Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dive into the latest
space and astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and I'm
excited to take you through some fascinating updates. Today. We've
got riveting stories lined up for you, from China's ambitious
satellite constellation launch to rival Starlink, to a groundbreaking revelation
by the James Webb Space telescope that has astronomers buzzing.
Plus we'll delve into NASA's quirky but educational screaming balloon
demonstration involving pennies in space. It's going to be an
enlightening and funfilled journey through the Cosmos, So let's get started.
A Chinese state owned enterprise has made a bold move
in the realm of space technology by launching the first
batch of satellites designed to rival SpaceX's Starlink. This ambitious
initiative marks a pivotal step in Beijing's broader strategic objective
of developing a robust broadband network to compete on a
global scale, not only in commercial domains, but with significant
military implications of well. The launch, which took place at
the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanshi Province was spearheaded
by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology or SSST. This is a
major milestone in ssst's thousand sales constellation project, also known
as the G sixty Starlink plan, initiated last year. The
plan aims to deploy over fifteen thousand low Earth orbit
LEO satellites by the end of this decade. LEO satellites
typically operate between three hundred kilometers and two thousand kilometers
from the Earth's surface. Their lower altitude allows for cheaper
deployment and more efficient data transmission compared to satellites placed
in higher orbits. The first batch of satellites launched is
just the beginning, with plans to deploy one hundred and
eight satellites this year alone and six hundred and forty
eight by the end of twenty twenty five. The ultimate
goal is to achieve global network coverage by twenty twenty
seven and fully deploy the fifteen thousand satellites before twenty thirty.
This ambitious plan is part of a broader trend where
various countries are competing to occupy Earth's lower orbits, with
significant ramifications for global communications and military capabilities. Starlink, the
brainchild of Elon Musk's SpaceX, has already become a significant
player in this field, boasting around five thousand, five hundred
satellites in orbit and serving tens of thousands of users
in the United States. The comparison between Starlink and the
Thousand Sales constellation is inevitable, as both aim to provide
near global Internet coverage, but the competition goes beyond commercial interests.
Chinese researchers within the People's Liberation Army have been studying
Starlink's deployments closely, particularly its role in the Ukraine conflict.
Their concern is not unfounded. The potential military applications of
a vast satellite constellation could indeed influence the balance of
power in any future conflicts. An op ed published in
a leading PLA mouthpiece earlier this year described Starlink's deployment
as a serious threat to the security of space assets
of various country trees, highlighting the anxieties about how such
technology could be used against China in a military context.
The strategic importance of developing a competing mega constellation cannot
be overstated. If successful, the Thousand Sales constellation would provide
China with a similar level of connectivity and control over
space based communications, thereby reducing reliance on infrastructure operated by
potential rival states. The significant investment and rapid deployment timeline
underscore the urgency Beaging feels inclosing the gap with SpaceX's
Starlink and ensuring future technological and military parity. SST's achievement
is receiving significant attention both domestically and internationally. While the
company has not commented on this latest development, it's clear
that the launch represents a promising start. As the initiative progresses,
it will be crucial to monitor both the technological advancements
and policy implications resulting from this rapidly growing network. The
James Webb Space Telescopes Mid Infrared Instrument, or MIRI, has
delivered a truly breathtaking discovery. What astronomers long believe to
be a single star known as WL twenty S is
actually a twin star system. This revelation doesn't just add
a fascinating twist to our understanding of this celestial body,
it opens up new avenues in the study of stellar
life cycles and planetary formation. So how did this all
come to light. The story begins with astronomers turning NASA's
James Webb's Space telescope toward a group of young stars
called WL twenty located in a star forming region of
the Milky Way called Roe O Fiuci. This group of
stars has been the topic of scientific scrutiny since the
nineteen seventies, despite being studied by at least five different
telescopes over the years. It was Webb's unprecedented resolution and
specialized instruments that revealed WL twenty s to be two
stars rather than one. The discovery was unveiled at the
two hundred and forty fourth meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Using Mary, scientists discovered that these twin stars also possess
matching jets of gas streaming from their north and south poles.
