WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.279 Oh hey, it's your friend with too much stuff hanging 2 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:06.000 from his rear view mirror. Ali Ward. Let's get started. 3 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:08.160 Let's dip into it. This one is about the Sun. 4 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:11.320 We got eclips, trivia and tips and dates tossed in. 5 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:14.080 It's also a Bogo it's a buy one, get one 6 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:16.440 because we have two guests. Thank you NASA for both 7 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.160 of them, and thank you to wildlife ecology ologists Corina 8 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:21.719 Newssim for the intro to India. So I'm gonna be honest, 9 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:23.640 we weren't even going to cover this ology right now. 10 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:25.199 If we did, we should have put it out a 11 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:27.879 couple weeks ago. I've always wanted to cover it, but 12 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.960 kind of at the last minute, I decided to trek 13 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.719 to see the eclipse in Texas, and I selfishly, selfishly 14 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:36.640 wanted to know how the sun works because everyone's talking 15 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.240 about it, and because everything alive on Earth would be 16 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:41.320 dead without it. It's a key player. I was like, 17 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:43.840 let's get this done. So these two guests. One is 18 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:47.200 a research scientist and the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA's 19 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:50.079 Goddard Space Flight Center now. The other has a bachelor's 20 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:52.600 and a master's in mathematics and is on the cusp 21 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.960 of totality in regards to her PhD and astrophysics from 22 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:01.000 Georgia State University. She's self taught in ten computer programming languages. 23 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:06.040 She studies solar energetic particles, coronal mass ejections, and has 24 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:11.200 had multiple internships with NASA's helio Analytics department at NASA Goddard. 25 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:12.920 And these are the folks you want to talk to 26 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:15.480 about the Sun, and we will in a sec But first, 27 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:17.640 thank you to all of our patrons at patroon dot 28 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.000 com slash Ologies, who for one dollar a month can 29 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.920 submit questions before I record. And thank you to everyone 30 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:27.040 wearing Ologies merch from Ologiesmarch dot com and for zero dollars. 31 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:30.120 Thank you for supporting Ologies just by leaving reviews, and 32 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:31.840 you know I read them all and to prove that, 33 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:35.319 thank you to very far from the matting crowd who 34 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.799 said that Ologies is like a cuddle from a friend 35 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.159 and a hug from the universe and a tickle fight 36 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:43.400 for my brain and very far from the matting crowd, 37 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:45.280 so they put off writing that review for the last 38 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:47.239 five years, So thank you. It's worth the wait. If 39 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:50.439 you've left a review, I've read it now heliology. Helio 40 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:53.680 straight up means sun in Greek, but the word eclipse 41 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:55.760 I just found this out comes from the Latin for 42 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.079 a failure to appear, which sounds kind of like the 43 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:02.359 sun is in some hot water with the judicial system. 44 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:04.359 But in this episode, we're going to shed some light 45 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:06.400 on what the Sun is made of. Is it fire 46 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:08.680 or not? How old is it? How big is it? 47 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:11.199 What does the surface of the Sun look like? When 48 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:13.879 will it implode on us? What rays are coming off 49 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.919 of it? What is a sun spot, a solar storm? 50 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:22.800 And eclipse an ejection of coronal mass? Are our electronics safe? Also? 51 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:25.199 Where can an eclipse happen? Should you go see one? 52 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:27.400 Is it that big of a deal? What happens if 53 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:30.280 you step out and stare directly into the sun. So 54 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:33.639 get to know the center of our solar system with heliologists, 55 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:37.719 doctor Michael Kirk and almost just days away from defending 56 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:59.599 so I'm declaring it here, doctor India Jackson, let's hop 57 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:01.039 right in and meet Michael. 