S03E159: SpaceX vs. FAA, Eclipse Mapping Revolution, and Galaxy Cluster Discoveries

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space

0:02 Speaker 1: in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we'll

0:06 Speaker 1: be covering a range of exciting topics, from SpaceX's clash

0:09 Speaker 1: with the FAA to new discoveries and galaxy clusters. Plus

0:13 Speaker 1: I have a couple of stories on how you can

0:15 Speaker 1: help contribute to science projects and progress. Get ready for

0:18 Speaker 1: a cosmic journey through the headlines that are shaping our

0:21 Speaker 1: understanding of the universe. First up, in a bold move,

0:25 Speaker 1: SpaceX is vehemently rejecting the Federal Aviation Administration's recent allegations

0:29 Speaker 1: of launch requirement violations. The FAA has slapped the company

0:33 Speaker 1: with a hefty six hundred thirty three thousand dollars fine,

0:36 Speaker 1: but SpaceX isn't taking this lying down. The space giant

0:40 Speaker 1: argues that the FAA is falling behind the rapidly evolving

0:43 Speaker 1: commercial spaceflight industry. They claim the agency is struggling to

0:47 Speaker 1: keep up with the pace of innovation and is misallocating

0:50 Speaker 1: its limited resources. SpaceX's vice president for legal affairs, David Harris,

0:55 Speaker 1: sent a strongly worded letter to congressional committees overseeing the FAA.

0:59 Speaker 1: In it, he asserted that the company forcefully rejects the

1:02 Speaker 1: FAA's assertion that it violated any regulations. This clash highlights

1:06 Speaker 1: the growing tensions between traditional regulatory bodies and the new

1:10 Speaker 1: wave of private space companies pushing the boundaries of exploration.

1:14 Speaker 1: As the commercial space race heats up, it seems the

1:17 Speaker 1: rule book might need some updating to match the speed

1:19 Speaker 1: of progress. Next up, NASA has taken eclipse mapping to

1:23 Speaker 1: a whole new level with their latest development. They've created

1:26 Speaker 1: a process that generates incredibly accurate eclipse maps by incorporating

1:29 Speaker 1: lunar topography data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This is

1:33 Speaker 1: a game changer for both astronomers and eclipse enthusiasts. Traditionally,

1:37 Speaker 1: eclipse calculations assumed a smooth, symmetrical Moon and didn't account

1:41 Speaker 1: for Earth's varying elevations. But now NASA's new method factors

1:45 Speaker 1: in the Moon's actual cratered and uneven surface, as well

1:49 Speaker 1: as the true altitude of locations on Earth. The result,

1:52 Speaker 1: we can now see the real time varying shape of

1:55 Speaker 1: the Moon's shadow as it passes over our planet. It

1:58 Speaker 1: turns out the shadow isn't a smooth oda as previously

2:00 Speaker 1: thought it's more like a potato. This irregularity is caused

2:04 Speaker 1: by the mountains and valleys along the edge of the

2:06 Speaker 1: Moon's disk, which can affect the timing and duration of

2:09 Speaker 1: totality by several seconds. This level of detail is unprecedented

2:14 Speaker 1: and provides valuable information for scientific studies and eclipse predictions.

2:18 Speaker 1: It's a testament to how far our understanding and technology

2:21 Speaker 1: have come, allowing us to map these celestial events with

2:24 Speaker 1: extraordinary precision. Now onto an exciting discovery in a cosmic

2:30 Speaker 1: dance of hot gas and galaxies, NASA's Chandra X ray

2:33 Speaker 1: Observatory has made a fascinating discovery in the zwiki eighty

2:37 Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty eight galaxy cluster, located about six

2:40 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy million light years from Earth. This cluster

2:43 Speaker 1: is home to an extraordinary phenomenon two streams of superheated

2:47 Speaker 1: gas crossing each other. This celestial spectacle involves a comet

2:51 Speaker 1: like tail of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy spanning

2:54 Speaker 1: an impressive one point six million light years. As the

2:57 Speaker 1: galaxy plows through the cluster, its leave behind this enormous tail,

3:01 Speaker 1: which has split into two distinct streams. What makes this

3:04 Speaker 1: discovery particularly intriguing is that it's not the only set

3:08 Speaker 1: of tails in the cluster. Astronomers had previously observed a

3:11 Speaker 1: shorter pair of tails from a different galaxy nearby. The

3:15 Speaker 1: crossing of these gas streams is providing valuable insights into

3:18 Speaker 1: how cosmic collisions can shape the structure of galaxy clusters

3:22 Speaker 1: and potentially trigger the formation of new stars. This chaotic

3:26 Speaker 1: landscape of galaxies, superheated gas, and shock waves is a

3:30 Speaker 1: result of two galaxy clusters colliding to create Zwiki eight thousand,

3:35 Speaker 1: three hundred thirty eight. It's a cosmic laboratory that's helping

3:38 Speaker 1: astronomers understand the complex dynamics at play in these massive

3:43 Speaker 1: celestial structures. Now here's something you can help out with

3:46 Speaker 1: if you wish. In an effort to combat the growing

3:49 Speaker 1: issue of light pollution, researchers have developed an innovative and

3:52 Speaker 1: cost effective solution. They've created an inexpensive sensor designed to

3:57 Speaker 1: track light pollution on a global scale. Isn't just about

4:00 Speaker 1: scientific data collection, it's a call to action for citizen

4:04 Speaker 1: scientists worldwide. The sensors, which can be built using readily

4:08 Speaker 1: available components for under sixty five dollars are capable of

4:11 Speaker 1: measuring night sky brightness caused by artificial light. By encouraging

4:15 Speaker 1: people around the world to construct and install these devices,

4:19 Speaker 1: the researchers hope to create a comprehensive, real time map

4:22 Speaker 1: of light pollution. This grassroots approach serves a dual purpose.

