S03E133: Alien Life Probabilities, Saxavord's Fiery Test, and SpaceX's Latest Success

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome listeners to Astronomy Daily, your go to source for

0:03 Speaker 1: the latest news and updates in the fascinating world of

0:06 Speaker 1: space and astronomy. I'm your host, Anna, and today we

0:09 Speaker 1: have an exciting lineup of news.

0:10 Speaker 2: Stories to discuss.

0:11 Speaker 1: We'll kick things off with an intriguing study that challenges

0:14 Speaker 1: our assumptions about the rarity of intelligent alien life. Then

0:19 Speaker 1: we'll shift our focus to Scotland, where a rocket engine

0:22 Speaker 1: test at the Sacks of Word Spaceport led to an

0:24 Speaker 1: unexpected explosion, but don't worry, no one was injured. In

0:28 Speaker 1: more uplifting news, SpaceX has successfully launched twenty two Starling

0:32 Speaker 1: satellites into orbit using a new first stage booster, marking

0:36 Speaker 1: another milestone in their mission to expand.

0:38 Speaker 2: Global Internet coverage.

0:40 Speaker 1: Lastly, we'll delve into the mysterious Omega sentry cluster, where

0:45 Speaker 1: recent findings dispute the existence of a mid sized black hole,

0:49 Speaker 1: pointing instead to a horde of smaller ones. So sit back, relax,

0:53 Speaker 1: and let's explore the universe together. Let's dive into our

0:57 Speaker 1: first story of the day, which tackles one of humanity's

1:00 Speaker 1: most pressing questions. Are we alone in the universe? Astronomers

1:05 Speaker 1: David Kipping from Columbia University and Garrant Lewis from the

1:08 Speaker 1: University of Sydney have taken a fresh look at the

1:11 Speaker 1: famous Drake equation, applying probabilistic logic to provide new insights.

1:16 Speaker 1: Developed in the nineteen sixties by Frank Drake, this equation

1:19 Speaker 1: has long been a cornerstone in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence,

1:23 Speaker 1: known as SETI. Kipping and Lewis utilize a probability distribution

1:27 Speaker 1: initially introduced by biologist J. B. S. Haldane back in

1:31 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two. Imagine a bunch of Earth like exoplanets

1:34 Speaker 1: with similar conditions. Their study suggests that life would either

1:37 Speaker 1: be present on nearly all of them or none of

1:39 Speaker 1: them at all. This can be visualized as a U

1:42 Speaker 1: shaped graph, with the two extremes no planets with life

1:45 Speaker 1: or nearly all planets teeming with life appearing at the

1:48 Speaker 1: prongs of the U. The middle ground, where half the

1:51 Speaker 1: planets have life, is far less likely according to this logic.

1:55 Speaker 2: Let's break down the Drake equation.

1:57 Speaker 1: It is written as n equal sign our asterisk x

2:00 Speaker 1: fp x n xfl x fi x FCXL. Each term

2:05 Speaker 1: represents a variable. Our asterisk is the star formation rate.

2:08 Speaker 1: FP is the fraction of stars that have planets. N

2:11 Speaker 1: is the number of potentially habitable planets. FL is the

2:14 Speaker 1: fraction of those planets where life evolves. F is the

2:17 Speaker 1: fraction that develop intelligent life. FC is the fraction with

2:20 Speaker 1: communicative life, and L is the average lifetime of those civilizations.

2:25 Speaker 1: Astronomers have nailed down the star formation rate and the

2:28 Speaker 1: fraction of stars with planets quite well. Almost every star

2:31 Speaker 1: has some planets orbiting it, but the number of potentially

2:35 Speaker 1: habitable planets is still somewhat of a mystery, though researchers

2:39 Speaker 1: are constantly learning more thanks to new missions and sophisticated

2:42 Speaker 1: telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope. Here's where Kipping

2:46 Speaker 1: and Lewis's approach simplifies things. They suggest focusing on just

2:49 Speaker 1: two main components, the birth and death rates of what

2:52 Speaker 1: they term extraterrestrial technological instantiations or ETI. This simplification avoids

2:59 Speaker 1: the issues with defining terms like intelligence and civilization, which

3:03 Speaker 1: can be somewhat nebulous, by concentrating on the rate at

3:06 Speaker 1: which these technological entities emerge and how long they last.

