Good everybody, and welcome to Astronomy Daily for Thursday, the twenty seventh of
July twenty twenty three. My name is Tim Gibbs and I will be your
host for today's episode. A bit of a surprise for our listeners that we
have time today, so we are going to do a one show Thursday,
which is a bit different from normal and as usual I have my AI assistant,
Hallie in the studio with me today. Hallie, do you have a
one story for us today? Thanks? Tim, Here's my story for today.
Olympus Mons could have been a giant volcanic island in an ancient Martian Ocean.
Olympus Mons, located at the northwest edge of the Tharsis Montes region on
Mars, was appropriately named based on readings obtained by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter
MOLA, an instrument aboard nassa's Mars Global Surveyors. This mountain is the tallest
in the Solar System, standing twenty one point nine kilometers thirteen point six miles
tall, about two and a half times the height of Mount Everest eight point
eight five kilometers five point five miles. According to current estimates, this extinct
shield volcano formed during mars Hesperian period ca. Three point seven to three billion
years ago, which was characterized by widespread volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding. This
coincides with a period when Mars had a denser atmosphere, a warmer environment,
and flowing water on its surface. This included a global ocean that spanned much
of the Northern Hemisphere known today as the Northern Lowlands, encompassing Olympus Mons.
According to a recent study led by researchers from the Center National de Rechercher's Scientific
CNRS, features found on the slopes of Olympus Mons indicate that it could have
been a massive volcanic island where volcanic eruptions flowed into the ocean, similar to
ones found on Earth. The research was conducted by a team of CNRS researchers
with the Geosciences Paris Saclay Laboratory JEEPS at the University of Paris Saclay. The
team was led by Anthony Hildenbrand, a CNRS jeep's researcher, with the assistance
of Fernando or Nellis Marquez, a geology professor at the University delze Boa.
The paper that describes their findings. A giant volcanic island in an early Martian
ocean recently appeared in the Earth and Planetary Science letters. Knowing when, where,
and how long flowing water existed on Mars is crucial to astrobiology studies on
the red planet. No one really knows how long early liquid water may have
existed at the surface of Mars, which potentially has important implications regarding the fate
of early life on Mars and in the Solar System, he said. According
to the geological record, life began on Earth roughly four billion years ago,
when much of the surface was covered in water and the atmosphere was largely the
result of volcanic outgassing. The Astronomy Day podcast thanks for that, Hallie.
Now SpaceX has unfortunately had to scrub a record breaking Falcon Heavy rocket launch.
The team halted the countdown at sixty five second. We will have to wait
at least another day to see SpaceX powerful Falcon Heavy rocket liftoff for the seventh
time. The Falcon Heavy was scheduled to launch on Wednesday night, July twenty
six, at eleven o four local time from Pad thirty nine A at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but it wasn't to be. The launch team
called things off with sixty five seconds left on the countdown clock for reasons that
weren't immediately clear. The next launch opportunity will come Thursday night, July twenty
seventh, at the same time. According to SpaceX, the launch, whenever
it happens, will send the huge Jupiter three communications satellite into orbit. Jupiter
three is the largest commercial communication satellite ever built. According to its operator,
Huge Network Systems, the satellite weighs ten point one tons that's nine point two
metric tons, and when finally deployed, will have a wingspan wingspan similar to
that of a commercial jet. The Falcon Heavy has launched six times to date,
including three times since November twenty and twenty two. The rocket debuted in
February twenty and eighteen on a test flight that sent Elon Musk's red Tesla roadster
aloft with a spacesuit clad mannequin named Starman at the wheel. The Falcon Heavy
is the second most powerful rocket flying today, generating more than five million pounds
of thrust at liftoff. The most powerful vehicle Nassa's Space Launch System SLS produces
about eight point eight million pounds of thrust, but sl won't hold that title
for long. If all goes according to SpaceX's plan, the company's next generation
starship vehicle, which is still in development, will generate about sixteen point seven
million pounds of thrust. The Astronomy Daily Podcast Thanks everybody for listening to Astronomy
Daily. You can find all of our episodes, plus our parent podcasts,
space Nuts, at space nuts dot io or at bytes dot com, and
don't forget that you can join in the conversation yourself by going to our Facebook
page Space Nuts Podcast group. You can hear Steve Dunkley on Mondays and myself,
Tim Gives on Fridays for a full show. Thanks for listening, see
you next week. Bye for now, Thanks Tim TTFN, The Astronomy Daily
Podcast, Bye,