WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.440 Hi there, Thanks for joining us. This is Space Nuts. My name 2 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:08.119 is Andrew Dunkley, your host, and glad you could join us once again. 3 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:12.800 Coming up on today's program, we are going to be looking literally at 4 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.320 the oldest black hole yet scene. It's not only the oldest, it is 5 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.399 big, in fact huge, and it's very, very hungry. We'll also 6 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:27.359 be looking at an asteroid impact on Earth. Yes it happened. Why are 7 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:31.960 we still here? Fred will explain, And the mars kopter has run into 8 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.840 some communications issues. We'll cover all that, plus audience questions at a bit 9 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:44.240 of homework coming up on this edition of Space Nuts fifteen second guidance in channel 10 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:55.320 ten nine ignition sequence Space Nuts NY four three two more review ones Space Nuts 11 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:00.240 as the night record it Bill's goods and joining us to hash out all of 12 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:04.239 that and much much more is Professor Fred Watson, Astronomer at Large. Hello 13 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:11.560 Fred, Andrew, what a surprise to see you there. I was expecting 14 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.040 someone else, but it was you, So I'm very happy about that. 15 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:19.000 Yeah, just as well, isn't it? Really? Nobody else would put 16 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:25.159 up, would put up with our respectives for a terrible bunter. Anyway, 17 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:29.280 I'm here and I'm glad you're there and all is well. It's going to 18 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:32.560 be hot day for you, I think the West. Yeah, we're getting 19 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.799 some really big numbers at the moment, thirty nine today, forty tomorrow, 20 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:45.959 forty for Australia Day Friday, and then we might get a brief respite into 21 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.719 the weekend proper. But yes, stinking hot. I imagine it's also going 22 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.359 to be very windy on Australia Day, so I imagine we'll have fire weather 23 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:57.599 warnings and all sorts of stuff. Dogs and cats living together, that's my 24 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:02.239 favorite line. But yeah, it's all. It's all a bit hellish around 25 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.280 here at the moment. I think I'd be better off pitching a tent on 26 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:15.800 the sun. At this point in time, Western, it's getting back to 27 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:17.759 a normal Western. Some of the last couple have been quite mild, so 28 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:22.719 this one. The last summer we only had one day over forty degrees, 29 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:27.680 and this season we've had I think this is probably the sixth or seventh, 30 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:35.400 so it's it's been very hot summer. Now let's get down to business. 31 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.800 The James Webb Space telescope has been added again and Fred and this time it 32 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:45.599 spied the oldest black hole yet seen, and it is a monster and it 33 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:52.960 is committing astronomical suicide by destroying its own galaxy. By the sound of it, 34 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.759 it's a very interesting story. Galacticide. I guess it would be, 35 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:00.560 wouldn't it. That's what it would be. Part arttery side is when you 36 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:07.879 kill your dad galactoside. Yeah, that's I think we've just invented something there. 37 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.960 It is a good word. Yeah, I'll just write it down so 38 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:14.520 I don't forget it. Yeah, do that? Do that? Yeah, 39 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:19.120 there you go here you uniting galaxy. Remember where you've heard it first, 40 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:24.599 folks, So yes. So observations are led by from a team of international 41 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:30.000 astronomers led by scientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and they 42 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:37.120 used the James Web telescope to look at some very early galaxies and by that 43 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.199 I mean with a very long look back time. So you're looking back to 44 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:45.560 not very long after the birth of the universe. When we're talking now about 45 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:50.280 time probably about four hundred million years after the Big Bang. So the Big 46 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:55.800 Bangs are currently estimated to be thirteen point eight billion years ago, so this 47 00:03:55.879 --> 00:04:01.360 goes back thirteen point four billion years. These observations and yes, what has 48 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:09.800 been discovered is a massive factor super massive black hole at the center of this 49 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:15.120 galaxy. And by that they I don't think they've got a particularly precise number 50 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.040 for it yet because it's so far away, but it is a few million 51 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.639 times the mass of the Sun, and that puts it very much in the 52 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:31.680 super massive region. And basically what it does throws another upset into our understanding 53 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:41.879 of how galaxies and black holes form and grow. So, just to recap, 54 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.959 black holes seem to come in two sorts, the stellar mass black holes 55 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:51.720 the mass typically of a star, a large star, but maybe twenty twenty 56 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:56.360 times the mass of the Sun, and super massive black holes, which are 57 00:04:56.439 --> 00:05:00.319 millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, with very little between 58 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:03.680 the intermediate mass black holes which are thought to exist, and in fact some 59 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.360 might be looking in the insides of what we call globular clusters of stars, 60 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:13.319 but they're still very much more elusive than either the stellar mass black holes or 61 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:16.000 the super massive black holes. So how does supermassive black holes get so big? 62 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:23.439 The thinking has always been that they start off with stellar mass size, 63 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:28.319 you know, modest sized black holes, just a few, maybe tens or 64 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:32.319 even hundreds of times the mass of the Sun, and they grow over time 65 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.720 by accreting other materials. So if you've got one in the center of a 66 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:41.680 youthful galaxy, there's a lot of gas in there. That gas can be 67 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:47.560 sucked in to the black hole. That's the accretion process and causes its mass 68 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:55.079 to increase. But the problem is that is thought to be a process that 69 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:59.120 takes billions of years. So you start off with something small and it grows 70 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.920 to a super mass black hole over a period of as I've said, billions 71 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:05.920 of years, and this is only four hundred million years after the Big Bang, 72 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:11.920 and so you know, it's essentially thrown the cut among the pigeons. 