Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space
Speaker 1: in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and we've got
Speaker 1: an exciting lineup of stories for you today, from groundbreaking
Speaker 1: rocket launches to mind bending discoveries in the depths of space.
Speaker 1: We'll be covering the most recent developments in space exploration
Speaker 1: and astronomical research. We'll dive into United Launch Alliance's latest
Speaker 1: Vulcan rocket flight, explore a peculiar galaxy captured by the
Speaker 1: Hubble Space Telescope, and preview Blue Origin's upcoming spacecraft debut.
Speaker 1: We'll also discuss a record breaking triple Star system, examine
Speaker 1: surprising findings from the James Webb Space Telescope about early galaxies,
Speaker 1: and catch up with NASA's Parker Solar Probe as it
Speaker 1: continues its close encounters with our son. So buckle up
Speaker 1: and get ready for a journey through the cosmos as
Speaker 1: we explore these fascinating stories from the world of astronomy
Speaker 1: and space science. United Launch Alliance's second Vulcan rocket flight
Speaker 1: took off last Friday, marking a crucial test in the
Speaker 1: company's efforts to certify the new launcher for high priority
Speaker 1: national security missions. While the rocket successfully reached orbit. The
Speaker 1: flight wasn't without drama. One of the two solid propellants
Speaker 1: strap on boosters, experienced an anomaly during the ascent. About
Speaker 1: thirty seven seconds after liftoff, observers noticed a shower of
Speaker 1: sparks and what appeared to be debris falling away from
Speaker 1: the right side booster. The issue seemed to originate near
Speaker 1: the nozzle at the base of the booster, causing a
Speaker 1: noticeable change in the exhaust plumes shape. Despite this setback,
Speaker 1: the vulcan continued its climb to space, demonstrating impressive resilience.
Speaker 1: The core stage's two Blue Origin built B four engines,
Speaker 1: each generating five hundred fifty thousand pounds of thrust, carried
Speaker 1: on with the mission. After the first stage separation, the
Speaker 1: Centaur upper stage took over, completing two burns to demonstrate
Speaker 1: its ability to restart in space, a key requirement for
Speaker 1: complex military payload trajectories. ULA CEO Tory Bruno acknowledged the
Speaker 1: booster anomaly, but emphasized that the overall trajectory remained nominal
Speaker 1: throughout the flight, Any plans to investigate the issue thoroughly
Speaker 1: once the mission is complete. This flight was the second
Speaker 1: of two certification test flights needed before the Vulcan can
Speaker 1: carry high priority payloads for the US Space Force and
Speaker 1: National Reconnaissance Office. The impact of the booster anomaly on
Speaker 1: the certification process remains uncertain, but it's clear that ULA
Speaker 1: will need to address any concerns before moving forward with
Speaker 1: national security launches. The Vulcan represents the future of ULA,
Speaker 1: set to replace both the retired Delta four and the
Speaker 1: soon to be phased out at Las five rockets. With
Speaker 1: over seventy missions already booked before its first flight, the
Speaker 1: stakes are high for ULA to resolve any issues quickly
Speaker 1: and maintain customer confidence in the new launch system. Now,
Speaker 1: let's turn our attention to a fascinating discovery made by
Speaker 1: the Hubble Space Telescope. The Venerable Observatory has captured an
Speaker 1: image of a galaxy that's breaking the mold when it
Speaker 1: comes to classification. Located about fifty four million light years
Speaker 1: away in the Virgo galaxy cluster GGC four thousand, six
Speaker 1: hundred and ninety four is what astronomers call a peculiar galaxy.
Speaker 1: At first glance, it appears to have characteristics of both
Speaker 1: elliptical and spiral galaxies. Making it a real cosmic oddball.
Speaker 1: NGC four thousand, six hundred and ninety four has a
Speaker 1: smooth looking, armless disc that's nearly devoid of star formation,
Speaker 1: similar to an elliptical galaxy. However, its stellar population is
Speaker 1: still relatively young and new stars are actively forming in
Speaker 1: its core. This gives NGC four thousand, six hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety four a markedly different stellar profile from a classic
Speaker 1: elliptical galaxy. What's even more intriguing is the chaotic structure
Speaker 1: of dust visible in the hubble image. This indicates some
Speaker 1: kind of disturbance in the galaxy's past. As it turns out,
Speaker 1: NGC four thousand, six hundred and ninety four has undergone
Speaker 1: a violent collision with a nearby dwarf galaxy VCC twenty
Speaker 1: sixty two. This cosmic crash has left NGC four thousand,
Speaker 1: six hundred and ninety four accreting gas from its smaller neighbor,
Speaker 1: fueling its unique character. Teruristics. Astronomers classify NGC four thousand,
Speaker 1: six hundred and ninety four as a lenticular galaxy, a
Speaker 1: type that lacks the distinct spiral arms but still has
Speaker 1: a central bulge and disc. These galactic oddballs are crucial
Speaker 1: for understanding how galaxies evolve over time. The discovery of
Speaker 1: NGC four thousand, six hundred and ninety four reminds us
Speaker 1: that the universe is full of surprises and not everything
Speaker 1: fits neatly into our pre defined categories. By studying these
Speaker 1: peculiar galaxies, astronomers can gain valuable insights into the complex
Speaker 1: processes that shape our cosmic neighborhood. Let's get an update
Speaker 1: now from Blue Origin, who've been far from taking things easy.
