WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:02.879 Hi there, Welcome to a Q and A episode of 2 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:05.599 Space Nuts. I'm Andrew Dunkley and it's good to have 3 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:08.919 your company. As always, We've got a lot of questions today, 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.160 but we're three. We might squeeze in an extra one 5 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.919 time permitting. We'll just leave that one hanging in the 6 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.559 ether for the moment. But what would be the effect 7 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:22.519 on dark matter if something big exploded, like I don't 8 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.719 know a star. That's a question that has come into us. 9 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.760 Ryan wants to talk about the Sun's ecliptic. What does 10 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.079 that mean? I have no idea, but we will will 11 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.920 answer the question anyway by making something up. And we've 12 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:41.079 got a question from James about planetary rings. That's all 13 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.719 coming up on this Q and a episode of Space 14 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:47.520 Nuts fifteen in. 15 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:51.359 Channel ten nine ignition. 16 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:59.000 Space Nuts or three two Space Nurtes. 17 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:02.039 What it feels good? Yes? 18 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:02.799 I feel good? 19 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:04.280 He feels good. We all feel good? 20 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:06.040 How do you feel freend. 21 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:13.599 I feel terrible? Feel good to It's a feel good show? 22 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.920 Is space so you can't do anything else? 23 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:17.079 Well? 24 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:19.040 The Q and A edition tends to go that way. 25 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:21.359 We get all sorts. 26 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:24.760 We even get genuine questions sometimes, which is always nice. 27 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.959 Shall we just go straight for it. 28 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.159 I think we should. I think that's a really good idea. 29 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.159 And a big hesitation. I was a bit worried there 30 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.760 for a minute. We'll we'll go to our first question. 31 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:41.879 This comes from Damien on the Gold Coast. We're not 32 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.680 talking about West Africa. We're talking about Southeast Queensland, because 33 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.680 there's a Gold coast in both places. In regard to 34 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:53.439 dark matter, if there's five times the amount of it 35 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:58.519 to ordinary matter when Beetlejuice explodes, will the explosion blow 36 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:02.159 will blow away the dark matter as well? Would this 37 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:06.319 now make the neutron star one fifth of the mass 38 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:10.080 until the dark matter returned. That's from Damien on the 39 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:14.479 Gold Coast. Interesting question. We don't know much about dark matter, 40 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:18.439 but could or would it be affected by something as 41 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:24.960 dramatic as Beetlejuice or some other star exploding super novastyle. 42 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:30.639 No Ah, that's interesting because I thought the answer would 43 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:31.080 be yes. 44 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:33.319 I thought you might think that yeah, and it's no. 45 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:43.719 That's because dark matter does not interact with normal matter 46 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:50.240 at all, except by gravitation, So an explosion blowing things 47 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.719 away needs a physical push. It's usually a shock wave 48 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.319 that passes through a medium, and yes, if dark matter 49 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:02.240 responded that shock wave would compress the dark matter, you'd 50 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:06.680 have all kinds of phenomena. But dark matter doesn't interact 51 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:12.639 with normal matter, and so it ignores the explosion completely. 52 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:18.919 We know this because of observations that have been made, 53 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:24.000 and I think there's at least two examples of this, Andrew, 54 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:31.400 where you've got clusters of galaxies which are colliding. Now, 55 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:39.840 you can use clusters of galaxies to basically reveal where 56 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:44.120 dark matter is in them, because you can look at 57 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:47.280 the way the space around them is distorted by gravity 58 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.800 and the dark matter contributes to that. And the way 59 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:53.800 you investigate that distortion of space is by looking at 60 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:57.400 distant galaxies beyond. You can look at their shapes and 61 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:01.639 you know the extent to which they're twisted or their 62 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:05.000 images are twisted, and figure out how much the space 63 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.479 in front of them is being distorted. And that distortion 64 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.919 comes from the matter of the galaxy clusters. So to 65 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.759 come back to the point, as I said, there's at 66 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.000 least a couple of examples of this where you've got 67 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:22.839 two galaxy clusters that have collided and basically ground to 68 