73 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.759 It's saying, well, how can we get a black hole this size so 74 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:21.120 early in the universe. And the two ways that are being postulated are, 75 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:28.079 first of all, maybe black holes, super massive black holes form in other 76 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:32.040 ways, excuse me. They might come into being as a supermassive black hole 77 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:35.920 rather than come into being as a stellar mass black hole and then grow, 78 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:44.040 or they can gobble up material the surroundings. In other words, they can 79 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:49.480 accrete, to use the technical term, much more rapidly than was thought to 80 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:54.759 be the case, and they're estimating it would have to be about five times 81 00:06:55.319 --> 00:07:01.120 the rate of gobbling up that we've been you know, the astronomers have been 82 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:04.759 working with so far. The number that comes from studies of how we think 83 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:12.839 black holes accrete material and grow. So that's the current states. We've got 84 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.519 this conundrum, a black hole that should have taken more than a billion years 85 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.439 to grow to the size that it has, but it's done it in four 86 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:27.600 hundred million years, and so it's it is a puzzle. Well yeah, 87 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:34.839 and in doing what it's doing, it's also destroying everything around it, but 88 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:40.759 it seems to be doing it in an unusual way. There's this reference to 89 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:46.879 an ultra fast wind that's been caused by this process, and that's what's destroying 90 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:51.720 the galaxy. Rather than eating the galaxy, it's actually destroying it's for one 91 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:57.680 of a better term food source that just sounds really yeah, it does, 92 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:05.040 doesn't it. And so the wind itself, I mean normally things that come 93 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:07.480 out of black holes, and don't they don't come out of the black hole 94 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.279 itself, they come out of the accretion disc Normally, the pattern is that 95 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:16.480 you've got a black hole, it builds a kind of disk of material around 96 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:20.040 it which is gradually swirling into the black hole, and that's how it's gobbling 97 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.480 up. And some of that material doesn't go into the black hole. It's 98 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:30.600 diverted by magnetic fields into what we call polar jets, jets that come out 99 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:35.039 at right angles to the disc. And that's the wind. But it looks 100 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:39.039 as though there's something else going on here. I don't know too much about 101 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.960 this type of wind because I would have expected, you know, if you've 102 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:48.320 got something that's really gobbling up material around it very quickly, the wind will 103 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:52.519 be directed perpendicular to that disc. But it may well be that under some 104 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.480 conditions you get a wind that's that's sort of blowing everywhere, what we would 105 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:03.159 call isotropic in all directions. But yeah, it is as you said, 106 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:09.759 that is maybe pushing away the gas that this black hole needs to keep on 107 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:16.799 growing, and eventually that would stop the black hole from accreting. The black 108 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:18.240 hole wouldn't go away, it would still be there, but it wouldn't be 109 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:22.480 gobbling up material any more. It would become what we call a quiescent black 110 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.559 hole, which is a bit like the one at the center of our own 111 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:33.720 galaxy. So really interesting stuff. One of the lead authors says, this 112 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.320 is the most exciting time in his career. It's a new era. The 113 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:41.399 giant leap in sensitivity, especially in the infrared, is like upgrading from Galileo's 114 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.559 telescope to a modern telescope overnight before Web came online. I thought, maybe 115 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.960 the universe isn't so interesting when you go beyond what we could see with ourble 116 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.360 Space telescope. But that hasn't been the case at all. The universe has 117 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.039 been quite generous in what it's showing us. And this is just the beginning. 118 00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:00.440 It's almost poetic, isn't it very very poetic? And yeah, it 119 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:05.799 also is that points out the fact that the James Web Space Telescope has, 120 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:09.879 as promised, delivered. A lot of the time they say this is the 121 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.320 next big thing it's going to do, you know, yay, yay, 122 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:18.759 and then it goes up again. Oh it's a blob out of focus. 123 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:26.000 But this one's actually delivering, and it's delivering spectacular results, very much so. 124 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:31.960 And the hope is that the telescope will be able to probe even further 125 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.639 back in time to look at even earlier black holes, and that might give 126 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.440 some clues as to what's going on in the early history of black holes. 