Speaker 1: Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos,
Speaker 1: is gearing up for an exciting milestone this Monday, October seventh.
Speaker 1: They're set to debut a brand new spacecraft on their
Speaker 1: NS twenty seven mission. This uncrude flight will mark the
Speaker 1: first launch for this particular New Shepherd vehicle. The mission
Speaker 1: is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origins West Texas
Speaker 1: site during a window that opens at nine am Eastern time.
Speaker 1: While no humans will be on board, the capsule will
Speaker 1: carry twelve research payloads, including new navigation systems for both
Speaker 1: New Shepherd and Blue Origin's larger New Glen rocket. This
Speaker 1: new vehicle features some notable upgrades. Blue Origin says It
Speaker 1: includes technology improvements to enhance performance and reusability, as well
Speaker 1: as an updated exterior design. The company also mentions that
Speaker 1: it has accommodations for payloads on the booster itself. The
Speaker 1: NS twenty seven mission represents an important step for Blue
Speaker 1: Origins commercial space flight ambitions. It's the second human rated
Speaker 1: New Shepherd vehicle, which should allow the company to increase
Speaker 1: its flight capacity and better meet growing customer demand for
Speaker 1: suborbital space tourism and research flights. If successful, this launch
Speaker 1: will pave the way for Blue Origin to expand its
Speaker 1: operations and potentially increase the frequency of its crude flights
Speaker 1: in the future. It's a clear sign that the company
Speaker 1: is pushing forward in the competitive commercial space industry. Moving
Speaker 1: on now to a NASA mission update. NASA's exoplanet hunting spacecraft,
Speaker 1: the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or TESTS, has made a
Speaker 1: groundbreaking discovery that's pushing the boundaries of what we thought
Speaker 1: possible in stellar systems. Scientists have spotted a record breaking
Speaker 1: triple star system that's so tightly packed it could fit
Speaker 1: comfortably between our Sun and its closest planet, Mercury. This
Speaker 1: extraordinary system, known as TICK two, nine zero zero six
Speaker 1: one four eight four is located about five thousand light
Speaker 1: years away in the constellation Sickness. It consists of twin
Speaker 1: stars that orbit each other every one point eight earth days,
Speaker 1: with a third star circling this pair every twenty five days.
Speaker 1: To put this in perspective, the previous record holder for
Speaker 1: the tightest three star system had an outer orbit of
Speaker 1: thirty three days, set back in nineteen fifty six. What
Speaker 1: makes this discovery even more remarkable is the stability of
Speaker 1: the system. The stars orbit in nearly the same plane,
Speaker 1: which helps maintain their gravitational balance. However, this delicate dance
Speaker 1: won't last forever. In a few million years, the twin
Speaker 1: stars at the heart of the system will expand and
Speaker 1: eventually merge, triggering a massive supernova explosion. This finding isn't
Speaker 1: just a cosmic curiosity. It has significant implications for our
Speaker 1: understanding of star formation and evolution. The compact nature of
Speaker 1: the system suggests that these stars likely form together from
Speaker 1: the same process, challenging our models of how multiple star
Speaker 1: systems come into being. The discovery was made possible through
Speaker 1: a combination of test data, machine learning algorithms, and the
Speaker 1: keen eyes of citizens scientists. It highlights the power of
Speaker 1: collaborative efforts between professional astronomers and amateur enthusiasts in pushing
Speaker 1: the boundaries of astronomical research. Looking ahead, NASA's upcoming Nancy
Speaker 1: Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch in twenty twenty seven,
Speaker 1: promises to reveal even more of these tightly packed star systems.