Imagine their excitement. After decades of studying what they thought
was a single star, they suddenly found themselves looking at
not one, but two stars with intriguing features. Mary Barsony,
the lead author of the new paper presenting these results,
put it aptly, our jaws dropped, adding another layer to
the mystery. Further observations by the Atacama Large Millimeter submillimeter
array ALMA provided even more surprising findings. ALMA, with its
array of over sixty radio antennas in Chile, detected disks
of gas and dust encircling both stars. Given the stars age,
it is highly probable that planets are forming within these disks.
This means we're not just looking at a new twin
star system, but potentially at a burgeoning planetary system as well.
But why hadn't we seen this before? It turns out
that WL twenty is hidden behind thick clouds of gas
and dust, making it difficult for visible light telescopes to
penetrate Web. However, detects in the infrared spectrum which can
pass through these obscuring layers. MIRI, specifically designed for such observations,
can detect the longest infrared wavelengths of any instruments on WEB,
making it especially suited for looking into regions like WL twenty.
This high powered observation means that we can now see
not just the structure of these twin stars, but also
their behavior. The jets of gas detected by MIRI are
composed of ions atoms stripped of some electrons, which radiate
at mid infrared wavelengths. These features would not be visible
at the submillimeter wavelengths observed by a facility like Alma,
thus highlighting the importance of having both types of telescopes
working in conjunction. They say a penny doesn't go far
these days, but NASA has added its own twist to
that phrase by sending two pennies into space. These pennies,
believe it or not, are on an extraordinary mad aboard
the International Space Station, traveling millions of miles and proving
that even the smallest objects can play a big role
in education. On August fourth, two humble US one cent
coins lifted off for the ISS aboard the SS Francis R.
Dick Scobie, Northrop Grumman's twenty first Signus cargo spacecraft, named
in memory of the Challenger Shuttle commander. These pennies were
part of an uncrude capsule's eight two hundred pounds of cargo,
launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida by
a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket. What's the mission for these
tiny travelers? They're part of NASA's latest demonstration, an educational
project designed to engage grade school children in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics. Michelle Hook's Education project manager for NASA's Office
of Stem Engagement, explained that the pennies are crucial to
an experiment called the Screaming Balloon demonstration. In this activity,
one penny is inserted into a deflated balloon, which is
then inflated and given a spin by an astronaut. The
experiment will compare the motion of the penny to a
hex nut spun inside a second balloon. What makes this
all the more fascinating is the accessibility of the materials.
Pennies are abundant and familiar to students, making it easy
for them to replicate the experiment in their classrooms. This
hands on approach brings the excitement of space right down
to Earth, allowing students to draw direct connections between their
everyday lives and the extraordinary work happening on the iss.
But it wasn't an easy task to find the right
pennies for this mission. NASA wanted pennies minted in twenty
twenty four to mark the year they were sent into space,
and they needed to be shiny, camera ready. Coins Hooks,
along with her team, went on a penny hunt that
spanned local banks and personal spare change. After checking hundreds
of coins and enlisting help from bank tellers, NASA staff,
and local educators, they finally collected a pair of perfect
twenty four pennies. These aren't the first pennies to venture
into space, though previous missions have seen pennies flown on
Apollo missions and even to Mars. For instance, a penny
flew aboard Apollo eleven with Neil Armstrong, and multiple coins
traveled on Apollo fourteen and fifteen missions. A particularly valuable penny,
a seventeen ninety three flowing haircent, even hitched a ride
on Gemini seven, later selling for over eighty two thousand
dollars at auction. Today, NASA has strict policies against astronauts
personally flying items like coins to prevent exploitation. However, uncrude
missions like the current Penny project allow a modern continuation
of this tradition, and these pennies aren't just about looking good.
They help carry forward NASA's long standing educational goals. The
coins are set to be reused in various ways aboard
the iss, maximizing their educational impact before they eventually returned
to Earth. That's it for today's episode. Of Daily I'm
Anna and it's been a pleasure to share these stories
with you. Don't forget to visit our website at Astronomy
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