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:29.160 a halt. Their hydrogen gas that the company's galaxy clusters 69 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:34.160 has sort of compressed itself and is excited enough to 70 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:37.959 emit radiation in the X rays. But you can sense 71 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.439 where the dark matter clouds that originally accompanied these galaxy 72 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.639 clusters have gone, and it turns out that they just 73 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:50.040 carry on going without batting an eyelid. So what you've 74 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:54.560 got is basically a cluster which is formed of two 75 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:58.879 clusters coming into collision. On either side of it, you've 76 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.560 got the dark matter cloud answer that were associated with 77 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.879 the original galaxy clusters, which have just carried on going 78 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.920 as though nothing had happened. And so that's an extraordinary 79 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:13.959 example that illustrates very cogently that we don't see any 80 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:16.519 interaction between normal matter and dark matter. 81 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:21.360 Ah Okay, I'm surprised. I thought I thought the two 82 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.040 potential answers were yes or we don't know. 83 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:28.279 There's no. 84 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:28.439 No. 85 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:32.639 Yeah, yeah, it's pretty well known, and it's because you know, 86 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.959 that's if there was a reaction. If something did happen, 87 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:39.040 that will be great because we're able to detect the 88 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:41.839 dark matter and have a much better idea of what 89 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.839 it is than we have now. So, Damien, your question 90 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.720 is a good one, but has perhaps a surprising answer. 91 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.240 HM, okay, very interesting. All right, thanks Damien. Let's move 92 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:57.079 on to a next question, which comes from Ryan. 93 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.519 Hey guys, it's Ryan here from town in Delaware, voted 94 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.680 Delaware's third most okay as town. 95 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.040 I had a quick question for you. 96 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:11.160 I was thinking about how the Sun revolves or orbits 97 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:15.040 around our galaxy and granted takes, you know, millions, hundreds 98 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.000 of millions of years to make it make a trip around, 99 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:21.120 but I was wondering about our ecliptic in regards to 100 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:24.879 how the Sun is moving around the galaxy. Are we 101 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:29.319 orbiting the Sun like a you know, hoop around a 102 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:31.839 dancer as they go around. Are we orbiting more like 103 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:34.600 a halo around the Sun as we move around? What 104 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:37.839 is our orientation of the ecliptic as it pertains to 105 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.639 the Sun's orbit around our galaxy? Thanks a lot, guys, 106 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:42.800 keep up the great work. 107 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.519 Thank you, Rian, and I hope you're enjoying being number 108 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:53.319 three most Okay town. I can tell you with absolutely 109 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:56.199 certainly THEO wouldn't write in the top three of anything 110 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.000 in this country. We cop a lot of stick from 111 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.279 the media, probably because of the name of our town. 112 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:08.040 It's very unfair and they're all wrong. But it's good 113 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:12.720 to be number three. Now I might get here or 114 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:14.920 explained for it, just to we sort of get our 115 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:18.800 heads around it. Does How does the Sun's orbit work 116 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:20.680 on a galactic level? 117 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.800 Yeah, it's a great question and it's got a great 118 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.600 answer as well, which is sixty two degrees thirty six minutes. 119 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:34.040 Oh okay, yeah, So that's the angle that the Sun's 120 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:39.720 path around the around the galaxy, around the center of 121 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.560 the galaxy. That's the angle it makes with the equator, 122 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:46.800 the equator of the Earth. So let me just step 123 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.199 back a bit because that, you know, the end of 124 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.199 Ryan's question was what's the orientation, and that's the answer, 125 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:57.639 sixty two degrees thirty six minutes. But we don't call 126 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.519 it the ecliptic for the galaxy. So remembering that the 127 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:05.279 ecliptic as seen from the Earth, is the path of 128 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.519 the Sun through the sky. It's tilted with respect to 129 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:13.920 the equator, and that means that the Earth, you know, 130 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:18.959 the Earth's axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the 131 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:21.560 plane of its orbit. It's not standing upright in its 132 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:25.439 orbit at twenty three and a half degrees. So that's 133 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:28.279 the ecliptic, as we call it, and it's the apparent 134 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:30.519 path of the Sun through the sky. Of course, it's 135 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.879 the Earth actually moving around the Sun, but that's what 136 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:38.120 we see now. In a similar fashion, we can think 137 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.440 about the path of the galactic center through the sky 138 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:49.519 as the Solar system moves around the center of our galaxy. 