily, that freed the

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helicopter up for a brief flight fifty
four, where it tested its systems out

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once again, and then returned to
its scouting duties with flight fifty five shortly

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afterwards with no attendant synchronization problems.
Remember that the original mission plan for Ingenuity

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lasted for thirty days and three flights, while it's now day nine hundred and

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seventy nine and has completed sixty six
flights in total. In every respect,

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Ingenuity is the little helicopter that could
what in a remarkable machine, and doctor

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Brown and his team should be justifiably
proud. And that's all there is for

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today. Thanks for joining us again
on Astronomy Daily. All the past episodes

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are available for your listening, enjoyment
and mental stimulation at space snuts dot io

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00:17:00,919 --> 00:17:06,400
and bytes dot com. That's b
I T E s Z dot com.

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And don't forget you can enjoy all
the episodes of our parent podcast, Space

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Nuts with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred
Watson over at those same addresses space nuts

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dot io and bites dot com.
I'm looking forward to joining you all again

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next Monday from our down Under studio
in Newcastle, Australia. In the meantime,

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Tim Gibbs will be with you on
Friday from our studio in Bath,

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England. This is Steve Don'tkley,
wishing you happy sky watching. Bye fine

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now podcast your hole, Steve Dunkle