S03E168: Ceres' Watery Past, Moon's Mysterious Origin, and China's Telescope Expansion

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

0:02 Speaker 1: latest and most fascinating space in astronomy news. I'm Anna

0:05 Speaker 1: and I'm thrilled to be your host for today's cosmic journey.

0:08 Speaker 1: We've got an exciting lineup of stories that will take

0:11 Speaker 1: us from the depths of our Solar system, to the

0:13 Speaker 1: brushstrokes of a famous painting, and even to the cutting

0:17 Speaker 1: edge of radio astronomy. We'll start by exploring new research

0:21 Speaker 1: that's changing our understanding of the dwarf planet Series. Then

0:24 Speaker 1: we'll dive into a controversial theory about the Moon's origin

0:27 Speaker 1: that's challenging long held beliefs. We'll also look at upcoming

0:30 Speaker 1: space launches, uncover the surprising physics behind Bengo's starry Night,

0:35 Speaker 1: and explore new findings about the Moon's interior. Finally, we'll

0:39 Speaker 1: check out China's plans to expand the world's largest radio telescope.

0:44 Speaker 1: So buckle up and get ready for a thrilling ride

0:46 Speaker 1: through the universe. First up, today, astronomers have made a

0:51 Speaker 1: groundbreaking discovery that's changing our understanding of Series, the largest

0:55 Speaker 1: object in the asteroid belt. New research published in Nature

0:58 Speaker 1: Astronomy suggests that this dwarf planet may have once been

1:02 Speaker 1: an ancient ocean world, much like some of the icy

1:05 Speaker 1: moons in the Outer Solar System. For years, scientists believed

1:08 Speaker 1: that Series had relatively little ice, with estimates suggesting less

1:12 Speaker 1: than thirty percent of its composition was icy. However, this

1:15 Speaker 1: new study proposes that Series might actually be composed of

1:18 Speaker 1: about ninety percent ice, with a history that includes a muddy,

1:21 Speaker 1: ocean covered surface. Using computer simulations, researchers examined how the

1:26 Speaker 1: craters on Series surface might have deformed over billions of

1:29 Speaker 1: years due to the presence of water. They found that

1:32 Speaker 1: by mixing just a small amount of solid rock with ice,

1:35 Speaker 1: the surface could maintain its cratered appearance over long periods

1:39 Speaker 1: even with a high ice content. This revelation paints a

1:42 Speaker 1: picture of Series as a dirty snowball rather than a

1:45 Speaker 1: rocky body. It suggests that in its ancient past, Series

1:49 Speaker 1: may have been similar to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons

1:52 Speaker 1: known for its subsurface ocean. The difference is that Series'

1:56 Speaker 1: ocean would have been muddier, filled with various minerals and impurities.

2:00 Speaker 1: What's particularly exciting about this discovery is how accessible Series

2:03 Speaker 1: is compared to other icy worlds in our Solar system.

2:06 Speaker 1: Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Series

2:10 Speaker 1: is much closer to Earth than the icy moons of

2:12 Speaker 1: the outer planets. This proximity makes it an attractive target

2:16 Speaker 1: for future space missions aimed at studying ocean worlds and

2:19 Speaker 1: the potential for extraterrestrial life. The bright features we see

2:23 Speaker 1: on Series' surface today might actually be the remnants of

2:25 Speaker 1: this ancient ocean, now frozen and erupted onto the surface.

2:29 Speaker 1: This opens up tantalizing possibilities for future exploration, as these

2:34 Speaker 1: areas could provide valuable samples from an ancient ocean world

2:37 Speaker 1: right in our cosmic backyard. Now, let's turn our attention

2:41 Speaker 1: to a fascinating new theory about the Moon's origin. While

2:45 Speaker 1: most of us are familiar with the idea that the

2:47 Speaker 1: Moon formed from a collision between Earth and a Mars

2:50 Speaker 1: sized object called thea, a new study is challenging this

2:54 Speaker 1: long held belief. Researchers from Penn State University have proposed

2:58 Speaker 1: an alternative theory the Moon might have been captured by

3:01 Speaker 1: Earth's gravity instead of being borne from a catastrophic impact.

3:05 Speaker 1: This capture theory suggests that the Moon was originally part

3:08 Speaker 1: of a binary pair of rocky objects that had a

3:11 Speaker 1: close encounter with our young Earth. One of the key

3:13 Speaker 1: pieces of evidence supporting this idea is the Moon's orbit.

