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Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm anna bringing you the latest

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and most exciting news from across the Cosmos. Today, We've

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got a stellar lineup of stories that showcase just how

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dynamic our understanding of space continues to be. Coming up

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in the next twenty minutes, we'll explore a truly rare

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cosmic event that's unfolding relatively close to home, a pair

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of white dwarf stars on a collision course that will

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eventually create a supernova explosion brighter than ten full moons.

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This first of its kind discovery is giving astronomers unprecedented

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insight into these cosmic standard candles. We'll also dive into

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some space policy news as SpaceX steps in to launch

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a military GPS satellite that had been waiting in storage

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due to delays with United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. This

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satellite shuffle reveals interesting developments in how the Space Force

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is adapting to ensure critical missions reach orbit on schedule.

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Then we'll head to the International Space Station with the

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Soyuz MS twenty seven mission, carrying a fascinating crew, including

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a NASA astronaut with an extraordinary background as both a

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Navy seal and a Harvard educated doctor. Our planetary exploration

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takes us to Uranus, where new Hubble telescope data has

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revealed the ice giant's day is actually longer than we've

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thought for the past four decades. Those extra twenty eight

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seconds might seem small, but they're forcing scientists to recalibrate

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everything we know about the planet's coordinate system. And finally,

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we'll look at an ambitious proposal for a fleet of

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space telescopes working together to answer one of humanity's most

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profound questions, how common is life in the universe. The

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fascinating part is that even if this mission finds no

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signs of extraterrestrial life, it could still tell us volumes

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about our cosmic neighborhood. That's all ahead on today's episode

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of Astronomy Daily, your window to the wonders beyond our world.

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So let's get started. Astronomers have just made an unprecedented

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discovery that's captivating the scientific community. A pair of white

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doors stars locked in a deadly dance just one hundred

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and fifty light years from Earth. This extremely rare binary

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system consists of two massive white dwarfs that are on

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a collision course spiraling ever closer to each other in

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what will eventually result in one of the most spectacular

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explosions in the cosmos. White dwarfs are essentially the dense

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cores left behind when stars like our Sun die. They

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pack roughly the mass of the Sun into a volume

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about the size of Earth, making them incredibly dense. Finding

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two of these stellar remnants orbiting each other this closely

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is extraordinary, and the implications are even more fascinating. According

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to research published in Nature Astronomy, these two stars are

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already remarkably close, orbiting each other once roughly every fourteen hours,

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but this leisurely encircling won't last forever. Over the next

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billion years, gravitational wave radiation will cause the stars to

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spiral even closer together. By the time they're about to

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go supernova, they'll be whipping around each other every thing

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to forty seconds. What makes this discovery truly significant is

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that it's the first direct observation of what astronomers believe

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is the most common cause of type one A supernova.

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These cosmic explosions occur when a white dwarf gathers too

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much mass. In this case, the heavier of the pair

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will likely accumulate material from its partner through gravity, leading

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to one or both stars exploding. Lead researcher James Munday

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from the University of Warwick was understandably excited when he

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spotted this system, noting that for years a local and

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massive double white dwarf binary has been anticipated. His international

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team quickly used some of the world's largest optical telescopes

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to determine exactly how compact the system is, discovering that

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the two stars are separated by just one sixtieth of

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the Earth Sun distance. Type one A supernova are crucial

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tools for astronomers because they serve as standard candles explosions

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with known brightness that allow scientists to calculate the distance

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between Earth and other galaxies. They're even used to test

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theories about the expansion of the universe. Having a front

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row seat to the formation of such an event is unprecedented.

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When these stars eventually emerge, the resulting explosion will be

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truly cataclysmic, about one thousand, trillion trillion times more powerful

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than the most powerful nuclear bomb ever created. And while

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that sounds alarming, especially considering how close the system is

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to our Solar system, we don't need to worry. The

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team's calculations indicate this cosmic spectacle won't happen for about

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twenty three billion years. Co author Ingrid Pellisoli points out

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that finding such a system relatively nearby suggests these binary

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white dwarf pairs must be fairly common throughout the galaxy.

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If they were rare, astronomers would have needed to look

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much further away to find one. She adds that this

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is just the beginning, as their survey searching for Type

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ONEA supernova progenitors is ongoing, with more exciting discoveries likely

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on the he horizon. This rare glimpse into the life

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cycle of stars provides a valuable piece in our understanding

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of cosmic evolution. By watching these white dwarfs over time,

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astronomers can refine their models of how these standard candles

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form and behave, ultimately improving our ability to measure the

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vast distances of space and understand the fundamental nature of

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our expanding universe. Next today, in a significant shift for

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the US military's launch plans, Space System's Command announced Monday

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that space X will now deploy a Global Positioning System

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satellite originally scheduled to fly on United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket.