127 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.879 If we start finding dozens of these super massive black holes at a very early 128 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:46.320 stage of the universe, I think it means we've got to do some really 129 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:56.679 serious rethinking of what's going on in those early galaxies. Yes, indeed, 130 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:01.759 and this one's certainly thrown everybody in a spin because of a how old it 131 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:05.879 is, be how big it is, and see what it's actually doing to 132 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:11.240 its neighborhood and how it's doing that. It's all very Yeah, it's sort 133 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:16.440 of thrown the baby out with the bathwater in terms of theory in some respects, 134 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:20.399 I suppose. So, yeah, we find these things and it opens 135 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:26.159 up so many more questions, but they will hopefully ultimately lead to answers that 136 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:31.039 that's the that's the hope, isn't it. Pret that's the way science works. 137 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:35.720 Yes, that's right. So we've got you know, we've got observations 138 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:39.600 which dog fit the theory that exists. So you rebuild the theory and then 139 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:43.879 do more observations to see whether the theories upheld. This very much the way 140 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:50.279 astronomy works, even at these great distances from from our from our own present 141 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:54.799 time, great distances in time. M all right. If you want to 142 00:11:54.879 --> 00:12:01.200 chase up that story about this incredible discovery and this this the Strange black Hole, 143 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:05.519 fizz dot org pH y s dot org is the website where you can 144 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.480 find that article. This is Space Nuts Andrew Dunpley here with Professor Fred Watson. 145 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.000 Let's take a break from the show to tell you about our sponsor, 146 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:20.200 nord vp N and as a space Nuts listener, you can take advantage of 147 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:26.480 a new year's deal exclusive to you. 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Okay, we've tacked all four systems. Now, Fred, let's 181 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:07.799 move on to something that happened more recently than that black hole forming. In 182 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.679 fact, this happened only a few days ago. Earth was hit by an 183 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:18.000 asteroid. It has been reported in the popular press, and we're still here 184 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:20.600 to talk about it. Now. What I understand is this one wasn't as 185 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:24.039 big as the one that killed off the dinosaurs. But I have heard a 186 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:33.360 report that they're a small lizard with a limp after this one. Will Yeah, 187 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:39.960 they don't have too many lizards out and about in January in eastern Germany. 188 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.120 Whatever, let's have previous truth here in the way of a good joke, 189 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:52.440 though Fred quite so. Yes, so an object that was largely well 190 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:58.120 recorded by you know, by security cameras and dashcums and all the rest of 191 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:03.080 it. An object that came to earth over Berlin, in fact, in 192 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:08.200 the east and half of Germany over the weekend Sunday morning their time, so 193 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:15.320 lots of video and a lot of people really interested in it. It's got 194 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:19.600 a name as all good aid sorry, all good asteroids do. So it's 195 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:26.200 obviously being counted as an asteroid even though it was a small object. Its 196 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:30.200 name is twenty twenty four b x one, and you might remember that the 197 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:36.480 way those numbers work is the date of the year twenty twenty four. The 198 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.720 bee says it was the second half of January when it was discovered, because 199 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.240 it's alphabetical for each half month throughout the year. It's very cleverly done, 200 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:52.919 and then the alphabetical order and then a number after that. So it's landed 201 00:16:52.919 --> 00:17:00.960 outside Berlin. The interesting bit is that it was an astronomer in Hungary. 202 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:08.480 And I think I don't know whether this gentleman Christian Sonski, I think is 203 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:15.000 how we would anglicize his name. I don't know whether he's an amateur astronomer 204 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:21.440 or a professional, but he discovered it and alerted the International Astronomical Union via 205 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:29.640 there's an asteroid discovery system that he can use, and that was then confirmed 206 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:34.680 by NASA, presumably with one of those telescopes. And this all happened kind 207 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:38.559 of twenty minutes before the impact. I think the discovery was made several hours 208 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:48.920 before impact. NASA confirmed it twenty minutes before impact with absolutely spot on prediction 209 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:55.359 of where it would where it would land or where it would disintegrate over and 210 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.240 at what time, and it was all right on the money. So this 211 00:17:59.880 --> 00:18:07.400 is interesting because it's the eighth time that an asteroid has been discovered before it 212 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:12.680 hits the Earth, and that's telling you that the systems are working, particularly 213 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.559 because this is thought to be about a meter across, so it's what you 214 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:25.400 would call a very small asteroid and maybe a large meteoroid. There's a that's 215 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:30.319 a sort of gray area between the two. So yeah, it's it's very 216 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:37.039 very you know, satisfactory outcome of what we're hoping to do in the world 217 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:45.920 of of planetary protection, as it's called, this idea of trying to monitor 218 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:52.000 threats composed by asteroids before they happen. The other thing is that the gentleman 219 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.440 who I mentioned, Christian Sanski, forgive me if I'm mispronouncing his name, 220 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:06.400 has discovered three that have been hitting the Earth. In other words, first 221 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:10.640 he's done three of these eight asteroids that have been discovered before they hit the 222 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:15.319 Earth. Very well known asteroid hunter, yes, and seems to be very 223 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:18.559 good at what he does. Now, this one, as you said, 224 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.039 around about a meter, which is a little bit smaller than the one that 225 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:27.119 hit the Earth and brought about the beginning of the end of the dinosaurs. 