Milky Way's Mirror, Martian Snow Illusions, and Parker's Solar Soiree: S03E242

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. We've got an incredible lineup of

0:03 Speaker 1: space discoveries and celestial wonders to share with you today.

0:06 Speaker 1: From groundbreaking observations by the James Webb Space Telescope to

0:10 Speaker 1: festive celebrations aboard the International Space Station, this episode is

0:14 Speaker 1: packed with fascinating stories from across our cosmic neighborhood. We'll

0:19 Speaker 1: journey from the earliest days of our universe, where we've

0:22 Speaker 1: discovered a remarkable galaxy that looks surprisingly like our own

0:26 Speaker 1: Milky Way in its youth, to the frigid landscapes of Mars,

0:30 Speaker 1: where something that looks like snow but isn't has caught

0:33 Speaker 1: our attention. We'll also check in with our astronauts who

0:36 Speaker 1: are spreading holiday cheer from orbit, witness record breaking achievements

0:40 Speaker 1: as we touch the Sun and explore massive storms on

0:43 Speaker 1: Jupiter that are literally bigger than Earth. Stay with us

0:47 Speaker 1: as we unravel these cosmic mysteries and celebrate the wonder

0:49 Speaker 1: of space exploration during this festive season. Time to get started.

0:55 Speaker 1: In an extraordinary breakthrough, astronomers at Wellesley College have captured

0:59 Speaker 1: stunning new images of a galaxy that appears to be

1:02 Speaker 1: a mirror image of our own Milky Way in its infancy.

1:05 Speaker 1: Using the James Webb Space Telescope, they've discovered what they're

1:09 Speaker 1: calling the Firefly Sparkle, a galaxy that began forming just

1:13 Speaker 1: six hundred million years after the Big Bang. What makes

1:16 Speaker 1: this discovery particularly exciting is that we're seeing this galaxy

1:20 Speaker 1: at roughly the same mass our Milky Way would have

1:22 Speaker 1: had at that age. The images reveal ten distinct star clusters,

1:28 Speaker 1: each formed at different times, creating a structure that closely

1:32 Speaker 1: mirrors what we believe our galaxy looked like in its

1:34 Speaker 1: early stages. Like fireflies scattered across a summer night sky,

1:39 Speaker 1: these clusters are surrounded by a faint, shimmering arc. This

1:43 Speaker 1: marks the first time we've been able to resolve a

1:45 Speaker 1: galaxy from such an early period of the universe into

1:49 Speaker 1: so many distinct components. It's giving us an unprecedented window

1:53 Speaker 1: into our cosmic past, showing us exactly how galaxies like

1:56 Speaker 1: our own came together. The discovery is particularly remarked because

2:00 Speaker 1: most galaxies we've observed from this era are significantly more massive.

2:05 Speaker 1: Finding one that so closely matches our Milky Way's early

2:09 Speaker 1: mass provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to study our

2:13 Speaker 1: galaxies formation in detail. It's like finding a baby picture

2:17 Speaker 1: of our cosmic home. The images show an incredible amount

2:20 Speaker 1: of activity within this relatively small galaxy, with different phases

2:24 Speaker 1: of star formation happening simultaneously. This dynamic process of galaxy

2:29 Speaker 1: building is teaching us new things about how the first

2:31 Speaker 1: stars and star clusters formed in the infant universe, and

2:35 Speaker 1: how they evolved over time to create the cosmic structures

2:38 Speaker 1: we see today. This discovery isn't just a snapshot of

2:42 Speaker 1: a distant galaxy. It's a window into our own cosmic origins,

2:46 Speaker 1: showing us exactly how our galactic home may have looked

2:49 Speaker 1: billions of years ago. It's a reminder that the story

2:52 Speaker 1: of our Milky Way is written in the light of

2:54 Speaker 1: distant galaxies waiting for us to decode. It looks like

2:59 Speaker 1: it's party time on the ISS. The holiday spirit has

3:02 Speaker 1: made its way to the International Space Station, where our

3:05 Speaker 1: astronauts are celebrating Christmas in their unique way. Two hundred

3:09 Speaker 1: and sixty miles above Earth. The crew of Expedition seventy

3:13 Speaker 1: two has transformed their orbital home into a festive wonderland,

3:17 Speaker 1: complete with floating candy canes and a creative snowman crafted

3:21 Speaker 1: from storage bags. Commander Sunita Williams, sporting festive reindeer antlers,

3:27 Speaker 1: joined her fellow crew members to share their holiday celebrations.