139 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:52.279 The difficulty with this is that it takes two hundred 140 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.720 million years to go around once, and so you don't 141 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.759 see it every year like you do with the eclipsic, 142 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.600 see the Sun going around every year. But we do 143 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:09.720 know that the Sun's path is fairly near what we 144 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:16.879 call the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, basically the disc, 145 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.639 the plane in which the disc of the galaxy lies. 146 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:22.440 The Sun's path is fairly close to that. It may 147 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:25.399 wabble a little bit up and down as it goes 148 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:29.240 around the galactic center. There may be disturbances caused by 149 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.039 giant molecular clouds and things like that as it passes, 150 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:36.200 but we know from the observations of the stars around 151 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:40.519 us that those are not particularly high level disturbances. The 152 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:45.480 thing is really going around mostly along the galactic plane, 153 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.759 and so what that means is that you can define 154 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:53.360 the angle that that makes with the equator of the Earth. 155 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.399 And it's what I said, sixty two degrees thirty six minutes. 156 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.679 So the Milky Way is tilted over at quite a 157 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.399 high angle compared with the Ecliptic, which is tilted over 158 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:05.759 at quite a small angle twenty three and a half degrees. 159 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:10.679 And in a way, you know, if you imagine the 160 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:15.639 way the Earth is the or sorry some and its 161 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:19.759 family of planets as they progress around their path around 162 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:22.960 the center of the galaxy, they're not lying in the 163 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:25.799 same plane as that path. They're sort of tilted upwards 164 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:29.639 to it at you know, quite quite a steep angle. 165 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:34.480 And so that's how the Sun and its planets move 166 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:41.000 around the center of the galaxy. It's not, as Ryan conjectured, 167 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:43.759 is not sort of moving around the halo of the 168 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.600 galaxy or anything like that. It is sitting firmly in 169 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:49.600 the plane. It's just an ordinary star in the main 170 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:50.799 part of the Milky. 171 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:56.440 Way, and it's doing what billions of other stars are doing, 172 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.159 and our planets are doing what billions upon billions of 173 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:03.000 planets are doing throughout galaxy. And it's just going around 174 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:09.039 and around. It's a slow motion dance that's happening fast 175 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:14.480 more or less frost motion dance that's happening slowly, which 176 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:19.799 could be both. It's all relative. Okay, thank you, Ryan. 177 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.200 This is Space Nuts Andrew Dunkley here with Professor Fred Watson. 178 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:34.159 Space Nuts. Now we've got a question from James Shalom Gents. 179 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:37.679 He says, I've got a question regarding planets with rings. 180 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.639 Could there be a planet with multiple sets of rings 181 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:44.879 that are different to each other. I'm envisioning something like 182 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.919 rings wrapping around an equator from gravity as per usual, 183 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:53.440 but some other materials possibly being caught in the north 184 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:58.360 to south magnetic field at a larger smaller diameter than 185 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:04.320 the equatorial rings. Thanks for entertaining my nonsense, James Greenfield, 186 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:08.039 It's not nonsense. It's a question and it deserves and answer. James. 187 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:11.840 We're going to tackle that one right now. Most rings, 188 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:14.039 like the ones around Saturn, which are the most prominent 189 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:17.320 in our Solar system, are made up of dust and 190 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:21.080 rocks and ice and bits and bobs. So what else 191 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:22.279 could they be made off? For him? 192 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.639 Well, yes, so it would be debris of some sort 193 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:33.159 or other gas dust. I think James's question. 194 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.120 I know the rings around Earth which are made of metal. 