Cosmic Chronicles: Mars' Rock Samples, Easter's Unique Date, and the Alpha Centauri Enigma

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your gateway to the cosmos.

0:04 Speaker 1: I'm Anna, and today we're exploring some fascinating developments across

0:08 Speaker 1: our universe, from our neighboring planets to distant galaxies. Coming

0:12 Speaker 1: up on today's episode, we'll venture to Mars, where the

0:15 Speaker 1: Perseverance Rover has discovered diverse, rocky outcrops on the rim

0:19 Speaker 1: of Jesuo Crater, providing new insights into the red planet's

0:23 Speaker 1: ancient history. We'll also dive into some celestial mathematics to

0:28 Speaker 1: explain why Easter will come unusually late this year despite

0:32 Speaker 1: the timing of the full moon. It's a fascinating intersection

0:35 Speaker 1: of astronomy and tradition. Then we'll explore research suggesting that

0:41 Speaker 1: millions of interstellar objects from Alpha Centauri might be hiding

0:45 Speaker 1: in our own solar system, creating connections between star systems

0:48 Speaker 1: we never imagine. April is Citizen Science Month, and I'll

0:52 Speaker 1: tell you how you can join NASA's ambitious goal of

0:55 Speaker 1: achieving one million acts of science and become part of

0:59 Speaker 1: real astronomical discoveries. Finally, we'll witness the dramatic awakening of

1:05 Speaker 1: a super massive black hole erupting with the most powerful

1:09 Speaker 1: X ray blasts ever recorded, challenging scientists understanding of these

1:13 Speaker 1: cosmic behemoths. So buckle up for a journey across the

1:16 Speaker 1: cosmos as we explore the latest discoveries and wonders of

1:19 Speaker 1: our universe. Let's get started with our favorite red planet.

1:23 Speaker 1: NASA's Perseverance rover has made a remarkable discovery on the

1:27 Speaker 1: rim of Mars's Jazero Crater, stumbling upon a treasure trove

1:31 Speaker 1: of diverse, rocky outcrops that have scientists buzzing with excitement.

1:35 Speaker 1: Since January, this plucky little rover has been analyzing what

1:38 Speaker 1: scientists describe as a hodgepodge of rocks on the crater rim,

1:43 Speaker 1: and the findings are proving more valuable than anticipated. Perseverance

1:47 Speaker 1: has been working at an impressive pace, couring five rocks

1:50 Speaker 1: and successfully sealing samples from three of them in collection tubes.

1:54 Speaker 1: It has conducted detailed close up analysis of seven rocks

1:58 Speaker 1: while assessing another eighty three from a distance using its

2:01 Speaker 1: laser technology. While this might not sound like a substantial

2:04 Speaker 1: workload over several months, NASA reports this has actually been

2:08 Speaker 1: the rover's fastest science mission since landing on the red planet.

2:11 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty one. The rover reached the crater rim

2:15 Speaker 1: in December twenty twenty four and has been exploring a

2:18 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty five meter tall slope that scientists

2:21 Speaker 1: have nicknamed which Hazel Hill. What makes this location so

2:26 Speaker 1: special is the remarkable variety of rock types found in

2:29 Speaker 1: close proximity to each other. Project's scientist Katie stack Morgan

2:33 Speaker 1: from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explains the significance. During previous

2:38 Speaker 1: science campaigns in Jezero, it could take several months to

2:40 Speaker 1: find a rock that was significantly different from the last

2:43 Speaker 1: rock we sampled and scientifically unique enough for sampling. But

2:47 Speaker 1: up here on the crater rim there are new and

2:49 Speaker 1: intriguing rocks. Everywhere the rover turns. It has been all

2:52 Speaker 1: we had hoped for and more. The western rim of

2:54 Speaker 1: ja Zero Crater features numerous fragmented rocks that were once molten.

2:59 Speaker 1: Scientists bel leave these rocks were brought to the surface

3:01 Speaker 1: by meteor impacts billions of years ago, possibly including the

3:05 Speaker 1: very impact that created Jesero Crater itself. One particularly exciting

3:10 Speaker 1: sample was collected on January twenty eighth from a rock

3:14 Speaker 1: dubbed Shallow Bay. This rock likely formed around three point

3:18 Speaker 1: nine billion years ago, potentially making it the oldest sample

3:22 Speaker 1: collected by the rover so far. About one hundred and

3:25 Speaker 1: ten meters away from Shallow Bay, another intriguing rock caught

3:29 Speaker 1: scientists attention because it contains minerals that crystallized from magma

3:33 Speaker 1: deep within the Martian crust. These diverse mineral compositions are

3:37 Speaker 1: crucial for scientists attempting to piece together Mars' geological history.