226 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:30.799 That one was as big as Mount Everest or something, wasn't it. And 227 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.960 this one broke up on impact. But they do think that it would have 228 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:45.720 showered parts of Europe with micro meteorites. I think they referred to the mass. 229 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.920 Yeah, so lots of small bits of debris and it's possible that some 230 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:55.640 of them might be recovered. It's you know, it's wintertime up there. 231 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:02.519 Meteorites are generally black, and often that discovered in Antarctica, where they're against 232 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.400 a white background because of snow. Maybe they will be discovered perhaps in the 233 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:12.160 in the regions of eastern Europe where this object is thought to have fallen. 234 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:17.359 Bits of this object I thought to have fallen. So if you do want 235 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:19.960 to if you're a listener from that part of the world and you would want 236 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:23.079 to go out and hunt for these micro media writes, just just keep an 237 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:29.880 eye out for limping lizards and you might you might get laggy. Yeah, 238 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.359 I think yes, I think you'd probably be luckier to find a lizard than 239 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:38.960 you would meteorite. At this time of year, the lizards will be well 240 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.839 hibernating. I think they would. But yeah, so when you hear the 241 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:49.599 word is asteroid, you automatically think about the dinosaurs and the andsurs frocks that 242 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:53.599 have hit Earth in the past, and you make that assumption. So when 243 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:56.440 when you hear that we've actually been hit by an asteroid, you go, 244 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:03.279 oh no, but they're not always monsters that no, they're not. In 245 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.160 fact, that's the interesting part about it. At the moment, you know, 246 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:11.880 all these telescopes that are looking for asteroids are concentrating on the small ones 247 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.839 because the big ones, most of them have already been found. She's good 248 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:18.279 news, Yeah, we just we've actually got to watch out for the ones 249 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:22.680 that are just a bit big enough just to get through. They're the ones 250 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:27.519 to Yeah. Did we talk about that last week when I was talking about 251 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:33.400 the asteroid Protection group that I was sitting with in Vienna. Yeah, they 252 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.200 postulated a scenario in which, exactly as you said, I want to kill 253 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.680 a meter asteroid could get through. It has to be in a very unusual 254 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:48.079 orbit, but it's possible. Never say never. But we've done the double 255 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:55.039 asteroid redirection test and we know it works. So yeah, we live in 256 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:57.559 hope. Exactly. Well, you had your you had your T shirt on 257 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:02.000 last week, didn't you the double storgery direction. Yes, that's right. 258 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:08.799 Now let's move on to Mars, and the Mars Copta has made the news, 259 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:12.839 and that's because it stopped working. In fact, I think it was 260 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:17.599 in the middle of a flight when it lost comms with NASA and they thought 261 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:22.279 end of mission. So yeah, it got a bit scary there for a 262 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:25.960 while, but then it suddenly went nothing to see here, it's all good. 263 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.240 I'm here, I'm here. So what do we know about this? 264 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:36.000 So exactly as you said, So it's not the first time. Let's just 265 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:41.279 preface it. It's not the first time. That the copter has suffered communications 266 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:47.920 issues and I think the longest was two months or something that it was, 267 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:55.640 oh, there you go, two months. But this was something different from 268 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:03.160 that, and what they were doing was doing a test flight. This is 269 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:07.079 last week and it was wait for this, This number blows me away and 270 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:14.000 drew. It was Ingenuity's seventy second lift off off the planet Mars, when 271 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:19.039 it was originally planned to have five flights. So seventy two is just an 272 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:26.240 astonishing number and it's been so invaluable to the Perseverance mission, so that's fantastic 273 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:30.759 stuff. Anyway, it was a quick test that they were doing. I 274 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:37.480 think it was basically just an up and down. In fact, they described 275 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.839 it as a quick pop up vertical flight to check out the helicopter systems following 276 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:45.319 an unplanned early landing during its previous flight, so there was an issue with 277 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.400 the previous flight, and then they did this up and down, but as 278 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:55.519 it was coming down, it lost communications again before touchdown. Now, the 279 00:23:55.559 --> 00:24:00.799 great thing is this helicopter is equipped with basically autonomous systems, and it has 280 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:06.119 to be because you know the delay, the time delay between signal leaving Earth 281 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:11.559 getting to Mars and then coming back again is far too long to control helicopter 282 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:15.799 with, so it's got its own brain and it does its own decisions and 283 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:26.519 apparently landed safely. Although it's out of sight of Perseverance itself, they can't 284 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:33.039 actually see it, so there is talk or the worst talk of Perseverance actually 285 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:37.759 having a quick drive over to have a look at it a visual inspection, 286 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:44.480 just to see if it's okay. But at least it's talking to Perseverance, 287 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:52.440 so they've got you know, they've got communications restored. And apparently there was 288 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:57.799 a post on x formerly Twitter asking if Ingenuity would fly again, and JPL 289 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:03.640 Jet Propulsion of the Boro Tree, who run the whole show, said that 290 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:07.279 they are going to be a setting the new information that's come from that before 291 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.720 they'll decide whether it'll fly again. So that may have been its last flight. 