195 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.799 Yeah, that's right, they are, and they go around the 196 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.840 equator as well, like the rings of Saturn, like the 197 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:49.080 rings of Uranus and Jupiter and Neptune. So I think 198 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.879 James's question is, you know, could could there be rings 199 00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:57.960 that go at a different angle from the equator of 200 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:05.080 other planet? And the answer is probably no, because this 201 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:10.080 debris tends to be squashed down into a disc. In 202 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:13.279 the case of Saturn, it is mostly ice, icy debris. 203 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:15.519 A bit of rock in it as well, but mostly ice, 204 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:20.679 and it's squashed down just by gravitational forces in connection 205 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.399 with the rotation of the planet, So it tends to 206 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:27.279 be forced into the equator of the planet. So a 207 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:31.000 ring that's tilted at some jaunty angle a little bit 208 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:33.039 like what we've just been talking about with the disc 209 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:37.159 of the galaxy, that is I think highly unlikely to happen. 210 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:41.519 Even if you envisiit ship being entrapped with magnetic fields 211 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:45.080 and things of that sort. I think we'd be struggling 212 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.799 to make a ring that would not be at the 213 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.080 equator of a planetry body. 214 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.799 Okay, so no one both counts. It's probably not going 215 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.039 to ever be made of anything else. And it's probably 216 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:01.720 not going to move beyond the. 217 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:05.440 Equatorial Yeah, that's right, rotation an equatorial plane. 218 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:07.799 Plane, that's the word I want to that's when you 219 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:11.519 think of it. So yeah, sorry, James, good good idea, 220 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.399 but not likely. Now have we got time for one more? 221 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:16.960 I reckon we could squeeze one more in. 222 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.279 Fred, Yes, yes, we can be quick on this one. 223 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.279 Yeah, all right, let's be quick on this one. Hello, 224 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.279 and best wishes to you both. A couple of questions 225 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:29.440 about solar activity? One? What are the differences between solar 226 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:31.039 flares and coronal mass ejections? 227 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:31.919 Two? 228 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.120 What predisposes red dwarf stars to the outbursts of solar 229 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.200 activity that would seem to challenge development of life on 230 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.480 planets in their solar systems. Thank you for the answers, 231 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:46.080 and thanks for very much for a terrific podcast. You 232 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:50.159 guys are stars. Bob Mark from Bloomington, Indie. 233 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:50.519 And a. 234 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:55.200 Question one, what's the difference between solar flares and coronal 235 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:56.039 mass ejections? 236 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:00.399 Thread, So it's mostly a much of degree, I think 237 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:05.440 the you know, the physical processes are different. A solar 238 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:13.120 flare is something that is generated by magnetic activity, tends 239 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:17.639 to come from sun spot regions when you know there's 240 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:21.600 a high level of magnetic activity there. And we think 241 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:26.039 of the magnetic field lines stretching between sun spots which 242 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:29.000 come in pairs, and one has a northern polarity and 243 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:32.879 one has a southern magnetic polarity. So when they are 244 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:37.480 particularly energetic, then you get solar flares. I think I'm 245 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:42.159 right in saying that coronal mass ejections start off the 246 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.159 same way. But if you get these magnetic field lines 247 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.159 breaking so that there is a kind of magnetic twang, 248 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:55.879 what you get is matter mass actually being expelled outwards 249 00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:00.120 at a great velocity. It's almost like an elastic and 250 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:04.480 breaking on the gigantic scale, and that gives you a 251 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:09.039 significant ejection of material. That's a significant rejection of the 252 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:12.840 sub atomic particles which are there all the time in 253 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.320 this in the excuse me, in the solar wind. But 254 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:20.360 with a mass ejection, you're getting a very much enhanced 255 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:24.360 level of this subatomic particle is being ejected from the Sun. 256 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:28.960 And that's the thing that worries people around the world 257 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:32.600 in terms of the interference with electronics, and of course 258 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:36.240 the beautiful auror ray that we see in the north 259 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:41.600 and south of the of the planet. There's pros and 260 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:45.399 cons to coronal mass ejections, but with reliance on electronics, 261 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:49.679 that's becoming an area of concern. Well, it's not becoming. 