3:42 Speaker 1: By analyzing these rocks, researchers hope to better understand how

3:46 Speaker 1: the planet formed and evolved over billions of years, including

3:50 Speaker 1: weather conditions were ever suitable for life to exist. The

3:54 Speaker 1: abundance and diversity of these rocks will help scientists determine

3:57 Speaker 1: if Mars was once habitable and if it might still

4:00 Speaker 1: harbor environments that could support life today. Each sample provides

4:05 Speaker 1: a window into different periods of Martian history and different

4:08 Speaker 1: environmental conditions. As Stack Morgan enthusiastically puts it, the last

4:12 Speaker 1: four months have been a whirlwind for the science team,

4:15 Speaker 1: and we still feel that which Hazel Hill has more

4:17 Speaker 1: to tell us. We'll use all the rover data gathered

4:20 Speaker 1: recently to decide if and where to collect the next

4:22 Speaker 1: sample from the Crater rim Crater rims. You gotta love them.

4:28 Speaker 1: If you've ever wondered why the date of Easter seems

4:30 Speaker 1: to jump around the calendar from year to year, you're

4:32 Speaker 1: not alone. Easter twenty twenty five is coming particularly late,

4:37 Speaker 1: falling on April twentieth, and there's a fascinating astronomical reason

4:41 Speaker 1: behind this mobile holiday. Easter's date is determined by what's

4:45 Speaker 1: known as the paschal moon, the first full moon that

4:48 Speaker 1: occurs on or after the spring equinox. In theory, Easter

4:52 Speaker 1: should fall on the Sunday immediately following this full moon.

4:57 Speaker 1: This connection between Easter and lunar cycles has ancient ord origins,

5:00 Speaker 1: linking the Christian celebration to the Hebrew calendar and Passover.

5:05 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty five, the April full moon, traditionally known

5:09 Speaker 1: as the pink full moon, will occur on April twelfth.

5:13 Speaker 1: Despite its name, this moon won't actually appear pink. The

5:16 Speaker 1: name comes from the blooming of moss pink flocks, flowers

5:19 Speaker 1: that typically coincide with this lunar event. Since this full

5:23 Speaker 1: moon happens after the spring equinox, it's also the paschal

5:26 Speaker 1: moon for twenty twenty five. Given this timing, you might

5:30 Speaker 1: expect Easter to fall on April thirteenth, the Sunday immediately

5:33 Speaker 1: following the Paschal moon. However, Easter twenty twenty five will

5:37 Speaker 1: actually be celebrated a full week later, on April twentieth.

5:42 Speaker 1: This discrepancy highlights the complex relationship between astronomical observations and

5:46 Speaker 1: ecclesiastical rules. The explanation involves the difference between astronomical reality

5:52 Speaker 1: and church tradition. While astronomers calculate the exact moment of

5:56 Speaker 1: a full moon based on the moon's position relative to

5:58 Speaker 1: Earth and the Sun, the Church follows ecclesiastical tables that

6:02 Speaker 1: don't always align perfectly with astronomical events. Additionally, there's a

6:07 Speaker 1: geographical factor at play. In North America, the Paschal full

6:11 Speaker 1: moon occurs on Saturday, April twelfth, but in European longitudes,

6:15 Speaker 1: including the Vatican, this same full moon happens after midnight,

6:19 Speaker 1: technically placing it on Sunday April thirteenth. Since the first

6:23 Speaker 1: Sunday after the Paschal Moon in the Old World would

6:25 Speaker 1: be April twentieth, that's when Easter will be celebrated globally.

6:29 Speaker 1: The rules for determining Easter's date have other interesting quirks.

6:33 Speaker 1: For instance, the Church fixes the vernal equinox on March

6:36 Speaker 1: twenty first, even though astronomically it now falls no later

6:40 Speaker 1: than March twentieth. This can lead to some peculiar situations.

6:45 Speaker 1: In twenty thirty eight, for example, the equinox will fall

6:48 Speaker 1: on March twentieth, with a full moon the very next day,

6:51 Speaker 1: but Easter won't be celebrated until April twenty fifth, the

6:54 Speaker 1: latest possible date it can occur. Easter can fall as

6:58 Speaker 1: early as March twenty second, which last happened to eighteen

7:00 Speaker 1: eighteen and won't happen again until twenty two eighty five,

7:03 Speaker 1: and as late as April twenty fifth. Interestingly, when Easter

7:06 Speaker 1: occurs in March, it's always preceded and followed by April Easters.