3:16 Speaker 1: It's aligned with the plane of the ecliptic rather than

3:19 Speaker 1: Earth's equator, which is what we might expect if it

3:22 Speaker 1: formed from a collision. This orbital alignment is more consistent

3:26 Speaker 1: with a capture scenario. The researchers point out that we've

3:29 Speaker 1: seen similar captures elsewhere in our Solar system. For example,

3:33 Speaker 1: Neptune's largest moon, Tritan, is thought to have been a

3:35 Speaker 1: Kuiper Belt object that was pulled into orbit by Neptune's gravity.

3:39 Speaker 1: Using complex calculations, the team demonstrated that if Earth had

3:43 Speaker 1: captured the Moon, its initial elliptical orbit would have been

3:46 Speaker 1: altered by tidal forces over thousands of years. This process

3:50 Speaker 1: would have resulted in the more circular orbit we see today. Interestingly,

3:54 Speaker 1: this capture theory doesn't necessarily explain how the Moon formed

3:57 Speaker 1: in the first place. It just offers a d different

4:00 Speaker 1: explanation for how it became part of our Earth Moon system.

4:03 Speaker 1: While this new theory is intriguing, it's important to note

4:05 Speaker 1: that the giant impact hypothesis still has substantial evidence supporting it,

4:10 Speaker 1: including similarities between the Moon's composition and Earth's mantle. As

4:15 Speaker 1: with many aspects of space science, more research will be

4:18 Speaker 1: needed to fully understand the origins of our celestial companion. Now,

4:23 Speaker 1: let's take a look at some exciting upcoming space launches

4:25 Speaker 1: that are set to take place in this week. First up,

4:28 Speaker 1: we have the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket preparing

4:31 Speaker 1: for its second flight. This mission, known as Certification Flight II,

4:36 Speaker 1: is crucial as it will complete Vulcan's certification process with

4:39 Speaker 1: the US Space Force. The launch is scheduled for Friday,

4:42 Speaker 1: October fourth from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

4:46 Speaker 1: While the original plan was to carry Sierra Space's Dreamchaser Tenacity,

4:50 Speaker 1: the payload has been replaced with a mass simulator and

4:52 Speaker 1: various experiments. Moving on to SpaceX, the company has had

4:56 Speaker 1: to adjust its launch schedule following an off nominal deorbit

4:59 Speaker 1: burn of a Falcon nine second stage. As a result,

5:03 Speaker 1: a planned one web mission from Vandenberg has been pushed

5:06 Speaker 1: to next week, while a Starlink mission is now set

5:09 Speaker 1: to launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, October fifth. But

5:13 Speaker 1: perhaps the most intriguing upcoming mission is the European Space

5:17 Speaker 1: Agency's Hera, set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket.

5:21 Speaker 1: This mission will study the results of NASA's double asteroid

5:23 Speaker 1: redirection test, which successfully impacted the Dimorphos asteroid two years ago.

5:28 Speaker 1: Hara will carry two CubeSats and is scheduled to lift

5:31 Speaker 1: off on Monday, October seventh from Cape Canaveral. The Harra

5:34 Speaker 1: mission is particularly fascinating as it will provide crucial data

5:37 Speaker 1: on asteroid deflection techniques. After a two year journey through space,

5:41 Speaker 1: including a Mars flyby, Hara will reach de MorphOS to

5:44 Speaker 1: investigate the impact crater left by Dart and study the

5:47 Speaker 1: asteroid's composition in unprecedented detail. These launches represent the cutting

5:51 Speaker 1: edge of space exploration and technology, from rocket certification to

5:56 Speaker 1: planetary defense. It's an exciting time for space enthusiasts, and

6:00 Speaker 1: will be sure to keep you updated on these missions

6:02 Speaker 1: as they unfold. Let's move on to something a little different.

6:07 Speaker 1: Vincent van Goes The Starry Night is not just a

6:09 Speaker 1: masterpiece of art, but also a surprisingly accurate depiction of

6:13 Speaker 1: physics in action. Scientists have discovered that The swirling patterns

6:17 Speaker 1: in the night sky of this iconic painting actually follow

6:21 Speaker 1: the laws of fluid turbulence. The eddies and swirls that

6:25 Speaker 1: Van Goh painted aligne with Kolmogorov's law, a theory that

6:29 Speaker 1: predicts how energy moves in turbulent fluids. This law describes

6:33 Speaker 1: the patterns we see in everything from the atmosphere to

6:36 Speaker 1: ocean currents. It's astounding that van Go captured this phenomenon

6:39 Speaker 1: in his art decades before it was mathematically described. But

6:43 Speaker 1: that's not all. The painting also exhibits what's known as

6:47 Speaker 1: Bachelor's scaling, which relates to how small particles like pigments