292 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.920 And the other hand, it may just very sad it would be silent, 293 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:23.079 and you know, it's just done such an extraordinary job of reconnaissance in 294 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:30.400 the area around Perseverances, but apparently covered seventeen kilometers and gone up to twenty 295 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:34.319 four meters, which is quite quite a height for a little baby helicopter like 296 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:41.559 that, And I think the other thing that's right at one point eight killograms. 297 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.640 It's rotors, if I remember right here, one point two meters well, 298 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:48.680 two of them rotating in opposite directions so that they balance out the talk. 299 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:55.319 The thing that gets me though, is, you know, Martian knights, 300 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:59.920 the temperature way goes way down, probably the minus sixties and things like 301 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:06.440 that, And in fact, the average temperaturep males is minus sixty three. 302 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:08.119 I think if I remember rightly, somebody might correct me if I've got it 303 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:15.720 wrong just remembering. But Martian nights are very, very cold, and the 304 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:22.200 solar panels which are sit on top of the rotors are absolutely vital for keeping 305 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:26.599 it warm by the electric current that they generate for its batteries during the day, 306 00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:33.160 which then keep the little spacecraft warm. Not really a spacecraft. It's 307 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:38.039 an aircraft, isn't it. They keep it warm during the night. It's 308 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:44.319 been one of the great success stories of NASA for it to have lasted heck 309 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:48.079 of a lot longer than they plant seventy two missions versus the plant five, 310 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:53.440 but also to survive the prostile conditions for such a long time. That's amazing. 311 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:02.119 Yes, an extraordinary success story. Were full of admiration for the engineers 312 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:07.039 who invented it and built it. Basically, Yeah, and hopefully not the 313 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:10.599 last we'll see of it, but if it is, it's still been a 314 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:15.240 resounding success. You mentioned X formerly known as Twitter. Did you hear that? 315 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:23.279 I've forgotten the name of it? You Tube, Twitter and Facebook are 316 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:26.400 going to merge. Did you hear about this? It's going to be called 317 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:33.160 it didn't? Yeah, it's going to be called you Twitch base. I 318 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:40.920 should have seen that one coming, shouldn't. I probably dead? Oh boy, 319 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:44.400 listen. I was going to save this till later, but I think 320 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:49.319 we will tackle it now. It's a bit of homework. Last week we 321 00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:56.000 were talking about a dark energy survey where it brought into question our understanding of 322 00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:02.759 the cosmological constant. Now we've had a question from Lindsay asking us to explain 323 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:07.599 the equation of state, the value of the cosmological constant, which is minus 324 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:15.240 point one. But this survey has re jeeked that number be minus point zero 325 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.759 eight. But what we didn't do, and I probably should have asked the 326 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:22.960 question at the time, is what is that? How do they work that 327 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:30.039 out? What is the equation of state? It comes from physics really Andrew's 328 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:34.759 you might not be surprised, and it comes from considerations of a perfect fluid, 329 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:40.039 which has its own definition. So if you merge in the universe as 330 00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:45.839 a perfect fluid, you can characterize it by this number, which is the 331 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:52.480 equation of state. It's equal to the ratio of its pressure to its energy 332 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.519 density, and it's it's sort of, you know, it's part and place 333 00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:03.960 of thermodynamics. The pressure to the energy density ratio doesn't really you know, 334 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:11.519 it doesn't really feed much into our understanding of what's happening in the in the 335 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:17.519 far universe. But in the case that we're talking about, which is the 336 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:21.839 cosmological equation of state, the the equation of state as the universe, of 337 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:26.319 the universe as a whole, and how it relates to the accelerated expansion of 338 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:33.200 the universe, it's it's, uh, it actually kind of kind of makes 339 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:41.680 makes more sense. I'm going to just try and read a little bit about 340 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:45.920 the equation of state from the good old Wikipedia website. Uh, the accelerated 341 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:51.160 expansion of the universe can be characterized by the equation of state of dark energy. 342 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:55.160 So it's the dark energy itself, who's equation of state you're looking at. 343 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.599 In the simplest case, the equation of state of the cosmological common that's 344 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:03.720 what we were talking about last week, is minus one in this case. 345 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:17.960 The I won't go into more detail, but if you've got an acceleration of 346 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:23.680 an equation of state which is less than minus one third, then you've got 347 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:34.400 you've got a different status and I think I think you've got basically something that 348 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:38.319 changes with time. That's the bottom line of it all. I'm not explaining 349 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:42.279 this very well at all, Andrew, and I hope there aren't any cosmopologists 350 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:45.440 listening or else that the turning in their well, not in their graves, 351 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:51.279 but they're turning in their beds, So there is there's something. There is 352 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:56.799 another hypothetical thing that comes into it as well, which is phantom energy. 