3:10 Speaker 1: They propose a steady state Drake equation, assuming a balance

3:14 Speaker 1: between the birth and death rates over time. One fascinating

3:17 Speaker 1: outcome of their study is the suggestion that the galaxy

3:21 Speaker 1: could still be bustling with life, but we just haven't

3:23 Speaker 1: discovered it yet. The reason the occupation fraction, a measure

3:28 Speaker 1: of how many planets might be inhabited. For intelligent life

3:31 Speaker 1: to be common, this fraction needs to be close to one,

3:33 Speaker 1: but our observations indicate it's probably closer to zero point

3:37 Speaker 1: five or lower, meaning there are relatively few inhabited planets.

3:41 Speaker 1: Now you might think this sounds pessimistic, but Kipping and

3:44 Speaker 1: Lewis are far from advocating giving up on SETI. In fact,

3:47 Speaker 1: their equation implies that a crowded universe is just as

3:50 Speaker 1: possible under certain conditions. Maybe intelligent life doesn't travel, start

3:54 Speaker 1: a star, or build massive structures, or perhaps they're just

3:57 Speaker 1: too distant for us to detect at the moment. Research

4:00 Speaker 1: also speculates that even if technological life did emerge somewhere,

4:04 Speaker 1: it might vanish before we could detect it. This could

4:06 Speaker 1: be due to natural or self inflicted extinction. Still, time

4:10 Speaker 1: is of the essence and the universe's vast age means

4:13 Speaker 1: the window for detecting such life forms could be fleeting.

4:16 Speaker 1: The study is currently available as a preprint and is

4:19 Speaker 1: awaiting peer review by the International Journal of Astrobiology. So

4:23 Speaker 1: stay tuned as we await further developments and discussions in

4:26 Speaker 1: this fascinating field. For now, Kipping and Lewis have provided

4:30 Speaker 1: us with a thought provoking perspective, one that keeps alive

4:33 Speaker 1: the hope and the scientific rigor of searching for our

4:37 Speaker 1: cosmic companions. Next, we shift our focus to Scotland, where

4:41 Speaker 1: an unexpected turn of events unfolded at the Saxo Org Spaceport.

4:44 Speaker 1: The site, which became Britain's first licensed vertical rocket launch

4:48 Speaker 1: site last year, experienced a dramatic incident when a rocket

4:51 Speaker 1: engine exploded in flames during a test. The event, which

4:55 Speaker 1: took place in the Shetland Islands off the northern coast

4:58 Speaker 1: of Scotland, was caught on BBC footage showing a large

5:00 Speaker 1: explosion that spewed great plumes of fire and smoke into

5:03 Speaker 1: the air late on Monday. Thankfully, the site had been

5:06 Speaker 1: evacuated prior to the test and no injuries were reported.

5:10 Speaker 1: Both sax of Word and its German partner, Rocket Factory Augsburg.

5:13 Speaker 1: RFA released statements shortly after the incident. Sax of Word

5:17 Speaker 1: spokesman explained that the purpose of these test campaigns is

5:21 Speaker 1: to identify issues before advancing to the next stage. Meanwhile,

5:25 Speaker 1: RFA noted they were gathering information to understand what went

5:28 Speaker 1: wrong during the test, which had been one of many

5:31 Speaker 1: in the lead up to a planned launch. The launch

5:33 Speaker 1: pad at the site was reportedly saved and secured, allowing

5:37 Speaker 1: sax of Ord to continue its preparations for further tests.

