Speaker 1: Welcome listeners to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest
Speaker 1: space and astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today
Speaker 1: we have a packed episode with exciting updates from across
Speaker 1: the cosmos, from rocket launches to planetary exploration and cosmic mysteries.
Speaker 1: We've got it all covered, So sit back, relax, and
Speaker 1: let's dive into the fascinating world of astronomy. In exciting
Speaker 1: news for space enthusiasts, the Federal Aviation Administration has given
Speaker 1: SpaceX the green light to resume flights of its Falcon
Speaker 1: nine rocket. This authorization comes after a period of grounding
Speaker 1: following a malfunction in the rocket's second stage during a
Speaker 1: previous mission. This authorization comes just in time for issa's
Speaker 1: Hara mission to launch on schedule today Monday, October seventh.
Speaker 1: This launch is set to carry the European Space Agency's
Speaker 1: Hara spacecraft, marking a significant step forward in international space cooperation.
Speaker 1: Hara is part of a planetary defense mission designed to
Speaker 1: study the effects of NASA's Dart spacecraft impact on the
Speaker 1: asteroid de MorphOS. This return to flight is crucial for SpaceX,
Speaker 1: as the Falcon nine is their workhorse rocket, responsible for
Speaker 1: numerous satellite deployments and cargo missions to the International Space Station.
Speaker 1: The FAA's decision demonstrates their confidence in space ex'sibility to
Speaker 1: address and resolve the issues that led to the earlier grounding.
Speaker 1: As we look forward to this launch, it's worth noting
Speaker 1: the resilience and adaptability of the space industry in overcoming
Speaker 1: challenges and pushing forward with critical missions. However, it's not
Speaker 1: all good news from SpaceX and NASA today. In space exploration,
Speaker 1: even the best laid plans can sometimes be disrupted by
Speaker 1: forces beyond our control. Such is the case with NASA's
Speaker 1: highly anticipated Europa Clipper mission. Originally slated for liftoff on
Speaker 1: October tenth, the five billion dollars mission has hit an
Speaker 1: unexpected snag Hurricane Milton. The powerful storm moving eastward from
Speaker 1: the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida's space coast, has forced
Speaker 1: NASA and SpaceX to postpone the launch. With high winds
Speaker 1: and heavy rain expected in the Cape Canaveral area, safety
Speaker 1: concerns have taken precedence. While this delay may disappoint eager
Speaker 1: scientists and space enthusiasts, there's no need to worry just yet.
Speaker 1: The mission's launch window extends through November sixth, providing ample
Speaker 1: opportunity for a successful lift off once the weather clears.
Speaker 1: The Europa Clipper team is now working diligently to secure
Speaker 1: the spacecraft and reassess launch options. We'll be keeping a
Speaker 1: close eye on developments and hope to bring you news
Speaker 1: of a new launch date soon. In other news today,
Speaker 1: imagine cutting your travel time to Mars and half. That's
Speaker 1: the promise of nuclear thermal propulsion technology currently being developed
Speaker 1: by researchers. This innovative propulsion system harnesses the power of
Speaker 1: nuclear fission to potentially revolutionize space travel. Unlike traditional chemical rockets,
Speaker 1: nuclear thermal propulsion uses the incredible energy released when atoms
Speaker 1: are split to heat a propellant, typically hydrogen, to extremely
Speaker 1: high temperatures. This superheated propellant is then expelled from the
Speaker 1: rocket's nozzle, generating thrust more efficiently than conventional methods. The
Speaker 1: potential benefits are are significant. Not only could it dramatically
Speaker 1: reduce travel time to Mars, but it could also allow
Speaker 1: for larger payloads and more flexible mission planning. This technology
Speaker 1: could be a game changer for future crude missions to
Speaker 1: the Red planet. NASA and DARPA are working together on
Speaker 1: this ambitious project, with plans to demonstrate a prototype in
Speaker 1: space by twenty twenty seven. It's an exciting development that
Speaker 1: could bring us one step closer to making long distance
Speaker 1: space travel more feasible and efficient. Next up, a BEPI
Speaker 1: Colombo update. Exciting news from our Solar System's innermost planet.