58 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:03.759 My name is Michael Kirk, I pronounced are he? Him? 59 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:04.039 And his? 60 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:08.719 And now we were talking about anome's versusologies. You study 61 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:11.439 the sun, so technically you are a heliologist has anyone 62 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:12.000 ever called you that? 63 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.319 Or no, No, you're the first person to ever call 64 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:21.159 me a heliologist. We typically call ourselves heliophysicists or you know, 65 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:25.080 solar scientists or something like that. But heliologists, no, I've 66 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.919 never heard that one before, but thanks. Heliophysics is actually 67 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:32.479 a relatively new term. It was sort of coined back 68 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:36.120 in the late nineties mid nineties. So in terms of, 69 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:38.879 you know, the way science goes, this is like still 70 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:43.680 a very youthful idea of heliophysics, because what it used 71 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.080 to be is solar science, you know, studying the Sun, 72 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:48.439 and then you study space, and then you study the 73 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:52.560 eurosuparate atmosphere. And they were quickly realizing they're all related 74 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:54.919 with each other. They're all, you know, part of the 75 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:59.879 what we call the heliosphere. So that's where heliophysics came from. 76 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.759 And so even the word heliophysics is not very well 77 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.919 known in scientific communities, let alone the general public. But 78 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.159 we're sort of on a mission that you know, five 79 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.759 year olds know Trannosaurus rex. That's a hard work, so 80 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:14.719 we should know heliophysics as well. 81 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:18.000 I had no idea that it was a newer term. 82 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.600 This is exciting about what exactly is a heliosphere. I 83 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:23.240 don't think I've ever heard that term before. 84 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.639 Yeah, So heliosphere is everything the Sun touches. That's the 85 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:29.199 sort of easiest way to describe it. So the Sun 86 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:31.439 of course is the source of all our light and 87 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.439 heat on Earth, but it also is pushing out radiation particles. 88 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.279 There is a reasonably well defined boundary where it the 89 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:41.879 influence the Sun pushes out into interstellar space, and at 90 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.279 some point the other stars in our galaxy are pushing back, 91 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.879 and so there's a boundary that the Sun's and radiation 92 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.360 influence in a bubble, and that's called the heliosphere. And 93 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:56.480 so all of the planets are inside the heliosphere. The 94 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:58.040 only things that we know of that are outside of 95 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:01.120 the heliosphere right now are the voidge spacecraft They actually 96 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.199 cross the boundary are now and interstellar space. 97 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.279 So just to quick aside, the Voyager one and Voyager 98 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.959 two space probe crafts. They were launched in the late 99 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.240 summer of nineteen seventy seven. They have both crossed interstellar 100 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:18.240 space beyond our Son's heliosphere in twenty twelve and twenty eighteen, respectively, 101 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.720 and Voyager one is about twenty four billion kilometers or 102 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:25.879 fifteen billion miles away, and Voyager two, after cruising pass 103 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.519 the gas planets of our solar system, is now roughly 104 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:34.600 twenty billion kilometers or twelve billion miles from Earth. Meanwhile, 105 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:36.720 I can't make it past an eight hour road trip 106 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:39.920 without stopping five times to pee and three times to 107 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.839 purchase truck stop coffee. Also, Michael says that they're having 108 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.120 like a few communication issues with the voyagers, but I'm sorry, 109 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:51.319 they are communicating from several billion miles away. Give them 110 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:54.920 grace for not returning your text. NASA, calm down. So 111 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:59.480 these voyagers, they're voyaging away tens of billions of miles 112 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:03.720 just for scale, distance wise, the Sun is just a 113 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:07.600 mere ninety three ish million miles or one hundred and 114 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:11.600 fifty million kilometers away. That's right in our galactic backyard. 115 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:17.160 And now, if we can see stars distantly, we're not 116 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:21.279 in their heliosphere though, right, we can just see pinpoints 117 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.040 of light. How do you determine if you can still 118 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:24.680 see something? 119 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.680 Oh? Oh wow, if you can see something, well, so 120 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:32.560 the sunlight, like all light falls off exponentially, So every 121 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:35.639 two meters you move out from an object, the light 122 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:38.360 falls off to four meters or to four times the amount, 123 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:42.720 so it's it's exponentially decreasing. So as you move away 124 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.120 from the Sun, its brightness is limited, and eventually you 125 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.439 need bigger and bigger telescopes or bigger, bigger apertures to 126 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.879 be able to see that increasingly faint starlight. I mean, 127 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.160 that's why we launched NASA launched James Web, was to 128 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.519 create a really big mirror in space to capture really 129 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:02.959 dim objects in So in terms of the Sun's influence, 130 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.800 the radiation pushing out from the Sun, there's light that 131 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.839 it's going to go off into space pretty much forever. 