7:09 Speaker 1: In adjacent years. Between two thousand and seven thousand, nine

7:12 Speaker 1: hundred and ninety nine, Easter will fall most frequently on

7:15 Speaker 1: April nineteenth, occurring on that date two hundred and thirty

7:19 Speaker 1: one times. However, if we narrow our focus to just

7:22 Speaker 1: this millennium, April sixteenth becomes the most common Easter date.

7:26 Speaker 1: So when you mark Easter twenty twenty five on your

7:28 Speaker 1: calendar for April twentieth. Remember you're participating in a tradition

7:32 Speaker 1: that blends ancient astronomical observations with ecclesiastical calculations, a fascinating

7:38 Speaker 1: intersection of science and faith that continues to evolve through

7:41 Speaker 1: the centuries. Next up today, have you ever wondered if

7:45 Speaker 1: objects from other star systems might be passing through our

7:48 Speaker 1: cosmic neighborhood. A fascinating new study from Western University suggests

7:52 Speaker 1: that our Solar System could be home to millions of

7:55 Speaker 1: interstellar visitors, primarily from our nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri.

8:00 Speaker 1: Astrophysicists Cole Greg and Paul Wiegert have developed a groundbreaking

8:04 Speaker 1: computer model that simulates interstellar activity between our Solar System

8:08 Speaker 1: and Alpha Centauri. Their research, published in the Planetary Science

8:13 Speaker 1: Journal this March, points to Alpha Centauri as a likely

8:17 Speaker 1: source of interstellar material found within our Solar system. Alpha

8:21 Speaker 1: Centauri is particularly interesting because it's a triple star system,

8:25 Speaker 1: unlike our single Sun arrangement. Yet the researchers believe it

8:29 Speaker 1: might behave similarly to our own Solar system when it

8:32 Speaker 1: comes to ejecting material into space. As Greg explains giant

8:37 Speaker 1: planets introduce a degree of chaos, perturbing orbits and giving

8:41 Speaker 1: objects the velocity boost they need to escape their star's

8:44 Speaker 1: gravitational pull. The model suggests something truly remarkable. Approximately one

8:50 Speaker 1: million interstellar objects larger than one hundred meters in diameter

8:55 Speaker 1: originating from Alpha Centauri may currently be within our solar

8:58 Speaker 1: systems or at cloud, that vast shell of icy objects

9:02 Speaker 1: surrounding our planetary neighborhood, and this number is expected to

9:06 Speaker 1: increase as Alpha Centauri moves closer to us, with its

9:09 Speaker 1: closest approach predicted in about twenty eight thousand years. Assuming

9:14 Speaker 1: Alpha Centauri is ejecting material, which it should be, there

9:17 Speaker 1: are plenty of reasons to expect some of that material

9:20 Speaker 1: is making its way to us, notes Professor Wigert, who

9:23 Speaker 1: has discovered more than eighty minor planets during his career.

9:27 Speaker 1: This research builds on our understanding of interstellar objects that

9:31 Speaker 1: began with the twenty seventeen discovery of um Wahmua, the

9:34 Speaker 1: first confirmed interstellar visitor spotted by Western scientist Robert Warrick. Umwahmua,

9:41 Speaker 1: a reddish object estimated to be between one hundred and

9:44 Speaker 1: one thousand meters long was just the first glimpse of

9:47 Speaker 1: what could be a much larger population of interstellar wanderers.

9:52 Speaker 1: Before you worry about interstellar impacts, the researchers offer reassurance.

9:57 Speaker 1: Their model projects that while as many as ten met

10:00 Speaker 1: years from Alpha Centauri might enter Earth's atmosphere annually, these

10:03 Speaker 1: would be microscopic, no larger than one hundred micrometers in size.

10:08 Speaker 1: In fact, only about one in a trillion meteor striking

10:11 Speaker 1: Earth might originate from Alpha centaury. The real significance of

10:15 Speaker 1: this research lies in how it transforms our understanding of

10:18 Speaker 1: cosmic systems. As Greg eloquently puts it, throughout the history

10:22 Speaker 1: of astronomy, every time we look at a system, we

10:25 Speaker 1: think of it as a closed system. The galaxy isn't

10:28 Speaker 1: a collection of all these individual star systems. Rather, they

10:31 Speaker 1: should be studied as an interconnected system, one that shares

10:35 Speaker 1: all of this interstellar material among the stars. This interconnected

10:40 Speaker 1: view of our galaxy challenges the traditional notion of star

10:44 Speaker 1: systems as isolated entities. Instead, it suggests a cosmic ecosystem

10:50 Speaker 1: where matter regularly travels between neighboring stars, creating a complex

10:54 Speaker 1: web of interstellar exchange that has been ongoing for billions

10:57 Speaker 1: of years. Next something you may like to take part in.