262 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.639 It is an area of concern if we get hit 263 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.840 directly by something super nasty like that for it. 264 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:02.000 Yes, that's correct. So the second part of Mark's question 265 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:07.079 is a good one, and it's right that red dwarfs 266 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:12.039 are much more active on this sort of scale. We 267 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:18.039 know that they are more you know, the outbursts of 268 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:23.640 sub atomic particles are much more prevalent, and I think, 269 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.160 thinking back to my studies of stellar evolution and things 270 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:33.039 of that sort, these stars have star spots on them 271 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:37.920 which are huge. They are very large compared with the 272 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:42.000 star itself, and I think that might be the one 273 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:45.119 of the reasons why you've got much more activity, because 274 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:49.920 they have enormous star spots on them. And in fact, 275 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.559 I was just talking only today to a couple of 276 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:56.000 my colleagues who are the experts on exactly that in 277 00:17:56.039 --> 00:18:01.000 this country at the University of Southern Queensland, Brad Carter 278 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:04.200 and Stephen Marsden. They did research on this and I've 279 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:07.599 worked with him in the past on it. They can 280 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:12.079 actually map where these star spots are on stars. They 281 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:14.720 do it with a technique called ZAM and Doppler imaging, 282 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.400 which is a fairly esoteric technique but allows you to 283 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.400 make maps of the surface of stars, and their Red 284 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:25.920 dwarfs have got very big star spots, which I'm sure 285 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:30.759 is why you get big, big solar flares. Now, Mark's 286 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:33.759 next question, if he was able to talk to us, 287 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.680 will be why do they have such big star spots. 288 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.640 The answer to that is, well, I'll go and ask 289 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:41.000 my colleagues because I don't know the answer to that, 290 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:43.200 but it's totally something in the evil. 291 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.440 That bloke you were talking about, Samon Doppler, he might know. 292 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:52.839 That's two blocks actually hair Doppler, And yeah, it would 293 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.160 be hair as well as Emma was Dutch, So there 294 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:56.480 you go. 295 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.319 It was probably the big spot that are causing red 296 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:06.799 doors to be so nasty, so their planets where it's 297 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.640 very difficult to establish life. By the sound of it, 298 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.759 We've talked about that before. That's probably what prompted the 299 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.480 question from Mars. I'm sure a good question too. Thank you, 300 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.160 Yes it is, Thank you Mark. Thank you to everyone 301 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.759 who contributed. Don't forget to send your questions into us 302 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.799 via our website, Space nuts podcast dot com, Space nuts 303 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.720 dot io. Click on the AMA link at the top. 304 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:31.000 It's right next to about and support, which you can 305 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:34.599 also do. And yeah, you can send text and audio 306 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:37.119 questions there or send us the audio questions from the 307 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.519 send us your Questions button on the right hand side. 308 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:41.680 As long as you've got a device with a microphone, 309 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.519 you are set. Don't forget to tell us who you 310 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:46.960 are and where you're from and what your town's ranking is. 311 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:50.319 We really want to know that in terms of libability. 312 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:54.559 Maybe well, no, tell us something about where you live. 313 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:57.000 We'd love to find out. It's always good to know. 314 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:01.000 And don't forget to follow us on social media and 315 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.200 subscribe on YouTube. I've been reliably informed that we only 316 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:08.799 need nine point four million more followers to get pay 317 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.920 the dollar a year. Big money, big money and social media. Yeah, 318 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:17.519 thank you, Fred, we are done again. 319 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.559 It sounds great and great to talk to you as always, 320 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:23.440 Andrew look forward to the next time. 321 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:26.839 Indeed, catch you soon, Fred, what's an astronomer at large? 322 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:29.640 And thanks to Hugh in the studio who wasn't in 323 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.480 the studio today. Thanks anyway, and from me Andrew Dunkley. 324 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:35.000 Thanks for your company. We'll catch you next time on 325 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.440 another edition of Space Nuts. 326 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:44.160 By bye you best to the Space Nuts podcast, available 327 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:49.599 at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast player. 328 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:52.920 You can also stream on demand at bides dot com. 329 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:58.720 This has been another quality podcast production from nights dot com.