132 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:13.800 But there is a defined boundary of that solar wind 133 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.879 flow that flows out from the Sun and provides a 134 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:20.319 fluid pressure, so like a pressure of you know, you 135 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:22.120 put your hand in front of a water spicket and 136 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:24.560 you feel the water pressure and it's a whole lot 137 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:27.000 less from the Sun, but there's a pressure pushing out. 138 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:30.600 So that's what we define as the edge of the 139 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:33.879 Sun's influence. So each star has this bubble around it 140 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.079 of where it is completely dominant. It's pushing out all 141 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.879 of the other stuff from the universe, and in defining 142 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:44.279 this protective or captive bubble around it. And then depending 143 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:46.120 on how big the star is, how bright it is, 144 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.000 how active it is, those size of those bubbles change 145 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.040 of the heliosphere itself, and so. 146 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:54.720 That solar wind is just a term for how it's 147 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.360 putting pressure on other things. Are you ever mad that 148 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.160 it's called wind? Is that so confusing? 149 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:05.199 No? Actually, it's a great term because solar wind gets 150 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:07.319 you to sort of think about a little bit of 151 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.120 its weather too. So there's their space weather as well, 152 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:12.600 and the solar wind is sort of the it's always 153 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.920 their wind blowing out from the Sun. By wind, I 154 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.959 mean these are particles, magnetic fields, so protons, neutrons, electrons, 155 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 magnetic fields just always being pushed out from the Sun 156 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.879 all the time. And this wind is carried out in 157 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.120 streams and in clumps and in blobs, and it is 158 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.920 pushed out. But calling it wind makes you think like, oh, 159 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:35.639 that must be some sort of weather phenomenon. And that's 160 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.320 that's exactly why it's a really good term. Because space 161 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.360 weather is the changing environment in space caused by the Sun, 162 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.480 and so astronauts deal with it. Satellites deal with it, 163 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.559 I mean, planets deal with it too. Our Earth and 164 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:51.559 upper atmosphere changes depending on the space weather conditions. 165 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:53.519 Oh okay, I thought you were gonna be like, yeah, 166 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.159 it sucks, they call it wind. I gotta really try 167 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:59.000 to explain that when it's career day. 168 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:00.759 Yeah, there are the terms I think are terrible, but 169 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:01.519 that's not one of them. 170 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:04.279 So what else is terrible? 171 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:05.399 Oh? 172 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:06.480 Can you smell any beans? 173 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:08.320 Well? 174 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:13.320 So, I think the hardest thing is that we use 175 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.480 the term solar system to just talk about the planets. 176 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:19.519 And okay, so yeah, you have the planets in the 177 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:22.360 solar system, and everybody learns the Solar system and you 178 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:24.960 learn the names of the planets, But the solar system, 179 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:27.840 if you like, think about the words. It's about the 180 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:30.200 Sun and the relationship between the Sun and the planets. 181 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.080 And so I think the term solar system is great. 182 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:35.440 I just wish we could like include a little bit 183 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.519 more Sun in that solar system description instead of just 184 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.399 talking about Saturn and Uranus and Neptune. 185 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.519 That's such a good point. It is called the solar system, 186 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.720 and I feel like I know the least about the Sun, 187 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:51.639 and this is a great time to help me actually 188 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.559 visualize it. So the Sun is it a huge ball 189 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:57.480 of fire. Is it plasma? Is it just a light? 190 00:09:57.879 --> 00:09:59.799 What is this sun even made up? Do we know? 191 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:03.399 Yes? Okay, okay, well next question. 