3:31 Speaker 1: The station's current residents include NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore, Don Pettitt,

3:36 Speaker 1: and Nick Haig, along with their Russian colleagues alexey Ovchinin,

3:40 Speaker 1: Ivan Wagner, and Alexander Gorbanov, making for a truly international

3:45 Speaker 1: celebration in space. The crew has found innovative ways to

3:49 Speaker 1: bring holiday cheer to their orbital outpost. They've set up

3:52 Speaker 1: a small artificial Christmas tree and decorated it with ornaments

3:55 Speaker 1: featuring photos of their families back on Earth. The ground

3:59 Speaker 1: teams have also made sure our space explorers won't miss

4:01 Speaker 1: out on holiday traditions, preparing special festive meals for them

4:05 Speaker 1: to enjoy. While being away from loved ones during the

4:08 Speaker 1: holidays isn't easy, the crew acknowledges they're not alone in

4:12 Speaker 1: this sacrifice. Mission control teams around the world are also

4:16 Speaker 1: working through the season to keep the station running smoothly.

4:21 Speaker 1: It's a reminder of the dedication required to maintain our

4:25 Speaker 1: continuous presence in space even during the festive season. Despite

4:30 Speaker 1: the distance from Earth, the spirit of togetherness remains strong

4:34 Speaker 1: aboard the station. As Commander Williams notes, they've created their

4:38 Speaker 1: own space family, finding joy in celebrating together while floating

4:42 Speaker 1: among the stars. It's a unique perspective on holiday celebrations,

4:47 Speaker 1: reminding us that the spirit of the season truly knows

4:50 Speaker 1: no bounds, not even Earth's atmosphere. If you're dreaming of

4:54 Speaker 1: a white Christmas, Mars might have you covered, though not

4:58 Speaker 1: quite in the way you'd expect. Recent images from the

5:01 Speaker 1: red planet's austral Scopuli region, captured by both the European

5:05 Speaker 1: Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter,

5:09 Speaker 1: show what appears to be a stunning winter wonderland near

5:12 Speaker 1: the Martian South Pole. But this isn't your typical snowy scene.

5:16 Speaker 1: What we're seeing is actually a twenty six foot thick

5:19 Speaker 1: layer of frozen carbon dioxide dry ice that blankets the

5:22 Speaker 1: polar region year round. Even more fascinating is that these

5:26 Speaker 1: images were taken during Mars's summer solstice, highlighting just how

5:31 Speaker 1: perpetually frigid these polar regions are, with temperatures dropping to

5:35 Speaker 1: a bone chilling negative one hundred ninety three degrees fahrenheit.

5:39 Speaker 1: The landscape's appearance is even more intriguing when you understand

5:42 Speaker 1: what's actually happening. Those darker patches that look like exposed

5:46 Speaker 1: ground through snow are actually dust layers that have made

5:49 Speaker 1: their way to the surface through a remarkable process. As

5:53 Speaker 1: sunlight warms the frozen carbon dioxide during the Martian summer,

5:57 Speaker 1: it doesn't melt. Instead, it transforms directly from solid to

6:01 Speaker 1: gas in a process called sublimation. This sublimation creates pockets

6:05 Speaker 1: of trapped gas beneath the surface. As pressure builds up,

6:09 Speaker 1: these pockets eventually burst, shooting plumes of dark dust from

6:13 Speaker 1: below the ice into the Martian atmosphere. When this dust

6:17 Speaker 1: settles back down, the planet's winds sculpt it into the

6:20 Speaker 1: mesmerizing swirling patterns we see in these images. NASA's Mars

6:25 Speaker 1: Reconnaissance orbiter has also spotted winter frost decorating the sides

6:29 Speaker 1: of Martian dunes. This frost actually serves an important purpose,

6:34 Speaker 1: helping to prevent erosion by keeping the dust particles that

6:37 Speaker 1: make up these dunes firmly in place until the spring

6:40 Speaker 1: thaw arrives. It's a delicate dance of seasonal changes that

6:43 Speaker 1: helps shape and maintain mars unique landscape. What appears at

6:47 Speaker 1: first glance to be a serene winter scene is actually

6:51 Speaker 1: a dynamic display of Martian weather patterns at work, showing

6:55 Speaker 1: us once again that Mars, though familiar in some ways,

6:58 Speaker 1: remains wonderfully alien in others. Yes, next, let's move on

7:02 Speaker 1: to the complete opposite of the last story. On Christmas Eve,

7:06 Speaker 1: NASA's Parker Solar Probe made history by venturing closer to

7:09 Speaker 1: the Sun than any human made object ever has before.