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This is no small matter. It represents the second time

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in just six months that the Space Force has had

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to reassign a military satellite to SpaceX due to continued

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delays with ULA's new Vulcan launch vehicle. The satellite in question,

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designated GPS three SV zero eight, is the eighth in

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a series of ten advanced navigation satellites that provide critical

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positioning and timing signals for both military and civilian users worldwide.

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It had been sitting in storage at Lockheed Martin's factory

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in Colorado, essentially ready to go, but waiting for its

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ride to space. Thanks to this launch vehicle trade, as

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the Space Force calls it, the GPS satellite could reach

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orbit as early as the end of May, a dramatic

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acceleration compared to its uncertain timeline with ULA. What makes

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this particularly remarkable is how quickly the military can pivot

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when necessary. Colonel Jim Horn, Senior material Leader of Launch Execution,

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pointed out that this showcases the Space Force's ability to

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complete high priority launches with just three months of preparation

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compared to the typical planning cycle of two years. This

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rapid response capability isn't just a convenience, It's increasingly viewed

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as a strategic necessity. Frank Calvelly, the Pentagon's chief of

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Space Acquisition, had previously expressed significant concerns about ULA's manufacturing capabilities,

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writing in a letter to ULA's owner's Boeing and Lockheed

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Martin that currently there is military satellite capability sitting on

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the ground due to Vulcan delays. The Vulcan rocket, which

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ULA hopes will eventually launch twice monthly, has only flown

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on two demonstration missions so far. While the Space Force

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did certify the rocket for military launches last month, ULA

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faces the daunting task of working through its massive backlog

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of eighty nine missions, a number that grew even larger

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after the Space Force awarded the company nineteen additional launches

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just last week. This isn't the first time the military

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has had to pull this kind of maneuver. Last year,

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teams from the Space Force, SpaceX, and Lockheed Martin successfully

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executed what they called a rapid response Trailblazer mission, preparing

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a GPS satellite for launch on a Falcon nine in

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less than five months, rather than waiting for its ULA slot.

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That mission launched successfully in December. To maintain balance in

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its launch portfolio, the Space Force is making adjustments across

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its manifest moving a future GPS payload from SpaceX's Falcon

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Heavy back to ULA's Vulcan, ensuring that the next three

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GPS satellites after this one will still fly on Vulcan

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once the rocket is ready. A similar compensation occurred after

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last year's reassignment. These advanced GPS three satellites represent a

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significant upgrade to the navigation constellation. They broadcast more accurate

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signals that are harder for adversaries to jam, and they

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include a new channel compatible with Europe's Galileo navigation network.

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This allows users to merge signals from both constellations to

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achieve even better position estimates, a capability that both military

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strategists and civilian applications are eager to utilize. With two

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more completed GPS three satellites already in storage and waiting

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for launch, plus an upgraded GPS three F design set

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to begin launching in twenty twenty seven, the pressure to

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get these capabilities into orbit remains high. This satellite swap

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demonstrates not just the Space Force's flexibility, but the growing

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importance of having redundant launch options to ensure national security

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assets can reach space when needed. The fourth crewed space

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launch of twenty twenty five is now in the history

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books as Soyuz MS twenty seven successfully lifted off from

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the Baikoner Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch occurred right on

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schedule at five forty seven UTC on Tuesday, April eighth,

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carrying three crew members bound for the International Space Station.

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Leading the mission is veteran cosmonaut Sergei Raijakov, who's no

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stranger to space travel. This marks his third journey beyond

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Earth's atmosphere, following previous missions in twenty sixteen and twenty twenty.

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During his second flight, Rjhakov even served as the commander

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of the International Space Station during Expedition sixty four, gaining

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valuable leadership experience that will serve him well on this

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new mission. Joining Rjhakov are two first time space travelers.

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Russian cosmonaut Alexei Zubritsky, a senior lieutenant in the Russian

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Air Force, is serving as one of the flight engineers.

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Born in Ukraine's Zapporijia region in nineteen ninety two, Zubritsky

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was selected for the cosmonaut program in twenty eighteen after

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graduating from the ivan kojdub National University of the Air Force.

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The second flight engineer position is filled by NASA astronaut

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Johnny Kim, whose background reads like an action movie script.