192 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:08.159 Oh no, he's kidding, but also not. Let's check with 193 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:13.240 another NASA goddard scientist, India Jackson almost PhD Okay. 194 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.279 My name is India Jackson. My pronouns are she her. 195 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:20.559 So let's say that you had to describe what the 196 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:22.639 sun was or like how big it is? I have 197 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.320 no concept of how big the Sun is, like none. 198 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:29.600 Are there just arms of plasma that are giant coming 199 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:32.480 off of it? Like I can't even visualize it. 200 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.759 Well, you know the Solar Dynamic Observatory. Have you heard 201 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:42.200 of that? No, But you can see daily live images 202 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.120 of the Sun and it looks like a ball because 203 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.840 the gravity is pushing towards the center. So that's why 204 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.639 it looks like a ball. And then you will get 205 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.480 some solar events. You'll see it looks like stuff is 206 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.759 crawling on it, those magnetic waves pushing through and some 207 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:02.240 of them connect then and you'll see dark spots. Those 208 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.320 are the sun spots. You'll see some prominences, you'll see 209 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.600 some filaments, you'll see the big loops are the coronal 210 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:09.480 mass ejections. 211 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:12.480 What does that look like? A big loop? Like a bubble? 212 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:17.879 Yeah, what like a big loop? And I actually studied 213 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.679 those last year during my summer internship with NASA, trying 214 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:26.080 to get those physical parameters from coronal mass ejections during 215 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.159 certain events, so trying to get how long it is 216 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:32.879 from the center of the Sun, the angular with and 217 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:33.919 all that good stuff. 218 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:38.320 So a coronal mass ejection also called a CME, this 219 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.360 is a type of solar event, and what happens is 220 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.000 magnetic fields kind of twist around each other and snap, 221 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.759 and the Sun expels a bunch of plasma and magnetic 222 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:51.840 field from its surface, which can travel to Earth in 223 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.759 these big bursts, though with a CME it might take 224 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:59.320 a few days for that coronal mass ejection to arrive. 225 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:05.320 Solar flares those are quicker and the most powerful explosions 226 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.039 in the Solar system, and they emit light and particles 227 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.480 and electromagnetic radiation that can reach the Earth and your 228 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:17.320 face and your laptop in eight minutes. And CMEs those 229 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.480 can affect life on Earth as well, including our electronics, 230 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:22.879 but we have more time to see them coming. They 231 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.320 move more slowly. Now, speaking of preparation. India is literally 232 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.440 a week or two away from defending her PhD. This 233 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:31.919 is a huge deal. She told me a little bit 234 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:34.360 about our dissertation. Are you this close to being a 235 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:36.919 doctor or are you a doctor? I know that we 236 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:39.039 were catching you like right in the middle of defending. 237 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:42.919 Well I haven't defended yet. So I just got the 238 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.480 final edits for the full dissertation one hundred and thirty 239 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.919 eight pages, so that will be going out to all 240 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:52.120 of my committee members one Monday. So I am this 241 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:55.279 close actually so exciting. 242 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:57.200 What's the title of your dissertation? 243 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:03.039 Advancing solar energetic part of cool prediction using survival analysis 244 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:04.559 and cloud computing. 245 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:05.879 Oh my god. 246 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.039 And I'll be the first black woman to get a 247 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:09.879 PhD in physics from GSU. 248 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:13.440 That's amazing. 249 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.240 So I'm making history with that. So my dissertation is 250 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.320 three parts. First part is using pure statistics in order 251 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:24.960 to analyze the time to detection of solo energetic particles 252 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:28.480 once it reaches one of our satellites. And then the 253 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.919 second part is using machine learning, and then the third 254 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:35.279 part is the cloud analysis environment that I created using 255 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:38.240 Amazon Web Services. It's free, it's open source. 256 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.600 So this is what India's dissertationists composed of. But looking 257 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.879 upwards again. 258 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.720 What's the summer? So I think it was the musical group. 259 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:48.679 They might be giants called the sun and the asthma 260 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:55.279 of plasma free state of matter, not us, not lifically, 261 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:59.559 not silent, And that's really what it is. It's a plasma. 262 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:04.679 So the Sun is a big ball of hydrogen and 263 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:08.200 helium primarily. There's a few other things in there that 264 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:11.679 astronomers just all lump into metals. That's a weird thing 265 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:15.679 that astronomers do. But it's primary hydrogen and helium, and 266 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.159 the hydrogen goes through a fusion process in the Sun's 267 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.799 core to produce energy, and that's the source of all 268 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.919 the energy coming from the Sun. Is this fusion process. 