353 00:30:56.200 --> 00:31:02.079 That's a term I'm not familiar with. Phantom energy is you know, it's 354 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:10.440 said the hypothetical form of energy which actually has a different characteristic in the equation 355 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:15.279 of state. In other words, it's less than minus one. So it 356 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:22.079 basically it's it's a lot of quite deep physics, which is, as you're 357 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:26.559 no doubt noticing, not that easy to put into simple words. No, 358 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:33.079 I can imagine. Well, I just heard it at the pot of flo 359 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.279 is the dark energy survey we talked about last week has put a question mark 360 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:44.640 over the equation of state of the cosmological constant. Thank you very much. 361 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:55.119 That's blood you're here, and that's the simple that's the simple explanation. And 362 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:00.640 there's only what a five percent chance that the minus point one is still relevant. 363 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:08.000 Yeah, it's actually it's it's minus it's it's minus one. I'm not 364 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:13.200 sure you might be looking at something slightly different, but it is minus one 365 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:16.559 that he's thought to be. And I think this the value was rather smaller. 366 00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:20.359 Wasn't it minus point eight or something like that? Yeah, something like 367 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:25.359 that. Yep, yes, you're right, and what I yeah, I'm 368 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:30.160 just looking at the article now minus point minus one and now it's looking like 369 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:36.519 it's minus point eight. So yes, my ologies, but yeah, thanks 370 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:38.920 for the question, Lindsay. Nice to be able to follow that up and 371 00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:45.920 get a let's call it an explanation. This is space, not Andrew Dunkley 372 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:54.599 here, Professor Fred Watson space buds. Now, Fred, let's see if 373 00:32:54.599 --> 00:33:00.279 we can answer some questions on other matters. And the first and I forgive 374 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:04.960 me if I've missed your name up because it just couldn't quite catch it in 375 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:07.839 the dialogue. In fact, I might even say your name because you've got 376 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:10.720 to say it for us. Hello, Fred, thank you for a great 377 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:15.519 book. My name is Manny Jabery and in Sweden, and I sent the 378 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:21.880 question about why is astronomy important? Thank you for that answer. I've been 379 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:28.240 thinking a lot of celestial objects rotate, spin, like our planet, our 380 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:34.279 solar system, the stars, the galaxies and even black holes if I understand 381 00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:39.960 it correctly. My question is does the universe rotate? And is it possible 382 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:45.279 that we have misinterpreted the expansion of the universe but in reality it's just spins 383 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:52.559 and we are moving away from objects like the moon is escaping Earth. Thank 384 00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:58.680 you again, and a morn I think he said, but I'm sorry I 385 00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:05.640 forget that wrong. Does the universe rotate? The whole universe? Apparently not? 386 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:12.519 And you know the question that you immediately asked and Andrew is how would 387 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:17.280 we know what that was? The next Yeah, how do you know if 388 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:22.000 it's rotating or not? Because you're in it and the universe by definition is 389 00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:29.320 everything that we can we can you know, we can observe or or understand 390 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:39.719 detect. So it's it's basically one of these questions though that people do and 391 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:45.199 ask in exactly the way that we've just heard this morning, sorry today, 392 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:52.199 That is because it's a natural thing to ask that that everything in the universe 393 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:59.360 seems to rotate, absolutely everything, But is the universe itself rotating? And 394 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:07.440 I guess the best way to put it is that there is no evidence that 395 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:14.280 the universe is rotating by any means that we we you know, we investigate 396 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:20.960 whatever means we use to investigate it. There's no evidence that we do that 397 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:31.920 we do find a rotating universe. So the bottom line is the fact that 398 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:39.079 we you know, we have to We're sitting in the universe itself, and 399 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:45.159 the only things that we can measure, certainly at cosmological distances, are the 400 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:51.039 red shifts that the expansion of the universe, the way it's you know, 401 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:52.840 the way shape is changing, if I can put it that way. Even 402 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:57.559 though we don't know whether the universe has a shape, we can we can 403 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:00.559 detect its expansion. So that is one of the things that we do know 404 00:36:00.639 --> 00:36:07.320 that the universe is expanding. I have seen articles in the past that say. 405 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:12.599 That suggests that I haven't ever followed this up, so I don't know, 406 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:15.159 you know, what the details are. I should do that it'd be 407 00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:20.480 a bit more homework. That suggests that if the universe was rotating, we'd 408 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:27.800 be able to travel backwards in time. That seems a very unlikely scenario to 409 00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:31.719 me, because relative relativity doesn't like the idea of backward time travel. You 410 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:37.039 can go forward, but not backwards. So it's yeah, one that might 411 00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:40.320 be worth following up. But yeah, no evidence that the universe is rotating. 