Speaker 1: With its superior resolution, Roman could potentially help us discover
Speaker 1: systems with even shorter orbits, or perhaps even more stars
Speaker 1: crammed into a single system. This record breaking triple star
Speaker 1: system serves as a reminder that the universe still has
Speaker 1: plenty of surprises in store for us, continually challenging and
Speaker 1: expanding our understanding of the cosmos. Speaking of discoveries, here's
Speaker 1: another one from an old friend. The James Web Space
Speaker 1: Telescope continues to astound scientists with its groundbreaking discoveries. Recent
Speaker 1: observations have unveiled surprisingly bright and mature galaxies in the
Speaker 1: early universe, challenging our existing models of galaxy formation and cosmology.
Speaker 1: These ancient galaxies, observed just three hundred million years after
Speaker 1: the Big Bang, are far more luminous than scientists anticipated.
Speaker 1: Their brightness suggests they contain more stars in mass than
Speaker 1: previously thought possible for such young cosmic objects. What's even
Speaker 1: more intriguing is that many of these early galaxies show
Speaker 1: signs of actively growing black holes at their centers, another
Speaker 1: indication of their unexpectedly rapid maturation. These findings have left
Speaker 1: astronomers scratching their heads. How could these galaxies have formed
Speaker 1: so quickly and become so bright in such a short
Speaker 1: time after the universe's birth. It's a puzzle that's forcing
Speaker 1: us to reconsider our understanding of early galaxy evolution. Some
Speaker 1: scientists propose that star formation in the early universe may
Speaker 1: have been more intense or bursty than we previously believed.
Speaker 1: Others suggest factors like lower amounts of galactic dust or
Speaker 1: a different distribution of star masses could explain the unexpected brightness.
Speaker 1: But these observations aren't just challenging our ideas about galaxy formation.
Speaker 1: They're also prompting some researchers to consider modifications to our
Speaker 1: broader cosmological theories. Some have even suggested that these findings
Speaker 1: might require us to reconsider the age of the universe itself. However,
Speaker 1: it's important to note that before we start rewriting our
Speaker 1: cosmology textbooks. We need a more detailed understanding of the
Speaker 1: physical processes at work in these early galaxies. As we
Speaker 1: continue to gather data and refine our models, we may
Speaker 1: find explanations that fit within our current framework of understanding.
Speaker 1: What's clear is that the James Web Space Telescope is
Speaker 1: living up to its promise of revolutionizing our view of
Speaker 1: the early universe. As we peer further back in time,
Speaker 1: we're sure to encounter more surprises that will push the
Speaker 1: boundaries of our knowledge and spark new questions about the cosmos.
Speaker 1: And finally, today, another NASA record breaking update. NASA's Parker
Speaker 1: Solar Probe has once again pushed the boundaries of solar
Speaker 1: exploration with its latest close encounter with our star. On
Speaker 1: September thirtieth, the probe completed its twenty first close approach
Speaker 1: to the Sun, matching its own impressive distance record by
Speaker 1: coming within just four point five to one million miles
Speaker 1: of the solar surface. During this close approach, or perihelion,
Speaker 1: the spacecraft reached speeds of nearly three hundred and ninety
Speaker 1: five thousand miles per hour as it raced around the Sun.
Speaker 1: This mind boggling velocity is about one hundred and eighty
Speaker 1: times faster than the speed of a typical commercial airliner.
Speaker 1: But the Parker Solar Probe isn't done breaking records yet.
Speaker 1: After a fly by a venus in November, which will
Speaker 1: use the planet's gravity to adjust the probe's trajectory, it
Speaker 1: will make an even closer approach to the Sun on
Speaker 1: December twenty fourth. This upcoming encounter will bring the spacecraft
Speaker 1: within a mere three point eight million miles of the
Speaker 1: Solar surface, traveling at speeds around four hundred thirty thousand
Speaker 1: miles per hour. These incredibly close passes allow scientists to
Speaker 1: gather unprecedented data about the Sun's atmosphere, magnetic fields, and
Speaker 1: the solar wind. The information collected by the Parker Solar
Speaker 1: Probe is helping us better understand our star and its
Speaker 1: effects on space weather, which can impact technology both in
Speaker 1: orbit and on Earth. And that brings us to the
Speaker 1: end of today's journey through the cosmos. From record breaking
Speaker 1: star systems to mysterious early galaxies, the universe never fails
Speaker 1: to amaze and inspire us. I'm Anna, and I hope
Speaker 1: you've enjoyed this episode of Astronomy Daily. If you're hungry
Speaker 1: for more space news, be sure to check out our
Speaker 1: website at Astronomy Daily dot io. There you can sign
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Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in, and remember keep looking up because
Speaker 1: the sky is never the limit. Until next time. This
Speaker 1: is Anna for Astronomy Daily. Signing off Sunday Stars starz
Speaker 1: Star