6:51 Speaker 1: diffuse in a turbulent flow. This is visible in the

6:54 Speaker 1: way van Go applied his paint to the canvas. While

6:57 Speaker 1: we don't actually see such dramatic swirls in the night's

7:00 Speaker 1: sky with our naked eyes, van Go's artistic interpretation eerily

7:04 Speaker 1: mirrors the invisible turbulence present in our atmosphere. It's a

7:08 Speaker 1: fascinating blend of artistic vision and scientific accuracy, showing that

7:12 Speaker 1: sometimes great art can reveal truths about our universe that

7:16 Speaker 1: were only just beginning to understand now. Let's return to

7:20 Speaker 1: our moon and dive into some fascinating new discoveries about

7:23 Speaker 1: the Moon's interior. Recent gravity measurements have revealed something unexpected

7:27 Speaker 1: beneath the lunar surface, a potentially partially molten layer in

7:30 Speaker 1: the Moon's mantle. This finding comes from an analysis of

7:34 Speaker 1: lunar tides. Just as the Moon causes tides on Earth,

7:37 Speaker 1: our planet's gravitational pull also affects the Moon, causing subtle

7:40 Speaker 1: changes in its shape and gravity. By studying these tidal effects,

7:44 Speaker 1: researchers can gain insights into the Moon's internal structure. Using

7:48 Speaker 1: data from NASA's Grail mission and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,

7:51 Speaker 1: scientists have detected both monthly and yearly changes in lunar gravity.

7:55 Speaker 1: When they plugged this information into computer models, they found

7:59 Speaker 1: that in ding a softer, partially molten layer at the

8:03 Speaker 1: base of the mantle was necessary to explain the observed measurements.

8:08 Speaker 1: This discovery could have significant implications for our understanding of

8:11 Speaker 1: the Moon's structure, origin, and evolution. It raises questions about

8:16 Speaker 1: the heat source maintaining this partially molten state over billions

8:20 Speaker 1: of years, and may provide new clues about the Moon's

8:23 Speaker 1: formation and early history. While more research is needed to

8:27 Speaker 1: fully understand this layer, it's an exciting reminder that even

8:31 Speaker 1: our closest celestial neighbor still holds many mysteries waiting to

8:34 Speaker 1: be unraveled. Finally, today China is taking its already impressive

8:40 Speaker 1: five hundred meters aperture spherical telescope, or FAST, to new heights.

8:44 Speaker 1: The world's largest single dish radio telescope is about to

8:47 Speaker 1: get even more powerful with the addition of twenty four

8:50 Speaker 1: new movable radio telescopes, each measuring one hundred thirty one

8:54 Speaker 1: feet in diameter. This expansion, dubbed the FAST Core array,

8:58 Speaker 1: will take advantage of the telescop scope's quiet electromagnetic environment.

9:02 Speaker 1: By combining these new dishes into an array, scientists will

9:05 Speaker 1: significantly enhance the resolution and detection capabilities of FAST. The

9:10 Speaker 1: goal is to enable deeper investigations into fascinating cosmic phenomena

9:15 Speaker 1: like gravitational wave events, fast radio bursts, supernova and black

9:19 Speaker 1: hole title disruption events. It will also contribute to space

9:23 Speaker 1: situational awareness, detection of small Solar System objects, and even

9:27 Speaker 1: assist with deep space probe communication. Since becoming fully operational

9:30 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty fast has already detected over nine hundred pulsars.

9:35 Speaker 1: With this upgrade, we can expect even more groundbreaking discoveries.

9:38 Speaker 1: It's an exciting development that promises to push the boundaries

9:41 Speaker 1: of our understanding of the universe, and that wraps up

9:45 Speaker 1: our cosmic journey for today. We've explored the watery past

9:48 Speaker 1: of series, pondered a new theory about the Moon's origin,

9:52 Speaker 1: and looked ahead to exciting space missions. We've even seen

9:55 Speaker 1: how art and science intersect in Van Gogh's masterpiece, delved

9:59 Speaker 1: into lunar mysteries, and marveled at China's expanding radio telescope.

10:04 Speaker 1: If you're hungry for more space news, head over to

10:07 Speaker 1: our website at Astronomy Daily dot io. There you can

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10:12 Speaker 1: on all the latest developments with our constantly updating newsfeed.

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10:25 Speaker 1: connected with us between episodes. This is Anna signing off.

10:29 Speaker 1: Keep looking up and we'll see you next time on

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