269 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:29.360 Fusion side note occurs in the Sun when the protons 270 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:33.519 of hydrogen atoms smash and they fuse together to make 271 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:36.360 a helium and they also release a ton of energy 272 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:39.879 in that fusion process. And it takes four hydrogens colliding 273 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:45.440 to make a helium. So helios helium, helio Sun. Do 274 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.200 you get it? I didn't right before. Now, someone please 275 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:50.840 tell me I'm not alone because this hurts. 276 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:55.000 So you have these positive energy blobs and these negative 277 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:59.679 energy particles, and they are in this incredibly energetic soup 278 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:02.000 where they are all flowing around. And when you have 279 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.519 negative and positive energies that are separated from each other 280 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.600 like that, you can produce magnetic fields. And that is 281 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:11.320 the other major thing that drives the Sun. Are these 282 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:15.879 currents of plasma causing magnetic fields. And that's really what 283 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:20.240 makes the Sun. It's plasma, it's magnetic fields. And understanding 284 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:23.720 how those two things interact with each other is complicated. 285 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.919 Then no, we're understand it to a certain degree, but man, 286 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.559 there's a ton of stuff we just don't understand about that, 287 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:33.320 how the plasma magnetic fields interact, even though the ingredients 288 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:34.519 are relatively simple. 289 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.159 So, according to a NASA piece titled Understanding the Magnetic Sun, 290 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:43.840 the surface of our solar body quote writhes and dances 291 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.799 and it has more rhythm and confidence than you ali. 292 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:49.679 Not the last part that's just an assumption. Now. This 293 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:53.399 is because when charged particles in the Sun they bang 294 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.759 and they move around, they also create magnetic fields, which 295 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:59.480 just causes them to move more, just like a mash 296 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:05.039 pit of elegant stellar plasma. And when we hear always 297 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:09.399 that we're made of exploded star stuff, but it's mostly 298 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:13.480 helium and hydrogen with some metals. Now do those particles 299 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:18.000 change when they leave that sphere or do those become 300 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.799 sub atomic? I mean I realized that these are very 301 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.720 perhaps not smart questions, but I might not be the 302 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.960 only one wondering, So you know, now. 303 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:29.559 Oh no, no, these are great questions. So when Carl 304 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.600 Sagan is just saying, you know, we were all stardust, 305 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:36.440 that's literally true. However, there was a little little piece 306 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.919 in there that you refer to, which is exploded stardust, 307 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:41.519 and that is actually how you get the metals and 308 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.559 the heavier elements out of a star is you have 309 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:44.799 to go through a supernova. 310 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.240 Okay, heads up. A supernova is this giant explosion of 311 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.440 a star. Huge, huge, huge, that's a supernova. And a 312 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:55.840 nova is this transient brightening of a white dwarf star. 313 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.759 We'll get to what that is in a minute. And 314 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:01.840 it's burning off accumulated fuel. Novas that comes from the 315 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.200 word new because it's this pow sudden brightening. However, I 316 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.079 prefer this now antiquated Chinese term for novas, which is 317 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:13.519 guest stars like ooh, solar system guest star. I love 318 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:15.279 this nova excited. 319 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:16.839 Or nova in general. He doesn't have to be super 320 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:19.720 you can just be a regular one. So in that 321 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:23.400 process of a star going through its energetic life cycle 322 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.759 and collapsing in on itself and either blasting out violently 323 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:29.920 or just burping off its outer atmosphere, that's how you 324 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.400 get all of those heavier elements deeper into the Solar system. 325 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:37.359 It is that process, that process of the collapsing star, 326 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:41.160 the process of the dying star, that produces those heavier elements. 327 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:44.000 You need those violent reactions to get iron, to get uranium, 328 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.920 to get calcium, to get oxygen. I mean, that's how 329 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.839 you have to go through that cycle. So the original 330 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:54.200 stars are conceived to be almost purely hydrogen, and they 331 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.160 had to go through a burn cycle to produce these 332 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.559 heavier elements and get them out into the universe. 