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Before becoming an astronaut, Kim served as a Navy seal

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seeing combat in the Middle East, where he earned a

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Silver Star. Not content with just military achievements, he went

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on to earn a mathematics degree summa cum laude and

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a medical degree from Harvard, becoming both a physician and

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a naval aviator before NASA selected him. In twenty seventeen,

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the Soyuz spacecraft reached the station in just over three hours,

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docking to the Preichal module on the Russian segment at

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nine O three UTC. This precise orbital ballet demonstrates the

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reliability of the Soyuz program, which continues to serve as

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a crucial transportation system for the international space community. With

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the arrival of Soyuz twenty seven, the space station is

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temporarily home to ten astronauts and cosmonauts. The new arrivals

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will join the existing crew ten and Soyu's MS twenty

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six teams already aboard. This larger crew will work together

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during a handover period until Soyu's MS twenty six undocks

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on April twentieth, marking the end of Expedition seventy two

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and the beginning of Expedition seventy three. Unlike typical Soyuz missions,

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which last about six months, this crew is scheduled for

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an extended stay of approximately eight months. They won't return

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to Earth until December eighth, giving them ample time to

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conduct experiments and perform essential maintenance on the orbital outpost.

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Among their potential tasks is at least one spacewalk planned

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for the US segment of the station. Johnny Kim, with

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his extensive training in EVA operations, is expected to participate

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in this critical work outside the protective shell of the ISS.

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The Soyuz MS twenty seven mission represents the continuity of

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international cooperation in space despite geopolitical tensions on Earth. It's

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also the second Soyuz rocket launch of twenty twenty five,

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and the first of two planned crude flights from Baikunor

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this year. The backup crew for this mission already named

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as the prime crew for Soyu's MS twenty eight is

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scheduled to launch no earlier than November twenty seventh. As

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these three explorers settle into their home for the next

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eight months, they become part of the ongoing human presence

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in low Earth orbit that has now continued uninterrupted for

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over two decades, furthering our understanding of living and working

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in the challenging environment of space. Up next, new findings

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means new adjustments. Time to adjust our calendars. For Urinus,

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the ice giant just got a longer day. Recent analysis

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of decade long observations from the Hubble Space Telescope has

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revealed that Urinus takes seventeen hours, fourteen minutes, and fifty

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two seconds to complete a full rotation on its axis.

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This new measurement adds tour twenty eight seconds to the

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previous estimate established by NASA's Voyager two spacecraft back in

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nineteen eighty six. The original rotation period of seventeen hours,

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fourteen minutes and twenty four seconds was determined during Voyager

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two's historic flyby, the first and so far only spacecraft

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visit to the distant planet. Scientists based that figure on

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radio signals from Uranus's auroras and direct measurements of its

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magnetic field. This value became the foundation for all coordinate

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systems and surface mapping of the pale turquoise world. However,

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this new research suggests astronomers may need to reconsider some

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of those maps. The Voyager two estimate contained inherent uncertainties

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that led to significant problems. Within just a couple of

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years after the spacecraft's brief encounter, the orientation of Uranus's

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magnetic axis became completely lost, resulting in a one hundred

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eighty degree error in the planet's longitude. Coordinate systems based

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on that outdated rotation period quickly became unreliable. To resolve

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this astronomical dilemma, a team led by Laurent Lamy from

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the Paris Observatory undertook the painstaking task of tracking Uranus's

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auroras using Hubble data collected between twenty eleven and twenty

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twenty two. By monitoring these luminous atmospheric displays over more

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than a decade, the researchers pinpointed the planet's magnetic poles

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with unprecedented accuracy, enabling them to calculate a more precise

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rotation period. The continuous observations from Hubble were crucial. Lamy

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noted without this wealth of data, it would have been

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impossible to detect the periodic signal with the level of

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accuracy we achieved. This methodical approach offers benefits beyond just

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updating a planetary factoid. The technique can now be applied

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to determine rotation rates for any celestial body with a

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magnetic field and auroras, not only within our Solar System,

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but potentially for exoplanets and other distant worlds as well.

