Speaker 1: Hello space enthusiasts. Today on Astronomy Daily, we're exploring an
incredible array of astronomical discoveries and developments that are pushing
the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos. We'll dive
into groundbreaking research that's bringing us closer to interstellar travel,
as scientists make significant progress with ultra thin light sales
that could one day propel spacecraft to distant stars. We'll
also take a look at NASA's exciting new SPHEREx telescope,
set to launch this month, which promises to reveal aspects
of our universe that even the James Web Space Telescope
can't see. From there, we'll journey to Jupiter's moon Io,
where NASA's Juno spacecraft has witnessed the most powerful volcanic
event ever recorded in our solar system. We'll also catch
up with Comet Atlas as it makes its fiery journey
past our Sun, and explore fascinating new findings about geological
activity on the Moon that's challenging our understanding of our
celestial neighbors. Stay with me, Anna, as we explore these
fascinating developments in space science and discovery. Scientists are making
remarkable progress in turning the science fiction dream of interstellar
travel into reality through the development of ultra thin light sales.
The Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, a program started in twenty sixteen
by theoretical physicists Stephen Hawking and scientist Yuri Milner at
the California Institute of Technology, has recently achieved a significant
milestone in this ambitious endeavor. The research team, led by
Starshot Lightsale Research Director Harry Atwater, has developed an innovative
platform for testing materials that could potentially form these revolutionary
light sales. These spacecraft propulsion devices would harness the power
of laser beams to achieve unprecedented speeds, potentially opening up
interstellar distances to direct exploration that we can currently only
study through remote observation. One of the most challenging aspects
of developing these light sALS is creating a membrane that
can withstand intense heat while maintaining its shape under pressure
and staying stable along a laser beam's axis. The team
has ingeniously engineered a test to measure the precise force
that lasers exert on ultra thin membranes of different materials,
turning what was once a technical obstacle into a scientific advantage.
Their research has revealed fascinating insights into how these miniature
light sales interact with laser beams. When struck by light,
these mechanical resonators vibrate in response to both heat and
radiation pressure. The team discovered that by studying these vibrations,
they could accurately measure the force being exerted on the membrane,
providing crucial data for future designs. Perhaps most intriguingly, the
researchers found that when laser beams strike the light sale
at angles, as would happen in real space conditions, the
force is actually lower than theoretical predictions. This discovery, attributed
to light scattering off the sale's edges, has led to
promising new research directions involving nanomaterials and meta materials that
could help control the sideways, movement and rotation of these
future spacecraft. This breakthrough represents a crucial stepping stone toward
developing freely accelerating light sales that could one day carry
tiny probes to our nearest star systems, potentially revolutionizing our
ability to explore the Cosmos firsthand. The team's work continues
to focus on creating surfaces that can automatically correct their
position if they drift off course, bringing us ever closer
to making interstellar travel a reality. Next up today, NASA
is preparing to launch an extraordinary new space telescope that
promises to revolutionize our view of the cosmos. Named SPHEREx,
this innovative observatory is scheduled for launch in late February
aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket, marking another milestone in
our journey to understand the universe. What makes SPHEREx truly
special is its unprecedented ability to map the entire sky
in one hundred and two different infrared colors, something that's
never been done before in human history. While the James
Webb Space Telescope excels at studying specific celestial objects in
great detail, SPHEREx will take a broader approach, creating a
comprehensive panorama of the entire sky visible from Earth. This
eggshell white conical probe might look modest compared to some
of its predecessors, but don't let its appearance fool you.
Weighing about as much as a grand piano and using
less power than your home refrigerator, SPHEREx has been engineered
to perform its mission with remarkable efficiency. To protect its
sensitive instruments from heat interference, the spacecraft features an ingenious
design with three concentric cone shaped photon shields and specialized
radiator plates. These work together to keep the telescope cool
enough to detect the faintest infrared signals from space. The
mission's goals are ambitious. Scientists hope to use SPHEREx to
study hundreds of millions of galaxies, potentially unlocking secrets about
cause inflation, that mind bending moment just after the Big Bang,
when the universe expanded faster than the speed of light.
They're also planning to search for icy organic molecules floating
between stars, which could help explain how life on Earth began.
What's particularly exciting is how SPHEREx will work in tandem
with other observatories. Its all sky infrared map will be
an invaluable resource for James Webb Telescope scientists, helping them
identify the most promising targets for detailed observation. Every six months,
SPHEREx will complete a new map of the sky, building
up an unprecedented view of our cosmic neighborhood. Over its
two year primary mission at a modest cost of around
four hundred and eighty eight million dollars. SPHEREx demonstrates that
groundbreaking science doesn't always require the most expensive instruments. Instead,
it's about having the right tool for the right job,
and in this case, that means creating the most detailed
infrared map of our universe ever attempted. Let's head over
to Jupiter now. Jupiter's moon Io has just set a
new record for volcanic activity, and what NASA's Juno spacecraft
recently witnessed there is nothing short of spectacular. During its
December twenty twenty three flyby, Juno observed a volcanic event
so massive it makes Earth's most powerful eruptions look like
campfires in comparison. The newly discovered hotspot region on Io's
surface spans an area larger than Lake Superior, and the
energy its releasing is truly mind boggling, equivalent to six
times the combined output of all Earth's power plants. This
isn't just another eruption on Io. It's the most powerful
volcanic event ever recorded on what was already known as
the most volcanic world in our Solar system. The discovery
came during Juno's close approach to Io, when it passed
within about nine hundred and thirty miles of the Moon's surface.