333 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:01.799 So the Sun has to go through some really intense 334 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:05.200 shit to make heavy stuff, just like any true artist. 335 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:09.000 As far as how compact it is, we really don't know. 336 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:12.400 You know, we have different types of stars. You know, 337 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:15.119 we have white dwarves, black holes, or stars that have 338 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.160 collapsed on themselves. So even black holes were stars, right 339 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:23.559 and they're mad. Shrink shrink shrink, shrink shrinks, and then 340 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.400 it'll explode. Our star is a G star and it's 341 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.599 right there and like midlife, So you have the early 342 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:33.359 ones and then you have midlife, and then you have 343 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:35.960 the Red Giants, and then you have the white Dwarves, 344 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:40.079 and our son is just you know, if it was 345 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:43.160 based on like human expectancy, you know, like thirty five 346 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:49.039 or something, Okay, forty something, you know right around that age. 347 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.319 You know, what are those types of stars? Because I'm unfamiliar, 348 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.880 but like you mentioned, all the way up to like 349 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.680 a red dwarf, can you go up the line because 350 00:18:58.720 --> 00:18:59.880 I just don't know any of that. 351 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.720 So basically, it's the evolution of a star. Right starts 352 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.920 really hot, then the outer it just starts to cool off, 353 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:11.599 and then you start to go down into what we have, 354 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:17.240 which is I think we're fifteen million kelvin and then 355 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.480 it just starts the cool over time, but the mass 356 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:22.279 is starting to crash in on it stuff at the 357 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.000 same time, and then we move on to the Red Giants. 358 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:27.079 Have you ever read The Time Machine? 359 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:28.359 No? I haven't. 360 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:30.319 You never read the book at the time? No? 361 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:32.079 Is it good sci fi? 362 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:36.240 It is the best sci fi. Yes, you have to 363 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.720 read it. And it's not that long either. I think 364 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:41.680 it's like at the most seventy pages. 365 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:44.400 I'll put it on my list. So yes, let's get 366 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:47.640 that on my reading list. And if you're like hgh. So, 367 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.799 Herbert George Wells wrote more than fifty novels and is 368 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:54.559 considered the father of sci fi. Also, people called him Birdie, 369 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.119 and he married his cousin, then they divorced, and he 370 00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:58.680 married his mother lady, and then he had like one 371 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.240 million affairs on her. It's any of our business. But 372 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.480 the Time Machine novella put time travel in everyone's hearts 373 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:09.279 and minds, and also Birdie coined the term time travel. 374 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:12.160 So one day, maybe we'll all be time tourists, just 375 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.559 walking around stinky old castles or poking at dinosaur poo 376 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.599 and taking influencer photos in fits that are made from mammoth. 377 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.880 We can only hope either way. Quick rundown of stars 378 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.279 in case this makes you better at Jeopardy, I didn't 379 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.480 know any of this. Let's run it down. So our 380 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:29.920 sun is a main sequence star, which means that it 381 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:33.519 started as a clot of gases and dust and then 382 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:36.200 it gathered more matter and started spinning and spinning, getting 383 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:41.160 hotter and hotter, until fusion happened and hydrogens became heliums now. 384 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.480 Main Sequence stars make up nine tenths of the stars 385 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.519 in the universe, and our sun technically is a G 386 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.960 type main sequence star, and the G is its spectral rating. 387 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:54.119 So you can be an O, A B, AN, A 388 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.200 an F, a G OK, you can be an M star. 389 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:01.119 O's are the hottest and the brightest, and M is 390 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:04.519 on the cooler and dimmer end, so we're like a G. Right, 391 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.119 we're in there. Now, what is a red giant star? 392 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:10.440 This is a main sequence star that has begun to collapse, 393 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:14.160 but the helium fuses into carbon and then that extra 394 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:17.759 energy causes them to puff up until they dissipate and 395 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:21.039 they become a nebula, which is like a cloudy space 396 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:24.920 ghost made of dust and gas. Our star will eventually 397 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.640 become a red giant, but before that, a blown away 398 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:30.319 red giant's core is hanging out, and that's called a 399 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:33.240 white dwarf star, and that gets cooler and cooler and 400 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.359 cooler and cooler. Now, a neutron star is super dense. 401 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.480