5:40 Speaker 1: Despite this setback, the spaceport remains on track to potentially

5:44 Speaker 1: become the first British site to undertake a vertical satellite

5:47 Speaker 1: launch into space. This ambition is bolstered by a key

5:51 Speaker 1: safety license received from regulators in April, paving the way

5:54 Speaker 1: for a potential launch later this year. As the space

5:57 Speaker 1: industry continues to grow, with forecasts suggestesting it could be

6:00 Speaker 1: worth over a trillion dollars by twenty thirty, setbacks like

6:04 Speaker 1: these are a reminder of the challenges faced in pioneering

6:07 Speaker 1: new frontiers. Companies worldwide are gearing up to deploy thousands

6:10 Speaker 1: of internet beaming satellites, and each test even when it

6:13 Speaker 1: goes wrong, brings invaluable lessons that contribute to the ultimate

6:17 Speaker 1: success of future missions. In more uplifting news, SpaceX has

6:21 Speaker 1: successfully launched twenty two Starlink satellites into orbit, continuing their

6:25 Speaker 1: ambitious project to expand global Internet coverage. At the heart

6:29 Speaker 1: of this launch was a brand new Falcon nine first

6:31 Speaker 1: stage booster designated B one thousand eighty five. The launch

6:35 Speaker 1: took place from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in

6:38 Speaker 1: Florida around nine to twenty AMDT. The lift off occurred

6:42 Speaker 1: near the end of the launch window as weather conditions

6:44 Speaker 1: began to improve, demonstrating SpaceX's adaptability and precision. What makes

6:49 Speaker 1: this launch particularly notable is the debut of the new

6:52 Speaker 1: first stage booster, which successfully returned to Earth just eight

6:55 Speaker 1: minutes after takeoff. It landed smoothly on the Drone ship,

6:58 Speaker 1: aptly named a Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

7:01 Speaker 1: This achievement marks the eightieth landing on the drone ship

7:05 Speaker 1: and the three hundred forty first booster landing to date

7:08 Speaker 1: overall for SpaceX, an astonishing feat that highlights how the

7:12 Speaker 1: company continues to refine and innovate within the space travel industry.

7:17 Speaker 1: The Falcon nine has always been a reliable workhourse for SpaceX,

7:20 Speaker 1: and the successful deployment of the Starlink satellites into orbit

7:24 Speaker 1: was confirmed less than an hour after the launch. These

7:27 Speaker 1: newly launched satellites will contribute to SpaceX's ever growing constellation

7:31 Speaker 1: aimed at providing high speed Internet access to underserved and

7:35 Speaker 1: remote areas around the globe. This was SpaceX's fifty ninth

7:39 Speaker 1: launch from Florida and their one hundred fifty third global launch,

7:43 Speaker 1: demonstrating their unparalleled capability in achieving consistent, reliable results. Each

7:49 Speaker 1: of these launches represents a significant step in their mission

7:53 Speaker 1: to make the Internet accessible no matter where you are

7:56 Speaker 1: on the planet, bridging the digital divide one satellite at

7:59 Speaker 1: a time. Time, it's evident that SpaceX's focus on reusability

8:03 Speaker 1: and cost efficiency is paying off. Their first stage rockets,

8:06 Speaker 1: which were once considered disposable, are now setting industry standards

8:10 Speaker 1: with their ability to be relaunched multiple times. This not

8:13 Speaker 1: only lowers the cost of future missions, but also paves

8:16 Speaker 1: the way for more frequent and accessible space endeavors moving forward.

8:20 Speaker 1: As we continue to witness these technological marvels, it's exciting

8:24 Speaker 1: to think about what SpaceX will accomplish next. Whether it's

8:28 Speaker 1: enabling better Internet access, reducing our carbon footprint by reusing rockets,

8:33 Speaker 1: or preparing for future Mars missions, the possibilities seem as

8:36 Speaker 1: vast as space itself. Our final story today revolves around

8:40 Speaker 1: the mysterious Omega Centauri cluster, one of the Milky Way's

8:43 Speaker 1: most massive and luminous globular star clusters. Recently, a new

8:47 Speaker 1: study set out to challenge earlier findings that suggested the

8:50 Speaker 1: presence of an intermediate mass black hole at the center

8:53 Speaker 1: of the cluster. Instead, the latest research finds no substantial

8:57 Speaker 1: evidence for such a black hole. The initial claims posited

9:00 Speaker 1: that seven stars near Omega Centauri's center were moving so

9:04 Speaker 1: fast that they had to be orbiting around a black

9:06 Speaker 1: hole weighing between eight thousand, two hundred and fifty thousand

9:10 Speaker 1: times the mass of our Sun. Intermediate mass black holes

9:13 Speaker 1: have long been a sought after component in understanding the

9:16 Speaker 1: evolution of black holes, sitting between the more commonly known

9:20 Speaker 1: stellar mass black holes and the supermassive black holes found

9:23 Speaker 1: at the centers of galaxies.