4:26 Speaker 1: Not only will it provide valuable data for scientists, but

4:29 Speaker 1: it also aims to raise public awareness about the detrimental

4:32 Speaker 1: effects of light pollution, from disrupting ecosystems and wildlife behavior

4:37 Speaker 1: to interfering with astronomical observations, the impact of excessive artificial

4:41 Speaker 1: light is far reaching. By participating in this project, citizen

4:45 Speaker 1: scientists can contribute to our understanding of light pollutions spread

4:49 Speaker 1: and help inform strategies to mitigate its effects. It's a

4:53 Speaker 1: powerful example of how technology and community engagement can come

4:57 Speaker 1: together to address a global environmental challenge. I'll include links

5:01 Speaker 1: in the show notes so you can find out more

5:02 Speaker 1: about the project and instructions on how to build your

5:05 Speaker 1: own sensor if you'd like to give it a go. Now,

5:07 Speaker 1: let's talk about one of the most exciting astronomical hunts

5:10 Speaker 1: of the past decade, the search for aracoth. After new

5:14 Speaker 1: Horizons successful flyby of Pluto in twenty fifteen, scientists were

5:18 Speaker 1: eager to extend the mission, but they faced a major

5:20 Speaker 1: challenge finding a suitable target in the vast unexplored Kuiper Belt.

5:25 Speaker 1: For nearly ten years, astronomers scoured the outer Solar System,

5:29 Speaker 1: developing new tools and techniques along the way. They used

5:32 Speaker 1: ground based telescopes, citizen science efforts, and even the Hubble

5:35 Speaker 1: space telescope in their quest. Finally, in twenty fourteen, they

5:39 Speaker 1: struck gold with the discovery of Aracoth. This small, oddly

5:42 Speaker 1: shaped world became New Horizons second fly by target, visited

5:46 Speaker 1: on New Year's Day twenty nineteen. The hunt for Aracoth

5:49 Speaker 1: not only gave us unprecedented views of a distant Kuiper

5:52 Speaker 1: Belt object, but also revolutionized our methods for studying this

5:56 Speaker 1: frontier region of our Solar System. It's a testament to

5:59 Speaker 1: human perseverance and ingenuity in the face of cosmic mysteries.

6:03 Speaker 1: Next another project you can help with in an exciting

6:06 Speaker 1: development for exoplanet research. Amateur astronomers and citizen scientists have

6:11 Speaker 1: made significant contributions to our understanding of distant worlds. Their

6:15 Speaker 1: efforts have helped refine the orbital parameters of an exoplanet

6:19 Speaker 1: known as WASP seventy seven AB. This collaborative project, led

6:22 Speaker 1: by researcher Federico R. Knoger from Arizona State University, along

6:26 Speaker 1: with teams from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space

6:29 Speaker 1: Flight Center, has produced the most precise physical and orbital

6:33 Speaker 1: parameters to date for WASP seventy seven AB. The study

6:37 Speaker 1: combined data from various citizen science projects including Exoplanet Watch

6:41 Speaker 1: and exoclock, as well as professional observations from space telescopes

6:45 Speaker 1: like Spitzer, Hubble, and James Webb. WASP seventy seven AB

6:50 Speaker 1: is a gas giant exoplanet slightly larger than Jupiter but

6:53 Speaker 1: orbiting incredibly close to its star. These refined parameters will

6:57 Speaker 1: help astronomers better predict future transit events, crucial for planning

7:01 Speaker 1: spacecraft observations and improving atmospheric models. This success story highlights

7:06 Speaker 1: the power of citizen science in advancing our knowledge of

7:09 Speaker 1: the cosmos. It shows that anyone with a passion for

7:12 Speaker 1: astronomy can contribute meaningfully to cutting edge research, bridging the

7:17 Speaker 1: gap between amateur enthusiasts and professional scientists. Want a piece

7:21 Speaker 1: of the action, join the Exoplanet Watch project and help

7:24 Speaker 1: contribute to cutting edge exoplanet science. Anyone can participate. Participation

7:29 Speaker 1: does not require citizenship in any particular country. And that

7:36 Speaker 1: wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna and

7:39 Speaker 1: it's been my pleasure to bring you the latest in

7:41 Speaker 1: space and astronomy news. Before we sign off, I want

7:44 Speaker 1: to remind you to check out our website at Astronomydaily

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8:06 Speaker 1: you so much for tuning in today. Keep your eyes

8:09 Speaker 1: on the stars and we'll see you next time on

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