11:02 Speaker 1: April marks a special time for science enthusiasts around the world.

11:06 Speaker 1: It's Citizen Science Month, and NASA is embarking on an

11:09 Speaker 1: ambitious mission they're calling one million Acts of Science. This

11:13 Speaker 1: initiative aims to harness the collective power of volunteers everywhere

11:17 Speaker 1: to help solve some of astronomy's greatest mysteries. Citizen Science

11:21 Speaker 1: represents a beautiful intersection of professional research and public participation.

11:26 Speaker 1: Through these programs, ordinary people like you and me can

11:29 Speaker 1: contribute meaningfully to scientific discovery without specialized degrees or equipment.

11:34 Speaker 1: NASA's citizen Science projects are designed to address real world problems,

11:38 Speaker 1: protect our planet, and unravel the secrets of the universe.

11:42 Speaker 1: The concept is simple yet powerful. By distributing scientific tasks

11:47 Speaker 1: across thousands of volunteers, researchers can accomplish what would be

11:51 Speaker 1: impossible for even the largest professional teams. Your contribution, combined

11:56 Speaker 1: with others around the globe, creates a formidable force for

11:59 Speaker 1: scientific advancement. So what exactly counts as an act of science?

12:03 Speaker 1: It could be as straightforward as categorizing galaxies based on

12:06 Speaker 1: their shapes, identifying features on Mars, tracking changes in cloud patterns,

12:11 Speaker 1: or monitoring light pollution in your local area. Many projects

12:15 Speaker 1: require nothing more than a smartphone and a curious mind.

12:18 Speaker 1: What makes these initiatives particularly valuable is that they're not

12:21 Speaker 1: just busy work. The data collected through citizen science efforts

12:25 Speaker 1: has led to genuine discoveries and appears in peer reviewed

12:28 Speaker 1: scientific publications. Your contributions help NASA scientists understand our changing planet,

12:35 Speaker 1: identify new asteroids, study distant galaxies, and monitor space weather.

12:40 Speaker 1: The beauty of citizen science is its accessibility. Projects are

12:45 Speaker 1: designed to accommodate various interests, time commitments, and skill levels.

12:50 Speaker 1: Whether you have five minutes while waiting for your coffee

12:52 Speaker 1: or want to dedicate several hours each week, there's a

12:56 Speaker 1: project perfectly suited to your availability. If you're in interested

13:00 Speaker 1: in participating, NASA's Citizen Science website offers a comprehensive directory

13:04 Speaker 1: of active projects, from helping classify exoplanets to tracking wildlife

13:09 Speaker 1: responses to solar eclipses. The diversity of opportunities means you're

13:13 Speaker 1: bound to find something that captures your imagination by joining

13:17 Speaker 1: this worldwide community of citizen scientists, you become part of

13:21 Speaker 1: something much larger than yourself, a global effort to expand

13:24 Speaker 1: human knowledge and address some of our most pressing challenges.

13:28 Speaker 1: And during this special month celebrating citizen Science, your participation

13:32 Speaker 1: helps NASA reach that ambitious goal of one million scientific contributions. Remember,

13:38 Speaker 1: science isn't just for professional researchers in labs. It belongs

13:42 Speaker 1: to all of us, and through citizen science, we all

13:45 Speaker 1: have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding

13:49 Speaker 1: just a little bit further. If you're interested in finding

13:52 Speaker 1: out more, I'll leave a link in the show notes

13:54 Speaker 1: for you. We've all experienced grumpy mornings, but nothing compares

13:59 Speaker 1: to the cosm tantrum recently thrown by a supermassive black

14:02 Speaker 1: hole in a galaxy far far away. Astronomers have observed

14:06 Speaker 1: something truly extraordinary, a monster black hole, unleashing the longest

14:11 Speaker 1: and most powerful X ray eruptions ever recorded from such

14:14 Speaker 1: an object. The black hole in question sits at the

14:17 Speaker 1: center of galaxy sdss on Thy three hundred thirty five

14:21 Speaker 1: plus zero seven two eight, approximately three hundred million light

14:25 Speaker 1: years from Earth. After decades of inactivity, this cosmic giant

14:29 Speaker 1: has suddenly awakened with a vengeance, beginning to devour surrounding

14:33 Speaker 1: matter and producing what scientists call quasi periodic eruptions or qpease.