9:25 Speaker 2: If they were to exist, they could.

9:27 Speaker 1: Fill a critical gap in our knowledge However, the new

9:29 Speaker 1: study presents a different narrative. Astronomer Andras Benaras Hernandez and

9:34 Speaker 1: his team at the Instituto de Astrophisica de Canarius analyzed

9:38 Speaker 1: the motion and distribution of Omega Centauri's ancient stars, utilizing

9:42 Speaker 1: data that favored a different model. Their findings suggest that

9:45 Speaker 1: a swarm of smaller black holes, each stellar mass in size,

9:48 Speaker 1: can equally explain the motion of these fast moving stars.

9:52 Speaker 1: According to the study, an estimated ten thousand to twenty

9:55 Speaker 1: thousand stellar mass black holes, cumulatively weighing about two hundred

9:59 Speaker 1: thousand to three hundred thousand times the mass of the Sun,

10:03 Speaker 1: are scattered throughout Omega Centauri's core. The study does not

10:06 Speaker 1: completely rule out the possibility of an intermediate mass black hole.

10:10 Speaker 1: If one exists, it is significantly smaller than previously suggested,

10:14 Speaker 1: with a mass not exceeding six thousand times that of

10:17 Speaker 1: our Sun. Banaras Hernandez and his team used precise pulsar timing,

10:22 Speaker 1: which allowed them to measure the velocities and accelerations of

10:25 Speaker 1: several millisecond pulsars within the cluster. This method helped them

10:28 Speaker 1: map out the mass distribution more accurately. Than previous studies.

10:32 Speaker 1: Opinions in the astronomical community are divided. Some astronomers argue

10:36 Speaker 1: that the data strongly supports the presence of an intermediate

10:39 Speaker 1: mass black hole, while others are convinced by the new

10:42 Speaker 1: analysis favoring a multitude of smaller black holes. For example,

10:47 Speaker 1: some point out that an intermediate mass black hole would

10:50 Speaker 1: be a more straightforward explanation for the fast moving stars

10:53 Speaker 1: near the cluster's center. Others, like Jerry Gilmour from the

10:56 Speaker 1: University of Cambridge, believe the new study provides a more

11:00 Speaker 1: robust analysis by including various dim stellar populations known to

11:04 Speaker 1: exist in globular clusters. Resolving this mystery may require direct

11:08 Speaker 1: observational evidence, such as seeing a star orbiting an invisible

11:12 Speaker 1: mass or detecting the glow of gas falling into a

11:15 Speaker 1: black hole. Until then, the debate over what lies at

11:19 Speaker 1: the heart of Omega Centauri will likely continue. This controversy

11:22 Speaker 1: not only highlights the complexities of deciphering celestial phenomena, but

11:26 Speaker 1: also showcases the vibrant and ongoing nature of astronomical research.

11:31 Speaker 1: As our methods improve and more data becomes available, our

11:34 Speaker 1: understanding of these enigmatic clusters and the black holes they

11:37 Speaker 1: may harbor will undoubtedly evolve. For now, the hive of

11:41 Speaker 1: stellar mass black holes offers an intriguing and scientifically compelling

11:44 Speaker 1: answer to the mystery of Omega Centauri's fast moving stars.

11:49 Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Astronomy Daily,

11:52 Speaker 1: I've been your host Anna. For more space and astronomy news,

11:56 Speaker 1: visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io, where you

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12:14 Speaker 1: next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then,

12:18 Speaker 1: clear skies and happy stargazing.

12:20 Speaker 3: A sunny day, star Stito, starz

12:39 Speaker 1: Star