412 00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:46.760 It. Okay, this is a really simple explanation on my part, 413 00:36:46.760 --> 00:36:51.800 but I could. I can imagine if it was rotating it it'd be like 414 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:53.400 a glass of water. You know, when you've got a glass of water 415 00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:59.440 and you put something in the water and then you rotate the glass that it 416 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:02.559 doesn't really effect what's inside, you know what I'm saying. So even if 417 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:08.920 it was rotating, it might not do anything. Yeah, that's an interesting 418 00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:15.199 analog because it almost counteracts the argument because if you were inside a glass of 419 00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:20.639 water that it was rotating, what you'd see would be the effect of the 420 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:24.119 centrifugal force of the water being pushed outwards, and you might think you were 421 00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:30.079 in an expanding glass of water. If they carry that to the universe, 422 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:32.719 you know, somebody's going to say, oh, it's expanding because it's it's 423 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:37.400 rotating. But then but that lies there being Yeah, that's what one was 424 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:42.159 asking, though, don't know because the second part of his question was if 425 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:46.840 the universe is rotating, does that change the expansion theory? Yeah, so 426 00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:51.199 I yes, I missed that bit. I was too busy worrying about the 427 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:57.079 rotation of the universe. It's thought not to be and the you know, 428 00:37:57.159 --> 00:38:04.000 the the I guess one of the things that comes into this. Sorry, 429 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:14.480 I'm floundering for words here. One of the points is that if we take 430 00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:19.159 the traditional definition of a universe, which is everything we can see or measure 431 00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:22.960 or detect, then we would have no way of knowing if it's rotating, 432 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:28.880 because there's no frame of reference outside it within which it's rotating, so that 433 00:38:28.920 --> 00:38:32.119 the answer would be no. And I think the only way that you could 434 00:38:32.199 --> 00:38:38.639 contemplate a rotating universe will be by accepting the premise that there are other universes 435 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:44.559 out there, that ours is just one of many universes. Then if you 436 00:38:44.679 --> 00:38:47.519 take that step, then you might have the possibility that it's rotating, but 437 00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:52.039 as I said, there's no evidence that it is. Okay, yeah, 438 00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:59.840 gee, it certainly dredges up all sorts of questions and ideas and it made 439 00:38:59.840 --> 00:39:02.960 them very big water cooler to stand around and talk about this. I think 440 00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:08.840 a great question. Thanks thanks for sending it in. Let's go to a 441 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:19.719 text question. This one comes from Lachlan in James in Minnesota. It says 442 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:22.960 hello from the great state of Minnesota. That's a coincidence because that's where I 443 00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:25.679 thought he was from right off the bat. Thank you so much for your 444 00:39:25.800 --> 00:39:31.840 educational insight and incredibly down to earth Unintended podcast. You make standing at the 445 00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:37.199 Meal so much more enjoyable. I started at the very beginning of your show, 446 00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:39.599 and I'm currently in the middle of May twenty twenty one, so I've 447 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:45.079 got ways to go before I catch up. But my question is a bit 448 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:51.719 of an abstract one. Suppose you discover an anomalist telescope of irrelevant size, 449 00:39:52.119 --> 00:39:55.079 and what makes this telescope anomalist is that when you look through it, it 450 00:39:55.159 --> 00:40:02.239 will show you whatever celestial body it's pointed at in real one to one time. 451 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:07.760 What is the first thing you would look at supposing there's nothing in the 452 00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:13.679 way, both from a standpoint of personal choice and a broader standpoint of humanity 453 00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:16.119 as a whole. Wanting to learn as much as we can about the universe 454 00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:22.159 very much. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks Fellows. James in 455 00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:27.760 Minnesota. So you've got a telescope you can look anywhere in the universe in 456 00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:30.320 real time, what do you look at? Fred? First and foremost, 457 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:39.199 I think we've discussed this before, actually, Andrew, I'm trying to remember 458 00:40:39.239 --> 00:40:44.559 what I said. Then we do get questions like this from time to time. 459 00:40:45.320 --> 00:40:47.000 Yeah, just yes, I think it's a it's a similar question to 460 00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:54.679 what we've had before. So yeah, I mean what I would really like 461 00:40:54.800 --> 00:41:00.159 to see, and it's not really aligned with this question particularly well, But 462 00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:07.000 if I could take a telescope anywhere and look, I would love to see 463 00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:12.559 our galaxy from the outside. So not only would I be wanting to see, 464 00:41:13.039 --> 00:41:19.159 you know, this hypothetical telescope to see anything instantaneously without the delay of 465 00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:23.039 time, Then not only would I want to do that, I'd want to 466 00:41:23.079 --> 00:41:28.440 move it as well, so I could see what the sweep of our galaxy 467 00:41:28.440 --> 00:41:30.639 would look like from the outside. So it's taking the question a little bit 468 00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:37.679 further than than James probably intended. Maybe I'm answering a different question, but 469 00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:43.679 that's what I'd like to do. Take this hypothetical super duper telescope, plunk 470 00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:49.920 it something like one hundred thousand light years above the pole of our galaxy. 471 00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:52.679 Might be a dangerous place, actually, because the pole of our galaxy has 472 00:41:52.679 --> 00:42:00.000 occasionally known been known to be the source of some high energy material coming from 473 00:42:00.039 --> 00:42:04.639 the super super massive black Collar. The middle of the galaxy could be a 474 00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:08.000 dangerous place, but it will give you a beautiful view dale on the spiral 475 00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:12.440 structure of our galaxy. And that's what I'd love to see. Okay, 476 00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:15.239 now that's a good answer. I wouldn't have thought of that for me, 477 00:42:15.559 --> 00:42:20.800 James. Let's just stretch this as far as we possibly can. Literally, 478 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:25.000 I would want to see the actual edge of the universe. I'd want to 479 00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:30.760 see what's going going on beyond the visible universe. You said, assuming nothing's 480 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:32.320 in the way, Well, let's just move all that stuff out of the 481 00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:37.199 way. I would point the telescope and I could go any direction I want 482 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:42.960 and just find the actual edge of the expanding universe to see what's going on. 483 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:45.239 That's what I want to see because that's one of the great mysteries. 