Using its infrared instrument, the spacecraft detected an enormous hot
spot in Io's southern hemisphere that was so intense it
actually saturated. The scientists believe what they're seeing isn't just
one massive eruption, but several closely spaced hotspots, all erupting simultaneously,
suggesting the presence of a vast underground magma chamber system.
What makes Io such a volcanic powerhouse. The answer lies
in its relationship with Jupiter. As the Moon orbits the
gas giant every forty two point five hours, Jupiter's immense
gravitational pull creates powerful tidal forces that literally squeeze and
stretch Io. This constant needing generates tremendous heat inside the Moon,
leading to the spectacular volcanic activity we're witnessing. The Moon's
surface is already home to about four hundred active volcanoes,
all spewing lava, gas, and ash into Io's atmosphere. This
new eruption, however, stands apart in its sheer scale and intensity.
The affected region covers roughly forty thousand square miles, and
scientists are eagerly awaiting Juno's next fly by in March
to see how this remarkable event has reshaped Io's surface.
These observations aren't just spectacular, they're providing valuable insights into
volcanic processes, not just on Io, but potentially on other
worlds throughout our Solar System. As scientists continue to study
this unprecedented event, we're gaining new understanding of how planetary
bodies evolve and interact with their environments. Okay, how did
you go at photographing Comet atlass when it's sped by
us last month? Not as well as this, I would think.
A remarkable celestial spectacle unfolded in our cosmic neighborhood as
Comet C twenty twenty four G three, also known as
Comet Atlas, made its dramatic journey past the Sun between
January eleventh and fifteenth. The comet treated astronomers to an
extraordinary show as it blazed through the inner Solar System,
coming within just eight million miles of our star. That's
a mere nine percent of the distance between Earth and
the Sun. The ESA and NASA's Soho spacecraft captured stunning
images of this cosmic wanderer using its Lasco instrument. By
cleverly blocking out the Sun's intense light with a special disc,
LASCO revealed intricate details of the comet's tail as it
responded to the solar wind. These observations are providing scientists
with valuable insights into how the Sun's constant stream of
particles and energy influences objects passing through our solar neighborhood.
The images processed by Carl Badams at the US Naval
Research Lab brought out remarkable fine details in the comet's tail,
showcasing how it twisted and turned in response to fluctuations
in the solar wind. This interaction between comet and solar
wind is helping heliophysicists better understand the Sun's influence on
its surrounding environment. While the comet briefly graced Northern Hemisphere
skies during its closest approach to the Sun, it has
since moved into southern skies. However, there are indications that
this cosmic visitor may have paid a price for its
close encounter with our star. Scientists have observed signs suggesting
the comet might be breaking apart, which could lead to
it rapidly fading from view in the coming days. Next,
let's turn our attention to some fascinating lunar developments that
are reshaping our understanding of Earth's closest celestial neighbor. Firefly's
Blue Ghost mission has reached a significant milestone in its
forty five day journey to the Moon, with NASA's specialized
camera system SCALPS one point one successfully completing its first
round of tests. All six of its high resolution cameras
are functioning perfectly, ready to document every crucial moment of
the spacecraft's eventual descent and touchdown on the lunar surface.
Four of these cameras are specifically designed to capture the
interaction between Blue Ghosts, rocket plumes, and the Moon's surface,
while two additional cameras will record detailed before and after
images of the landing site. This documentation is becoming increasingly
important as we prepare for more frequent lunar missions, helping
scientists better understand how spacecraft landings affect the lunar environment. Meanwhile,
a groundbreaking discovery on the Moon's far side is challenging
our long held assumptions about lunar geology. Researchers from the
National Air and Space Museum and the University of Maryland
have identified two hundred and sixty six previously unknown small
ridges that tell an unexpected story of recent geological activity.
These ridges, typically found in groups of ten to forty,
appear to be surprisingly young, possibly forming within the last
two hundred million years. This is remarkably recent in geological terms,
especially for a body that many scientists believed had been
geologically dormant for billions of years. The research team used
crater counting techniques to date these features, finding that some
ridges even cut through existing impact craters, providing clear evidence
of their relatively recent formation. The structures bear striking similarities
to features found on the Moon's near side, suggesting they
were created by the same forces, possibly shallow moonquakes first
detected during the Apollo missions. Movements are likely caused by
a combination of shifts in the Moon's orbit and its
gradual shrinking, a process that continues to influence lunar surface
dynamics today. These findings have significant implications for future lunar
exploration and infrastructure planning, Understanding that the Moon is still
geologically active will be crucial for determining safe locations for
future astronaut missions, equipment placement, and potential permanent installations on
the lunar surface. And that brings us to the end
of another fascinating episode of Astronomy Daily. From breakthrough developments
in interstellar travel technology to record breaking volcanic activity on
Jupiter's moon Io, from NASA's ambitious news sphere X telescope
to surprising discoveries about lunar geology. It's been an exciting
day in space news. I'm Anna, and I want to
thank you for joining me on this cosmic journey. If
you're hungry for more space and astronomy news, head over
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edition of Astronomy.
Speaker 2: Dailyday Star starz Star