7:13 Speaker 1: The spacecraft swooped to within just three point eight million

7:16 Speaker 1: miles of our star's surface, braving the intense heat of

7:19 Speaker 1: the solar corona during its twenty second close approach. This

7:22 Speaker 1: wasn't just a record breaking achievement in terms of distance.

7:26 Speaker 1: During this daring Christmas flyby, Parker reached mind boggling speeds

7:30 Speaker 1: of four hundred thirty thousand miles per hour. That's about

7:33 Speaker 1: three hundred times faster than a fighter jet and a

7:35 Speaker 1: new speed record for any human made object. This incredible

7:39 Speaker 1: velocity was made possible by seven gravity assists from Venus,

7:43 Speaker 1: with the final boost occurring just last month. While breaking

7:46 Speaker 1: records is impressive, Parker's true mission is far more important.

7:51 Speaker 1: By diving into the Sun's outer atmosphere, where temperatures soar

7:54 Speaker 1: to one eight hundred degrees fahrenheit, the probe is gathering

7:58 Speaker 1: crucial data about one of our stars most perplexing mysteries,

8:01 Speaker 1: the coronal heating problem. You see, something strange happens in

8:05 Speaker 1: the Sun's atmosphere. According to everything we know about stars,

8:09 Speaker 1: temperature should decrease as you move away from the core.

8:13 Speaker 1: But the Sun's corona defies this logic. While the Sun's

8:17 Speaker 1: visible surface sits at a toasty seven four hundred degrees fahrenheit,

8:22 Speaker 1: the corona reaches a blistering two million degrees. It's like

8:25 Speaker 1: finding out that your oven gets hotter the further away

8:28 Speaker 1: you get from it. It simply shouldn't work that way.

8:30 Speaker 1: The Christmas Eve approach was particularly nail biting because NASA

8:34 Speaker 1: had to temporarily lose contact with Parker during its closest approach.

8:38 Speaker 1: We won't know for certain that the spacecraft survived its

8:40 Speaker 1: holiday adventure until December twenty seventh, when it's expected to

8:44 Speaker 1: phone home. But Parker isn't done yet. It has two

8:47 Speaker 1: more close encounters planned for twenty twenty five, where it

8:50 Speaker 1: will once again brave the solar furnace in pursuit of

8:53 Speaker 1: unlocking the Sun's mysteries. Scientists have received an unexpected holiday

8:59 Speaker 1: gift this year, a potential solution to one of astronomy's

9:02 Speaker 1: latest puzzles, the mystery of jumbos. These peculiar objects, whose

9:07 Speaker 1: name stands for Jupiter mass binary objects, have been baffling

9:11 Speaker 1: researchers since their discovery in the Orion nebula earlier this year,

9:15 Speaker 1: when the James Webb Space Telescope first spotted forty two

9:18 Speaker 1: pairs of these objects, astronomers were stumped. Here were objects

9:23 Speaker 1: with masses similar to Jupiter, but they weren't behaving like

9:26 Speaker 1: planets or stars. Should they weren't orbiting any parent stars.

9:30 Speaker 1: Yet somehow they managed to stay together in pairs, something

9:34 Speaker 1: that shouldn't be possible if they were just ejected planets.

9:39 Speaker 1: But now researchers from the University of Sheffield might have

9:42 Speaker 1: unwrapped the answer. They proposed that jumbos are actually stellar

9:47 Speaker 1: cores that have been stripped down by their more massive

9:50 Speaker 1: stellar neighbors. Think of it like a cosmic version of

9:54 Speaker 1: unwrapping a present, except in this case, it's powerful radiation

9:58 Speaker 1: from massive stars doing the unreap apping, stripping away the

10:01 Speaker 1: outer layers of smaller stars. This process, known as photo erosion,

10:06 Speaker 1: occurs when the intense radiation from large hot stars known

10:10 Speaker 1: as O type or B type stars, blasts away at

10:13 Speaker 1: their smaller neighbors. The Orion nebula where these jumbos were found,

10:18 Speaker 1: happens to be full of these cosmic bullies. The radiation

10:21 Speaker 1: not only strips away material, but also compresses what remains,

10:25 Speaker 1: creating these unique objects that seem to exist somewhere between

10:28 Speaker 1: stars and brown dwarfs. What makes this theory particularly elegant

10:33 Speaker 1: is that it solves several problems at once. It explains

10:36 Speaker 1: why jumbos are found in pairs, as many stars naturally

10:39 Speaker 1: form as binaries. It also explains their unusual mass, which

10:44 Speaker 1: is too small for normal stars but appears in quantities

10:47 Speaker 1: that would be impossibly coincidental for ejected planets. The researchers

10:52 Speaker 1: suggest we can test this theory by looking for jumbos

10:54 Speaker 1: in other star forming regions. If they're right, we should

10:57 Speaker 1: find smaller jumbos in areas with more inn tense stellar radiation,

11:02 Speaker 1: while regions without massive stars shouldn't have any jumbos at all.