484 00:42:46.039 --> 00:42:50.960 So for me, that's the answer. What do you reckon, Fred, 485 00:42:52.280 --> 00:42:55.880 Well, we don't think it's got an edge. Let's assume it has, 486 00:42:58.360 --> 00:43:04.840 so I'd want to be going on out there at the expansion point, whatever 487 00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:08.519 it is. That's that's where my brain, I mean, just to some 488 00:43:08.599 --> 00:43:15.039 extent, we yeah, yeah, it is interesting because you know, we 489 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:19.199 what we see when we look as far out as you are talking about there, 490 00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:23.039 we see the cosmic microwave background radiation. But that's because we're looking back 491 00:43:23.079 --> 00:43:27.599 in the past. What James is saying is you're not looking back in the 492 00:43:27.639 --> 00:43:31.559 past. You're looking at what it is like now, and so it could 493 00:43:31.599 --> 00:43:37.320 be infinite. You might not run against an edge, Andrew. That's the 494 00:43:37.559 --> 00:43:40.000 conundrum of cosmology. We don't know whether the universe is infinite or not. 495 00:43:40.519 --> 00:43:45.599 But that's why we want to have a look. That's why I want to 496 00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:50.239 I want to loan of James as tell us. So it's a very you're 497 00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:53.400 you're You've given a very profound answer there, which which I applaud. It's 498 00:43:53.400 --> 00:44:00.360 better than mine. I love these I love these what if questions we get 499 00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:04.800 sentation, I know they're good fun. Thanks James. And our final question 500 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.880 this week is from Ian. However, this is Ian from Cambridge. Just 501 00:44:08.920 --> 00:44:15.880 got a central question. What is the temperature of space around the Earth orbit 502 00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:22.840 from the Sun, so the distance from the Earth. So what's the temperature 503 00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:27.320 of space? I asked the question because when I google it it says it's 504 00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:31.960 about two point seven Calvin. But then you hear the James Webb telescope that 505 00:44:32.039 --> 00:44:37.400 one side is very very hot, on the other side of the shield is 506 00:44:37.840 --> 00:44:46.000 cold. So don't understand how general temperature of space from distance from a sum 507 00:44:46.199 --> 00:44:52.679 is only two kelvin. Appreciate me let me know. Thank you very much. 508 00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:57.519 Okay, we'll be sending you an email. Oh, ask for Red. 509 00:44:58.239 --> 00:45:00.519 What's the temperature of space? I think when he refers to one side 510 00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:05.079 of the James Web being hot on the other side being cold, that's that's 511 00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:09.159 because of the radiation effect, isn't it the Sun? Whereas in general space, 512 00:45:09.519 --> 00:45:17.599 which is what it is, nothing ish, there's a temperature I imagine, 513 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:22.960 and that's what he's asking about in the vicinity of Earth. So yes, 514 00:45:23.079 --> 00:45:30.559 so the background temperature of space is indeed two point seven degrees kelvin. 515 00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:37.400 And what that is is the radiation from the Big Bang. It's the it's 516 00:45:37.440 --> 00:45:40.400 actually the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation. So when you look at 517 00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:45.280 we just talked about it, you're looking back so far in time. You're 518 00:45:45.360 --> 00:45:49.679 seeing a time when the universe was still glowing brightly. It was still luminous. 519 00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:55.400 It's now visible in radio waves microwaves because of the expansion of the universe, 520 00:45:55.400 --> 00:46:00.920 stretching the visible light wavelength out to microwave wave spifactor of about thirteen hundred 521 00:46:00.960 --> 00:46:08.400 I think beriightly. So that's the underlying temperature of space, and it is 522 00:46:08.440 --> 00:46:14.159 indeed two point seven we can generate, believe it or not, here on 523 00:46:14.199 --> 00:46:20.440 Earth temperatures colder than that, much much nearer to absolute zero than that two 524 00:46:20.440 --> 00:46:25.800 point seven degrees. So on Earth you can generate cold temperatures. But exactly 525 00:46:25.800 --> 00:46:34.119 as you've said, in the vicinity of a star like the Sun, you've 526 00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:40.480 got radiation coming from that object. It doesn't affect the temperature of space itself, 527 00:46:40.519 --> 00:46:45.840 but as soon as that radiation falls on another object, then it heats 528 00:46:45.880 --> 00:46:52.719 it up. It's exactly how infrared radiation works. So it's it is. 529 00:46:52.800 --> 00:46:59.599 It is a higher temperature on the surface that you're measuring. But if you 530 00:46:59.679 --> 00:47:05.920 were out in the middle of nowhere in space and you two point seven degrees, 531 00:47:06.119 --> 00:47:07.880 it would be what we call a bilometer. Actually, a bilometer is 532 00:47:07.920 --> 00:47:14.079 a device that measures temperature cross all wavelengths. Right, two points degrees is 533 00:47:14.119 --> 00:47:19.920 the right answer, So then your bufflement is understandable. But that's that's the 534 00:47:20.079 --> 00:47:23.000 correct answer. I'm just done that. I actually got one right, So 535 00:47:24.440 --> 00:47:28.440 I did. You were right? It'll body, Yeah, you don't. 536 00:47:29.199 --> 00:47:34.519 You could just have a go on the question of state as well. I 537 00:47:34.559 --> 00:47:37.840 couldn't do this. I wouldn't do this by myself. Yeah, thank you, 538 00:47:37.880 --> 00:47:43.719 Ian. It's a great question and it certainly cleared that up. And 539 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:46.199 we appreciate your questions and your comments. And even if you want to send 540 00:47:46.239 --> 00:47:51.719 us corrections, we ignore that, but you can send them anyway buia our 541 00:47:51.800 --> 00:47:55.800 website, via our website, space nuts podcast dot com, or space nuts 542 00:47:55.840 --> 00:48:00.159 dot io. We'd love to hear from you, whether it's in ten next 543 00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:04.599 door audio form. If you do send an audio question or even the text 544 00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:07.320 question, don't forguest, forget to tell us who you are or we are 545 00:48:07.320 --> 00:48:13.039 from like James in Minnesota, who is going to invent a new telescope. 546 00:48:13.079 --> 00:48:15.880 It's going to be good, be called the James at Minnesota Space Telescope, 547 00:48:15.920 --> 00:48:21.119 and it will see everything in real time. That would be an absolute you'd 548 00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:22.519 make. You'd make a couple of dollars out of that, unless you sold 549 00:48:22.519 --> 00:48:25.360 it to the government. Then they'd make you pay to give it to them. 550 00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:30.239 But anyway, I'm lovely to hear from all of you, and Fred 551 00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:34.320 as always, thank you. That brings us to the very end of this 552 00:48:34.440 --> 00:48:42.239 episode not too early. Thank you, Andrew. Good to talk and we 553 00:48:42.760 --> 00:48:47.199 might speak next time too. We might. Fred Watson, Astronomer at Large, 554 00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:52.840 as always, we thank him for his very precious time. And to 555 00:48:52.960 --> 00:48:58.280 Hugh in the studio, thank you too for reasons I'll have to look up 556 00:48:58.760 --> 00:49:00.599 and from me, Andrew Dunkley, good to have your company. I hope 557 00:49:00.599 --> 00:49:05.519 you can join us on the very next episode of Space Nuts. Bye bye. 558 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:13.199 You'll be listening to the Space Nuts podcast available at Apple Podcasts, Google 559 00:49:13.239 --> 00:49:17.840 Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast player. You can also 560 00:49:19.000 --> 00:49:23.000 stream on demand at bites dot com. This has been another quality podcast production 561 00:49:23.320 --> 00:49:27.360 from sites dot com.