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The updated rotation period provides astronomers with with a much

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more reliable coordinate system for Uranus, one expected to remain

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accurate for decades until future missions can gather even more

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precise data. This improvement could prove invaluable for planning those

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future expeditions to Uranus, particularly in designing orbital tours and

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selecting suitable atmospheric entry sites for probes. While twenty eight

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seconds might seem like a minor adjustment in astronomical terms,

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this level of precision represents a significant refinement in our

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understanding of the seventh planet from the Sun. The findings

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published in the journal Nature Astronomy earlier this month demonstrate

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how continued observations from Earth based instruments can still enhance

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our knowledge of even the most distant planets in our

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Solar system. Finally, today, in our search for life beyond Earth,

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scientists are developing increasingly sophisticated tools to answer one of

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humanity's most profound questions, are we alone? A groundbreaking mission

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concept called Life, the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets, aims to

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tackle this question with us precedented clarity. Life proposes deploying

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a fleet of four space telescopes working in perfect coordination

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around a central combiner spacecraft. These telescopes would fly in

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formation tens to hundreds of meters apart, collectively functioning as

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a powerful interferometer that combines their light detections to achieve

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what no single telescope could. What makes Life particularly revolutionary

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is its planned use of nulling interferometry, a clever technique

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that cancels out the overwhelming glare from stars by combining

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their light out of phase. This creates what scientists call

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destructive interference, effectively dimming the stars brilliance while preserving the

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faint light from any orbiting planets. Rather than producing direct images,

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Life would observe in the mid infrared spectrum, allowing it

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to spectroscopically analyze the light from exoplanets and reveal the

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molecular composition of their atmospheres. The mission would target dozens

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of Earth sized planets residsiding in the habitable zones of

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their stars, searching for telltale biosignatures atmospheric gases that could

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indicate the presence of life. These biosignatures include the obvious

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candidates like oxygen and water vapor, but also compounds such

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as ozone, methane, nitrous oxide, demethyl sulfide, and phosphene. The

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detection of certain combinations of these molecules could provide compelling

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evidence for biological activity. Currently, Life remains a concept spearheaded

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by researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. It hasn't yet

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been adopted by a space agency, but its scientific potential

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is already being carefully assessed. A fascinating aspect of the

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Life mission is that it could deliver profound insights even

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if it fails to detect any biosignatures at all. Using

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sophisticated statistical models, researchers have determined that Life would need

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to examine only forty to eighty exoplanets without finding any

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signs of life, to conclude with confidence that fewer than

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ten to twenty percent of similar planets in the universe

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harbor life. A simple positive detection would change everything, notes

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astronomer Daniel Engerhausen of ETH Zurich. But even if we

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don't detect life, we'll quantify how rare or common planets

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with detectable biosignatures really might be. The team employed both

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by eesian and frequentist statistical approaches to reach this conclusion,

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ensuring their findings are robust across different mathematical frameworks as

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the sample size increases. If no biosignatures are detected, scientists

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could place increasingly stringent limits on the prevalence of life

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in our galaxy. Of course, the researchers acknowledge certain challenges.

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Some biosignatures might be missed due to detection limitations, or

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planets might be mistakenly included in the potentially habitable category.

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It's not just about how many planets we observe, anger

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Housen explains, about asking the right questions and how confident

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we can be in seeing or not seeing what we're

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searching for. Whether life ultimately finds inhabited worlds or determines

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they're exceedingly rare. The mission would fundamentally transform our understanding

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of life's place in the cosmos. In either scenario, humanity

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would gain unprecedented insight into our cosmic significance, either as

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one among many living worlds or as something far more

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unique than we previously imagined. Well, that's all for today's

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cosmic journey. What an incredible set of discoveries we've explored together.

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From those doomed white dwarf stars destined for a spectacular

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collision billions of years from now, to the Space Force's

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agile satellite launch maneuvers, to the successful Soyuz mission carrying

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international crew members to the ISS. We've also learned that

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Uranus turns a bit more slowly than we thought. Those

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extra twenty eight seconds might seem trivial to us, but

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they represent a significant refinement in our understanding of the

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ice giant, and the proposed life telescope array could finally

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help us determine whether habitable worlds are cosmic rarities or

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scattered abundantly throughout our galaxy. What links all these stories

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is humanity's relentless curiosity about the universe we inhabit. Each discovery,

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each mission, each new measurement brings us closer to understanding

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our cosmic neighborhood and our place within it. I'm Anna,

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and I've been delighted to share these fascinating space developments

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with you on Astronomy Daily. If you're hungry for more

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space news, remember to visit our website at Astronomy Daily

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dot io, where our newsfeed is constantly updating with the

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latest discoveries and developments from across the Cosmos. You'll also

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find all our previous episodes there if you'd like to

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catch up on anything you've missed, and don't forget to

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join our community on social media. You can find astro

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Daily pod on x, Facebook, YouTube, YouTube, music, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Follow us to get updates behind the scenes content and

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join the conversation about our amazing universe. Until next time,

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keep looking up. There's always something incredible happening in the cosmos,

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and we'll be here to tell you all about it.

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Thanks for listening to Astronomy Daily Sunday. Star is Star

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is Star