Speaker 1: The BEPY Columbo spacecraft has recently completed another flyby of Mercury,
Speaker 1: and the data it's collected is shedding new light on
Speaker 1: this mysterious world. During its brief thirty minute sweep through
Speaker 1: Mercury's magnetosphere, BEPI Colombo's instruments captured fascinating details about the
Speaker 1: planet's magnetic field and the plasma environment surrounding it. Scientists
Speaker 1: were able to map out various features of Mercury's magnetic landscape,
Speaker 1: including the shock boundary between the solar wind and the magnetosphere,
Speaker 1: as well as the horn flanking the plasma sheet. One
Speaker 1: of the most intriguing findings was the detection of a
Speaker 1: low latitude boundary layer with a wide range of particle energies,
Speaker 1: something never before seen at Mercury. Researchers also observed hot
Speaker 1: ions near the equatorial plane, hinting at the possible existence
Speaker 1: of a ring current, a feature well understood on Earth
Speaker 1: but still debated for Mercury. These observations are just a
Speaker 1: taste of what's to come. When BEPI Colombo enters Mercury's
Speaker 1: orbit in twenty twenty six, it will be able to
Speaker 1: conduct even more detailed studies of the planet's complex environment.
Speaker 1: The mission promises to revolutionize our understanding of Mercury's magnetic field,
Speaker 1: its interactions with the solar wind, and the connections between
Speaker 1: the planet's surface and its thin atmosphere. Next, a new
Speaker 1: theory that's bound to get astronomers and space enthusiast talking.
Speaker 1: In a fascinating new study, researchers have uncovered compelling evidence
Speaker 1: about the origin of our galaxy's central supermassive black hole,
Speaker 1: Sagittarius A Star. It appears that this cosmic heemuth likely
Speaker 1: formed from a dramatic merger with another black hole approximately
Speaker 1: nine billion years ago. This groundbreaking research, conducted by astrophysicists
Speaker 1: at the Nevada Center for Astrophysics, sheds light on some
Speaker 1: of Sagittarius A Star's peculiar characteristics. The black hole's rapid
Speaker 1: spin and its misalignment with the Milky Way's angular momentum
Speaker 1: have long puzzled scientists. Now these features make sense in
Speaker 1: the context of a major cosmic collision. Using sophisticated simulations
Speaker 1: and data from the Event Horizon telescope, the team modeled
Speaker 1: various growth scenarios for Sagittarius, a star. Their result strongly
Speaker 1: suggests that a merger with a black hole about a
Speaker 1: quarter of its size in a highly inclined orbital configuration
Speaker 1: could produce the spin properties we observe today. This cosmic
Speaker 1: event not only provides evidence for the hierarchical black hole
Speaker 1: merger theory, but also offers intriguing insights into our galaxy's
Speaker 1: dynamic history. It seems this merger may have occurred around
Speaker 1: the same time the Milky Way merged with the Gaya
Speaker 1: and Celadus galaxy, painting a picture of a turbulent period
Speaker 1: in our cosmic neighborhoods past. Finally, today, in a concerning
Speaker 1: development for astronomers worldwide, the first satellites of China's new
Speaker 1: Chianfon broadband constellation have been observed to be significantly brighter
Speaker 1: than their Western counterparts. This unexpected brightness is raising alarms
Speaker 1: in the astronomical community as it could potentially interfere with
Speaker 1: crucial observations of the night sky. A recent study by
Speaker 1: a group of observational astronomers found that these Chanfon satellites,
Speaker 1: also known as thousand Sales, are visible to the naked
Speaker 1: eye when overhead, with a brightness ranging from magnitude four
Speaker 1: to eight. This is well above the recommended threshold of
Speaker 1: magnitude seven set by professional astronomers to minimize interference with
Speaker 1: major ground based observatories. Unlike some Western satellite systems that
Speaker 1: have implemented measures to reduce their visibility, such as SpaceX's
Speaker 1: Starlink satellites, the Chanfan satellites don't appear to incorporate any
Speaker 1: brightness mitigation techniquesite could have significant implications for both professional
Speaker 1: and amateur astronomical activities. As China plans to launch over
Speaker 1: fourteen thousand of these satellites. The astronomical community is urging
Speaker 1: for immediate action to address this issue. The hope is
Speaker 1: that by raising awareness, early changes can be made to
Speaker 1: the design of future Chian Fan satellites to reduce their
Speaker 1: impact on our view of the cosmos and that brings
Speaker 1: us to the end of today's cosmic journey. I'mna your
Speaker 1: guide through the wonders of space on Astronomy Daily. If
Speaker 1: you're hungry for more stellar content, don't forget to swing
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Speaker 1: you're a season stargazer or just starting to look up,
Speaker 1: we've got something for everyone. Thanks for tuning in, and
Speaker 1: remember keep looking up because the universe is always putting
Speaker 1: on a show. Until next time. This is Anna signing
Speaker 1: off from Astronomy Daily, Sunny Day Stars. Star is Star