Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space
in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we'll
be covering a range of exciting topics, from SpaceX's clash
with the FAA to new discoveries and galaxy clusters. Plus
I have a couple of stories on how you can
help contribute to science projects and progress. Get ready for
a cosmic journey through the headlines that are shaping our
understanding of the universe. First up, in a bold move,
SpaceX is vehemently rejecting the Federal Aviation Administration's recent allegations
of launch requirement violations. The FAA has slapped the company
with a hefty six hundred thirty three thousand dollars fine,
but SpaceX isn't taking this lying down. The space giant
argues that the FAA is falling behind the rapidly evolving
commercial spaceflight industry. They claim the agency is struggling to
keep up with the pace of innovation and is misallocating
its limited resources. SpaceX's vice president for legal affairs, David Harris,
sent a strongly worded letter to congressional committees overseeing the FAA.
In it, he asserted that the company forcefully rejects the
FAA's assertion that it violated any regulations. This clash highlights
the growing tensions between traditional regulatory bodies and the new
wave of private space companies pushing the boundaries of exploration.
As the commercial space race heats up, it seems the
rule book might need some updating to match the speed
of progress. Next up, NASA has taken eclipse mapping to
a whole new level with their latest development. They've created
a process that generates incredibly accurate eclipse maps by incorporating
lunar topography data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This is
a game changer for both astronomers and eclipse enthusiasts. Traditionally,
eclipse calculations assumed a smooth, symmetrical Moon and didn't account
for Earth's varying elevations. But now NASA's new method factors
in the Moon's actual cratered and uneven surface, as well
as the true altitude of locations on Earth. The result,
we can now see the real time varying shape of
the Moon's shadow as it passes over our planet. It
turns out the shadow isn't a smooth oda as previously
thought it's more like a potato. This irregularity is caused
by the mountains and valleys along the edge of the
Moon's disk, which can affect the timing and duration of
totality by several seconds. This level of detail is unprecedented
and provides valuable information for scientific studies and eclipse predictions.
It's a testament to how far our understanding and technology
have come, allowing us to map these celestial events with
extraordinary precision. Now onto an exciting discovery in a cosmic
dance of hot gas and galaxies, NASA's Chandra X ray
Observatory has made a fascinating discovery in the zwiki eighty
three hundred and thirty eight galaxy cluster, located about six
hundred and seventy million light years from Earth. This cluster
is home to an extraordinary phenomenon two streams of superheated
gas crossing each other. This celestial spectacle involves a comet
like tail of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy spanning
an impressive one point six million light years. As the
galaxy plows through the cluster, its leave behind this enormous tail,
which has split into two distinct streams. What makes this
discovery particularly intriguing is that it's not the only set
of tails in the cluster. Astronomers had previously observed a
shorter pair of tails from a different galaxy nearby. The
crossing of these gas streams is providing valuable insights into
how cosmic collisions can shape the structure of galaxy clusters
and potentially trigger the formation of new stars. This chaotic
landscape of galaxies, superheated gas, and shock waves is a
result of two galaxy clusters colliding to create Zwiki eight thousand,
three hundred thirty eight. It's a cosmic laboratory that's helping
astronomers understand the complex dynamics at play in these massive
celestial structures. Now here's something you can help out with
if you wish. In an effort to combat the growing
issue of light pollution, researchers have developed an innovative and
cost effective solution. They've created an inexpensive sensor designed to
track light pollution on a global scale. Isn't just about
scientific data collection, it's a call to action for citizen
scientists worldwide. The sensors, which can be built using readily
available components for under sixty five dollars are capable of
measuring night sky brightness caused by artificial light. By encouraging
people around the world to construct and install these devices,
the researchers hope to create a comprehensive, real time map
of light pollution. This grassroots approach serves a dual purpose.
Not only will it provide valuable data for scientists, but
it also aims to raise public awareness about the detrimental
effects of light pollution, from disrupting ecosystems and wildlife behavior
to interfering with astronomical observations, the impact of excessive artificial
light is far reaching. By participating in this project, citizen
scientists can contribute to our understanding of light pollutions spread
and help inform strategies to mitigate its effects. It's a
powerful example of how technology and community engagement can come
together to address a global environmental challenge. I'll include links
in the show notes so you can find out more
about the project and instructions on how to build your
own sensor if you'd like to give it a go. Now,
let's talk about one of the most exciting astronomical hunts
of the past decade, the search for aracoth. After new
Horizons successful flyby of Pluto in twenty fifteen, scientists were
eager to extend the mission, but they faced a major
challenge finding a suitable target in the vast unexplored Kuiper Belt.
For nearly ten years, astronomers scoured the outer Solar System,
developing new tools and techniques along the way. They used
ground based telescopes, citizen science efforts, and even the Hubble
space telescope in their quest. Finally, in twenty fourteen, they
struck gold with the discovery of Aracoth. This small, oddly
shaped world became New Horizons second fly by target, visited
on New Year's Day twenty nineteen. The hunt for Aracoth
not only gave us unprecedented views of a distant Kuiper
Belt object, but also revolutionized our methods for studying this
frontier region of our Solar System. It's a testament to
human perseverance and ingenuity in the face of cosmic mysteries.
Next another project you can help with in an exciting
development for exoplanet research. Amateur astronomers and citizen scientists have
made significant contributions to our understanding of distant worlds. Their
efforts have helped refine the orbital parameters of an exoplanet
known as WASP seventy seven AB. This collaborative project, led
by researcher Federico R. Knoger from Arizona State University, along
with teams from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space
Flight Center, has produced the most precise physical and orbital
parameters to date for WASP seventy seven AB. The study
combined data from various citizen science projects including Exoplanet Watch
and exoclock, as well as professional observations from space telescopes
like Spitzer, Hubble, and James Webb. WASP seventy seven AB
is a gas giant exoplanet slightly larger than Jupiter but
orbiting incredibly close to its star. These refined parameters will
help astronomers better predict future transit events, crucial for planning
spacecraft observations and improving atmospheric models. This success story highlights
the power of citizen science in advancing our knowledge of
the cosmos. It shows that anyone with a passion for
astronomy can contribute meaningfully to cutting edge research, bridging the
gap between amateur enthusiasts and professional scientists. Want a piece
of the action, join the Exoplanet Watch project and help
contribute to cutting edge exoplanet science. Anyone can participate. Participation
does not require citizenship in any particular country. And that
wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna and
it's been my pleasure to bring you the latest in
space and astronomy news. Before we sign off, I want
to remind you to check out our website at Astronomydaily
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on the stars and we'll see you next time on
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