14:39 Speaker 1: This active region at the galaxy's heart, nicknamed Anski by researchers,

14:43 Speaker 1: first showed signs of awakening in late twenty nineteen. By

14:47 Speaker 1: February of this year, astronomers using NASA's Swift X ray

14:51 Speaker 1: space telescope observed the black hole erupting with flares at

14:54 Speaker 1: surprisingly regular intervals, providing a rare opportunity to monitor a

14:59 Speaker 1: feeding black hole in real time. What makes these observations

15:03 Speaker 1: particularly remarkable is their unprecedented scale. As MIT researcher Joheen

15:09 Speaker 1: Chakraborti explains, the bursts of X rays from Anski are

15:13 Speaker 1: ten times longer and ten times more luminous than what

15:16 Speaker 1: we see from a typical QPE. Each eruption releases one

15:20 Speaker 1: hundred times more energy than previously observed elsewhere, with eruptions

15:24 Speaker 1: occurring roughly every four and a half days, the longest

15:28 Speaker 1: interval ever seen. These extreme behaviors are challenging existing scientific

15:33 Speaker 1: models and forcing astronomers to reconsider their understanding of such events. Typically,

15:39 Speaker 1: qpes have been associated with super massive black holes capturing

15:43 Speaker 1: and shredding stars, then consuming the stellar remnants. However, this

15:47 Speaker 1: doesn't appear to be happening with Anski, leaving scientists puzzled

15:51 Speaker 1: about what's triggering these massive outbursts. The observations were made

15:54 Speaker 1: possible through an international collaborative effort utilizing multiple space telescopes,

16:00 Speaker 1: the European space agencies XMMM, Newton, NASA's NISS and Chandra missions,

16:05 Speaker 1: and archived data from Arisida. These repetitive bursts may also

16:09 Speaker 1: be generating gravitational waves, ripples, and space time that could

16:13 Speaker 1: potentially be detected by future missions like the Laser Interferometer

16:16 Speaker 1: Space Antenna, a joint ESA NASA space based detector scheduled

16:21 Speaker 1: for launch in twenty thirty seven. Having complementary X ray

16:25 Speaker 1: observations alongside gravitational wave data could prove crucial in solving

16:30 Speaker 1: the mysteries of massive black hole behavior. The research on

16:34 Speaker 1: this extraordinary cosmic event was published in the journal Nature

16:37 Speaker 1: Astronomy just last month, marking an important step forward in

16:41 Speaker 1: our understanding of black hole dynamics. As astronomers continue monitoring

16:45 Speaker 1: Anski's volatile behavior, we may gain valuable insights into the

16:49 Speaker 1: extreme physics governing these cosmic behemoths that lurk at the

16:52 Speaker 1: centers of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way, and

16:58 Speaker 1: that brings us to the end of another fastening journey

17:00 Speaker 1: through the cosmos. Today, we've explored everything from Martian geology

17:05 Speaker 1: to the mysteries of black holes, with some interesting astronomical

17:09 Speaker 1: calendar facts and citizen science opportunities along the way. We've

17:13 Speaker 1: seen how Perseverance is uncovering Mars's geological history through diverse

17:17 Speaker 1: rock samples on the Jesuo Crater, rim potentially revealing clues

17:21 Speaker 1: about the planet's habitability. We've demystified why Easter will arrive

17:25 Speaker 1: later than expected this year thanks to the complex interplay

17:29 Speaker 1: between astronomical events and ecclesiastical rules. We've learned that millions

17:34 Speaker 1: of interstellar visitors from Alpha Centauri might be hiding in

17:37 Speaker 1: our Solar system, challenging our view of star systems as

17:40 Speaker 1: isolated entities. We've discovered how you can participate in NASA's

17:45 Speaker 1: Citizen Science Month and contribute to their ambitious goal of

17:49 Speaker 1: one million acts of science. And finally, we've witnessed the

17:53 Speaker 1: dramatic awakening of a monster black hole, producing unprecedented X

17:56 Speaker 1: ray eruptions that are forcing scientists to rethink their understanding

18:00 Speaker 1: of these cosmic giants. I'm Anna, your host for Astronomy Daily,

18:05 Speaker 1: and I hope you've enjoyed today's cosmic exploration. If you'd

18:08 Speaker 1: like to stay updated on all things astronomy, please visit

18:11 Speaker 1: our website at Astronomy Daily dot io, where you can

18:14 Speaker 1: sign up for our free daily newsletter and access all

18:17 Speaker 1: our previous episodes. If you're enjoying the podcast, we'd be

18:21 Speaker 1: thrilled if you'd share it with your family, friends, or

18:24 Speaker 1: anyone else who gazes up at the night sky with wonder.

18:27 Speaker 1: Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about

18:30 Speaker 1: our magnificent universe. Sunday Stars Star