11:06 Speaker 1: It's a prediction that future observations can verify, potentially confirming

11:10 Speaker 1: this cosmic unwrapping theory once and for all. Finally, today,

11:16 Speaker 1: Jupiter has been putting on quite a spectacular show lately,

11:19 Speaker 1: with new observations revealing a pair of colossal thunderstorms churning

11:23 Speaker 1: within its southern equatorial belt. These aren't your average storms.

11:27 Speaker 1: We're talking about tempests so massive they could swallow Earth

11:30 Speaker 1: whole with room to spare. These ghostly white storms were

11:34 Speaker 1: captured by astrophotographer Michael Kerrer using an eight inch telescope

11:38 Speaker 1: in Austria, showing up as striking bright patches against Jupiter's

11:42 Speaker 1: characteristic rusty brown belt. What makes these storms particularly noteworthy

11:47 Speaker 1: is their rarity. We haven't seen anything quite like them

11:49 Speaker 1: since twenty sixteen. But what's really capturing astronomer's attention is

11:54 Speaker 1: these storm's potential to dramatically alter Jupiter's appearance. As these

12:00 Speaker 1: massive systems get pulled apart by Jupiter's powerful winds, their

12:03 Speaker 1: white clouds are beginning to mix with the surrounding atmosphere.

12:07 Speaker 1: This process could actually dilute the familiar reddish brown color

12:10 Speaker 1: of Jupiter's southern equatorial belt, potentially causing it to fade

12:14 Speaker 1: or even seemingly disappear, something that's happened before, most notably

12:19 Speaker 1: between nineteen seventy three and nineteen ninety one. Deep within

12:23 Speaker 1: these storms, something even more spectacular is happening. While Earth's

12:28 Speaker 1: thunderstorms produce blue lightning due to water vapor, Jupiter's storms

12:32 Speaker 1: create ethereal green lightning bolts thanks to the ammonia in

12:35 Speaker 1: its atmosphere. These electrical displays are occurring about sixty miles

12:40 Speaker 1: beneath the planet's swirling surface, adding another layer of wonder

12:44 Speaker 1: to these already impressive meteorological phenomena. For skywatchers, this couldn't

12:49 Speaker 1: have come at a better time. Jupiter has just passed

12:52 Speaker 1: its opposition, meaning it's at its closest point to Earth

12:55 Speaker 1: and particularly bright in our night sky. If you have

12:58 Speaker 1: a telescope or even a good pair of binoculars, you

13:01 Speaker 1: can spot the gas giant yourself in the constellation Taurus,

13:05 Speaker 1: though you'll need more sophisticated equipment to see these remarkable

13:08 Speaker 1: storms in detail. What an incredible journey through space we've

13:12 Speaker 1: had today. From witnessing the birth of our galaxies twin

13:16 Speaker 1: in the early Universe, to exploring the winter wonderlands of Mars,

13:20 Speaker 1: and from following Parker's Solar Probe's daring Christmas mission to

13:24 Speaker 1: uncovering the secrets of mysterious jumbos. These discoveries remind us

13:29 Speaker 1: just how dynamic and full of surprises our cosmic neighborhood

13:32 Speaker 1: truly is. Whether it's the holiday celebrations aboard the International

13:36 Speaker 1: Space Station or the massive thunderstorms raging on Jupiter, each

13:40 Speaker 1: story adds another piece to our understanding of the universe

13:43 Speaker 1: we call home. The dedication of astronomers, scientists, and space

13:47 Speaker 1: explorers continues to push the boundaries of human knowledge, bringing

13:52 Speaker 1: us closer to understanding our place among the stars. This

13:55 Speaker 1: is Anna, and you've been listening to Astronomy Daily. For

13:58 Speaker 1: more detailed coverage these stories, including images and additional content,

14:03 Speaker 1: visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io. Until tomorrow,

14:08 Speaker 1: Keep looking up and stay curious about the Cosmosday Star

14:14 Speaker 1: szol Star Star